Kyocera Slider Sonic

DESIGN It's obvious that the Sonic was built for teenagers, but don't let the design turn you off. Beneath the bubbly case and protruding antenna, the Sonic works well. A Music button automatically launches the MP3 player and a dedicated Back button cycles through menus. A five-way navigation on the front launches functions and handles music player controls.

FEATURES The Sonic's MP3 player can shuffle, repeat, build playlists, delete tracks, and play MP3s and WMAs saved to a TransFlash card. Virgin includes a USB cable, 32MB TransFlash card, and stereo headphones. With the slider closed, a five-way navigation easily flips forward and backward through songs, opens playlists, and pauses the music. Other features include a VGA camera, AOL IM, and access to VirginXL, including clips from MTV and Comedy Central.

PERFORMANCE The Sonic was one of the fastest phones to take us from turning on to rocking out. The phone synced easily with our PC for downloading tunes, and the Music button brought us directly to our songs and walked us through building a playlist. After ending a call, a pop-up window asks whether to continue the song or start over. Sound quality is the Sonic's biggest weakness; our tracks often sounded thin. The inability to use our MP3s as ringtones is frustrating.

VERDICT With better sound quality and a lower price, the Sonic could be a serious contender for the music junkie looking for a simple phone that plays MP3s.

www.virginmobileusa.com
Carrier: Virgin Mobile