vB Easy Archive - kyocera kx5 (remix) with alltel

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kyocera kx5 (remix) with alltel
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Posted by: amgdoc

let me just state my previous phones. i have a couple of motorolas with verizon, but the service was terrible that i switched to alltel. i bought a kyocera se44 slider and it was a very simple phone and really not much to it. after my se44 got stolen, i decided to buy the kyocera kx5 remix from alltell and have been using it for the past 4 months.

total cost (after rebate excluding taxes): $130.00 US

the phone came with usb cable, wired headset with play/pause buttons, usb driver CD, cell phone holder, 16mb transflash with SD adapter (which you can then go to online and buy 512mb transflash for $40 or wait for the 1GB)

the phone is strong and sturdy, great reception from the fat antenna (i get reception is the basement which i never did before). the number keys are easy to use as they are bigger than the se44, but the "ok/play/pause" button is a little flimsy which i notice on other kx5s. the slider has more static to it and a firmer hold than before as well given again that strong casing feel.

the phone turns on/off faster than my other phones did. the 'wheel' menu is very appealing as well. there are more shortcuts, but not customizable through the phone it seems.

the pros:
other than usb, the phone can be configured to talk with computers through bluetooth. you have to buy mobile phonetools or get is some where online for free. the bluetooth feature allows not only the transfer of files, including mp3s, wallpaper, and ringtones (which would save you tons of money by not using your provider to get these things), but also allows you to use the cellphone to dialup into your ISP to get internet access for your computer. additionally, the 1.3mp camera/video shots you take can also be transferred to your computer and emailed to friends, etc. without going through your provider and paying their so called nominal fees. finally, the phone has 'airplane mode' which allows the user to listen to music while on the airplane and turns off the phone's communications ability to not interfer with the airplane's communication equipement.

the cons:
well, as i'm travelling from place to place, i realized that i'm really getting bored at airports. the phone does not have any games.

overall, this is the first phone that any thought was actually put into it that favors the consumer. i would not be surprised if some providers, like verizon, would either provide it with many features disabled or not at all.

Posted by: HolyMoto

the KX5 released by Midwest Wireless (coincidentally, just purchased by Alltell) has 2 games pre loaded. Brick Attack and Race 21. I wouldn't trust a Kyocera any further than I can throw it or one without Brick Attack. It is a very feature rich phone, but they need some consumer feedback to make it better.

Posted by: amgdoc

Quote:

Originally Posted by HolyMoto

the KX5 released by Midwest Wireless (coincidentally, just purchased by Alltell) has 2 games pre loaded. Brick Attack and Race 21. I wouldn't trust a Kyocera any further than I can throw it or one without Brick Attack. It is a very feature rich phone, but they need some consumer feedback to make it better.

I agree, kyocera does need more consumer feedback. However, that is not to say they did not use consumer feedback in making the KX5. This is a vast improvement over their previous slider phones which were really basic.

Also, i have been able to add the games through PST. Only 2 games (BA and R21), not very exciting.

Posted by: remixer30

Just recently purchased the Kx5 slider remix from Alltel, and so far seems to be a pretty good phone. No games, that blows.. and cannot download directly from sites on the web, be it a pic. a sound bite or movie. After putting in a code i read about on this site....111111 then selecting OPTIONS and then selecting SERVICE, you will then have several things to select. When selecting (programming) for example, a code screen appears. Put in all zero's this will bring up more selections. This code will not work on EVRC settingwhatever that is, but will work on most others. I do not know what these settings are for. I am hoping that someone can tell me what some of these settings or options are and what they do. I will not try any of these until i know. DANGER! LOL

Posted by: HolyMoto

you don't need to be in that menu, you'll only make things worse

Posted by: darksith788

Can you upload games from your computer to the phone?

Posted by: kidaquarius

i've owned several kyoceras in the past and they have been the most reliable phones ever. how's that for customer service?

albiet they never had the latest, greatest, ground break technology inside.. when it came to making a call, recieving a call, or plain 'ol using my PHONE, they worked marvelously.
..and believe me, i have plenty of experience with phones.

if kyocera was a little more serious with their cell phones like they are with other electronics in the eastern hemisphere, we'd see some pretty killer stuff here in the states.

Posted by: HolyMoto

As far as I can tell you cannot load games into the phone. From my expirence, you'd have to download them from your providers service. It does use that game pad, which could be OK. My expirence with Kyoceras mainly comes from dealing with their repair process, which is not friendly. Phantom was my first CDMA phone. I dug it, but I just prefer the Nokia myself.

Posted by: brento73

Just wanted to verify the 1GB card working with the KX5? The manual mentions 512, and I don't want to buy the larger card if it's not going to work.

Posted by: RRevels

Been wondering about the support for 1Gig myself.

However, just thought I would mention that with a 512 Meg transflash chip you can rip a DVD to MP4 and then use Quicktime to convert it to 3GPP format (.3gp or .3g2 file extension) and you end up with a file that is about 160 to 200 meg in size and is very watchable on the kx-5. This means you can carry around 2 or 3 feature length films for those times when you are cooling your heals in an airport or something.

With an Apple Intel Mac Mini using Handbrake to rip the DVD and Quicktime to convert to 3GPP it takes about 8 mouse clicks and 1 hour per DVD.

You configure the phone to store video on the card and then transfer the movie files to the Album folder when you have the phone connected to your computer.

The MAC mini won't recognize the phone as a valid USB storage device so I have had to use a card reader to move the files but both Linux and Windows see it just fine.

It's also somewhat interesting that Kyocera documentation states that the bluetooth profile for moving files is present on the phone but may have been disabled by the provider. That seems to be the case with Alltel. The only profiles I get are the vpush for moving contacts, headset, and something else that I can't remember at the moment.

A couple of things that I would like to see improved on the phone have to do with the user interface for multimedia. When you are watching a movie there is no way to seek forward. When you are listening to music or watching a movie it would be nice if the phone would remember where you were if you back out to look at your contacts or whatever. Having a couple more bluetooth profiles that would allow for listening and control of songs and video through bluetooth headphones would be very cool.

Overall though, I think the support for music and video in this phone is pretty impressive.

Oh yeah, and you can use it to make phone calls too. (as if that were important in a cell phone...) That airport mode is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I will never buy a phone that doesn't have that feature again!

Richard