Kyocera 7135 PDA Phone (Verizon Wireless)

Rating:
Summary: Buy Anything Except This Phone
Review: Had one of the first 7135`s out.In 1 year verizon has replaced or repaired the phone 5 times.Constantly crashes.If you use your phone alot buy a good cell phone @ a good PDA.Do not make the mistake of buying a combination of both.

Rating:
Summary: Verizon 7135 Review
Review: Have owned the Kyocera 7135 for about a year and a half. I have owned about 8 different phones, no not different models just 8 different 7135's.
The phones, small size and clamshell design are nice, I carry on a swivel clip and have never dropped the phone and I am active. The screen is not as large as I like but that is a compromise with the phone size. Graffiti works well.
Problems-constantly losing the ability to voice answer or dial. Have to retrain phone almost daily. Verizon has told me that under NO circumstances should I use ANY 3rd party software. Phone is not built to handle it and will crash, (Verizon's words not mine). This after enough buying software to come close to the cost of the phone.
Would love to get a new/better palm/cell combo but Verizon does not offer any with much better spec than this one. Verizon states that they test more rigourously than other carriers yet they have discountinued the 7135 3 times that I know about for quality issues.
Bottom line, get used to looking like "The Batman" and buy a good phone and a separate PDA.

Rating:
Summary: I wouldn't refuse one, but...
Review: I had an opportunity to try one of these for a few hours, and it seemed like a stable unit, happily doing everything I asked of it, and not crashing. (This was with Bell firmware, which may be a little more evolved than the others listed here.) It felt very good in the hand, and didn't look much bigger than a StarTAC with extended battery.

Overall, I thought it seemed a little dated compared to the Sony PalmOS devices. I've had a Clie NR70 for a few years now, and have been spoiled by the high-res screen. It would be nice if this also had a 320 by 320 display (or higher), since once you get used to the higher resolution, it's hard to go back.

PalmOS 4.1 is a little old these days, and there were 4.1 devices running at twice this unit's speed before things moved up to PalmOS 5. At least this is still using the original Grafitti, instead of having to (re)learn Grafitti II.

The IR port is functional, although I didn't have an opportunity to try it for remote control apps. On my wish list (but not the spec list) are things like Bluetooth and WiFi. It's nice that the cradle has room to charge a second battery, and that "normal" earpieces will work without a problem, unlike some manufacturers who insist on going their own way.

My hope is that Kyocera will pull things together and bring out a new model that increases the screen resolution, improves wireless connectivity, and perhaps moves up to a higher version of PalmOS. If they don't do it, maybe Samsung will.

Rating:
Summary: Not a good phone
Review: I had this phone for one year and it has not worked well. The keypad does not respond well to touch and many times it will not recognize that you are trying to type a number or it will type it twice. The PDA function is adequate but not as smooth as a Palm PDA product. The battery life is ridiculous and if you make more than 15 phone calls (5-10 minute call) in one afternoon the battery will be discharged.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent device, has bugs, problems can usually be solved
Review: I started using this phone in April of 2004. It is an excellent product, but the phone has bugs and I do not recommend it for anyone not savvy with computers and willing to spend some time with it.

Everything the other reviewers here have said is true to some extent; I believe the technical issues surrounding this product deserve a "version 2" hardware update from Kyocera but sadly this is not going to be forthcoming.

For an excellent discussion forum, on this and other PDA phones, go to " www.PDAphonehome.com". They have a section dedicated to the 7135.

On the positive side, I love the clamshell design. I travel a lot and need the tri-band access (including analog) which is not present in most newer smartphones. You can install software [millikeys(free) or fitaly stamp (reasonable cost)] which can turn the grafitti area into a mini-keyboard (using stylus). The phone side is excellent, it has a speakerphone and interfaces with the PDA nicely. No the PDA will never be as smooth as a standalone PDA but this is the tradeoff for not lugging around seaprate devices. The 7135 also has an onboard MP3 player, excellent sound quality, the user interface is OK but is greatly enahnced with 3rd party software (Bebopper or KyoAmp), just dont encode your MP3's higher than 128k bitrate.

