14 DAY TRIAL // Kyocera has just announced the upcoming availability of two brand new Android phones for the United States market, Hydro and Rise.
The company is still trying to strengthen its foothold on the US market, though Kyocera hasn’t been that successful lately.
However, the new smartphones does not seem to be among the best that Kyocera could come up for Android enthusiasts living in the States.
Kyocera Hydro and Rise come with the same specs sheet, the only difference between the two is the form factor. While the former has a candybar design, the latter comes with a full QWERTY slide-out keyboard.
According to Kyocera, both handsets come with CDMA support and will be available in the second half of 2012.
Although the company does not mention which carrier will offer the smartphones, given the long partnership between Kyocera and Sprint, we can safely assume Hydro and Rise will be released exclusively through the major carrier.
“Kyocera has been making water-resistant devices globally since 2008, ranging from handsets for children to full Mil Spec, ultra-ruggedized devices, and Hydro is our seventeenth so far,” said Eric Anderson, senior vice president and general manager of global sales and marketing at Kyocera Communications.
The Hydro features IPx5- and IPx7-level water resistance, which means it has been certified as waterproof against sprayed water and immersion in water up to one meter deep for up to 30 minutes.
Both Hydro and Rise pack 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive IPS LCD touchscreen displays (480 x 320 pixels) and 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon processors.
In addition, the smartphones are equipped with 2GB ROM, 512MB RAM and support for microSD memory cards up to 32GB. Furthermore, each phone has a 3.2 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and camcorder.
Last but not least, Kyocera Hydro and Rise are powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system out of the box.
“Wireless devices have become so crucial to our everyday lives; their durability must support our lifestyles. Kyocera Hydro combines a sleek, touchscreen design with water resistance to ensure it can withstand the spills and drops of everyday life,” concluded Anderson.
