Closest thing to 007 gear
Written: Apr 28 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Size, bright display, vibration, battery life
Cons: Buttons are closer together than some others
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| micmackman's Full Review: Sanyo SCP 4000 Cell Phone |
If you know what a Sony Z-phone is (CMZ-100SPR; has the flip-down microphone stick), you'll know what hell I put myself through for a small PCS phone. (I say that semi-jokingly, but only semi-, read my review of it) I was blown away when I saw the Sanyo 4000 for the first time in the flesh; it makes the Sony Z look like a monster! (although the Sanyo is taller) I only needed three things in a new phone: vibrating ringer, good reception and small size. The Sanyo gives you so much more than that for the money; I have not seen a better overall PCS phone or better value.
Small means SMALL. It's 1.5 inches wide by 5 inches tall and as thin or thinner than almost any phone (Qualcomm slim phone excepted) so it'll fit in your jeans pocket and make you forget it's there. I'm sure it'd be a good space-saver for purses too.
What I noticed right away was the amazing battery life. I never turn off my phone, even as I sleep. If I take it off the charger in the morning, the last power bar on the display is gone by late the next evening. Even if the indicator bars are gone, there are still at least 6 hours of standby remaining, so with use, it lasts about 48 hours on standby easily. I use about 1000 minutes per month both inbound and outbound to give you an idea how much power is used on talk time. If you do not talk this much, the battery might easily last you three days or more on constant standby.
Reception is fantastic. 99% of the time I have no trouble getting a signal and the voice is very clear. My boss and I have our own 4000's and clarity is excellent when we call each other. That alone should point out weak spots in signal transmission, since they are the same model, and we've had none. The other 1% means dropping a call because the signal fades out, only one part (and a very small part-less than a block) of town I can't get a signal in, and someone may call me and the phone indicates good signal strength but the phone doesn't ring or indicate an incoming call. These things happen probably less than 1% of the time, and the last point happened only once to my knowledge. A friend that works for Sprint told me that all PCS phones will do these things sooner or later. True or not, don't let that keep you from using the phone; I just thought I'd mention my experience.
The ringers are cool; you have your choice of 5 conventional rings or 5 musical pieces. What's REALLY nice is that you can adjust ringer volume with two dedicated buttons on the face; you don't have to go through menus to do this. You can scroll through the different volumes, turn the ringer off or vibrate on with these keys, and the same buttons adjust earpiece volume during a call. This is especially useful going from pocket to car, so you can set it down and put the ringer on loud, then easily put it on vibrate later and drop it in your pocket. Having a vibrating ringer is GREAT if you take your phone with you to meetings, church, etc. That way you can check the caller ID and take or avoid taking the call without disturbing others.
The display is of the Indiglo type and is actually bright enough to make your way through a dark, crowded house late at night, kinda like a really dim flashlight. It's bright enough to read something by if you hold the display right up to it and your night vision is average. What's great is that you can use it to locate your keyhole at home or if you're parked in darkness to avoid scratching the paint!
Having a good basic 4-function calculator included is a NICE touch.
When you program your phone book, you can assign a small icon to each number that has the same name, to cut down on access time. For instance, my boss has a work, home, fax, and mobile number, but I don't have to scroll through all of that separately. I just find his name and then the icons show which numbers of his are work, home, fax, and mobile. I just pick which icon I want and the number dials. That way, if you have a bunch of friends or business associates, and they all have more than one number, you normally would have a phone list a mile long to scroll through. The Sanyo keeps it short and sweet. Of course, you can find a name by first letter too.
The scrolling duties are handled by a silver 4-position pad so you can pan up and down and then select left to right. Easier than buttons, I feel. The fact that it's a dual-band is going to be really useful for vacations or trips to where PCS service isn't around. And since it's standard, you don't have to scratch your head wondering if you want to pay an extra $50 or so for analog roaming capability, which might end up saving your butt one of these days.
The Sanyo has a side port for use as a mobile modem, which is a really great capability. I haven't used it so I can't comment, but I do use the port for something else: handsfree headset! THIS ROCKS! I LOVE using the phone with a headset when I'm in the car! Not only does it save you some concentration (which I feel really should be 100% for driving, not talking) but since I drive a stick, I don't have to keep saying:
(talk talk talk) "hold on I gotta shift" (pause) "okay, like I was saying" (talk talk talk) "Argh! hold on I gotta shift again!" (pause)
Of course, if you use your phone for residential long distance instead of a land line, you can tuck the phone in your pocket while you chop onions or something (have a beer) and not crick your neck holding the phone in place. I bought a big headset for $20 while I was at Radio Shack and the performance is impeccable. It's the one with the simulated leather earpiece and flexible boom. You can buy for about the same money an earpiece that slips in your ear and the mike hangs down on a cord that plugs in the phone. I haven't used that kind so I can't comment, but it's certainly a lot smaller and looks easier to store in a bag or pocket.
I paid $149 with a $50 rebate each for buying two at once at Radio Shack. By the way, when purchasing a phone, you might want to ask the help if a promotion is coming around. Sprint did a Valentine's Day special: $30 rebate for any one phone or $100 for two, and they retailed at $149, so that's how I got mine for $99: one for me, one for my boss. (I think he got jealous of his wife's phone, same model). Now I, my boss, and my boss' wife all have one and when we get together we set them down and can't tell whose phone is whose! Seriously, we use the custom marquee on the display to tell them apart. I'm just expressing the opinion that such a scenario is the only thing, along with buttons that are a little smaller than some other phones, that can be considered a con about owning one. If all these things sound good to you, you must try out this phone!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
micmackman
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Member: Mike
Location: Austin, Texas
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
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