Step'in Large and Liv'in Easy! Sanyo improves with the SCP-5300!
Written: Feb 03 '03 (Updated Feb 03 '03)
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Pros: TFT Color Display, Solid Construction, Built in Camera w/flash, Ringers
Cons: Price ($399.99), Size, Low volume earpiece
Did I mention Price?
The Bottom Line: IF you must have the latest, and you need a digital camera, Buy it. Just remember, sumth'in better is always just around the corner.
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| J.A.Ward's Full Review: Sanyo SCP-5300 Cell Phone |
In July of 2001 I wrote an Epinions review for the Sanyo SCP-5000.
At that time, the Sanyo SPC-5000 was the first telephone in the U.S. with a full color (256 colors) display.
Well now its Feb. 2003 and Sanyo is back!
And I am happy to report Sanyo has finally addressed two of my key concerns with the original SCP-5000.
Display and battery life are improved!
In fact the new SCP-5300 has two color displays!
And a built in camera!
1. The color display on the new SCP-5300 is brighter and is more vivid. The new phone has a 2.1" LCD internal screen, as well as an external 1" 65k display.
2. Sanyo now includes both an extended life and standard li-on batteries.
Battery life was a major consideration in previous generation color phones.
In addition to the great displays, advanced battery packs, and a built in camera function, the phone is also easily customizable.
The major drawback is definitely the size. But between the built-in camera and the huge display, I'm not sure how they could have made it much smaller. It's not huge, but it's thicker than my last Sprint phone (Kyocera 2255) by a good margin, which will make a noticeable bulge in your pocket.
The interface is kind of fugly, but it's easy to use.
The 5-way navigation keys are great. The two soft keys and the web and camera shortcut keys are also similarly great. The number keys, however, are flat and mostly flush with the phone. This makes it a bit harder to feel out the keys,
The side keys are oddly located on the right side, making them difficult to press while holding the phone with your right hand. They are also small and recessed, which prevents most accidental key presses, but makes them quite difficult to press intentionally.
The polyphonic ringtone speaker is located on the back. When you hold the phone,the natural position if for your index finger to bee right over the speaker grille, blocking the sound almost completely. This wasn't a major issue, but made it difficult to hear confirmation tones and other alerts. The Sanyo-5300 includes an wide collection of ringtones, some of which sound really incredible. I downloaded the "Knight Rider" T.V. show them. Its awesome!
As other Epinion reviews have pointed out, the speaker volume is unusually low, even at the highest setting. This could be a problem in noisy environments for some people.
When released in Nov. 2002 the Sanyo SCP-5300 marked the first color phone with a built in camera in the U.S. market. Sanyo, it seems, likes to be first!
This phone pretty much has everything thats avl. right now:
PIM (personal information management), camera (with flash!), web access, dual band/tri-mode.
But can you afford it?
If you can, this might just make you the coolest guy/gal on the block....
Until, next year.
:)
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
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Epinions.com ID:
J.A.Ward
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Location: Midwest
Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 5 members
About Me:
internet/techno/auto addict, professional something or other and freelance writer with a gypsy soul
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