Currently available on Sprint for $99.99 after users sign a two-year agreement and send a mail-in rebate, the Kyocera Torque combines full military-spec toughness with Android smartphone capabilities like a 5-megapixel camera and 4G LTE.
The 4-inch WVGA IPS display has a 800X480-pixel resolution and is made out of Corning Gorilla Glass 2.0. It's dust-, shock-, and waterproof. You can dunk it in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes.
On the back is a 5-megapixel camera with flash. Some features include six picture modes (including HDR, panorama, and "effects," which has 14 filters of its own), six photo sizes (ranging from 640x480 to 2,592x1,944), digital zoom, a flash, and four focuses.
On the left are a Sprint Direct Connect button, outlined in yellow, and a small volume rocker. Preloaded is a Direct Connect app, which lets you set up your push-to-talk contacts and settings in an easy and intuitive manner.
The phone measures 4.44 inches tall, 2.38 inches wide, 0.56-inch thick, and weighs 5.54 ounces. Surprisingly, it's not much bulkier than an iPhone sporting an Otterbox or LifeProof case (though, admittedly, those cases are removable when need be).
Below the camera is a lock for the back plate that requires a small coin to unfasten. Once unlocked, you can pry off the plate and access the battery, NFC chip, and microSD card slot that's expandable up to 32GB. Unfortunately, you need to remove the battery first in order to insert or eject the card.
Below the display are two very loud stereo speakers. The Torque is also Kyocera's first U.S. phone to feature its Smart Sonic Receiver Technology, which transmits sound waves from the phone through the cartilage in your ear, boosting audio quality and clarity.
