Kyocera hasn't been one to be shy about experimenting with its smartphones. Today, the company announced two new and interesting smartphones running Android ahead of MWC. One will be the ultra-rugged Torque, and the other is an unnamed solar-powered smartphone.
The Torque is a 4G smartphone that has been certified Military Standard 810G by the U.S. military. The device is waterproof, dustproof and shockproof, and it has built-in protection against vibrations, solar radiation, humidity, extreme temperatures, low pressure and even salt fog. The device also recognizes the difference between bare and gloved fingers to make operating the device easier.
“Kyocera is committed to building high-quality devices that stand up to real-world scenarios and that allow our customers to be productive at work and on-the-go anywhere, no matter the external environment or harsh conditions they have to face," said Takashi Nohara, General Manager of Kyocera's Communications Equipment Sales Group. “We believe durability is a value for all business people."
The Kyocera Torque comes with a 4.5" HD screen, a quad-core 1.4 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, an 8 MP camera, 2 MP front-camera and a 3,100 mAh battery, and it runs Android 4.4 KitKat.
Kyocera will also unveil its unique solar-powered phone at the MWC. This phone will have a screen that will actually generate energy instead of consuming it. The screen will use Sunpartner's solar technology to charge the device.
This is a unique form of solar charging for smartphones, because until now, solar-powered smartphones had solar cells stuck on the back. However, when people use the smartphones outside, the back side isn't exposed too much to the sun, so that method is only so effective.
Kyocera's new smartphone, which has Sunpartner's Wysip Crystals within the screen, should be more effective at capturing solar energy and charging the device. The company will unveil the mystery solar-powered device at MWC along with the ruggedized Torque and a new Windows Phone 8.1 device.
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