Sprint Refines Katana Eclipse, Adds an X

The Katana Eclipse X adds Sprint's One Click interface to the Katana line.

What do you do to promote a phone released in August that’s been reworked to include a bunch of new network features? Just add an X. That seems to be the thinking behind Sprint’s release of the Katana Eclipse X on Monday, which follows the Katana Eclipse by only months and adds Sprint’s One Touch menu system.

Similar to speed dial, One Click makes accessing the phone’s essential features easier easier by giving users programmable shortcuts to the ones they use most frequently, such as text messaging, Google search, and, email. Even shortcuts to individual Web sites can be added and made accessible with a single click.

Other features on the phone mirror that of the earlier model, including the Razr-like clamshell form factor, sophisticated exterior lighting that can be customized to light up in different ways for different callers, 1.3-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth and external music navigation buttons.

Sprint offers the new phone for $100 with a two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate. It comes in both black and pink.