This morning, Sprint and Virgin Mobile took the wraps off of the Kyocera Hydro Vibe, which is Kyocera’s latest flagship device that is both waterproof and shock proof. The latest from Kyocera launches on Sprint this Friday, May 9th and hits Virgin Mobile on May 27th. For $149.99 or $0 down and $9.59/month the Kyocera Hydro Vibe can be yours. It features a 4.5-inch qHD display (that’s 960×540 for those that may have forgotten what qHD is). Along with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor – likely the Snapdragon 400 – an 8MP camera on the back, 2,000mAh battery and it supports Sprint Spark which is a big deal if you live in the handful of Sprint Spark markets. It also comes with Android 4.3 out of the box, unfortunately.
Kyocera has a full video tour of the new Hydro Vibe on their landing page, that you can check out. You could also keep an eye out for it on Sprint’s website as well. Since it should be launching on their website very soon, seeing as the company is launching it this Friday. At $149, it’s a little tough to recommend the Kyocera Hydro Vibe on Sprint. Yes it’s a mid-range device, and not meant to compete with the HTC One (M8) or the Samsung Galaxy S5. But I think I’d recommend the Galaxy S4 or the One M7 before the Kyocera Hydro Vibe. They both have better specs and are cheaper now. Not to mention they are both on Android 4.4 KitKat while the Kyocera Hydro Vibe is not.
For those on Virgin Mobile, they Kyocera Hydro Vibe can be yours for $149, and that’s out right, on May 27th. Anyone out there looking for a budget, waterproof and shock proof smartphone on Sprint or Virgin Mobile? This might be a good choice, if you’re into that sort of thing. Let us know in the comments below.