This flaw becomes potentially dangerous in an emergency. Multiple notifications are displayed in sequence and override anything else you try to do. There is usually a brief gap between messages, so if you are quick you can squeeze off a speed dial. But when there are eight or ten SMS messages and a voicemail waiting, minutes pass before you have anything like full control of the phone. If notifications cannot be made less obtrusive, Kyocera really has to offer a way to disable them.

In summary
The Kyocera Smartphone 7135 may be the most valuable productivity tool I own, after the desktop computer. I would not part with it for any available alternative. It is the first no-compromise hybrid phone and organizer, with full-featured telephony, a bright color screen, and hardware features (replaceable battery, expansion slot) that offer exceptional reliability on the road. It has its flaws--a substandard keypad and aggravating delays when text and voice messages arrive from the wireless network--but Kyocera's offering is the clear winner among a new generation of smartphones. Two kinds of consumers should consider a Handspring Treo instead: heavy email users who want a Blackberry-like thumb-board, and travelers who need to use the telephone overseas.

OUR RATING: 4 of 5

Barton Gellman is a special projects reporter for The Washington Post, following tours as diplomatic correspondent, Jerusalem bureau chief, Pentagon correspondent and D.C. Superior Court reporter. His home page is http://www.washingtonpost.com/bartongellman.