User Review History
cuchanu's review of the Kyocera DuraForce Pro
original version, submitted Nov 30, 2016, 10:06 PM:
Buggy Touchscreen, Slow processor
While I feel like tech wise I'm taking a step back with this phone, I also feel like I don't have much of a choice. I need a phone that is dust, drop, and water resistant, and I won't buy another Samsung phone, I've had too many issues with them overheating and shorting out. The performance on this phone is comparable an HTC One m8 or galaxy s5 (2.5 year old flagships). So if you only do basic things it'll be fine, if not a bit stuttery from time to time. The major issue I have is that the touch screen sucks. It's great that you can use it when wet, but when I'm typing, I have to apply a very specific amount of pressure or I get nonsense when I'm swiping, or I get multiple presses when I'm tapping. Not always, but usually. Also while scrolling it tends to select things without my consent. One more annoying thing is that I was happy it had worked charging because I don't want to fiddle with ports (it's a pain in the dark), but this phone uses powermat instead of Qi which makes it a lot less useful. There are literally only a handful of accessories available while Qi has probably a thousand. Annoying. The good: the camera is decent, wide angle is awesome, it's truly waterproof (I have used it underwater), I take it hiking or in the snow and don't worry when I pull it out even if it's raining or snowing, and the screen is pretty good. The software is pretty good, too. The battery life isn't great, it's okay. Also promotional materials claimed this phone would support action mounts but there is no evidence of there being one now or in the future. An email to Kyocera went unanswered. Bottom line is that the keyboard is unacceptable. I'm hoping it's a fluke and i will exchange it. If it is better on the next one I'll update my review. Otherwise the phone is good but test the keyboard for a couple of days to see if it works for you.
edited Nov 30, 2016, 10:07 PM to the current version:
Buggy Touchscreen, Slow processor
While I feel like tech wise I'm taking a step back with this phone, I also feel like I don't have much of a choice. I need a phone that is dust, drop, and water resistant, and I won't buy another Samsung phone, I've had too many issues with them overheating and shorting out.
The performance on this phone is comparable an HTC One m8 or galaxy s5 (2.5 year old flagships). So if you only do basic things it'll be fine, if not a bit stuttery from time to time.
The major issue I have is that the touch screen sucks. It's great that you can use it when wet, but when I'm typing, I have to apply a very specific amount of pressure or I get nonsense when I'm swiping, or I get multiple presses when I'm tapping. Not always, but usually. Also while scrolling it tends to select things without my consent.
One more annoying thing is that I was happy it had wireless charging because I don't want to fiddle with ports (it's a pain in the dark), but this phone uses powermat instead of Qi which makes it a lot less useful. There are literally only a handful of accessories available while Qi has probably a thousand. Annoying.
The good: the camera is decent, wide angle is awesome, it's truly waterproof (I have used it underwater), I take it hiking or in the snow and don't worry when I pull it out even if it's raining or snowing, and the screen is pretty good. The software is pretty good, too.
The battery life isn't great, it's okay.
Also promotional materials claimed this phone would support action mounts but there is no evidence of there being one now or in the future. An email to Kyocera went unanswered.
Bottom line is that the keyboard is unacceptable. I'm hoping it's a fluke and i will exchange it. If it is better on the next one I'll update my review. Otherwise the phone is good but test the keyboard for a couple of days to see if it works for you.
