Closer look at the Kyocera Zio
At CTIA 2010, CNET test-drives the Kyocera Zio Google Android phone.
LAS VEGAS--Over the last few years, Kyocera has been a reliable presence at CTIA. It's had one of the best-looking booths on the show floor, it's always introduced phones, and those new handsets have stuck to the basics. This year, however, Kyocera partly broke with tradition. It still had a spiffy booth, but its new phone, the Zio M600, is hardly a low-end device.
As we told you Tuesday, the Zio is Kyocera's first Android handset and the company's first smartphone in six years (remember the 7135?). The Zio (pronounced Zeye-oh) packs the standard Android features in a touch-screen design. Sure, it lacks some flashy offerings of the new HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Galaxy S, but that's fine with us. Kyocera says the point of the Zio is meant to be affordable and approachable--a sort of starter smartphone if you will--and the Zio succeeds in that regard.
We got the opportunity to take the Zio for a test drive in Kyocera's booth. Though it may resemble an Android phone from a year ago, there's something very Kyocera about the phone. It's easy to use and it satisfies the basics of communication and entertainment. So on second thought, maybe the Zio isn't so different after all.
Check out our Zio photo gallery and video for your own look.
