Sprint and Kyocera confirmed several weeks ago they will launch a new affordable Android smartphone for customers who cannot afford to purchase a high-end device.Dubbed Kyocera Rise, the handset has just been confirmed for an August 19 release at Sprint. Customers will be able to purchase it for $19.99 USD after a $50 USD mail-in rebate and a new two-year agreement.
The deal is available for existing customers eligible for upgrade as well. It is also worth mentioning those who don't want to commit to a long term contract can grab the Kyocera Rise for $99.99 USD outright.
Virgin Mobile will offer the
Kyocera Rise on prepaid starting August 31, so customers who wish to purchase the phone on no-term will have to wait two more weeks in order to grab it.
Kyocera Rise offers users both worlds thanks to the included slide-out QWERTY keyboard and the large 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display that supports 320 x 480 pixels resolution.
The smartphone is equipped with a 1 GHz single core processor, which is complemented by an Adreno 205 GPU and 512MB of RAM. There's also 2GB of internal memory, which can be further expanded up to 32GB via microSD memory card.
According to
Kyocera, the smartphone will be shipped with a free 2GB memory card in the sales package, though this has yet to be confirmed by the carrier.
The device does not come with a secondary front-facing camera for video calls, but it sports a 3.2-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and video recording.
“
Kyocera Rise brings customers the comfort of an easy-to-use Android smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard. It is a great option for customers who are new to smartphones, parents looking for the perfect first device for their teens and tweens or anyone looking for a device with an impressive set of features at a great price. This is a perfect addition to round out our Android portfolio,” said David Owens, vice president-Product Development, Sprint.
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