There’s been a trend for faster phones with larger screens in the past few years, and 5″ smartphones that used to be referred as phablets have now made place to phones with 5.5″ to 6″ display just called smartphones. But some people don’t make use of advanced features of smartphones, value their privacy, or just want something small, light, and easy to use for phone calls and SMS.
NTT Docomo Card Keitai KY-01L phone looks like a 5.3 mm thick business card weights justt 47 grams, features a 2.8″ E-Ink and allows you to call, send & receive messages, manage your calendar, and browse the web.
Despite the basic functions, the phone is said to run Android on a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor. You won’t be able to install apps from the Play Store though, it’s meant to be simple to use, functional and lightweight, so it’s not possible to easily download and install new apps.
The user manual further confirms its basic functionality, as the only external interface is the micro USB port for charging and copy files from a PC, and we’ll also find the usual power and volume button but not much else. There’s no audio jack, and while the terminal supports WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, you won’t be able to connect an headset to listen to music since “the terminal is not capable of movie or audio playback”.
NTT Card Keitai KY-01L specifications listed in the user manual and other online resources:
- SoC – Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 (MSM8909W) quad-core Cortex-A7 processor @ 1.1GHz with Adreno 304 GPU
- System Memory – 1GB RAM
- Storage
- 8GB internal memory
- Received calls history – Up to 500
- Displayable dialed calls history – Up to 500
- Display – 2.8″ E-paper display with 600 x 480 resolution
- Wireless Connectivity
- 2.4GHz 802. 11b/g/n WiFi
- Bluetooth 4.2
- 4G LTE, 3G cellular connectivity
- Supported languages – Japanese and English
- Battery
- 380 mAh / 4.35V Lithium polymer battery
- Life
- Continuous stand-by time
- LTE Stationary (Auto) – about 100 hours
- 3G Stationary (Auto) – about 100 hours
- Continuous call time
- LTE (VoLTE) – about 110 minutes
- 3G – about 160 minutes
- Continuous stand-by time
- Charging time – About 110 minutes
- Dimensions – 91 x 55 x 5.3mm (5.5mm max)
- Weight – 47 grams
NTT Docomo is showcasing the product at CES 2019, and Card Keitai KL-01 can be purchased directly from the company in Japan for 32,000 JPY ($294 US), but I could also find it online for $475 on Kyoto Exports website, as well as on Ebay for an equally outrageous price.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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