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Leap's Cricket® Customers Can Now Get Candid with the KX16 Color Camerphone from KYOCERA Wireless
Candid KX16 Brings Affordability, Ease of Use to On-the-Go Cameraphone Users
San Diego - (November 16, 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 immediate availability of Kyocera's Candid KX16 for Cricket® customers seeking an affordable, easy-to-use cameraphone for their busy, on-the-go lifestyles. Making its domestic debut with Cricket as their most affordable cameraphone to date, Candid KX16 brings an affordably-priced, color, clamshell picture phone with external caller ID to Cricket's impressive lineup of handsets and flexible unlimited rate plans.With Kyocera's focus on ease of use and stylish affordability in mind, Candid KX16 features a dedicated camera button as well as a front-facing camera lens and flash so users can quickly capture moments without having to worry about moving the phone around or adjusting fingers away from the lens. The five-step digital zoom goes from 160x120 resolution to 640x480 resolution and camera features include multi-shot adjustment, auto-focus, self-timer, white balance, color effects adjustment and fun frames to jazz up shots before sending them to friends.
"The Candid KX16 is ideal for Cricket's customers because their lifestyles require that they be able to make calls and snap photos when the mood strikes them," said Jim Kelly, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Kyocera Wireless Corp. "Rate plans with unlimited picture messaging such as those offered by Cricket obviously require ease-of-use and now we've taken our simplicity promise one step further with the camera capabilities of Candid, such as the dedicated camera button and intuitive photo features."
"We offer unlimited picture and text messaging plans for a low, flat-rate, so we are extremely excited about launching the Candid, our most affordable cameraphone. And, since we recently signed interoperability picture messaging agreements with several large national carriers, Cricket customers have the ability to exchange photos with friends and family, regardless of the carrier," said Nitu Arora, vice president, product development of Leap. "We believe the Candid will be attractive to a large cross-section of our customer base given its price, built-in speakerphone and text messaging-friendly key pad. We are excited to introduce the Candid to market and believe it will be a hit with our customers."
Candid's external vertical caller ID display allows for quick viewing of incoming calls and dedicated side buttons for the camera and volume control offer instant access to key features. A powerful speakerphone, voice-activated dialing, vivid color display and ergonomic design with raised keypad for quick texting round out the key features most on-the-go mobile users want and use. The handset is also compatible with Cricket's new roaming service, Travel Time™, which launched in all markets in June.
Enabled with BREW® 2.1, the CDMA2000® 1X-capable Candid KX16 can support Cricket Clicks™ downloadable wallpapers, screensavers, games and ringtones directly over the air to augment those included on the phone. Candid also features built-in polyphonic ring tones, screen savers, and caller alerts; predictive text input for rapid text messaging; and vibrate alert. Productivity tools include an extensive contact directory, scheduler, calculator, alarm clock, world clock, stopwatch, tip calculator, countdown timer, and voice memos.
The handset measures 1.89 in x 3.54 in x .98 in (48 mm x 90 mm x 25 mm), weighs 3.9 oz (109 g) and has a talk time of 3.5 hours and standby time of up to 170 hours.
The Kyocera Candid KX16 is available immediately at Cricket retail locations for an introductory price of $169.99. A complete line of Genuine Accessories by Kyocera™ is also available. For more information, please visit a local Cricket retail location, or online visit www.mycricket.com or www.kyocera-wireless.com.
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 [NASDAQ: LEAP], headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is a customer-focused company providing innovative mobile wireless services targeted to meet the needs of customers under-served by traditional communications companies. With the value of unlimited wireless services as the foundation of its business, Leap pioneered both Cricket and Jump™ Mobile. Cricket® service offers customers unlimited anytime minutes for a flat-rate within a Cricket calling area over a high-quality, all-digital CDMA network. Designed for the urban youth market, Jump Mobile is a unique prepaid wireless service offering customers free unlimited incoming calls from anywhere with outgoing calls at an affordable 10 cents per minute and free incoming and outgoing text messaging. Both Cricket and Jump Mobile are offered without long-term commitments or credit checks. 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, and Travel Time are trademarks of Cricket Communications, Inc. CDMA2000 is a trademark of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA-USA). BREW is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Inc. All other marks are properties of their respective owners.
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