Review: Should You RSVP For The Kyocera Event?

The non-contract smartphone industry keeps growing, and we can’t help but wonder if some of the more established players in that market are going to react. Virgin Mobile, for example, gives you $100 credit when you switch to the Sprint-owned contractless service. Virgin also offers yet another low-end Android phone from Kyocera, kings of the low end.

Does the Kyocera Event make a compelling argument for Virgin, or is it just a stawman?

First Impressions

Remember our review of the Kyocera Rise, another Virgin phone? We were worried that the Event would look like someone snapped the keyboard off of the Rise and resold it. Instead of the almost slippery plastic of the Rise, the Event sports a textured back, giving much needed grip. The front is also less busy, with just a Kyocera logo emblazoned and three capacitive buttons (back, home, menu) instead of the four on the Rise. Task switching, the missing button, is now handled by holding Home, which is an expected behavior to most Android users. Unfortunately, Kyocera also decided to eschew the dedicated camera button that’s on the Rise, which is a feature we wish more phones had.

For a Kyocera, this is a nice body. Note qualifier.

Another odd design choice is the placement of the microUSB charging port. Instead of being on the bottom or the side, it’s on the top of the Event, across from the headphone jack. This is fairly unique, but doesn’t seem to serve any purpose.

The Software

As Android 4.2 is out, it’s a bit frustrating to receive phones with 4.0 all the time. It’s understandable when there’s a skin to deal with, but near as we can tell, Kyocera loads straight-up Android on the device. Objectively, the average end user may not notice the lack. However, as things like Google Now become more mainstream, the outdated tech becomes more noticeable.

Beyond that, the Event has a vanilla software experience, which counts as a plus. There are no surprises. The Event is also low on bloatware, as the Rise was. All you have is an In Case of Emergency app, SprintID, and a few account management apps. If only the rest of the industry would follow suit.

Performance

If you’re looking to be disappointed, here’s the section for you!

The Event uses the same absolutely pitiful internals as the Rise. In 2013, a Qualcomm MSM8655 1.0 GHz processor, anemic 3.5″ screen with only 165 ppi, and a 3.2 MP camera is a bit of a joke. Is a phone with such specs usable? Sure. Is it worth using though? Not really.

Uploading the horrible pictures from the Event feels like a waste of bandwidth. However, in the interest of full disclosure:

Crappy phones are why we drink.

My hand is not actually a shade of purple, nor is it blurry. Sadly, this was the best photo available after many snaps of the camera. Video was at least a bit better, if jerky.

Kyocera’s Eco Mode causes the phone to go into low-power-consumption mode to conserve battery power. This saves battery life, but from an end user perspective, it does little more than slow the phone’s processes down.

Speaking of phones, that functionality is fine. Virgin uses Sprint’s network, so if you’re in an area well served by Sprint, you’ll be fine. Virgin doesn’t roam though, so you better make sure of that coverage.

Strengths & Weaknesses

The Event is not, despite what you may think from the above, the worst phone Techcitement has ever used. In fact, if it was 2009, we’d probably love it. If our main focus was usability as a device to make calls on, text, and also get emails, we would probably love this phone even now.

Except it’s not 2009, and we don’t use our phones to just make phone calls. A smartphone is expected to be smart enough to handle my daily tasks, including light gaming, video watching, snapshots, and videography. The Event isn’t up to that challenge.

Pricing & Availability

Virgin currently has the Event on sale for 30 percent off. This isn’t a good value for such a dated phone, but we would be remiss to not note that a $75 Rise is probably better than the horrific Venture, the ancient Optimus V, or the needlessly hobbled Optimus Elite (Android 2.3? Really?). If those are your only choices, then sure, get the Rise on sale.  

Wrap Up

You know how subpar the Event is? Bad enough for this blanket statement: If a phone is less than $100 on Virgin Mobile, don’t get it. Save up for the HTC One V or a Samsung Victory. If you can’t afford it, you may want to look at other providers.