Kyocera Laylo M1400 – Basic entry level phone
For:
Attractive slider design, has VGA camera, and the call quality too is good.
Against:
Nothing in particular.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Kyocera Laylo M1400 is 1.9 inches wide, 0.7 inches deep, 3.7 inches high and weighs 3.3 Oz. Technology is CDMA2000 1X and supported band is CDMA2000 1X 1900/800 / AWS 1700/2100. Phone book capacity is 500 entries. Supported email protocols are IMAP4 and POP3. Messaging services include Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger), AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM) and Yahoo! Messenger. Messaging/Data features include WAP 2.0, E-Mail, Multimedia messages (MMS), Instant messages and Text messages.
Downloadable content includes Screensavers, Wallpapers and Ringtones. The camera sensor resolution is 1.3 mega pixels and has 5x digital zoom. The screen is 2.2 inches big and has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. Display languages include Spanish and English. Included accessories Vehicle power charger, AC travel charger, Standard lithium ion battery and Bluetooth headset. The 700 mAh lithium ion battery has rated talk time of 200 minutes and standby time is 200 hours.
Razzle Dazzle:
Low end phones are often characterized by boring and lackluster design but the Kyocera Laylo M1400 is an exception. This handset has a stylish look with rounded corners and smooth curves. The phone is clad in soft matte touch plastic and it feels comfortable when you hold it in the hand. The handset is 3.73 inches long, 0.67 inch thick and 1.84 inches wide. At just 3.17 ounces, it is not that heavy either.
Inside Dope:
Kyocera Laylo M1400 is here to prove that not all cell phones need to be packed with features. Most people don’t use all the features in the handset and hence it makes no sense in buying a high end smart phone if all you are going to do is make calls and send text messages. Kyocera is a big name when it comes to entry level phones particularly with small carriers like MetroPCS. We will recommend this phone because even though it lacks high end features, you can do basic cell phone tasks very well and also the compact design makes the handset easy to carry around. Call quality is the most important thing that you look for when it comes to basic phones. We were glad to see that the quality lived up to our expectations. All this costs $59 and there are no contract obligations. The phone has a slider interfaces which is much better than a candy bar design when it comes to looks. Opening up a slider there is an incoming call always looks stylish.
Display
The Kyocera Laylo M1400 has a 2.2 inch QVGA display that gives a resolution of 320×240 pixels and supports 262k colors. The default menu interface provided by MetroPCS doesn’t seem to take advantage of the big screen. The menu doesn’t feel vibrant and colorful as expected. However, all this is forgivable considering this is an entry level phone. You can adjust the display’s menu format, banner text, brightness, backlight time and also the appearance of date and time.
Navigation array and keypad
Underneath the display of the Kyocera Laylo M1400, there is the navigation array which gives you Talk and End keys, back key, speakerphone button, four way navigation key with OK button in the middle, and two soft keys. The keys are mostly all fine except for the four buttons on the corners of array which feel a bit flimsy. The keypad is located beneath the phone, you have to slide the handset to access it. The buttons are roomy, large and we liked the tactile feedback when the buttons were pressed. Our only gripe here is that the top row of number keys are too close to the bottom of the slider.
Phone book and PIM features
Kyocera Laylo M1400 comes with 500 entry phone book and a single entry can hold six phone numbers, an IM handle, 2 e-mail addresses, 2 street addresses, note and 2 Web site URLs. You can make groups of your friends and give them a separate ringtone. Photo caller ID is also supported and there are nine ringtones to choose from. Basic features include memo pad, stop watch, timer, scheduler, tip and standard calculator, world clock, alarm clock, multimedia and text messaging, speakerphone and vibrate mode. Advanced features included here are GPS, online backup service, Web based e-mail, instant messenger, Bluetooth, wireless web browser, voice memo recorder and voice command support.
Camera
Kyocera Laylo M1400 features a low end VGA camera but that is hardly something to complain about in an entry level phone. There are three options for resolutions: 320×240, 640×480, and 1,280×1,024 pixels. Other settings include fun frames, brightness, color tone, white balance, multishot mode, self timer and eight shutter sounds to choose from along with a silent mode. The picture quality is not that bad considering this is a VGA camera. They may not look as sharp and crisp as a standard megapixel camera but they are still bright enough and decent. The camera cannot be used to shoot video.
Call quality
Kyocera Laylo M1400 was tested by us for call quality and it was stellar. We had no problems talking to our friends, they sounded natural and the volume level too was loud enough. There was occasional static but it didn’t bother us much and we enjoyed solid, good signal strength. Our friends said they the quality was as good as that of a landline and though there was a bit of harshness, it wasn’t that bothersome. Speaker phone calls were not as good, the echo overwhelmed our friends. On our side, we could hear them quite well but they did sound a bit soft and tinny.
Verdict:
We will recommend you this phone if you are looking for basic entry level camera phone just for calling or sending text messages.
