Kyocera SoHo KX1 Specs, Features & Reviews

My hubby and I have had this phone for 18 months and never had any big problems. The Soho gets better reception than any phone we have ever used. We live in Mountain terrain.

Pros:
1.Great reception
2.Small size
3.Changeable Faceplates
4.Durable- my hubby is hard on phones (has broke many) and he hasn't had any problems with this one.

Cons:
1.Must have Data Cable to download ringers
2.When forwarding Text messages, cuts off part of message.

Overall a great phone. Recommended if you want a basic model.

Well I'm thoroughly impressed with this little $15 phone.

Pros
EXCELLENT Reception (Alltel Minot ND)
Decent amount of features
MP3 ringtones (yes it's possible using QPST)
Small Size
Best speakerphone to date I've seen
Highly customizable
And for the price you can't go wrong

Cons
Interface gets dumb at times
eZi text is tempermental

Overall no real complaints, phone works great, looks nice and is easy to load custom things on it. This is the cheapest phone I've ever bought but is comparable in quality to my Sanyo 5300, haven't had a phone yet work near as good. I'm happy with the free customization and features so I'll be sticking with it for a long time. MP3 tones takes some tweaking to get working right but the result is well worth the work. Phone says "Online" in the Doom 3 computer voice when opened and "Offline" when closed. and that just turns heads at work... If you need a good phone and not an expensive one this is for you!

I live in a rural area surrounded by mountains/hills therefore reception is my first priority. I traded my Nokia ( which was supposed to be THE phone for this ) and got the SoHo KX1. I was really taken aback by the great reception. Sure, I get dropped calls occasionally but, this is not the phone's fault considering where I live.
Pros:
Great reception
Love the small size...not too small for me at all
Build quality is nice. Seems like it'll take abuse.
Keypad is fine by me..just right
Speakerphone, while a tad distorted sounding, is good.
One handed operation a breeze. I love this personally as I can do anything on this phone with one hand. Nice.
Can go to vibrate alert with the press of a button. I love this before going to meetings, movies, etc;
Cons:
Only one for me.....the battery life is dreadful. Leave it on and don't open the phone or take calls and it'll last for 3 days. Start making calls and fooling around with it and it lasts maybe 2 days if you're lucky. I have to recharge it every other night and I am not a particularly heavy user. I was told the extended battery ( which adds thickness to the phone ) will double battery life. But....it's $60. If Kyocera fixed this unfortunate "feature" it'd be tops, at least for me. Otherwise, it's been a rather pleasant surprise. I've become a fan of Kyocera phones and plead with them to make a better battery for this phone worthy of one.

Switched from Suncom (Nokia 5165) to Verizon and the Kyocera SOHO kx1 near Richmond, VA. I liked my old basic phone, but couldn't get good coverage. Wanted a BASIC phone...no bells/whistles, camera, or kitchen sink. I use my phone to talk/listen...nothing more, nothing less.

These are the things important to me:

**Vibrate function to avoid being impolite in my office setting.

**Speaker-phone and/or good volume because I have a hard time hearing with background noise.

**Tri-Mode phone because I want better reception.

**NO (or very few) side buttons because I just want to pick up the damn phone and answer it. I can't stand clutter.

**It has to "feel" right in my hand. (I held several while searching).

To me, the SOHO was the best. I didn't like the Moto v265 or LG6100 (which my wife got) because the buttons felt too small for me, and they had too many buttons on the sides.

Reception has been great. I went camping in the Jefferson Nat'l Forest 2 weeks ago with 2 relatives. Neither of them got a signal, nor did I LAST year with my Nokia/Suncom, but I was EXTREMELY surprised to hear my wife loud & clear when I checked in.

All in all, it has everything I need and works much better than expected regarding reception.

By the way, I'm an avid reseacher (gotta have my Consumer Reports subscription), and I'm an Analyst by trade. I research EVERYTHING. But, I've learned, sometimes BASIC is BETTER.

This is my first review. Hope it helps.

I have owned 2 of the VX3200s for about 2 -3 months, they are total garbage compared to the KX1. The KX1 is a reliable cell phone at a modest price. It has tri-mode capability, and I think its ability to find and to hold a usable signal is excellent. I've been amazed at the reception that the KX1 gets in places where others' phones would give up completely.

Pros (WHERE DO I BEGIN):
Excellent reception, even inside large buildings, warehouses, or basements.
Small, lightweight, flip design.
Great price for a reliable phone.
Speakerphone.
Loud and clear (ringtones, earpiece, and speakerphone).
Voice dial and other features for visually impaired.
GREAT battery life.
Easy to learn menu.

