CTIA Fall 2005
Kyocera has restructured their American operations and is very excited about it. The way the company is now organized they feel they can bring more innovative models to the US as well as create carrier variants of popular models like they have done with the Slider Remix. Kyocera is also pretty pumped about finally adding Bluetooth to their lineup and bringing it to midrange phones many can afford.
In addition to the Remix Bluetooth, Kyocera also announced the KX160 Xcursion (not to be confused with the Excursion - that's an oversized SUV). It is a relatively unassuming clamshell with a VGA camera and medium sized screen, but it also packs Bluetooth with the same profiles as the Remix.
To complement their affordable Bluetooth phones, Kyocera will also launch an affordable Bluetooth headset. At $50, this headset should be well within most purchasers' grasp. Although the design may not be terribly stylish, the headset is small and is one of the most comfortable we have ever worn. The headset is light and the hook that goes over and around the ear is coated in a smooth soft rubber. The ear piece is also soft rubber and fits into the ear canal, which helps block out background noise.
Kyocera also added to their Push To Talk lineup with with a ruggedized version of the Dorado called simply KX12. As expected with any ruggedized phone, the KX12 is larger than an average handset, but not so big that it's uncomfortable to hold or won't fit in a pocket. However, while all the rubber ridges on the phone make it easy to grip, they also make it tougher to get in and out of a pocket. The KX12 also has some new accessories which also allow you to make or answer PTT calls either from a headset or from a desktop unit that looks like a small black version of the original Macintosh mouse.
Kyocera was also showing off the Candid. The is another VGA clamshell, which looks similar to the new Xcursion but is smaller and less feature packed in most respects.
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