Kyocera's S cellphone gets way too far back to basics

Tu-Ka isn't the Japanese cellphone company that usually makes handset news (its position in the industry there is more that of the hedgehog cowering at the roadside as the 50-ton trucks roar by), but its stripped-down approach occasionally throws up an oddity. Hence, the Tu-Ka S from Kyocera, its most minimalist offering yet, which foregoes even a screen and ends up looking more like a baby intercom than a cellphone. Power and signal strength are both indicated by LEDs that light up for "good", flash for "bad", or stay dark for "dead" when you press the talk key, and there's no memory whatsoever
(naturally). Battery life is, as you might expect, exemplary: you get 840 hours standby and 240 mins talk time. Ideal for parents who're worried about getting their kids cellphone-addicted, perhaps, though you have to balance that against the risk that they'll never make any friends carrying one of these.