Kyocera Hydro Vibe headed to Sprint, Virgin Mobile with dust, water resistance

Some folks like to start their week with a nice cup of coffee or a nice, warm cinnamon roll. Sprint does things a little differently. The company is kicking off its new week by announcing a new Android smartphone.

Sprint today introduced the Kyocera Hydro Vibe, a 4G LTE-capable handset that’ll launch at Sprint on May 9 and on Virgin Mobile on May 27. Pricing for the Hydro Vibe will be set at $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $9.59 with Sprint Easy Pay. Meanwhile, Virgin Mobile will be asking $149.99 for the no-contract flavor of the Hydro Vibe.

As you might’ve guess from its name, one of the tentpole features of the Hydro Vibe is its water resistance. Kyocera says that the device is IP57-rated for protection against both dust and water. It can be submerged in 1 meter (3.28 feet) of water for up to 30 minutes and keep on ticking.

Another highlight of the Hydro Vibe is its Smart Sonic Receiver audio tech. Included on previous Kyocera devices like the Hydro Edge and Roque, the Smart Sonic Receiver tech uses vibrations to transmit sound directly to a user’s eardrum.

Moving on to its more traditional specs, the Hydro Vibe features a 4.5-inch 960×540 display, 1.2GHz quad-core MSM8926 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter. Connectivity includes 4G LTE, complete with support for Sprint’s tri-band Spark network. The Hydro Vibe also features a 2000mAh battery that can be charged wirelessly using PMA tech.

Overall, the Hydro Vibe looks like a respectable low-end to mid-range Android 4.3 smartphone. It may not have the highest screen resolution ever, but its 4.5-inch display could make it a good fit for folks that want an affordable handset that’s not too huge.

A promo video for the Kyocera Hydro Vibe is available below.

source: androidandme