computerwoche.de

Archiv

Kyocera Milano: A Budget Phone With a Bad Screen

08.10.2011
At first glance, the Kyocera Milano looks to be a good match for users who want a smartphone but are on a constrained budget: For $30 (with a new two-year contract with Sprint as of October 7, 2011), you get an Android phone with a slide-out keyboard running Gingerbread (Android 2.3.4). But you also get a below-average display and reception problems.

Design

The Milano has an elongated oval shape similar to that of the that share its name (minus the delicious cookie part). At 4.1 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.7 inch, the Milano feels tiny in comparison to many other Android phones. The full QWERTY keyboard on the phone permitted rapid typing and it was comfortable to use, but the slide-out keyboard mechanism seemed somewhat flimsy--and significantly less solid than the ones we've seen recently on the and on both the and versions of HTC's MyTouch Slide.

The 3-inch display has a considerable air gap between the screen and the glass, which made images and text difficult to see outside. As its substandard resolution of 320 by 240 pixels might lead you to expect, the display was anything but sharp. Images and text looked grainy and color was mediocre, though the screen was responsive to touch input. One other disadvantage of the small screen was that the onscreen keyboard was difficult to type on; I recommend that you stick to using the physical keyboard.

Performance

The Milano's specs don't inspire awe. The phone comes with an 800MHz processor, 400MB of RAM, 150MB of onboard storage, and a preinstalled 2GB microSD card. It runs a slightly modified version of Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread).