You NEED this Kyocera 2135 phone!
Written: Dec 16 '01 (Updated Dec 29 '01)
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Pros: Low cost, amazing features, totally configurable, and MUCH more.
Cons: Absolutely nothing!
The Bottom Line: I have nothing but great things to say about this phone as you read in my review... check it out today!
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| sony2001's Full Review: Kyocera 2135 Cell Phone |
I bought a new Kyocera 2135 for the Verizon Wireless [Freeup] plan a few weeks ago after deciding to switch from AT&T’s Free2go Wireless plan. All I can say is “wow, what a change!” The AT&T plan came with a Nokia 5165 cell phone, which was a very easy to use first cell phone. The features seemed to be pretty good, and I had no problems with the service. (see my Nokia 5160 series review) After playing with the Kyocera 2135 phone for a night I realized how much better it really was, as you will learn in this review… It pretty much beats my old Nokia in every way possible! Verizon’s service is also terrific, but I will stay on the topic of this Kyocera phone.
Value
The cost of this phone varies by service, but for the [Freeup] prepaid plan the cost came out to be $69.99. ($99.99 - a $30 mail-in rebate, or you could chose to receive $50 in minutes for the phone instead.) Phone kit also includes $15 in minutes. When I bought the phone, Verizon’s computer systems went down across the country. For my patience, I received an extra $10 off the price of the phone, and a free handsfree kit, a $15 value. My reason for switching services was I found that I could sell my old phone on Ebay, and after rebates on the new phone break even. As it turned out, I got a (brand new) better phone, better service, a free handsfree kit, and made $2.00 by switching phones. Not bad!
Features
After reading my Nokia review, I realize how great I thought that phone’s features were. The Kyocera 2135 phone, however, has everything my old phone did and more. My favorite part is the tools section, which includes useful applications such as an alarm clock, tip calculator, calculator, stopwatch, and a countdown. The only game, brick attack (pong), is actually pretty fun, unlike the very basic snake game on the Nokia. Now, for the actual calling features. Another feature this phone features is a call monitor, which gives you the date, time, and duration of any call you make or receive. Other phones have similar features, but can be very confusing about when the calls took place, and they don’t give the duration. The phone’s menu is terrific, and very easy to navigate using the four way navigational key directly under the display. From there you can control any of the settings, which are unbelievably configurable. You can change the sounds the phone makes, ringer type and volume, change what alerts you receive, many display options (backlighting, icon size on menu, shortcut keys, contrast, and even language your phone displays), you can completely configure your voicemail, message and page notifications, view any of the call timers, and more. Another very cool feature on this phone is two different styles of ringing. For example, you can make your friends have one ringtone, and your work contacts have another… good to know without even picking up the phone. The text messaging on this phone is terrific, and very easy to use. Send short messages to other phones, pagers, or even send and receive email from your phone! The Kyocera 2135 is also wireless web compatible, but since it’s not included in my service I don’t know enough to report to you. There are a few more very important features I left out. I’ll start with the phone being tri-mode. (2 modes of digital, one of analog) All calls have been completely clear, static-free digital so far. Can you believe it, digital calls on a prepaid phone! Phone features a 200 number address book (double the size of Nokia’s) which lets you store a person’s name, number, email address, and classify them into the personal or business categories which I talked about before. Also features Caller ID, multiple ring tones, and a choice to have a vibrating ring. That is NOT an extra vibrating battery like others, you can actually chose to have your phone vibrate!
Appearance and Feel
This phone is terrific at both appearance and feel! First off, the design is great, and the phone fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. With an indent on the back for your finger, the phone feels like an extension of your hand. The size (5.07 in x 1.89 in x 1.02 in) is just right for many users. Faceplates come in many great colors, and the phone includes and extendable antenna. I’d say the best part is how light the phone is. Weighing only 4.55 ounces, the people at Verizon Wireless even have to double check that the battery is in. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be checking constantly to see that you didn’t loose your phone because you just can’t feel it there! The five-line bmp (bitmap) display on the Kyocera 2135 is very clear, especially with the adjustable contrast. After switching from the Nokia 5165, the appearance and feel of this phone is, in my opinion, the biggest change.
Accessories
Here is where some people have problems with this phone. You can find everything you need from your wireless store, or Kyocera.com. Faceplates come in many bright colors such as transparent blue, orange, and green, along with the dark colors like gray and black. You’ll also find handsfree kits, carrying cases, chargers, extra antennae, and anything else you could ask for. The only thing is since this is a relatively new phone, manufacturers of the no-name, but very cheap, parts have not made any faceplates for it. If you shop for phones or accessories on Ebay, you’d know that if you type in the phone’s name you are blasted with 300+ results for faceplates, chargers, etc, and only a very small percentage are actually made by the phone’s manufacturer… not so with this phone. I’ve gotten five results at most for the Kyocera 2135.
Conclusion
This is a great phone for anyone! Low cost, very easy to use, has tons of features, and is both completely cosmetically and technically configurable. I don’t even know what to say… no matter who you are, if you’re looking for a phone, the Kyocera 2135 is for you!
My review of Verizon Wireless and their [freeup] plan can be found here: http://www.epinions.com/content_49824042628
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $59.00
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Epinions.com ID:
sony2001
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Location: Parma, OH
Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 3 members
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