Kyocera\'s Smart Sonic Receiver in Japan today

At this year\'s CTIA in New Orleans, which just wrapped up last week, Kyocera debuted its Tissue-Conduction Audio Technology for mobile devices. Today, the company announced that two new handsets featuring this technology will debut in Japan starting today: the Kyocera Urbano Progresso and the Kyocera K012 Simple Mobile Phone. The former is an Android 4.0 handset that comes in three colors, has a 4-inch OLED touch screen, and an 8.1-megapixel camera. The K012, however, is designed for seniors or those who want a simple feature device. It is a standard flip-phone that has four color variations, and is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera and a 3-inch display. Meant to amp up sound quality, the audio booster relies on a ceramic transducer that transmits sound waves through the tissue in your ear. As you can see from the image above, handsets that feature this technology do not require a front output speaker, leaving devices with a cleaner look. In Japan, Kyocera will call the audio-booster the \"Smart Sonic Receiver,\" but it remains unknown how it\'ll be branded here in the States. What is known, however, is that U.S. consumers will still have to wait to try out Kyocera\'s technology -- it\'s slated to be be released here within the next six to 12 months.