Water-resistant Kyocera Hydro Vibe launching at Sprint and Virgin Mobile this month

Sprint today announced a new dust- and water-resistant (IP57) Android smartphone made by Kyocera. Called Kyocera Hydro Vibe, the handset will be available at Sprint starting later this week, on May 9, and can be seen as the successor to last year’s Kyocera Hydro Edge (currently offered by Sprint for free on contract).



Select Sprint customers will be able to get the Kyocera Hydro Vibe for $0 down and 24 monthly payments of $9.59. The new smartphone runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, and sports a 4.5-inch impact-resistant display with 540 x 960 pixels. Other features: LTE, NFC, Smart Sonic Receiver audio technology, 8MP rear camera, quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 8GB of expandable internal memory. The handset has a 2,000 mAh battery, and supports wireless charging.

“The demand for waterproof smartphones has only increased since Kyocera introduced the original Hydro in the US. in 2012. Hydro Vibe is the third generation of waterproof Kyocera devices Sprint has brought to our prepaid and postpaid customers. Vibe eliminates the worries of liquid damage during a day at the beach or a day on the job without having to invest in a waterproof case or sacrificing the sleek style and functionality we expect from smartphones,” said David Owens, senior vice president of Product at Sprint.

Starting May 29, the Kyocera Hydro Vibe will also be available via Virgin Mobile (one of Sprint’s pre-pay brands) for $149.99, no contract required.