With its rugged, weather-resistant case, the Kyocera Brigadier should be able to survive what nature, or its owner, throws at it. According to Kyocera, it meets Military Standard 810G specs for shock, dust and other conditions. It's also the first phone we've seen certified for IP68, enabling immersion for up to 30 minutes in up to about 6 feet of water. We put this toughie through its paces, submerging it in about six feet of water for about 30 minutes. The Brigadier continued to work, and we saw no visible signs of water intrusion or damage. We also tested the Brigadier's ability to fend off mechanical shocks using our tumbling equipment, which drops the phone in random fashion. Again, the phone continued to work and showed no signs of damage. Frost-fighting explorers will appreciate the display, which is sensitive enough to be used with gloves, and it is always activated (no need to search for a setting to turn it on). The Brigadier also includes app tools and widgets including a Barometer, Altimeter, Flashlight, Compass and Weather. Its Dura widgets offer large icons intended for improved outdoor visibility and easy access with large fingers or gloved hands, such as Dura clock and weather, and Dura compass. And its Dura Grid can be customized with frequently used apps and settings and is available in a six- or nine-position layout. Its Eco Mode helps you conserve your remaining battery life. You can set a battery power percentage at which the mode will activate. For example, when activated, the phone will turn off vibration feedback, decrease the screen brightness, and minimize the screen timeout. The Brigadier has a MagniFont app that puts the phone in a mode that enables the display to have large and easy-to-see font size, as well as other font settings, though it's not applied to all apps.
The 4.5-inch touch-screen display is quite easy to see in bright light. The phone allows you to launch a favorite app such as phone, or camera directly from a locked screen. You do this by swiping any one of the app icons that are visible on the locked screen after you press the start icon. You can even access up to five widgets such as the Dura Clock and weather, Dura compass, Email, and Flashlight. The phone has a large programmable button on the left side to launch a frequently used app like Email, Calendar, Messaging, and more. There also is a dedicated button on the right side to launch the camera, and a dedicated speakerphone button on the top for use while on a call. The Brigadier has intuitive navigation that provides easy access to all its main functions via a responsive touch-screen that supports up to seven home screens of apps (default is five), programmable shortcuts, as well as back, home, and recent apps buttons. The recent apps button launches a stack of screen shots of your most recently used apps. Tap any one of them, and you can jump to that app. Pressing and holding the home button directly launches the search function.
The Brigadier lets you perform Google searches by voice command and lets you download applications, services, games, and more from the Google Play Store. Its multi-touch screen lets you zoom in and out of photos or Web pages using two fingers (for instance, your thumb and index fingers). It also has a handy on-screen drop-down status bar that alerts you to and takes you to new messages, upcoming appointments, and other items that need your attention, even when your screen is locked. Its Android OS offers better text editing tools and controls for managing data usage, and enhanced voice-activated navigation and dictation. The Brigadier works on Verizon's 4G network (LTE), allowing fast streaming, downloading, and uploading of high-definition videos and other large files. The fast network also facilitates better Web browsing experiences. The WiFi connection provides another way to access the Web, e-mail, and other Internet-based content, without using your data plan allowance. The Brigadier supports Near Field Communication (NFC), a short-range wireless communication technology that allows the phone to read "smart" tags, or other items that have NFC capability in them. Though the technology is not yet widely deployed for mobile phone users, it could ultimately allow you to pay by phone at the register. But this phone is heavier than many of the smart phones we've tested.
MESSAGING: The virtual keyboards were very easy to use. One keyboard supports Swype, a method that allows users to type words without lifting a finger-literally. You enter a word by dragging your finger across the screen from letter to letter. Though it's initially awkward to use, we eventually had a lot of success "typing" quickly and accurately with Swype. Its advanced voice command feature supports text fields, allowing you to dictate e-mails, text messages, Tweets, and other normally typed forms of communication. But this phone doesn't have preset text messages, and you can't create custom presets. Very good e-mail readability and attachment capabilities. This phone allows you to edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets out of the box, which can come in handy when working on the go. The Brigadier also supports Microsoft Exchange and Outlook for work e-mail. When connected to Windows or Macintosh computers, this phone can appear on the computer as another drive. You can then transfer data to and from your phone as you could on a regular drive.
PHONE: We tested this phone under a variety of conditions to simulate environments ranging from the quiet indoors to noisy roadsides. We found voice quality was good when talking, though only fair when listening. Talk time was an adequate 13 hours. This phone has an excellent mixture of controls and features for making and taking calls. Excellent keypad readability under most lighting conditions, even in bright light. Its voice command allows you to conveniently dial numbers from your phone book by speaking the name, without the usual training. You can also dial numbers by pronouncing the digits. It has Bluetooth for wireless hands-free voice communication. The Brigadier is one of several CDMA phones that can be called a "world phone" because it also works with the GSM-based networks pervasive in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world. (But you can't use it with domestic GSM carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile.) This model can simultaneously be on a phone call and an Internet-based connection over the cellular network. But the ringer is not easy to mute.
MULTIMEDIA: The 8-megapixel camera has a short shutter lag, and produced good-quality pictures at ISO settings up to 100. It also did very well under low-light conditions. The camera's built-in flash and ISO-setting controls help improve your chances of taking better pictures under low-light conditions. Its face detection comes in handy when you're snapping pics of babies, toddlers, or other fussy subjects. The front-facing 1.9-megapixel camera allows easy self-portraits, and can support video chats. It can also record at 720p. But the camera took only fair 1080p video, OK only for the most casual uses.
The music player has the capabilities and controls of a typical stand-alone MP3 player, including an equalizer, music shuffle and repeat controls, and options for sorting music by album, artist, etc. This model also supports Bluetooth stereo headsets, and can download music over the phone network. Its Bluetooth data support enables the phone to wirelessly share pictures, contacts, and other files with compatible printers, computers, and mobile devices.
GPS navigation capability provides spoken turn-by-turn directions and automatic re-routing. The Brigadier supports the Miracast protocol, which lets the phone connect via WiFi to share content with other compatible devices such as a TV. The Brigadier can act as a mobile hotspot for up to ten WiFi-enabled devices. It has 16GB of built-in memory and supports memory cards of up to 32GB. Its memory capacity is beneficial for storing music, videos, pictures, and other types of files. It supports wireless charging, but the charging pad is not included. And the battery is non-removable.
