Kyocera KX414 Phone (Verizon Wireless)

Rating:
Summary: A great phone!
Review: I got one of these for free with a one-year contract, and I must say it is a great phone. It does everything a phone should do. The voice quality is outstanding on both ends, and it has competent voice dialing and phone book capabilities. Verizon's coverage is pretty good too. My only complaint is that the screen is a bit dark, and you generally need the backlight to see it. Although it can function as a Web phone, the screen is a bit dinky for that. If all you want is a phone, and you don't care about gimmicky features, then this is a pretty good bet.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Mediocre
Review: When my brother signed up for service with Verizon Wireless they were running a BOGO free deal on phones. He got an expensive camera phone and I got stuck with the KX414. The phone isn't terrible but it would be much better with some improvements.

Although the screen is color, it is tiny and hard to read. The ear piece is also rather small and has to be directly on your ear to hear properly. I've had the phone for about six months and the blue "mask" that surrounds the screen is loose and ready to fall off. Many of the numbers on the key pad are fading color and chipping. It will probably need to be replaced.

When I have it on the vibrate setting I end up missing calls because the vibration is so weak. The ringers that come with the phone are annoying so if you plan on buying this phone prepare to spend extra money on ones you can tolerate. If you like games you'll also have to download and pay for them because they don't come with the phone.

I have to charge it every single night so that I don't lose power throughout the day. I do get pretty good service and it is rare that my call is dropped. That is really the only positive.

It is very obvious to me why this phone was free. If you're shopping for a new phone I would spend the extra fifty bucks and get something with a little higher quality. It will pay off in the long run.