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Leap's Cricket Service Becomes First U.S. Carrier to Offer Dorado KX13 and Milan KX9B Wireless Phones from KYOCERA Wireless
Stylish new color phones from Kyocera offer ease-of-use for on-the-go lifestyles, perfect for Cricket's young customer base
SAN DIEGO -- (August 2, 2005) -- Kyocera Wireless Corp., a leading global manufacturer of CDMA wireless phones and devices, and Leap Wireless International, Inc. [NASDAQ: LEAP], a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless communications services, today announced the availability of two new Kyocera wireless handsets designed to keep Leap's Cricket customers' on-the-go lifestyles in mind. Making their domestic debut at Cricket, Kyocera Dorado KX13 - a color bar phone with front-ported speakerphone - and Kyocera Milan KX9B - a color flip phone with external caller ID - add two stylish new additions to Cricket's handset portfolio.Kyocera Dorado KX13 is a slim, affordable bar-style phone with an internal antenna, built-in LED flashlight and a large, vivid color display. Its robust, front-ported speakerphone is ideal for hands-free talking and listening as well as for crisp, clear sound to play 32-chord polyphonic ringtones. Kyocera Milan KX9B is specifically designed for mobile phone users who want a basic, voice-centric design without sacrificing style. A compact clamshell with a vertical external caller ID and an easy-to-use keypad for quick dialing and text messaging, Milan offers a high-quality, 65,000-color display, speakerphone and Enhanced Messaging Services (EMS).
"Cricket's customers have a very unique sense of style to go along with a propensity to talk on their phones a lot," said Lee Ittner, vice president of Sales and Marketing at Kyocera Wireless Corp. "Cricket's unlimited minutes pricing model requires that phones be simple and easy to use when making a call or sending text messages, and both Milan and Dorado were designed to meet that need without sacrificing style or features."
"Our Cricket customers talk 1,500 minutes a month, nearly double the industry average - so it is extremely important that we offer the latest, user-friendly handsets with a long battery life and the Kyocera Dorado and Milan meet these needs and round out our stellar portfolio," said Nitu Arora, vice president, product development for Leap. "The majority of our customers use their Cricket phone as their primary phone due to our unlimited rate plans so they are always on-the-go. The functional and stylish features of the Dorado and Milan complement our packages and we are excited to add these latest Kyocera handsets to our lineup."
Compatible with BREW® 2.1, the Dorado can support Cricket Clicks™ downloadable wallpapers, screensavers, games and ringtones directly over the air to augment those included on the phone.
Both Dorado and Milan feature predictive text-input software for rapid text entry as well as standard features such as scheduler, calculator, alarm clock, stopwatch, and a tip calculator. Each phone comes standard with a high-capacity battery offering superior performance, allowing up to 3.8 hours of CDMA talk time and up to 160 hours of standby time for Dorado and up to 3.3 hours of CDMA talk time and up to 200 hours of standby time for Milan.
Kyocera Milan KX9B is available starting today for $139.99.and will be available in Cricket's newest market in Fresno, Calif., which is launching today. Kyocera Dorado KX13, will be available at all Cricket retail locations in mid-August, and will sell for $129.99. Both handsets will be compatible with Cricket's new roaming service, Travel Time™, which launched in all markets in June. For more information, please visit a local Cricket retail location, visit www.mycricket.com or www.kyocera-wireless.com.
Additionally, both phones offer a complete lineup of Genuine Accessories by Kyocera™. Please visit the Kyocera Web store online at http://store.kyocera-wireless.com for additional information.
About Kyocera Wireless Corp.
Kyocera Wireless Corp. is a leading supplier of innovative, feature-rich CDMA wireless devices and accessories for customers worldwide. Kyocera Wireless maintains an operating belief in the genius of simplicity and strives to make the wireless experience as simple and intuitive as humanly possible. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyocera International Inc., which acquired QUALCOMM Incorporated's CDMA consumer wireless phone business in February 2000. Based in San Diego, the company is ISO-14001 and ISO-9001 certified and has won city, state and federal awards for its environmentally friendly manufacturing and recycling practices. For more information, please visit www.kyocera-wireless.com.
Kyocera Corporation (NYSE: KYO), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of advanced ceramics. By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, semiconductor packages, electronic components, cameras, laser printers, copiers, solar energy systems and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2005, Kyocera Corporation's consolidated net sales totaled approximately US$11 billion (JP¥ 1,180,655 million) with net income of approximately US$429 million (JP¥ 45,908 million).
About Leap
Leap, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is a customer-focused company providing innovative mobile wireless services that are targeted to meet the needs of customers who are under-served by traditional communications companies. With a commitment to predictability, simplicity and value as the foundation of our business, Leap pioneered Cricket® service, a simple and affordable wireless alternative to traditional landline service. Cricket® service offers customers unlimited anytime minutes within the Cricket® calling area over a high-quality, all-digital CDMA network. For more information, please visit www.leapwireless.com.
© 2005 Kyocera Wireless Corp. All rights reserved. Kyocera is a registered trademark of Kyocera Corporation. Genuine Accessories by Kyocera is a trademark of Kyocera Wireless Corp. Cricket, Cricket Clicks, Cricket Tones, and Travel Time are trademarks of Cricket Communications, Inc. I-play is a trademark and trading name of Digital Bridges Limited. V-Enable is a registered trademark of V-Enable, Inc. BREW is a trademark of QUALCOMM, Inc. All other trademarks and product names are the property of their respective owners.
Contacts
Kyocera Wireless Corp.
John Chier
phone: 1-(858) 882-3543
e-mail: jchier@kyocera-wireless.com
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