Kyocera Strobe K612 / SwitchBack
Average Ratings
Kyocera Switchback for Alltel....
let me start out by saying that when i first saw this phone i was uber excited about it! i decided to wait it out& not get it, but when i smashed by beloved nokia 6255i i had no choice but to go out and buy a phone. i settled on the kyocera switchback. it was cute, tiny ( almost too tiny however for my liking.. ) and as a big texter i really liked the fact that it had a little keyboard and that i could stay signed onto aim all the time.however, i am a big camera phone junkie ( hahaha ) and this phone just did NOT do it for me. the picture quality resembles a web cam and when people send you pictures it's so hard to even tell what is on the screen if the picture is too detailed. too bad this phone wasn't just a little bit bigger with maybe even a megapixel camera =/ the alltel version has bluetooth, but since i didn't have it for long i didn't even bother checking out the bluetooth. ah well..
pros:
fun for texting
cute? haha
decent reception
seems sturdy?
cons:
poor camera quality ( !!! )
too small in my opinion
low volume so you miss calls & also sometimes certain people you can't hear.
Pre-Review for Alltel Customers
I have read alot of negative reviews for the Virgin Mobile version of the Kyocera Switchback. Well, let me tell you, the Kyocera Strobe for Alltel is amazing. Yes it is a tiny phone but I was recently able to mess with the Strobe before it comes out for Alltel and I absolutely loved it. There are some cons I'm sure and I will post the actual review as soon as I have all the information and a little more hands on time. Until then remember just one thing...the Alltel version has Bluetooth!
-Jonathan/Alltel
Strobin' and Stylin'
Likes: The design is just too cool.
Qwerty = convenient
Reception is better than expected (Metro PCS ATL)
Clever shortcut keys that are easy to use
Solid construction/well-made
Dislikes: Battery life could be better
Difficult to synch with PC and customize
Ringtone volume could be louder
Standard ringtones/wallpapers are weak
Overall this phone is an absolute joy to own and use. On the Metro PCS network in ATL, it does a great job. Signal strength is good and call clarity is excellent. Coming from Nokia I was concerned, but it performs the basic and essential phone functions very well.
The QWERTY keyboard allows me to take advantage of the calendar feature and contacts with ease. The contact list allows plenty of information including address, several phone #'s and email. While I do not text message, I do use the text message feature as a notepad. Here's the really cool part, I can take notes while talking. Since I use my phone for business this feature allows me to take down orders while talking to my customer on the speaker phone.
The style and design of this phone are simply fun. It's a phone with a unique design that is easy to use. Customizing is another story. I used the @Metro feature to download 9 decent ringtones and a suitable backdrop. This chore was effortless. Getting the phone to synch with a PC is a tough task...one I have not mastered. Once this challenge is overcome I hope to add more backdrops, transfer photos and add more ringtones. Locating software to communicate with the phone is currently next to impossible! Buyer beware. I don't use the camera, but if I did I would have no way to download photos.
I don't use many of the features such as the camera, bluetooth, text messaging. The flashlight is cool and has a shortcut key on the front keypad (hold the back button).
I debated long and hard between this phone and the 6265i, ultimately choosing this phone. It was a good decision and one I would make again. ENJOY!
Sounds like there were some bad ones
I had a strobe thru POCKET, and I haven't had any of the problems that I have been reading about. As a matter of fact, my brother now has my old strobe and he hasn't had any problems either.
PROS:
-very durable, i dropped mine many times
-extensive phone book
-loud ringers
CONS:
-ergonomic styling (good idea, badly done)
-small keypad
-needed better camera
-POCKET doesn't support BREW
BETTER THAN EXPECTED
WOW! I never expected to be able to talk on my phone in so many remote areas. I have this phone with service thru Appalachian Wireless in East Kentucky. I have never been able to talk all the way to my house on any phone, I've had them all by Moto and Nokia but this is the very first one. Great signal.
pros:
reception is second to NONE
size is great
speaker is very loud
qwerty keyboard works great
a crowd pleaser
flashlight
just all over good convenience
cons:
battery life
small external screen
I would absolutely recommend this phone to anyone who needs great reception and able to stick it in your shirt pocket on the go. Great for texting and surfing the web. great phone.
Be Careful
I read into all of the hype about it wuz supposed to be the ultimate text phone.....well they never showed a real-size photograph. This phone is extremly small so I do not recommend this phone Kyocera dropped the ball on this one.
Want a horrible phone?
I wouldn't give this phone a 0.0000001 rating, mattrand obviously doesn't have it, NO BLUETOOTH. It is the worst phone I have ever owned, its too small, the screens are tiny, and buttons are tiny, the thing is way to thick and clunky for a phone so "compact". The antenna on it is by far the ugliest, it adds about a half inch to the phone's length, and makes it even more akward to hold. And to top it all off, it has the Virgin Mobile name, horrible service.
The only thing i liked about this phone, is when it sold on ebay.
STAY CLEAR OF THIS PIECE OF JUNK
Pros
None
Cons
Everything in the phone's name
Not all that great....
When I purchased this phone I was nothing but excited about the easy texting. Well I came to find out that the phone isn't all that great. Phone powers on and off all by itself. The screens went out on mine twice without being dropped. No longer am using this phone because the screens went out and I gave up on any hope that it would ever work for me.
Pros:
Keyboard
Camera is decent
Cons:
Poor quality
Battery time
OK Phone
The Phone is ok it's not the best phone ever but it's ok. The thing that got me was the way that it looks. The price wasn't bad but if i could go back to the day when i bought this phone i would have gotten the nokia phone.
Pros: Good for texting
Unique look
Cons: Low ring tones
Outside screen is too too small
Hard to dial the numbers without looking.
