Kyocera Cyclops

The Kyocera Cyclops is one of the newest cell phones to hit Virgin Mobile, the main carrier of the phone. It is unique in the Virgin Mobile line up, sporting a vertical display and a large centered camera lens, alluding to the image of a Cyclops, hence it's name.

The Cyclops sports many features, including email support and a WAP 2.0 browser. It has an internal antenna, one of two in the lineup with such a feature. The cell body color is stark white, but dozens of face color plates make changing the color of the phone simple and cheap. 

The screen is large and bright making picture taking and web browsing easier than on others in the Virgin Mobile lineup, specifically the Oystr and Marble. Options include the ability to change the brightness and contrast of the back light in the screen, and change the viewable dimensions of images. 

The body of the Cyclops is made of sturdy plastic, and has withstood many drops onto both concrete and tile from 5+ feet. It has a solid battery cover, and the buttons are firm. The backlight on the keypad is red, which some people find uncomfortable to look at. The keys are recessed into the cell, and lay flush with the body of the phone, leaving it smooth and sharp looking. They do not move within their slots, and have a solid firm feel when pressed. 

The ringer and speaker phone on the Cyclops is loud, and can be heard from a fair distance. It has a vibrate option, and a ringer+vibrate option. 

The reception and voice quality are average. The majority of time, reception is maintained. I have only had service dropped twice in the last year.  The reception is not landline quality - it sounds slightly tinny, but is clear and loud. 

The user interface on the Cyclops is poor, as is the UI on all Virgin Mobile phones.  It is very childish in appearance, with odd animated characters such as a flying pig and a kicking donkey. It would be embarrassing for one to pull out at a business meeting, and appears to be targeted towards the 12 - 15 year age group. 

The camera quality on the Cyclops is average for a cell phone, and at 1.3 megapixels, it offers a decent image. There are four resolution settings for the camera (160 x 120, 320 x 240, 640 x 480, 1280 x 1024), and there are four color schemes (Sepia, Negative, Grayscale, Emboss). When pictures are taken outdoors in bright light, the pictures come out wonderfully. However, when taken indoors or in low light, the images come out grainy. The flash is useless, and pictures come out black in darkness. Photo's cannot be transferred off of the camera via fire wire. You must use the MyPix option, which costs 25 cents per photo.

Battery life on the Cyclops is very good - on a full charge, it lasts a minimum of seven days. Charging is completed in a couple of hours. The phone is capable of being used while plugged into an outlet.

Overall, this phone is fair for it's price, and is not disappointing as a cell phone with basic features such as camera and email. It is ideal for a middle school student, offering a mix of fun and features sure to allure many.