A Phone to Make Your Friends Jealous
Written: Jul 20 '01
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Pros: Sleek, silver, and in color, showing off the technology just starting in the US.
Cons: The high price isn't worth just having a color-screened phone.
The Bottom Line: Excellent showcase for new wireless technology, like color screens, but altogether not worth $500 just for a color screen.
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| dionymnia's Full Review: Sanyo SCP-5000 |
The Sanyo SCP-5000 is definitely a phone that would cause envy in your fellow wireless-using friends. The first week that I had it, I barely got to use it, so many people were playing with it, oohing and aahing over the nifty little features that it offered. In the same way that many people were google-eyed over the Samsung 3500 when it first came out (including myself), this phone draws attention. It's sleek, smooth, and silver, three of the things that I love in my gadgets. And it is not just aesthetically pleasing. It has a color screen, boasting 256 colors, something that no U.S. wireless phone has been able to produce until now. Color screens aren't so important in Europe, but they are commonly available in Japan. On more than one occasion, I have had friends present phones that they or their family have gotten while living in Japan. Sadly, these phones aren't compatible with America's wireless standards, so they couldn't actually be used, just admired. But now, Sprint PCS has given an option other than the mundane black-and-white (actually black-and-green) screens we have all become so accustomed to. The Sanyo 5000 offers:
Color Screen As stated above, the Sanyo 5000 gives to America the 256-Color Screen. The colors aren't just for naught, either. All sorts of things can be done with them, including setting several different Environment settings, like what can be done on Windows. You can set the color scheme for the menus, fonts, and backdrop.
Downloadable Images The Sanyo 5000 comes with a data connection kit, thus making you able to connect your phone to your computer to download images and ringer types. The images can be used as wallpaper, as well as some things listed below. Altogether, 20 images can be stored on the phone at once, in standard ".jpg" format.
Photo Caller ID With the images that you download on the phone, you can create phone book entries and attach the images to up to 20 of them. That way, when one of these people calls you, the jpeg file you chose for their entry will pop up, as well as a text listing of the caller. You can have a picture of your mother pop up when she calls, or a picture of a beer pop up when your favorite drinking buddy calls.
Downloadable Ringers MIDI files can be downloaded onto the phone. MIDI ringer types are common on Nokias, but are making their debut on America's Sanyos. A typical ringer can play Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" or the classic "Bicycle Built for Two". In addition, with the correct software, you can make your own MIDI creations on your computer, and then transfer them to your phone. An industry analysis has found that there are already over 8 billion ringer types out there in the world, and the amount is ballooning exponentially.
Screensavers Another use of the images you download to your phone is for use as a screensaver. Although current technology nearly completely makes screensavers a moot point for actually saving a screen, they can be nice to have. And both static images and animated ".gif" files can be used as screensavers.
Wireless Web Capable As many of Sprint PCS's more recent phones, the Sanyo 5000 has wireless web capability. Of course, current wireless internet is restricted to text-only, so the color capabilities don't lend much to this facet.
These aren't the only features that make the Sanyo 5000 a nifty little phone. There is the external caller ID, which is only available on the TP1100 otherwise. It has voice-activated dialing, which is very primitive considering you can receive Voice Command free as a network feature with your Sprint PCS service. Voice Command is the 3rd generation voice recognition, twice-removed from voice-activated dialing. Check it out...very nice. In addition, it is a structurally-sound flip-top phone, as opposed to the Samsung 3500, which has experienced numerous defects due to the wires being routed through the hinges in the flip of the phone.
There are some issues that the Sanyo 5000 has that raise some questions, however. For starters, the battery is not that strong. Altogether, it only supports up to 2 hours of talk time. Standby time is standardly at 120 hours, but this is with the assumption that the backlight isn't on, which is the only way to "admire" the colors that the phone has to display. Of course, 2 hours of talk time won't happen, since standby time will be mixed in-between calls. Thus, about 1 to 1.5 hours of talk time is to be excepted. Altogether, it really isn't useful for extended use without being connected to an AC Adaptor/Charger. Games aren't an important facet of my phone usage, but it is nice to have something to play with when sitting around waiting for an appointment, etc. The Sanyo 5000 has Crabcatcher. The same game found on some of the older Sprint PCS phones, just with color. You'd think that such an advanced phone would have some cool games.
The biggest down-side to the Sanyo 5000 is the price. $499.99. That is very steep for a phone that's only truly outstanding feature is that it is in color. It is a nice phone, with sturdy construction and useful features, but so is the Samsung 8500 or the Sanyo 4500. A color screen is not worth paying $500 for. It seems that the technology points towards the future, with things that future phones are going to come with standardly, like the photo caller ID (look for this in the very near future). But color isn't so important to a regular wireless phone user, and a gadget lover may be intrigued, but will surely feel buyer's remorse.
As I said at the start, I didn't get a lot of usage on the phone for the first week, because so many people wanted to play with it, but after that first week, they all grew tired of it, and by the second week, so did I.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 499
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Epinions.com ID:
dionymnia
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Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 27 members
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