Kyocera Planning Smartphone with MP3 Player, SD Slot (Updated)

Posted By: Ed Monday, June 24, 2002 10:55:17 AM

Kyocera is planning to release the 7135, a smartphone with an SD card slot and an MP3 player. It will support CDMA 2000 1X, meaning it can transfer data at up to 153 Kbps.

The device will have a clamshell shape with a color screen on one side and the Graffiti area, buttons, and a number pad on the other. The 7135 is expected to cost about $500 with a service plan and be available the fourth quarter of this year.

Update: Someone at TechXNY was able to learn that, contrary to what Kyocera's info on this device says, the 7135's screen is 160 by 160, not high resolution.

Update: An initial review of the 7135 is available.

It is 3.97 by 2.43 by 1.17 inches (100.8 by 61.6 by 29.7 mm). It weighs 6.6 ounces (186 grams).

Handheld
The 7135 runs Palm OS 4.1 and has 16 MB of RAM. As mentioned earlier, it has an SD/MMC slot for external data storage. It is not yet known if it supports SDIO.

According to Kyocera it has a high-resolution screen, though the exact resolution is not yet known, though it appears to 320 by 320. The screen is 16-bit color, allowing it to display up to 65,000 colors.

It can play MP3 music files and has a stereo headset jack. It has a silent, vibrating alert and can also record voice memos. It can be HotSynced via either a USB or serial connection.

Kyocera promises there will be a folding keyboard available for this model.

Mobile Phone
The 7135 includes CDMA2000 1X technology, giving it a theoretical download speed of up to 153 Kbps. Of course, this requires a CDMA2000 wireless network, none of which are available yet. Fortunately, it isn't limited to just that. It is a Trimode device: CDMA digital PCS, CDMA digital cellular, and analog.

It offers external caller ID, voice-activated dialing, and a hands-free speakerphone. The Tap-n-Dial feature allows automatic dialing of contacts directly from the Address Book.

The 7135 will have up to 3.5 hours of talk time, and a standby time of up to 160 hours.

The Competition
Last week, Samsung began demonstrating the Bluechip, a smartphone with a very similar clamshell design. It also received FCC permission to sell the SPH-i330, a smartphone with a more traditional shape.

If this seems familiar, information about this smartphone was leaked last month, only to be suppressed by Kyocera's lawyers. Thanks to Kevin Crossman for the tip and Barton Gellman for his help with the article. -Ed

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Better Picture, External Caller ID

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 11:15:31 AM #
There's a good picture here (www.kyocera-wireless.com/showroom/showcase/coming_soon.htm)
Kyocera's website also talks about an external caller ID. But there's no display on the front of the clamshell, could that be a display on the top of the phone. This would be clever because you could see the number by looking down at the phone if it's clipped on your belt.
RE: Better Picture, External Caller ID
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 11:27:56 AM #
There is something on the top of the phone that might be a 1-line second display. Some people would be used to it already, since some pagers have a display on the top edge.
RE: Better Picture, External Caller ID
Token User @ 6/24/2002 11:28:31 AM #
After visiting the web site and seeing the better picture, hands up anyone who want to put the Kyocera Module 200 into a mobile (auto) based project!

RE: Better Picture, External Caller ID
Coyote67 @ 6/24/2002 11:31:08 AM #
www.kyocera-wireless.com/showroom/showcase/coming_soon_7135.htm

this pictures shows no lcd for caller id on the back. still looks nice, hope sprint picks it up.

---------------------------------------
When you have a Clie shoved up your mouth, you can only talk in vowels.

RE: Better Picture, External Caller ID
Ed @ 6/24/2002 11:33:55 AM #
If you look at this picture:
www.palminfocenter.com/images/img_Kyocera_7135_1_L.jpg
You can see what looks like a small LCD on the top of the 7135, right next to the antenna. Assumably, this is the external caller ID display.

---
News Editor
RE: Better Picture, External Caller ID
dmunz @ 6/24/2002 1:45:44 PM #
Are you sure that it isn't a covered slot for the SM card? I can't see any other place on the phone that looks like an access port for the card.

FWIW

DLM

RE: Better Picture, External Caller ID
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 2:16:57 PM #
The press release clearly states that it has an external LCD and that LCD looking thing on the top defnitely is it. If you look at the other pics on the Kyocera website, you will see the SD expansion slot on the side of the device.


RE: Better Picture, External Caller ID
CarlJ @ 6/24/2002 6:18:01 PM #
The pics that leaked a month ago had very clear images of both left and right edges of the phone; the right-hand edge, which you can't see in the current pics, has a slot in it (roughly in line with where 3/6/9 are on the keypad) that sure looks like an SD slot... so it is very likely that the window thingy on the top is a one-line LCD for the external caller-id.

