Kyocera KX440 / KX444
Average Ratings
Good, basic fone
Pros:
Good software set
Battery life: seems to meet specs
PTT equipped: not using it, so can't comment.
Overall quality: appears well built
Signal Strength: Stubby antenna does as good as my older Kyocera 2325's extendable.
Screen size: large enough and clear even with my "baby boomer" eyes.
Accessories: may be compatible with older Kyocera models like the 2325. Check with Kyocera before using them as polarity might be changed on a particular charger.
Software features:
Restricted calls-let's you prevent someone else from calling numbers not in your phone's directory.
Flexible speed dialing: you assign speed dialing locations to numbers already stored in your directory.
GPS equipped and you can restrict GPS location to emergency services only.
Speaker phone: good quality and clear/loud.
Keys: not the largest, but acceptable.
Vibrate mode: not the strongest vibration, but adequate.
Ring volume escalate: Increases ring volume on successive rings. If you don't hear it the first time, you will soon.
Cons:
Potential issue with headset jack: Hope Kyocera changed the design. My older 2325 had problems after two years' use.
Older 2325 had voice memo: KX 444 doesn't, and I miss it.
No games, not even the basics like Tetris. Guess Verizon wants you to pay for any when you d/l them.
Having had the 2325, I was familiar with the software set. But features are often found deep in the menus. You have to know where to look... at least until you get used to it.
Ring tones: good luck finding one that's like a normal phone. Even at lowest level, it's a bit too loud.
Menus: Can't rearrange the entries, e.g. PTT is first but I don't use it and would prefer to have "Contacts" first.
This PTT is the real deal.
Overall, I must say that this puppy is great.. The color screen could be a little better. I have not missed one call and have had over 2 hours of PTT conversations. The speed is wonderful (1 second) for PTT connections. Verizon Wireless has made a real effort to become the total business package with this durable, user friendly and the best speaker phone I have ever heard. Viva the VZW!
Can u hear my PTT NOW....GOOD!!!!!!!
Can u believe it!!! It works it actually does work and great to,look out nextel.Well i have had the ptt since its re release on Feb 21st.I started with the lg 4700 cause thats all i ever owned and ended up with the kyo cause the ptt was slower,speaker is not as clear and oh the dreadfull alert tone that NASA and i don't even think a dog can hear from the lg and boy am i glad i did after just one day.For some reason this kyo has the best clarity in speaker and is the fastest in ptt and i may add is the loudest of them all.My buddy's and i have ptt phones at work both lg4700's and kyo's and its just mind boggling on how much better the kyo performs.The phone is so loud when i recieve a call that i have to keep the ring volume on one otherwise my ears start to bleed.The ptt alert is great i can hear it from the other room.And oh i forgot the battery life holy smokes i can't kill this thing in one day,the phone actually tires me out where i need a recharge.By the way thank you kyocera for caring bout the customer and being the only ptt phone where u don't have to spend the extra buck for a bigger battery because they give it to u included,first time i ever experienced that,lol.And to top it all off all of these pros come from a straight job phone,who knew? The screen size is kinda small but hey its color and it does the job.There is only a couple things that are a little ruff to deal with but i am managing because everything else makes up for it.One is that when ur texting its a little slow when u use the predictive text and if u mess up forget it u better just start over cause to go back and correct its like a torture chamber.And second is that it only holds approx. 200 #'s, i need more sometimes.To sum it all up this kyo kx444 ptt is the way to go yeah its not flip but after u use it and compare it to the others u will not be dissappointed TRUST ME.
Awesome Phone
Way to go Kyocera.
Great phone. Love the size. Great RF despite the stubby, very impressive other stubbys never worked well for me. How did you do it????
PTT is fastest with this phone. I traded in my LG for this phone, and I'm glad I did.
Speakerphone is probably better than the V60P.
Amazing sound quality.
A+++++++
KX444 is the One!!!
I just picked up two KX444âs phones yesterday for me and my wife. Weâve been having a ball using the Push to Talk feature and now I canât even imagine even making a regular phone call now with it. Itâs so convenient to use once you have everything set up. Go to http://www.vzwpushtotalk.com/ to set up your PTT contact list for your phone. That is the only thing the sales person didnât mention.
I do want to mention that we were a little skeptical about the service working the way it was supposed to in our area and now we are just blown us away with the results. Even in areas where we think that our phone wonât work we are shocked to find that the PTT still goes through. It just seems that it takes a few more seconds for your phone to be located on the initial contact. Once thatâs done weâre grinning.
