Kyocera Torque Review

Introduction

Mid-range Android phones are a dime a dozen these days, so it takes something special to make one stand out. Kyocera decided to get rid of the earpiece. We’re listening…

The Kyocera Torque stands out to begin with, thanks to its ruggedized design including Military Spec 810G and IP 67 certification. What really caught our eye though was what Kyocera is calling Smart Sonic Receiver technology. This eliminates the traditional earpiece, and transmits sound directly into your tissues meaning you should be able to hear clearly in loud environments. Is this new technology enough to make the Kyocera Torque a winner? Read on to find out.


Design

As far as rugged devices go, the Kyocera Torque is relatively small. It comes in at just 14mm thick and feels much more comfortable to use than other rugged devices out there thanks to a significantly smaller bezel. The sides are encased in a durable plastic housing, and the back is texturized with plenty of grip.


The Torque features a 4” IPS 480x800 WVGA display, which isn’t the highest resolution but readability and viewing angles are good. The display is slightly recessed from the bezel to protect it. Below the display are physical navigation buttons integrated into the housing below; though it runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Kyocera has changed out the recommended app switcher button for menu. Along the sides you’ll find a large Direct Connect button, as well as a volume rocker and physical camera key. On top the covered 3.5mm headset jack is flanked by the power and speakerphone buttons, and down below is a covered microUSB port.


Ruggedness

The Torque meets Military Spec 810G for dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, blowing rain, low pressure, solar radiation, salt fog and humidity, and the IP 67 certification ensures it can stand up to water jets and submersion for up to 30 minutes in 1 meter of water. The only physical openings on the phone are the battery door, which has a locking mechanism, the aforementioned covered ports and the large front facing speakers at the bottom.

The Torque performed as advertised, withstanding all of our durability tests. Despite several drops on concrete from increasing heights the Torque refused to stop working, or even show a scratch. We doused it in water, then dunked it in 2 feet of water for half an hour and the Torque came out working just as well as when we put it in.