The Kyocera Hydro Vibe, Sprint's waterproof budget smartphone, will soon be able to make calls over a Wi-Fi connection.

A software update to be introduced over the next few weeks will allow Hydro Vibe to make unlimited calls and messaging via Wi-Fi. It will enable the phone to bypass distant cell towers to make and receive texts and calls through the Internet.

Like Us on Facebook

Domestic texts and calls transmitted over Wi-Fi are completely free, even though Sprint subscribers already have unlimited messages and call minutes.

The feature improves the call's voice quality, especially when the cell connection isn't that great. The technology could prove useful in buildings with poor cell signal reception but that have excellent Wi-Fi connections.

If a user is disconnected from the Wi-Fi network, the call should seamlessly transition to the mobile network.

Hydro Vibe is an entry-level, dust and water resistant phone introduced earlier in May. The handset sports a 4.5-inch in-plane switching liquid crystal display with a screen resolution of 540 x 960 and a pixel density of 245 pixels per square inch.

It's equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8926; a 1,200 megahertz quadcore processor; an Adreno 305 graphics processing unit; has 1.5 GB of random access memory; 8 GB of built-in storage and an expandable memory slot capable of  taking in the largest capacity microSD and microSDHC cards.

It also has a 2 megapixel front camera and an 8 MP main camera with autofocus, digital zoom, smile detection, high dynamic range imaging. The main cam can take panorama pictures and 1920 x 1080 high-definition movies at 30 frames per second.

It's has an IP certification of 57; is running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 2,000 milliampere hour battery able to last 14 hours in talk time and 193 hours on stand-by, according to phoneArena.

TagsSprint, Wi-Fi Calling, Android 4.3, Android Jelly Bean, Kyocera, Kyocera Hydro Vibe, Hydro Vibe