Competitive Pricing

terrysalmi @ 6/24/2002 11:17:23 AM #
This is not a Treo Killer, as both have their own specialized areas. However, this will provide competition, and I will love to see the price wars on these models!

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 11:20:45 AM #
The problem is the price which needs to come down to be competitive. I can buy a small size color PDA now with a practically free phone for much less then $500.
Just because it can be done doesn't mean the mass market will flock to it. I would buy it for $300 tops not $500
What?
digilaw @ 6/24/2002 12:03:15 PM #
Um, am I missing something? Besides being a GSM world phone (though its hard to call dual-band a world phone) what does a Treo have over this? This seems to beat the Treo in every category. Better screen, expansion options (ironically used to be Handspring's forte), MP3 player, etc.

RE: Competitive Pricing
mtg101 @ 6/24/2002 12:08:17 PM #
>Um, am I missing something? Besides being a
>GSM world phone

Being GSM is a pretty big deal. Well, it is for anyone who lives outside the USA. Or anyone who wants to tap into the larger EU market for phones. Or anyone who wants to sell devices all over the world and not just to the USA.

---
russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 12:13:37 PM #
I agree, this is not a Treo killer. It will, however, provide the inspiration necessary for ensuring that Handspring continues to innovate. It is so easy to say that something new is better than a product already on the market. However, keep in mind that Kyocera had the advantage of learning from Handspring's mistakes. With the Treo, Handspring pretty much started from scratch. Yes, I know that the Treo was not the first smartphone to integrate the Palm OS. However, it was the first to do it effectively in a workable form factor. Before everyone gets all excited and writes off Handspring's Treo line it might be beneficial to wait and see how they respond to the competition.

On a related note, I bought into the early Treo hype and bought the 180. I turned in my Clie 760C and Nokia phone and went with the integrated product. It worked very well and was, surprisingly, better than advertised. Ultimately I must admit that I simply did not enjoy the union of the two devices. However, although I did not enjoy having my phone and pda combined, the form factor of the Treo was outstanding. I have since returned to a traditional cell phone and have picked up a Treo 90 to go with it. The Clie definately had the better screen and a few more options but, although I am an admitted graffiti loyalist, the Treo form factor is far more usable for me than any other pda I have owned. I guess I prefer to carry a pda, cell phone and mp3 player rather than have them all rolled up into one device.

Just my two cents worth....

RE: Competitive Pricing
kevdo @ 6/24/2002 12:23:07 PM #
If you had to buy an MP3 player, color PDA, and phone separately they would likely be more than $500 and wouldn't be in the same, small, form factor.

I frankly haven't been overly turned on by the Clies with MP3 built in, mostly due to bias against the buttons.

However, as a phone/pda/mp3 this device has it! This is the best convergence device yet, IMHO.

My only concern now is the quality of the screen, especially outdoors. But, if it is as good as the m130 screen this is a winning device.

-Kevin Crossman

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 12:33:14 PM #
I agree that in this form factor having your palm, phone and music player in one device in intriguing. My concern, or observation, is this: Consider people that use their Palm to edit spreadsheets & word documents, reading e-books, etc. Is it practical to think that they can use a device such as this one, or the Treo for that matter, effectively? Also, many of us including me, use our MP3 players while working out or lying in bed. An integrated MP3 is great, but just how useful will it be in every day life situations such as these? The thought of curling up on the hotel bed to read an e-book or listen to music on my phone, or jogging while listening to MP3's on my phone, simply does not seem right to me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing these products. They are technological marvels and are all outstanding products. However, as Handspring seems to be finding out, just how ready is the general public for integrated products? The introduction of the Treo 90, at least in part, seems to imply that Handspring is learning a valauble lesson. While there exists a market for integrated products and they are the future, that future is still a long way off. Kyocera did a great job with this product, as Handspring and Samsung did with theirs, and I applaud their innovation. I simply wonder how long it will take for consumers, in the USA at least, to accept this type of product.

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 1:07:28 PM #
This is definately a Treo killer. For those who dont think so, then you probably own a Treo.

Im sitting here looking ay my Sony N760C and am imagining being able to call someone or check my e-mail with it. This is exactly what this Kyocera does. On top of that, it does everything the Clie does out of the box.

Lets face it, I went to Circuit City and had the opportunity to look at a Treo 90 and it SUCKS. It feels cheap and the screen is horrible.

Keep it up Kyocera. Maybe Palm and Handspring will jump on the 320x320 bandwagon....eventually.

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 3:32:02 PM #
>>Keep it up Kyocera. Maybe Palm and Handspring will jump on the 320x320 bandwagon....eventually.

