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Hands-on With the Kyocera Neo E1100 Phone

by Chad Mumm on December 31, 2009 at 11:01 AM



The NEO E1100 Cellphone

What it is: The Neo E1100 is the newest value model phone from Kyocera, available from U.S. Cellular. Its set of features is excellent for its price point: 1.3 megapixel camera, speakerphone, Bluetooth, micro USB connector -- these are seldom seen together in one phone for under $30, especially one as stylish as the Neo with its sleek flip-phone design.

What We Like: There's no doubt about it, the Neo E1100 device brings a lot of style for a small amount of coin, proving that you don't have to spend hundreds for a cool phone. The svelte (1.6cm) reflective black body is subtly tapered and the reverse hinge design of the flip part of the phone is one of the sturdiest we've seen.

The physical features of the Neo will blow away those of you expecting a slimmed down RAZR style phone. The phone's front is divided by a thin blue OLED light strip ("light-pipe"), which also wraps around the camera and gives the phone a HAL 9000 vibe. The effect is nice enough when inactive, but incoming calls or texts fully illuminate the pipe, which breathes like the standby light on your MacBook in what is certainly the coolest light show we've ever seen in a phone. Incoming calls are revealed on the small LED screen on the phone's face, which is hidden in the glossy black finish. And we do mean hidden: it's camouflaged so well that you cannot see the info screen until it's illuminated.


What We Don't: The screen is ample enough, the keypad is sturdy, and we had no problems navigating the simple operating system, but there's no real flashiness to the phone's media options when compared with more advanced phones; downloadable content is limited to ringtones and simple mobile applications like sports updates and a limited browser. It's missing a music player and has no support for video, but at this price point, that's not too surprising. It does have a headset jack, but we were disappointed to find it was a 2.5mm mono jack, instead of the more commonplace 3.5mm stereo.

Bottom Line: We'd love to see an advanced version of the phone with video support, as well as more advanced browser and email support, but for under $30 this phone's design aesthetics make it worth every penny.

Tags: hands on, HandsOn, kyocera, neo

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