Kyocera Wireless today announced along with Movistar the introduction of the Kyocera Slider Jet KX18 into the Venezuelan market. The new handset is Kyocera's first cell phone designed with 1xEV-DO wireless access for high-speed Internet connection and offers a broad selection of advanced multimedia features.

Julio Jordan, Kyocera's Regional Manager in Venezuela, explained that the phone, which will be marketed exclusively by Movistar, is Kyocera's first EV-DO phone in the domestic market and the first to be sold by Kyocera Wireless outside of the United States. The introduction of the Slider Jet KX18, which follows on the heels of the Kyocera Passport KPC650 wireless PC card, was designed to meet the growing demand for EV-DO technology in Venezuela. "Kyocera is actually the only mobile-phone manufacturer that makes both EV-DO cards and phones. Our goal is to satisfy the needs of both our operators and end users by delivering reliable devices that offer high-speed Internet capabilities, along with the all the other added-value features our mobile phones are known for," said Jordan.

The Slider Jet KX18 not only offers standard voice-service features, but it is also equipped with a WAP 2.0 browser; a 262,000-color TFT screen for viewing high-resolution images and videos; text messaging (SMS) capabilities; Multimedia messaging (MMS); speakerphone for hands-free talking; a built in music player capable of playing MP3, AAC, MP4, 3GP, and M4A formats; a memory-expansion slot for up to 1 GB; and a VGA camera with a dedicated camera key, flash, digital zoom and video recording with playback.

The handset also offers BREW 3.1.3 technology, providing users the ability to download their favorite television programs and video clips from the Internet.
"All these features combine to make the Kyocera Slider Jet KX18 a true technological leader in the mobile phone industry. We are proud to make it available to all Venezuelans," stated Jordan.

Kyocera's Jordan emphasized that there is a great demand for EV-DO technology in Venezuela and that the company is proactively responding to this demand through its Slider Jet KX18 and its popular wireless card, the Kyocera Passport KPC650.

The same thing has happened with EV-DO technology. Its growth has been sustained since 2005, and based on this trend, it is estimated that by 2008 there will be about one million users of this technology in Venezuela and more than 6 million will use it throughout Latin America.