There is nothing that says this is 320x320. In fact, some people have speculated that since Kyocera isn't touting the actual resolution of the screen, what they really mean is that it is 160x160 - 'hi-res' compared to a standard cell-phone.

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 4:01:48 PM #
"Lets face it, I went to Circuit City and had the opportunity to look at a Treo 90 and it SUCKS. It feels cheap and the screen is horrible."

I truely enjoy reading posts with highly intelligent comments like "the Treo 90 sucks". The reality of the situation is simple. Sony makes a gret pda. We all know that. Clearly, however, Sony products are not for everyone. I used a Clie for just over a year and found it to be a fine device. However, it certainly is not any better than the best offerings from Palm, Handspring or HandEra. Today I split time between a Palm M515 and my new Treo 90. In all, I have used pda's from almost every major manufacturer, including Compaq, and must admit that there was sonething in all of them I liked. For instance, I love the Sony screen. It is the best out there, hands down. I like the expansion technology on the HandEra, the versatility of the Handspring products and the elegance of the high end Palm models. If pressed, I would problably choose the Palm M515 as my favorite followed by the Clie 760C and then the Treo 90. Also, I truely enjoyed using the Visor Edge.

My point here is clear, none of these products is head and shoulders above the others. Each has attributes that I find appealing and some that are, frankly, annoying. I am looking forward to trying the new Clie's and am sure they will live up my expectations.
Yes, for sure elegance and screen technology, the Clie is superior. However, the Treo 90 is far from "cheap" and although the screen is not great for playing games or looking at pictures, it is oustanding for reviewing spreadsheets and other business documents. I love the form factor and the integrated keyboard. I also greater prefer the SD expansion to Sony's Memory Stick.

In the end making such enlightened comments as "the Treo 90 sucks" speaks more to the intellectual for the product itself.

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 4:09:00 PM #
the treo is the only palm phone with a keyboard. The upcoming samsung phone also has a POTS keypad instead of a keyboard. Of course, Handspring needs more than a keyboard to be ahead of the game
RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 4:29:33 PM #
I just love Sony trolls. I also have a Clie N760C and must admit that I like the Treo 90. I tried one out at Staples and thought that, for the money, its great. It is not cheap, does not suck and the screen is fine at that price point. I doubt Handspring ever intended for it to compete against the top of the line Sony products. It would seem to be positioned against the M130 and, in that case, it competes very well. Also, with its integrated thumboard, it stands to bring many new consumers to the Palm OS family.

When I bought my Sony and began posting it really bugged me that everyone bashed Clie users. Now I understand. Handera, Handspring, Palm and Sony all make great products. Thats what makes the Palm OS superior to Pocket PC devices, there is something for everyone. As for the person who posted the Treo sucks comments earlier today, grow up! You are an embarrassment to all other Sony consumers.

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 4:59:02 PM #
yeah I like the many form factors available to choose from. It's not just about how much memory and mhz you can stick into a PDA though we'll see that soon after Palm OS 5.
RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 5:03:50 PM #
"Maybe Palm and Handspring will jump on the 320x320 bandwagon....eventually." yeah like when Palm OS 5 devices come out so that developers won't have to deal with the hi-res API of the month. Then we'll see more apps (especially games) that take advantage of it
RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 6:42:22 PM #
Russ, CDMA isn't purely a US thing by any means. In fact until Sept, 2000 Asia-Pacific had more CDMA subscribers than the US by a wide margin.

As of March the figures were

Asian Pacific 43,480,000
North America 52,890,000
Caribbean & Latin America 22,023,000
Europe, Middle East & Africa 120,218,000

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 11:35:49 PM #
I must be the only person using a Palm OS product that could care less about hi-res. I don't have a problem with people liking it but can't for the life of me figure out the people critizing Palm and Handspring for not having it on their devices. I've owned a Sony, T615C, and it was a nice product. However, I don't have the time or desire to play games, carry pictures of my wife & kids in my wallet and I own an iPod. That pretty much takes away the value of owning a Sony. I'm trying out the new Treo and find it to be a very good pda. I have not, however, given up my Palm simply because I'm not sure if I can transition to a keyboard only unit.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Clie's and think they are great products, but for goodness sake get off the Sony rules the world kick. Whoever posted that comment that said, basically, the great thing about Palm OS based products is that there is something for everyone, was right. It's the OS not manufacturer that makes these things appealing. I like the new smartphones from Handspring, Kyocera and Samsung because they grow the market and ensure that all manufacturers will keep giving us more, and better, products to choose from.

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/25/2002 1:49:37 AM #
Competition is a good thing. The new Kyocera Samrtphone has raised the bar and Handspring et als will ahve to raise the bar. I would expect at least one more new wirless device from Handspring this year after the release of the Treo 300. Perhaps it will be the first wireless with OS 5? Who knows.