The KX1 is a step above the OLD, AND I DO MEAN OLD, VX3200.

This phone is the best cell I've ever owned.

Functionality:
The calls are loud and clear. The speakerphone is also loud, but the phone's female voice is quiet on the speaker.

Convenience:
The voice features are amazing on this phone considering it's free through US Cellular. It has digit dialing, voice tagging (works frequently, but may verbally ask you to choose from 2+ possibilities). But it is reliable enough that I use it for 90% of my calls now. You can also put the phone in/out of silent mode by holding the side button.

The rapid text entry seems inferior to that of my old Moto c343, and the input menu for the calendar is unnatural.

The amount of settings are amazing with options like roaming alerts, locking out calls while roaming, custom tickers for the outside display (but if you leave it blank, it will scroll Kyocera).

Appearance:
I have been told the inside screen is tiny, but it is bright and clear. It is definitely bigger than my old Moto. The outer display is also brightly lit and white with a cool backlight for the USC star when charging, ringing, or searching for a signal. The buttons have a cool red glow.

RF:
This thing has consistently held a digital signal (with no bars) in my dorm that is in the bottom floor of a 9 story building where my old phone couldn't even get an analog connection. I have dropped a couple of calls, but keep in mind that I am in a location where my old phone couldn't even dial due to the poor reception. My Moto got no signal in the local wal-mart, but this gets 4 bars (out of 4).

Size:
This is a tiny phone, and it comes with a holster and hands free earpiece that has a wake up button for the voice features. You can make calls on this with the earpiece without opening the phone, and I find this convenient. The flip feels sturdy, but the antenna nub sticks out pretty far. The small buttons haven't been a problem for me.

Not a 5 due to poor rapid text entry.
Past phones: Moto c343 and Nokia 5185i.

Very nice phone! I like that the phone is small and that the numbers are large for the size of the phone. Battery life is about 3 days with making a few phone calls. charging time is fast! This is very nice seeing as how only two of the citys in the county are digital. Also you can down load ringers and games by using easyedge. Have had no prob hearing people on spk phone or head set or by having the phoe up to my ear.

What is not cool about the phone is that it only has one game (have nothing to do at home lol). Really there is not much that I don't like about the phone.

I got this phone for my Teenage Son who is very hard on things and this phone is tough.it works really great.I do suggest buying the Glove cover that fits it though because they do protect the phone against harsh treatment.GREAT PHONE

PROS:

Phone seems pretty sturdy, especially the hinge. Keypad gives good tactile feedback.

Excellent call quality, for both the user and the called party. The speakerphone is quite good. RF appears good.

Decent menu system.

Backlighting "on" time can be varied from 7 seconds to 30 seconds, to save power.

Outer display is visible constantly.

Speed dialing can be set up for 99 numbers.
Voice dialing using name tags works fine. Digit dialing is cumbersome, each digit needs to be distinctly spoken and you have to wait while the phone repeats the digit back to you.

You can assign different ringers to individuals, or to business contacts, etc.

There is a scheduler with a daily and monthly appointment calendar, and alarm clock, stopwatch, calculator, tip calculator, etc.

Also has 3 games.

CONS:

Phone book holds only 200 contacts.

25 Ringtones don't include any that are "businesslike." They are either cute musical numbers or annoyingly shrill rings.

Alarm works only if phone is turned on.

No audible or visual advance alert that the battery is getting low, other than the visible bars in the battery icon.

It is very easy, while in a call, to inadvertantly press the side button which puts the phone into silent (vibrate) mode for future calls.

Battery life for the standard battery seems to be 2-3 days in standby mode with just a few short calls.

SUMMARY:

A nice, small phone, attractive and functional. Great if you basically need voice calls and text messaging. For someone signing a 2-year contract, it costs $10 right now, a real bargain. The cons I listed are not major, for me at least.

Based on 5 days usage: Recommended.

For a small phone, this thing is loaded with features.

My wife and I purchased a pair and had to decide within 15 days whether to hang on to them. We bit the bullet and went to the E815.

My wife works within a building which was too much of a challenge for the SOHO's reception abilities. It spent way too much time searching and was eating her battery alive! Even a 1300mAh extended one took a noticeable hit. No one I could find sells a better antenna to replace the KX1v's stub. Darn!

The only other issue was voice-recognition. One has to repeat the phrase with the same inflection as it was recorded or it won't be recognized. (The E815 uses phonetics, so no learning needed.)

The SOHO's manual's a dream compared to the E815's and its menu more intuitive. I'd have liked to have kept it.

Anyone need a couple of extended-life batteries? =^)