Performance
One look at the screen and we’re back to budget-land. With a mere resolution of 320 x 480 pixels on a 3.5 IPS screen, things look faint and washed out at times and plain ugly at others. Seriously, my Palm Pre took far better pictures, and that phone had the same resolution on what is in theory a lower quality display. As your screen is where you’re going to interface with your smartphone the most, this is the wrong area for Kyocera to cheap out. I can’t get a good enough picture to show how bad it is – it would just look like my normal low-quality photographs.
Interestingly, the Rise actually gets better voice and data reception than other Virgin phones I’ve recently used, and that may be it’s saving grace. There are plenty of spots where my EVO dropped down to 2G speeds or lost connectivity altogether, but the Rise kept on trucking. In fact, the Rise even gets reception in one spot that’s a notorious dead zone. Very impressive.
Not as impressive is battery life. With a weak screen and only 3G, I’d expect a bit more talk time. While the Rise is okay when standing by, actually using the thing drops my battery rapidly. Yes, I have five to six hours of talk time, but the phone is rated for eight.
I know I’ve said in the past that I’m not a camera person, but the camera on the Rise is depressing on a purely technical level. While other manufacturers are throwing in filters, features, and high-end sensors, Kyocera shoved a 3.2 MP camera in here. Feature-wise, all it has is geotagging and an LED flash. Pictures look about how you would expect, if not worse. We’re talking blurry, no focus, colors off. For some reason, in an age when cell phones are hosting amazing cameras, Kyocera decided to use, essentially, an anti-camera.
Frankly, this camera choice by Kyocera baffles me. Are camera expenses that costly? This is absolutely not the phone for even the most casual of shutterbugs.
But wait, you ask, what of the keyboard? You want to know if Kyocera manages to get right what every other Virgin handset maker has dropped the ball on. By now, you’re expecting it. So far, the Rise has managed to mess up on screen and camera. Except no.
A hardware feature that doesn’t suck? Someone must have missed a memo.
While not as full-featured and impressive as a Droid 4 keyboard or even the older Samsung Epic, the Rise’s four-row keyboard is actually satisfying to use. Keys are well placed, have good travel, and it’s easy to adjust to the layout after a few days. I would say that the Rise arguably has the best keyboard on the Virgin Mobile network, but that’s damning with faint praise.
Hackability
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a custom ROM or root instructions for a Kyocera phone. Apparently, a Sony rooting method works on the Rise. As the Rise I reviewed was a loaner review unit, you’ll have to forgive me for not trying to root it. As for ROMs, while only two months old, there’s usually at least some interest in porting Cyanogen. There doesn’t seem to be such an interest this time around.
The Strengths
The Rise’s ability to work as a phone on Virgin impressed us, in a way we have not been in some time. I’d have to say that Kyocera got the keyboard right, but that’s solely in comparison to the other phones on Virgin, and possibly the HTC Shift on Sprint. I’ve also been using a Motorola Photon Q, which has LTE, a better camera, and an insanely better screen, so a quality physical keyboard can’t stand up to that kind of competition. Don’t let the Rise’s price tempt you to sacrifice, either. The LG Mach is due out 11/10, has far better specs (including LTE) and is also $99.
The Weaknesses
Where to start? Horrible camera, uninteresting design, a screen I won’t even call passable, and a lack of anything like what I would consider a modern feature. While Virgin may not carry what I would consider “superphones,” this is more of a sub-phone. I can handle pay-as-you-go networks having tech that’s a year behind, but many of the Rise’s features feel two to three years behind the curve. Frankly, if you must buy Virgin, you’re better off with either of their HTC EVOs than this bit of junk and learn to live with an onscreen keyboard.
Wrap Up
The Kyocera Rise wishes it could be considered a mixed bag. The great call quality and usable keyboard can’t hide the fact that every other feature feels like an afterthought. Both Sprint and Virgin have much, much better phones. As such, I can’t recommend the Rise on Sprint, even if it is free and has a decent keyboard Unless you absolutely must have a keyboard on a no-contract network, this is one Virgin you should leave untouched.
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