Yes the phone is particular about 3rd party software but that can be solved. For the occasional reset (yes, I get a few, but not often anymore since I "tuned" the installed apps to 7135 friendly ones), all memory remains intact. I have not experienced a hard-reset (data loss) in months. Again, the phone is finiky about software and unless you have the desire to tweak it is not a good choice for you. For those rare hard-resets I backup to the installed SD card nightly. Backupbuddy VFS pro schedules backups without user intervention. Restores are a snap.

There is a hardware problem with some of these phones which will ultimately render the phone unusable, I do wish Kyocera had a better solution than simply replacing the phone. For that reason, and because of the slower processor and the standard res screen I gave the phone 4 stars.

The processor can be overclocked from 33 MHZ to about 40 to 44 Mhz (Afterburner),I do on occassion, it really speeds up the PDA but at the expense of battery life. Usually after using the PDA with Afterburner I disable it so the phone reverts to normal 33 MHZ clock speed to conserve battery life.

Its too bad Verizon is not selling these anymore, the Treo 600 is a nice device but lacks analog capability and I do not like the "candy bar" design. I plan on holding on to my 7135 for a while.

Rating:
Summary: Design flaws outweigh advantages
Review: I waited anxiously for the release of this new-generation "smart" phone for close to a year, through one delay after another. The draw was a powerful combination of a Palm device, a large backlit color screen, and a phone manufactured by a top company with the best national service provider standing behind it.

Unfortunately all the hype did not make up for two design flaws:
1. Unreliable firmware that results in system crashes, lockups and even data loss. Frequent backups are a must, but reboots in traffic with one eye on the road and one hand on the wheel can be hazardous to your health. The Verizon dealer installed new firmware the first time my phone locked up and wouldn't reboot, but no longer provides this service and you must deal directly with Kyocera. NOTE: I did not experience this problem with my first replacement (second overall) phone.
2. Ineffecient power management that forces users to leave the phone in it's cradle to recharge at night -- every night. Unless you don't use the phone, of course. Then you get about 48 hours before running out of power.

I still own this model (replaced twice free by Verizon in August and December 2004) after two years, but am finally out of my contract and looking for an alternative. Two worth considering are the Blackberry or the new Treo 650.

At the premium price paid for this phone I really expected better. My fondest memory of the Kyocera 7135 will always be an Associated Press news photo I saw on Yahoo! about six months ago of this unit with a bullet hole through the middle. Another satisfied user?

Rating:
Summary: Wow.. why the bad reviews!
Review: Perhaps I'm the lucky one and have a good phone out of the batch, who knows? I have no problems at all with any of the filmware, button locations, phone details, tones, rings, size, etc. I love it! Battery life last at least a few days without charging, and I use the phone alot, from MP3's, email, calls, and the pda system. Its so handy having everything in one unit. No need to carry a phone, and a pda, etc... I love the touch screen part, its so easy to use. I honestly don't have any "bads" about this phone. I owned it least 4 months now. I have an external keyboard also and its great when I write longer emails, etc. If you were to carry a PDA + Phone it would take up more room then this smartphone! So much easy to get everything all in one.

Rating:
Summary: There's some GOOD, but there's MORE BAD...
Review: Sorry I didn't review this model earlier for you folks who already took the plunge -- but for those of you still considering this model, here's a down and dirty, real-world review that hopefully will help! Overall, I recommend saving your money and getting a mid-range phone because these "combo" phones aren't ready for prime-time yet (even the famed Blackberry, even though people swear by it -- is lousy if you ask me -- given the state of where the Internet, E-mail and the exchange of digital info is at this point -- the current phone offerings are still a couple of years away from where they should be if you ask me). I've pretty much used all the phones (except for lower end models) from Verizon as well as Nextel -- including 2-way, Blackberry's , etc. -- and I will tell you that Verizon is the carrier to go with -- Don't even consider anyone else -- that's a helpful hint from someone who's used pretty much every carrier in the United States -- and no one's coverage compares to theirs. They are slow to adopt new phones -- but it's never a good idea to be the first one on the block to get a new model anyway (you know technology!...don't be the guinea pig) -- so that said, here's product-related Pros/Cons:

the GOOD:

- Screen is decent, but not as good as you'd expect -- but given that, you still have the Palm OS (4.x, not 5!) so it's a little dated, but if you're a Palm lover that's a plus.

