Kyocera Lingo Launches QWERTY Onto Cricket

Everyone loves to send text messages today, even users on Cricket. That’s why the smallest mobile operator has decided to add the Kyocera Lingo to its lineup. The Lingo, also known as the M1000, features a conventional color screen and numeric keypad on the front of the phone, but if you flip open the phone like a book, you reveal a larger display and full QWERTY keyboard.

In this way, the form factor is eerily similar to the hugely successful LG enV available through Verizon Wireless. The key difference, of course, is that the Kyocera Lingo lacks any of that V CAST goodness that you’ve come to know and love. The rest of the vitals are pretty standard on the Lingo, including Bluetooth and a 1.3 megapixel camera.

The hinge on the left looks kind of chunky, but the front display looks bigger than that of the enV. Probably the biggest downside to the Lingo is its $200 asking price.