Kyocera has announced their latest rugged smartphone. This time around the handset is called the Hydro XTRM and it will be heading to US Cellular later this week. Specifically, US Cellular will have the Hydro XTRM available beginning on May 24th. The price should be affordable for most, however the key here is with the handset itself — the rugged features and overall design.
Just to begin with, Kyocera has the Hydro XTRM set up with the Military Standard 810G certification and the IP57 certification. Basically, this is just to say the handset will be able to withstand shock and drops and also immersion in up to 3.28 feet of water for up to 30 minutes.. The handset will also be dust-resistant.
The handset will arrive with US Cellular as a 4G LTE device and with features to include a 4-inch impact-resistant touchscreen display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Remaining specs include 4GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, 1GB of RAM and a 2000 mAh battery.
The handset will also be equipped with a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. In addition to the rugged design, the Hydro XTRM also has something called Smart Sonic Receiver technology which according to Kyocera, will “help you hear clearly in noisy places.”
That being said, the Kyocera Hydro XTRM will be priced at $29.99, which is with an instant rebate and on a two-year agreement. Finally, while the Hydro XTRM is an LTE capable device, the US Cellular coverage isn’t complete just yet. At present the carrier has said 4G LTE coverage is available for 61 percent of their customers with coverage including select cities in Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
SOURCE: MarketWatch
