Kyocera Neo E1100: ‘Breathing Lightpipe,’ ‘Recession-Proof’ Pricing

The Kyocera Neo E1100 for U.S. Cellular has taken a page from Apple, which long ago realized that electronics can be sold in pretty colors and compelling designs even if their hardware and software guts aren’t innovative.

Instead of standing out in an inundated sea of cell phones on what’s inside the device, the Neo relies on three primary selling points: design, pricing and marketing.

1. The Neo’s blue “breathing lightpipe” is reminiscent of the breathing red stripe on the KITT car in the TV show “Knight Rider”.
   
   An integral part of the Neo’s external housing, the lightpipe comes to life as calls or messages are received


2. The name “Neo” draws a movie reference from the Keanu Reeves character in “The Matrix”.


3. U.S. Cellular is marketing the Kyocera Neo E1100 at the “recession-proof” pricing of $29.95 with a two-year service contract.

Price

U.S. Cellular isn’t joking with its “recession-proof” pricing claim on the Kyocera Neo E1100.

While the price starts at the unimpressive cost of $159.95, agreeing to a two-year service contract brings the price down $130 all the way to a very budget-friendly $29.95.

Feature List

Memorable illuminated design with “breathing lightpipe”

Glowing 2.2-inch QVGA internal display

Internal display: 240x320 pixels with 262,000 colors

Hidden OLED external caller-ID display

External display: 16x104 pixels with one color

1.3-megapixel camera with dedicated side key

GPS for turn-by-turn directions

One-touch speakerphone

Voice recorder

Hearing aid compatibility: M3/T4 rating

TTY/TDD support for the hearing impaired

Picture caller ID

Speaker-independent voice recognition

Text messaging and instant messaging

Voice memos

Built-in user guide

Predictive text-input software for rapid text entry

Vibrating alerts

USB connection

2.5-millimeter mono headset jack

Mobile Web

Supports multiple languages

Comes with battery, travel charger and headset

Ringtones, games, screensavers and wallpapers

Stereo Bluetooth short-range wireless (i.e. for a wireless headset)

Scheduler, alarm clock, calculator (tip and basic), timer, stopwatch, memo pad and world clock

Battery

You’ll neither jump for joy nor experience extreme disappointment when learning that the Kyocera Neo E1100’s rated talk time is an average of 4.17 hours.

Its rated standby time, though, is below industry average at up to 8.3 days if you’re not using the cell phone at all.

Size, Weight

The Kyocera Neo E1100 measures in at 3.52 inches by 2.05 inches by 0.66 of an inch (or 89.5 millimeters by 52 millimeters by 16.7 millimeters). The Neo weighs in at a very light 3.17 ounces (or 90 grams).

Differentiation in the Marketplace

The Kyocera Neo E1100 differentiates itself with its external “breathing lightpipe” design, GPS for turn-by-turn directions and an extremely low cost.

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