- Design of phone is also decent when it comes to Palm, easy to write w/ Graffiti, etc. Placement of Palm writing area is suitable and it works well. Placement of stylus (stick you write with) easy to access and doesn't fall out. Phone charger and docking station are good -- pretty standard.

- Speakerphone operation is easy and decent levels (should be louder)

- Palm features such as photos for viewing, showing video of kids, etc. is good -- although as the other reviewing mentioned, the software/firmware on this unit is buggy! I had to get one replaced as well and at times it would crash, not make calls, etc. -- see below for "the BAD."

- Address book is solid (again, Palm feature), but there's not a good way to backup all data/settings on the phone side (I even called Kyocera)

- Ring tones and vibrate are excellent that come w/ unit

- Calendar feature and text messaging are good -- alerts are easy to access.

the BAD

There's a lot! Here it goes:

- Battery life is awful

- Software/Firmware is buggy -- phone crashes and you can get to a point where you can't make calls, can't power down (have to reset on back of phone), even can get to a point where you need to "cold reset" which can cause you to lose data -- such as quick access phone numbers, voice-dial, etc. This is a HUGE ISSUe for a business user or "power" consumer user. Just wastes your time.

- Rubber flap for headphones is a pain -- tough to open easily (especially while starting to drive or when you forget to plug in the headset and then get a call -- and when you use it a lot the rubber cover sticks out and it's a minor pain.

- Keypad lousy -- minimal response so tough to "feel" the keys and dial while in car, etc. -- gets more annoying as you use more and even got to a point where my original unit would stop responding easily for certain keys -- just a pain. Even though this seems like a minor issue -- if you make a lot of calls, it will quickly annoy you!

- The power ON/OFF (red and green buttons) are in lousy place! You continually hit them when performing other functions.

- The phone's response time is slow -- when looking up numbers, using address book, etc. -- it's just a slow performer all around. Again, doesn't seem like a big deal, but if you're a power-user, you'll hate it.

- The web surfing is poor at best -- $100 phones have better response (my old Motorola Startac was better than this one!) -- and that's text Internet! The graphical Internet browser is basically useless -- don't even bother.

- Eudora e-mail that comes with it has time zone problem when sending from unit -- so that's a huge issue as your e-mails are sent showing up hours earlier -- and no fix from Kyocera or Verizon. I tried other packages that I downloaded, but both crashed on the unit (more wasted money).

- The alerts/messaging is extremely annoying -- and you have to dismiss it ALL THE TIME -- yes, it's great to be alerted, but the phone settings are limited so you don't have much flexibility. The software updates even made it worse than in the original version. It's just very clumsy.

- Trying to use the phone with one hand (as we all do once we get the hang of a phone) is almost impossible -- Kyocera mixes hand commands (where you can't even use the stylus on the Phone side), with stylus use on the Palm side -- so overall, not a good solution.

Want more? Okay...

- Phone is big and klunky -- yeah, may not seem that big, but carry it around all day to meetings and you'll lose your good relationship w/ this unit quickly. I'm not a belt clip guy -- so if you are, then it's not as big of a deal. I like sticking the phone in my pocket (jeans or shirt/jacket if dressed up, etc.)

- SD card worked fine -- but the rubber "cap" is again poorly designed. If the phone is dropped or rubbed the wrong way, cap can come loosed and you could even lose your SD card if not paying attention. It's rare, but I dropped the phone a couple of time sand once the card came out and fell on the floor. Just lousy design for real-world use.

Think that's it for now -- I could probably write a book on this phone, but hopefully that helps you if considering this phone. I still haven't seen or used a phone yet that really is where I think these "combo" or "hybrid" units should be -- so my recommendation -- save your money and get a phone that has solid features and great battery life as well as things like multi/tri-mode if you travel, etc. -- or get a Bluetooth model so you can use more of a wireless connectivity technology (obviously will add cost). Use a web-based e-mail/calendar such as Yahoo, Hotmail or your company's Extranet -- and get a phone w/ solid Internet features -- then you'll always have access to that info and even if your phone falls into a toilet (happened to me once!), your data is safe! Features like sync'ing, etc. are getting better and better, but still not where they need to be -- so get a good phone and save the bucks for future better models once these things finally get to the "great" level!

Talk to you later and have a great weekend.