CTIA Fall 2005
I never thought I'd say this before, but Kyocera made the show for us, and they will be making the fall for a number of carriers, especially two MVNOs. They were the only manufacturer to launch new handsets at CTIA - Nokia did not show off their recently launched 3250 nor did anyone other than Palm even officially announce any new models. So without Kyocera, we'd have very little to tell you about that you can buy in stores in the coming weeks.
Not one, not two but three (three and half, even) versions of the Slider Remix will be launching this Fall. First to launch will be Slider Sonic on Virgin Mobile, which will be available during October. This version only has a VGA camera, and plays back mp3 and WMA files. When you hold it, the only obvious difference between it and any other Remix is the huge Virgin Mobile logo below the screen and the distinct round navigation buttons on the face, instead of the large silver rectangle of buttons on the standard Remix.
The headphone adapter that Virgin will sell with the phone features a play / pause / answer button, next and previous track, volume buttons and a hold switch in a fairly small hourglass shaped unit (which could have used Karim Rashid's touch considering its shape). Though it comes with a pair of headphones, they use a 3.5 mm plug so you can use your own.
Following the launch of the Sonic will be the Slider Remix Bluetooth. Kyocera told us when they showed off the Remix in March, all the carriers thought it was pretty hot, but they all begged for one with Bluetooth. Kyocera lit some fires under their engineer's behinds and now this version should launch on major carriers in November. It is BREW, so we know Sprint is not one of carriers. Kyocera has blessed the phone with headset, handsfree and OBEX profiles, however carriers may choose to disable the OBEX.
During the holiday season, Amp'd will launch the EV-DO phone based on the Remix. First out will be the all black version known as the Jet (shown above). Amp'd came through with their plan and the "pulse" logo in the center of the D-pad will glow blue when the phone has EV-DO coverage. A few weeks after the Jet launches, Amp'd will follow it up with a pearl white version that has a mirrored screen called Angel. It will have the exact same specs and styling as the Jet, just a different candy colored shell.
Review: T-Mobile MDA
Review: Kyocera Jet for Amp'd
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