Kyocera Torque review: a rugged phone delivering superior sound
Kyocera Torque coming to Sprint's Direct Connect lineup in March, we go hands-on (video)
Kyocera Torque hitting Sprint March 8th, carrying $100 price tag
Kyocera teases tissue conduction audio technology for mobile phones at CTIA
Sacrificing a smartphone's thin and sleek form factor with a case is tantamount to sacrilege in some circles. Others feel little comfort venturing outdoors without having their phone wrapped safely in one sleeve or another. Sprint's Kyocera Torque, though, is for people who demand more than just a sheath of silicone to keep their device safe. Instead of relying on a case for its protection, it's durable in its own right, with an IP67 rating and Military Standard 810G certification to help it withstand everything from water to salt fog.
In addition, the handset carries the distinction of being the very first phone released in the US with Kyocera's Smart Sonic Receiver tissue-conduction tech, which does away with the traditional earpiece. We put the Now Network's first LTE push-to-talk phone through our review gauntlet not only to gauge how tough it is, but also to find out how well it performs. Head past the break to see how it fared.
Gallery: Kyocera Torque Review: Hardware
Filed under: Software, Mobile
IRL: Bing Translator, ioSafe N2 and the Mophie Juice Pack Air
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.
Yes, again with the mobile battery packs. (We're power users, okay?) In this week's roundup, Joe ditches his Elecom charger for the Mophie Air, and tells you everything you may wanted to know (and maybe a few things you didn't). Rounding things out, Darren kicks the tires on ioSafe's durable, "disaster-proof" NAS box, while Dan uses Bing Translator to avoid offending the lovely people of Germany.
Filed under: Microsoft
T-Mobile takes its UnCarrier plans live earlier than expected
T-Mobile must not want to wait for a special event to lure customers through its doors: it just launched its revamped, decidedly UnCarrier-like plans a couple of days early. As became clearer this weekend, unlimited voice, text and basic data are now things you can take for granted on Magenta's network. It's only the cap on throttle-free data that determines how much you pay: rates sold through T-Mobile itself start at $50 for a basic 500MB of online use and climb in steady 2GB increments that each cost an extra $10 per month, up to a total of 12.5GB for $110. You can still get truly unlimited service if you want, for $70 — although you'll have to bolt on a separate hotspot plan that the capped tiers get for free. Costs at resellers are expected to run slightly higher, but it's still clear that T-Mobile is aggressively courting those of us who see internet access as the very reason to have a smartphone in the first place.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile
Via: TmoNews (Twitter), The Verge
Source: T-Mobile