I think that the Kyocera device is a Samsung Bluechip killer, not a Treo Killer. Unlike a Treo, you cannot use these smartphones all over the world.

RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/25/2002 2:13:40 AM #
oh hi-res is definitely important but it is not the right time. look we have handera, samsung and sony each with their own way of doing it. will kyocera have its own new way or take someone else's approach? there's no virtual grafitti so maybe they took from sony?
RE: Competitive Pricing
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/25/2002 12:59:13 PM #
Please don't think I'm an idiot,but why is hi-res so important? It is nice but I've owned devices with and without and have never been able to figure out what it adds to the functionality of the product. I'd really appreciate someone explaining this to me since I just can't get it myself.

Kyocera a Treo killer? Doubtful, but you never know. My tendancy is to believe that the only thing that will kill the Treo line is Handspring itself. For such a smart and innovative group of people they make some odd business decisions. As for the new phones from Kyocera and Samsung, as well as the Treo 270 & 300, I think they are great. Go Palm OS!

Beautiful phone...

Midknyte @ 6/24/2002 11:26:34 AM #
...wish it was GSM.

RE: Beautiful phone...
mtg101 @ 6/24/2002 11:51:55 AM #
Yep - ditto on behalf of myself, and the other 90% of the world's population outside of CDMA coverage...

---
russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk
RE: Beautiful phone...
digilaw @ 6/24/2002 11:57:05 AM #
Yes, what is with all these Palm smartphones being CDMA? While on the GSM side smartphones are dominated by Symbian and Win CE (9210, p800, that simens one, etc). CDMA is in only a very few markets (though one of which is the US) while GSM is dominant and gaining alot of strength here (for example AT&T wireless is going to be 100% GSM by the end of this year).

RE: Beautiful phone...
mtg101 @ 6/24/2002 12:03:19 PM #
Well with the Kyocera device... it's probably because it was originally a QualComm device, before they sold off their consumer phone business to Kyocera. And of course QualComm are the guys who own CDMA (unlike GSM, CDMA is not an open standard, there's a licensing fee involved).


---
russ@russb.fsnet.co.uk

RE: Beautiful phone...
digilaw @ 6/24/2002 1:55:12 PM #
*grin* that would certainly explain it!

RE: Beautiful phone...
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 2:41:45 PM #
Here in the USA, GSM coverage *sucks*. There are entire states without signficant GSM coverage, including mine. If you're not traveling to Europe frequently, CDMA gives you dramatically better coverage in the US.

As far as the USA goes, GSM's great for world travelers and people who only visit large cities. For the rest of us here, CDMA rules.

RE: Beautiful phone...
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 9:59:38 PM #
By the way, CDMA appears to be gaining ground worldwide. In fact, most people don't know this, but CDMA is even being used to encode optical signals. Therefore, until UWB, make mine CDMA!
RE: Beautiful phone...
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/25/2002 11:25:12 AM #
Uh......right.....ok.

Bottom Line: every major service provider barring Sprint has started switching to GSM. This includes Verizon, who has it in test markets.

I'm also seeing some posters over at PalmBlvd who have put their AT&T GSM SIM cards in their Treos and gotten it to work, minus the GPRS (which makes it no different than what is available from Cingular and VoiceStream).

Therefore, everybody get ready to go over to GSM within 3 years. Period.

Oh, and Sprint's decision is purely based on people's view of the shaky ground they stand on. They're switching to 2.5G because it's cheaper, and will only involve a modification to their GSM system. Interesting choice. Can't say that I care. They don't have their sh*t together, period.

RE: Beautiful phone...
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/25/2002 11:29:41 AM #
.....I meant Sprint's choice will only involve a cheaper mod to their creaky CDMA system......

Interesting New Designs

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 11:22:18 AM #
It is interesting that on the eve of OS 5 we are seeing a number of new form/function packages for the classic OS. In the past month or two we have seen new Treo, Samsung, Kyocera, and Sony models. I wonder how long it wil be before some of these features/functions are incorporated in OS 5 models.
RE: Interesting New Designs
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 9:56:47 PM #
The timing isn't related to OS 5. It's related to this TechXNY trade show. See the CNET article:

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-938774.html?tag=cd_mh

RE: Interesting New Designs
I.M. Anonymous @ 6/25/2002 6:13:57 PM #
For practical purposes, there is little that OS5 does that OS4 doesn't also do: they run the same applications, they have the same APIs, etc.

I wouldn't hold my breath for OS5. I don't even see why Palm bothers releasing it. What's important is what comes after OS5.

Sprint? Verizon? Both?

I.M. Anonymous @ 6/24/2002 11:29:49 AM #
Any word on which provider(s) will offer this phone?
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