14 DAY TRIAL // T-Mobile and MetroPCS have teamed up with Kyocera for the launch of the affordable waterproof Android smartphone Hydro WAVE.
The new smartphone is available for purchase for only $150 before rebates or promotions and will go on sale at T-Mobile locations on July 22. MetroPCS will start selling the Kyocera Hydro WAVE from July 27.
The smartphone comes with Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system and marks the debut of Kyocera's “Core Home,” an optional UI developed by the handset maker, which is meant to offer “the familiarity of a feature phone.”
According to Kyocera, the Hydro WAVE features IPX5 and IPX7 certifications, which means it's very likely to survive an unexpected shower or water immersion for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water.
Moreover, Kyocera Hydro WAVE carries Military Standard 810G certification for shock and drops, as well as IP5X dustproof rating. Also, the phone's display can be operated even when it's wet.
You can turn its UI into that of a feature phone
Hardware-wise, the Hydro WAVE is equipped with a decent 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal memory.
As expected, the affordable rugged smartphone packs microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB), but also offers 4G LTE support.
On the back, the handset comes with a 5-megapixel photo snapper with autofocus, LED flash and video recording, while in the front there's a secondary 2-megapixel camera.
Last but not least, the Hydro WAVE sports a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports a disappointing qHD (540 x 960 pixels) resolution, and it's powered by a 2,300 mAh battery.
“The Hydro WAVE not only offers the display size and features of more expensive devices, but also gives users the peace of mind that comes with such a durable phone.
“Water damage and dropped phones regularly top the list of causes of smartphone failures. Hydro WAVE protects against those, while providing a worry-free experience for users,” said Chuck Becher, vice president and general manager of sales and marketing at Kyocera Communications.