Kyocera Hydro Vibe waterproof LTE smartphone from Sprint

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and to thank me for participating.

It's summertime!  Time for pool parties, water gun fights, runs through the sprinkler, trips to the beach, and more.  Water plays a big part in our summer fun...... which is great for people, but not so great for cameras and phones.

This is me, five seconds after I was trying to take a group picture at a pool party, and unknowingly stepped backwards into the pool!  The whole incident was hilarious and embarrassing at the same time.  Only my dignity suffered....oh, and Alfie's phone.  I was using it to take the photo, so it went into the pool with me.  Of course it shorted out.  It eventually turned back on, but the sound was completely gone, and we had to dry it in a bag of rice overnight.

Not everyone is so lucky.  I'm sure more than a few phones have drowned after falling into pools, sinks, toilets, and bathtubs, or even after having a glass of water knocked over them on the table!  That's why I was so psyched to find out that one of my "duties" as a Mom Central #SprintMom Sprint Ambassador would be to try out the Kyocera Hydro Vibe waterproof 4G LTE smartphone.  It can be completely submerged in up to one meter of water for up to 30 minutes!  

When our new phone arrived, it went against all my instincts to deliberately subject it to water, but of course it had to be done.......

 No, that photo was not Photoshopped!  Here's a video of the phone being dunked into the vase:


I have no idea how they do it.  Not only did the phone survive, it thrived.  The phone did not shut down and the music kept playing (once the speaker is submerged in the water, the sound gets muffled).

Note, if you're thinking about using the Kyocera Hydro Vibe to take underwater photos at your next pool party, think again.  The phone camera doesn't like being dunked.  We were able to take a selfie with the phone held under a running faucet, but when we tried to dunk the phone into a vase of water while taking a video, the video stopped and the phone display went back to the home screen.

But the nice thing about this phone is that you can take it around with you at a water park, you can use your phone at the pool to make calls or take photos or check your email, you can take it out on a rainy day and take photos, all without worrying about water splashing on it.

Its waterproof capabilities aren't the only great things about the Kyocera Hydro Vibe.  It's a good little phone, with a good-sized screen and a decent display (4.5 inch qHD impact-resistant touchscreen). The camera (8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and video camera) is not the most high-end offering, but it takes decent photos.  It comes with a 2,000mAh battery for longer use on a single charge (which is important to us because The Pea, who will be using this phone, was constantly forgetting to charge her old phone!).  Finally, as part of Sprint’s offerings on this new device, the Kyocera Hydro Vibe waterproof 4G LTE smartphone will have the added benefit of running on the Sprint Spark network, which enhances the phone’s LTE service, allowing for high quality video.

Best of all is the price -- at this time, it could cost as little as $29.99 with a 2-year service agreement from Sprint!  I think it's perfect for teens and tweens because it has all the functionality they love, it's sturdy enough to withstand their active lifestyle, and it's priced right :)  All in all, a great value for the money!

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for Sprint. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and to thank me for participating. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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