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>> Hi. I'm Kent Sherman, senior editor for CNET.com. Today we're going to take a first look at the Kyocera Loft. This is also called the S2300. This is a new phone from Virgin Mobile. This actually has its keyboard right out in front. You know it's a messaging phone from the start. I think it almost looks like a BlackBerry. I wouldn't say it's unattractive, but it's, you know, pretty simple and it really just means business. Does have multimedia features on the phone. You have to dig around for them though. There's a camera, but music downloads, you really have to find it. There's really no dedicated music player, and a lot of the chat and social media stuff is just not up front. It is there, but it's not really a typical version mobile phone in that sense. Over on the front, it's a pretty good size. It is wide. It's pretty stocky, so I thought it almost looked square. They need to shorten it just a little bit. On the back there's a soft touch material, so the phone feels nice in the hand. You've got a camera lens in the back along with a speaker. The display is pretty good. It's sizeable. It's colorful, shows everything you need. Also the menu structure's pretty simple. Navigation array is pretty spacious. The keys on the keyboard are raised above the surface of the phone, but I found it a little bit cramped. You may not find it that way especially if you have smaller hands. I got used to it after awhile, but it did take a long while for me. You do nave messaging, of course, on the phone. [Inaudible] multimedia. You can get POP3 email and instant messaging. Those do require a web-based interface, so you have to go online to use those. Basic organizer features, web browser, Virtual Mobile Connect for downloading apps and things like that. Does have access to Virtual Mobile's GPS service, 1.3 megapixel camera. Audio quality was ok. Remember Virtual Mobile is a MVNO, so that means it's going to run on Sprint's network. I thought the calls were loud, and the signal was fine, but I heard a bit of little static now and then. It wasn't all the time, but it was enough just to know it was there, and you sort of expected it. So I think if you're looking for a [inaudible] from Virtual Mobile, you don't need style, and you can use this keyboard, it's not uncomfortable for you, perfectly functional phone with decent performance. I'm Ken Sherman, and this is the Kyocera Loft.
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