After owning a Rugby 3 for more than 10 years, I was hesitant to purchase any new flip-phone. This product calmed my fears. It is very similar in operation to the Rugby. Slightly heavier than the Rugby, that is offset by the features it provides. Other reviewers complained about the battery life. If you turn off the Wi-Fi, reduce your Bluetooth use and set the screen "on time" to 7 seconds, the battery will last for the manufacture's specified duration. Transfer of the contact list between phones was wonderful. Some people didn't like the amount of "steps" it took to write a text. There is no difference between the two phones. The speaker quality is excellent ... I can close the lid, put the phone in my pocket and the voice quality (on both ends of the conversation) is superior. Someone complained about the "vibrate mode" being too "soft". They apparently didn't realize that there are two settings, one of which is "strong". Over-all I am very pleased with the purchase and would highly recommend this product. I'd give it a 9 out of 10.
After some research on getting a Phone that would work for my father (89) that has hearing and sight problem and relies on voice commands to make calls, this phone has been great. ATT sent him a Cingular Flip IV since they are getting rid of 3G. Not a bad phone for free but the you cannot make calls via voice commands. the Kyocera DuraXE, has great voice commands and the sound is so loud he had me turn it down from the max setting. I would definitely recommend for an elderly person that just needs a phone to talk on and does not require a smart phone. I also liked the rugged ability of this phone. My father has been very satisficed with it so far. Just had a make a few setting changes.
Pleasantly surprised to see that this is made in Japan. The buttons feel crisp and precise and everything is pretty intuitive if you are used to flip phones. No annoying delays when you press the keys. So far the only negative has been the battery life. With Wifi, bluetooth, and mobile data off and light use it will go for 5 days (barely). Compared to my old Rugby this is thicker and heavier but has more features.
I was forced to upgrade to the new AT &T network so I couldn't use the phone I've had and liked for years (Rugby). AT &T sent me me a cheap flip phone for free that was a nice courtesy but it was really junk. I looked around for another phone that was comparable to the Rugby and this was as close as I could find. The DuraXE is twice as thick as the Rugby and 3X heavier so if you don't mind walking around with a brick in your pocket all day I can recommend the phone. I'm still waiting for all the advantages of the new network, nothing yet.