Kyocera-Milano

Smartphones these days, almost all of them, run on a version of the Android OS. Thus, it is not surprising that even models that are not considered high end run on Android. One such example is the Kyocera Milano phone which is powered by Android v2.3 Gingerbread, on the cheap too. So let’s take an in depth look into this phone to see if its value for money.

Kyocera-Milano_2

Design
The design we see with the Kyocera Milano is not something new for those who are accustomed to Kyocera phones as they have remained true to their side-slide design. The phone comes with a 3 inch screen which sports a resolution of only 240 x 320. Moving away from the rather disappointing screen, we come across a good four row QWERTY keyboard that instantly caught our attention. It is well made keyboard as the keys are raised a little and they are textured too. Adding on to that, the keys are spaced well enough to give you higher accuracy and speed when typing as you don’t make as many errors. Measuring in at 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.7 inches, this phone is small and you will find no problems keeping it in your pocket the whole time. The smaller phone means a relatively small keyboard – albeit comfortable as we have mentioned – and that translates to you not having to reach out too far to reach the middle of the keyboard. For a low end device such as the Kyocera Milano, the phone is surprisingly built to last. The slide mechanism feels good in the hand and doesn’t feel like it will come apart. On the front and under the screen are the four physical buttons. On the left side of the phone is the volume rocker as well as the microUSB port. Meanwhile there is a dedicated camera button on the right side of the phone. Look on top and you will find the power button as well as the standard audio jack. Flip the phone and there sits a 3.2MP camera.

Kyocera-Milano_3

Features
So the idea you get when you look at a low end smartphone is that you get an average processor and expect a lot of lags here and there. However, the Kyocera Milano is running on an 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7627T CPU which surprised as it made the phone run at pretty impressive speeds. To aid the CPU, a 512MB RAM is also included. Although we must admit that there were some lag issues when the phone was tested with some serious graphics. What’s even more impressive is that its Quadrant scores were close to 1300 meaning that it is as good as the likes of Motorola Droid X and Samsung Nexus S.

It is of course great news that the OS powering this phone is the latest version of Android v.2.3.4 Gingerbread as that will definitely be a feature that will attract users. Running on Sprint and being a phone in the middle to low end region means that the Kyocera Milano is going to be a SprintID and that gives us a dozen or so downloadable custom layouts. Sometimes with Sprint we get the feeling that there are many bloatware to be found on the phone, however the Kyocera Milano is an exception as it only comes with apps like Sprint Zone and Mobile Wallet and not much else. Other than that, you will find the usual array of Android apps like the calendar, web browser as well messaging. An app that stood out from the pack is the Eco Mode app. With this app, you get to set your phone to a somewhat ‘green’ mode to save power as you can adjust the settings for your phone’s brightness, haptic feedback and the wallpaper all in one place.

For a low end phone like the Kyocera Milano, a 3 inch screen rather than a 4 inch or larger screen was rather expected but a resolution of only 240 x 320 wasn’t. The screen also only offers support for 262k colors which is really low for a phone these days. Adding to that, the screen didn’t provide so much in the way of details and there was a severe lack of depth too. So far, we must say the screen must be the standout downer for the Kyocera Milano.

This phone comes with a 3.2MP camera which is also capable of recording video at VGA resolution. Although these are considered to be really bad specs for a high end smartphone, bear in mind that the Kyocera Milano isn’t one and to be honest this camera fared well. Fine details get blurry as you use it at full resolution and as is the case with many other cameras, there were some graining in low light shots. Colors also seem rather muted. Video performance also not too shabby as the playback was smooth and the audio recorded can be heard clearly as well. However, there aren’t as many options to be found on this phone for the camera.

The Kyocera Milano offers a good internet experience too. This comes thanks to a browser that works quickly and reading tiny text isn’t too hard as the pinch to zoom and the double tap both work well. This phone uses 3G EVDO Rev. 0 network provided thanks to Sprint. Other than that, the usual connectivity options like GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR and Wi-Fi are all provided. The Kyocera Milano is also capable of working as a mobile hotspot supporting up to five phones.

Call quality on the Kyocera Milano was respectable as well as there weren’t many complaints from our friends on the other end. Meanwhile on our end, we could hear our callers loud and clear albeit hearing the voices a little hollow at times. Meanwhile, the battery life being rated at about 8 hours of continuous talk time is also great. When tested, the phone lasted a whole day with no problems with battery level.

Kyocera-Milano_4

Pros and Cons
The Kyocera Milano is small phone yet boasts a great keyboard. Other than that, it has good call quality too and provides fast performance for a budget phone.

However the Kyocera Milano comes with a small and poor quality display.

Kyocera-Milano_5

Conclusion
This phone is a low end phone but it is a pretty decent one if you can get past the screen. The Kyocera Milano is the perfect messaging device if you are looking for one on the cheap.

Close Menu