Say aloha to the Kyocera Kona (pictures)

For Cricket customers looking for a handset that can do just the necessities, the $29.99 Kyocera Kona is worth considering. Available without contract, the device sports a respectable camera, Internet connectivity, and a comfortable dial pad.

The minimalistic clamshell device is simple and compact. It measures 3.94 inches tall, 2.05 inches wide, and 0.69 inch thick, and it has no problem fitting into the front pockets of your jeans.

On its left are a Micro-USB port and a volume rocker. Here, the right edge houses a 3.5mm headphone jack and two holes to loop a lanyard or charm through.

The hinging mechanism is sturdy, and like most flip phones, there's nothing like that satisfying snap that comes with shutting the Kona closed. The internal display measures 2.4 inches and has a 320x240-pixel resolution.

On the front is a 1.44-inch LCD color display. Its 128x128-pixel resolution suffices to display pertinent information quickly, such as the date, time, reception, and battery levels.

Applications include a Web browser, a navigator, a media gallery, a calendar, Bluetooth, a clock with alarm functions, a stopwatch, a countdown timer, a world clock, two voice services, and a games and apps portal. You can view these apps either through a list view or as menu icons.

The 2-megapixel camera doesn't have a flash and cannot record video. It has very few options, but it does include five picture modes (like night/dark and mirror image); a 12x digital zoom; a self-timer; and the ability to manually or auto-adjust the brightness, sharpness, and contrast.

Powering the device is a 870mAh battery. You'll also get 256MB of ROM and 128MB of RAM.