Ok, I have to be honest with you. The first time I saw this phone in real life my jaw hit the floor. This is far and away the sexiest cell phone I have ever seen. Being the techno-junky that I am (and my Sanyo SCP-4500 getting scratched up) I decided to replace it with the brand new SCP-6000.

Since I am sure Epinions readers did not come here to read my flowery prose I'll cut straight to the heart of my review.

This phone's size is such that it is extremely portable. I don't like belt clips so I usually like to put my phones in my pockets and this is the first phone I've had where I can put my phone into my pocket without looking like I am perhaps a bit too excited. The price of this size, unfortunately, causes many problems.

The thing is just TOO small. I have normal-sized hands yet I feel like I am trying to type a lengthy email to a friend on a calculator when I am using this phone. Whereas with my last few phones I could just let my fingers dance from one key to the other to dial this phone demands your attention. Keystrokes must be made carefully and deliberately.

A more serious problem with the SCP-6000 is the reception issue. The only other person I know who has this phone is having the same problem I am; namely, the reception stinks. Even while getting a full "5 bars" indicating a very strong signal from Sprint, the quality of my voice communications was shoddy. Communications were dotted with barely-noticeable (but still noticeable) "clicks" of silence, an indicator of poor reception. Furthermore, voice quality is rather tinny and not as rich as the SCP-4500, which is for my money still the best cell phone available in North America.

Yet another issue is battery life. The phone is so thin that the size of the battery is incredibly small. Battery life suffers because of this: you will be lucky to get more than 1 1/2 to 2 hours of life out of the phone before it needs a recharge.

Now for the positives!

This phone has an *excellent* display. I am very pleased that cell phones have finally moved beyond the terribly simple and plain displays of yesteryear. The SCP-6000 has a very sharp high-definition display, the benefit being that you can fit much more text onto the screen than cell phones that came before it. Making things more interesting is the exceptionally bright backlighting of the display which you can actually *switch* from an emerald green to a pumpkin orange.

The phone has a great assortment of ringers that are far better than the standard tinny "bell" sounds that most cheap Nokias and older cell phones have. The ringers are quite distinctive and if you are at lunch with a bunch of other people who also have cell phones and your cell phone rings, there will be no doubt whom is being called. Unfortunately, the tiny ringer speaker on the SCP-6000 cannot be pushed to play at the high volume the SCP-4500 (for instance) so you might find yourself using it in the included vibrate mode when at a loud gathering or party.

In terms of comfort, the phone is very comfortable considering its thin size.

The menu system will be familiar to anybody who has used a Sprint PCS Touchpoint or older Sanyo phone and is still the undisputed champ of cell phones. It is quick, easy to learn, precise, and extremely flexible. The directional pad on the SCP-6000 is small yet I had no problems whatsoever using it to manipulate my way through the Wireless Web functions of this phone. The calendar and calculator features of this phone are very handy to people like myself who have no need for a Palm Pilot.

The advertising on the box mentions that one could download pictures as well as ringers on this phone but I have been unable to find a place to get these customizations onto my phone. This might be due to the fact that the phone is still very, very new.

The SCP-4500 was such a wonderful phone that I had (unreasonably) high expectations for the SCP-6000. While my complaints regarding the SCP-6000 are real and valid, I am willing to stick with this phone to see if a software upgrade might help improve the reception on my phone. The other faults of the phone (small key size and battery life) are easily outweighed by the positives; specifically, the size. I can put this phone into my shirt's pocket and not even know it is there because it is not only so thin but it is so LIGHT.

Size is high on my priority list and if it high on your list as well, I highly recommend this phone. If you don't care so much about size (you carry phones in your purse or belt clip) then I would suggest the more robust SCP-4500 instead.


Last but not least is price. At $300, this is among the most expensive cell phones sold in the US.

Addendum 10/14/01: After working with Sprint it appears that most of the reception problems I am having with my phone are due to an old software version. The software has been updated and my reception problems have been somewhat cured. It's still not 100%, but it is much better than before.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 300