Kyocera Hydro Edge Review

Introduction

Way back earlier in the year during CES 2013, we had our first glimpse of the Kyocera Hydro Edge encased in ice – showing off its semi-rugged aspect. Fast forward to the present, the handset in question is now readily available for purchase through Sprint and Boost Mobile, sporting very easy prices of free on-contract and $119.99 prepaid respectively. Being IP57 certified, it means that the smartphone is both dustproof and water resistant, but then again, we know of several other models that feature the same thing. So let’s dive in and find out how it fairs.

The package contains:

• microUSB cable
• Wall Charger
• Travel case

Design

Unlike the majority of ruggedized smartphones out there, the Kyocera Hydro Edge is a bit more reserved with its design – opting for that middle ground with its semi-rugged looks. With its two-toned finish, a sturdy metallic light grey frame and rubberized dark grey back plating, it’s no doubt a minimalist look, but we do appreciate that it’s fairly compact and lightweight. Certainly, it’s nice that the handset will survive while it’s being used outside in the rain, or if it’s completely dunked under fresh water. However, it’s not entirely rugged with its construction – so don’t think this is something that will survive severe drops.

Catching our eyes right away, it’s worth pointing out that this lacks a traditional earpiece above its display. Rather, it employs this Smart Sonic Receiver tissue conduction technology that relies on vibrations to transmit sound – so it’ll even work if there’s a barrier between the phone and your ear (like headphones or ear muffs). At the same time, the lack of an earpiece better aids the handset when it’s dunked under water. Oh yeah, there isn’t a front-facing camera either with it. Below the display, however, we’re greeted with the usual trio of capacitive Android buttons.

Around its trim, we spot its volume key, shutter button, power button, microUSB port, and 3.5mm headset jack. With the latter two, it’s rather strange to see them exposed to the elements (water in this case), which kind of makes us skeptical about its longevity. In the back of the phone, we have a 5-megapixel auto-focus camera that features an LED flash and 720p video recording. Perched nearby is the handset’s speaker grill and directional microphone. And finally, there’s a latch on the back plating that keeps its innards sealed so that it’s water tight. Removing it provides us access to its 1600 mAh battery and microSD card slot.

Display

Yikes! There’s nothing pretty with the display on the Kyocera Hydro Edge, mainly because it’s a poor quality one. Staring straight at its 4-inch 480 x 800 (WVGA) IPS LCD impact resistant touchscreen, our eyes instantly notice its poor viewing angles and washed out color tones, which doesn’t help its cause with outdoor visibility. Furthermore, it’s lacking in the detail department as well – requiring plenty of pinch zooming in the browser to make things out. Even though it’s mentioned as being impact resistant, the surface has a distinct plastic feel to it, making it hard to wipe away smudges and fingerprints.

Interface and Functionality

Nothing too out of the norm with its software, the Kyocera Hydro Edge is running a customized Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean experience – so there’s nothing particularly too new with it. Sure, you get all the basic features of the platform, like its deep personalization and diverse apps, but Kyocera mixes it up a little with its own set of widgets, notifications panel, and lock screen. With the latter, it takes a slightly different approach, as we’re presented with access to different functions depending on where we drag our finger. Quite frankly, its features set doesn’t go beyond what we find with stock Android, so it’s lagging when compared to other Android smartphones.

Checking out the usual staple of organizer apps on the handset, it doesn’t deviate from the normal stuff we see on any other Android smartphone. However, there are a few preloaded apps that jump out at us. First, there’s the Eco Mode app that moderates the phone, like its brightness setting, in order to better optimize its battery life. Secondly, the ICE app provides us with quick access to some of our preselected emergency contacts. And finally, the MagniFont app adjusts the size of fonts in order to give us better visibility.

Even though it’s packing a 4-inch screen, the layout of its stock on-screen keyboard still proves to be a bit cramped. Oh yeah, it doesn’t help when its responsiveness is lacking at times!

Processor and Memory

Sorry folks, this is packing hardware that’s widely regarded as dated. To be more specific, it features a 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM. Unfortunately, its performance suffers in many ways, since it exhibits long delays with even some basic operations – like pressing the home button to get back to the homescreen.

Stuffed with only 1GB of internal memory, it’s no doubt a miniscule tally by today’s standards, but at least there’s a microSD card slot to supplement it.

Internet and Connectivity

Surfing the web is a test in patience, seriously! You’d think we’d be spoiled by now, but the Kyocera Hydro Edge features only 3G data connectivity – so complex pages take an excruciating amount of time to load. Worst yet, its performance is sluggish at times, which is most noticeable with its delayed rendering and finicky kinetic scrolling.


Being a CDMA smartphone, this is made to play nicely with Sprint’s network only, so there’s no luck outside of the US with it. Due to its entry-level reputation, this is only packing along the customary set of connectivity features – like aGPS, Bluetooth 4.0 with EDR, and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. Nope, it doesn’t have wireless charging or NFC.

Camera

On one hand, it’s wonderful we can instantly run the camera app by long pressing the shutter key, even if it’s under water, but it’s extremely slow when it comes to snapping a shot. Heck, not only do we have to deal with the slow auto-focus, but we have to remind ourselves to stay still throughout the process to reduce blurring. Well, at least the camera UI boasts some manual controls and a diverse set of shooting modes to appease us.

Sadly, image quality from its 5-megapixel camera is a miss – a far swing and a miss to be exact! Honestly, the results are pretty scary to look at, since it’s super grainy with its details and its colors are devoid of any vibrant tones. To a certain extent, it appears as though it snaps photos in black and white. Indoor shots with low lighting don’t fare any better, as the excessive evidence of noise soften the shots to the point of making them ugly messes.


Yeah, we can say the same thing about its 720p video recording quality. Again, the same distracting elements persist here – like its indistinct details and washed out color reproduction. Furthermore, artifacing elements become apparent as we move even in a steady manner! And finally, it doesn’t look like it features continuous auto-focus.

Multimedia

Boasting the usual Google Play Music app, there’s nothing new to be found here. Cranking its volume to its maximum setting, the speaker sounds rather weak with its tone, which doesn’t help with its pronounced crackling.

When it comes to video playback, it handles 720p videos with minimal fluff – so its performance is pretty steady throughout its playback. However, seeing that our eyes have to deal with its low quality display, it doesn’t necessarily make it the most ideal thing for watching videos on the go.

We’ll admit, its Smart Sonic Receiver tissue conduction technology is pretty neat because it works wonderfully in noisy environments – enabling us to hear our callers perfectly. However, voices through it and the speakerphone tend to exhibit a robotic tone. It’s not terrible though. On the other end of the line, our callers complain that the microphone on the handset picks up everything, which makes it tough on them to make out our conversations.

Knowing that this is packing a 1600 mAh battery and only features 3G connectivity, we were hoping to get more usage time out of it. Instead, its battery life permits us with a single day of juice with our normal usage – an average result no doubt in the day and age!

Sure, it might be cool that the Kyocera Hydro Edge is dustproof and water resistant, but there are surely many compromises that make it a tough sell for those individuals that simply want to get stuff done in the end. From its sluggish performance to its dated hardware specs, it doesn’t particularly stand above other Android smartphones in the entry-level segment – then again, its free on-contract price point is tough to overlook. Unless you absolutely need a smartphone that’ll survive a full submersion, we recommend checking out some other basic options out there that deliver a more meaningful experience. Plus, you can still get that waterproof aspect by picking up certain cases.

Software version of reviewed unit:
Android version: 4.1.2
Build number: JZ054K
Kernel version: 3.4.0-g0cb1bbe