Kyocera DuraXT announced for Sprint, brings Direct Connect support in a rugged-made clamshell design

Just a short while back Sprint announced that they would be killing off the iDEN network no later than June 30, 2013. And well, it looks like they are continuing to move forward with releasing additional non-iDEN powered direct connect devices. In fact, the latest has been announced just this morning.

The handset is the Kyocera DuraXT, which will arrive as a clamshell handset with a rugged design. The DuraXT is available as of today and priced at $69.99. And just to clarify that price, that comes along with a two-year agreement and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Moving over to the handset itself, the DuraXT will bring features to include a 2.0-inch internal display with 240 x 320 resolution and a 1.0-inch external monochrome (96 x 64) display. Other features will include Sprint 3G connectivity, a 1360 mAh battery, Stereo Bluetooth, a 2.5mm headphone jack, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and ships with a 1GB microSD card.

In terms of the rugged design, that breaks down as follows;

“Military Standard 810G for Dust, Shock, Vibration, Blowing rain, Temp Extremes, Low Pressure, Solar Radiation, Salt Fog, Humidity and Immersion (up to 30 minutes in up to one meter/3.28ft. of water)”

And lastly, the Sprint Direct Connect support arrives as a “portfolio of push-to-talk services” and includes the following;

• Sprint Direct Connect – Instant, one-to-one push-to-talk calling nationwide on the Sprint network, with any other Direct Connect subscriber. Direct Connect is the core push-to-talk feature and is designed for interoperability across Sprint and Nextel network platforms.
• Guaranteed Talk Permit – The assurance that when you hear the push-to-talk “chirp,” your call was successfully transmitted.
• Call Alert with Text – Send an audio alert with an optional text message to let another Direct Connect subscriber know you are trying to reach them and why.
• Group Connect® – Communicate with up to 20 other Sprint Direct Connect subscribers all at once – nationwide, at the push of one button.
• TeamDCSM – Communicate with up to 200 other Sprint Direct Connect subscribers at the same time nationwide.
• NextMail® – Send a recorded message to any email worldwide or mobile handset via text message by using the Direct Connect button.
• Availability Notification – Request the availability status of another push-to-talk member and, if they are busy, request a notification when they are free.
• One-Touch Direct Connect – Allows quick access to multiple direct connect options.

Via [Sprint]