Now I know Iâm only talking about the PTT feature but that the only reason why Iâve bought this phone. I didnât buy it for anything else. The speaker volume is surprisingly loud. Iâve never had a phone that I could use the alarm clock setting to wake me up out of bed⦠This phone it my new baby!!!
Pros:
PTT works great
Speaker volume is loud and I think it has better quality then the other 3 PTT verizon phones.
It looks cool
The rubber grips are a plus
Downloadable ring tones
Raised easy to find rubber buttons
Car and home charger from my CDM-8900 work with this phone.
Cons:
Screen is small and probably second to the new LG phone. (same size screens though)
It should have came with a carrying case of some kind or belt clip.
WOW! So much better than the first go around.
Ok, I am blown away. The new PTT from Verizon is so much better than the first go around. This phone's RF is unreal. In places I normally drop calls, this phone has four bars of service. Had a PTT conversation tonight that lasted for almost two hours! That would have been impossible before.
Pros
Battery Life
Ease of Use
PTT! (actually works now)
Size
Rubber sides
Did I say the PTT actually works now?
Con's
None so far that I can see.
Ok lets be real, not great, but useable
Well to start off...I read some reviews in here and you can smell the obvious reps pushing their product. Cant blame them. But seriously this phone has some problems.
This phone is very cheap (meaning price) so give credit where credit is due, for the cost its semi acceptable. But for what I needed I was forced to spend more money on a much more reliable phone.
First the positives. Good speakerphone. Good build (dropped numerous times and still works) Decent battery life. I like that the charging port is the standard barrel plug.
Now the negatives. Bad BAD TERRIBLE reception. I am in central Ca and we have decent but not stellar reception normally. This phone does not. I drop nearly 60% of calls over 10 minutes. This is not a 1 phone issue since I replaced my phone twice so I believe its universal. I'm also un-impressed with the sound quality of the phone when using it normally (holding the phone up to your face) The receiver speaker is very weak. I am a no frills person so camera's internet and all that other junk is irrelavent to me so I wont bother talking about the lack of it. But the menus are the hardest to navigate of any phone I've owned. And now the worst part of all. PTT. Any review where it says its comparable (or even better) than nextel is a bull faced liar or a VZW rep. Where I am PTT response is 4 seconds at best. When I talked with my companies rep she said that normal response is 3-7 seconds. They are very aware of the PTT weakness and they dont try to tell you otherwise. They cant, because they know if they promise something they have to deliver. If you ask a VZW rep straight out they will tell you PTT is a "work in progress" and make no promises of "1 second" responses. But in all fairness that is a VZW thing not KYC. If you want a in expensive phone that you need for emergencies or infrequent calls this is a decent phone. If you are like me and spend 75% of your day on the road and on the phone, look higher in price to get what you need
Pretty Good
My wife and I retired our old phones and picked up a pair of these from our local Verizon store. We previously had a Moto T720 and a Kyocera KX414.
Having used the phone for a few days now I am pretty happy with it. Here are a few of my thoughts on the different aspects of this phone:
It seems to be almost as good as my T720 and better than my wife's old KX414 at signal reception.
The screen is smaller than my T720's was but it is large enough to get the job done. We didn't want phones with cameras or anything like that. I have a real camera for things like that. So the small display doesn't hurt anything and works well.
The volume on this phone is insane as was my wife's old KX414. I usually have mine turned almost all the way down. If you need a phone for use in a noisy environment this is probably the phone for you.
The battery life seems to be good. I have only had this phone for 5 days and have been using it heavily playing with ring tones, PTT, and just getting familiar with the phone in general. I have only charged the phone twice including the initial charge and it looks like it will last me 3 or 4 days and maybe longer before I need to charge it.
The PTT service works like others have said. I am very happy with it and have no complaints.
My only real complaint at this point is the available choices of belt clips. My phone came from Verizon with the extended battery standard. There is only one leather case from Verizon that has a belt clip which I bought with the phone. I would rather just have a plain belt clip or clip on holster without a case. The extended battery doesn't work with the standard belt clip like my wife's old KX414 because the battery sticks out. I have so far found no other alternative other than the sport clip which I really don't want. I am hoping that Kyocera or someone else makes a clip or holster for this phone that works with the extended battery sometime down the road.
OK phone but ....
I like my KX444 except for the fact that the software is definitely not intuitive IMHO and the screen is very difficult to view in direct sunlight.
PROS
Styling
PTT
Rubber grips
Not a clamshell
CONS
Small screen
Difficult to view screen in sun
Small keys
Poor software UI (User Interface)
