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Sanyo Katana hands-on impressionsBy Ben Patterson, 29 June 2006
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Sanyo Katana
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Sanyo Katana
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Sanyo Katana
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Sanyo Katana
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Sanyo Katana
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Sanyo Katana
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Available in four colors and set for release in July, the stylish handset boasts a VGA camera, Bluetooth, wireless backup, and more.

Sanyo Katana
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Slated to arrive next month in Sprint's handset lineup, the Katana clamshell phone has the same slim-and-trim profile of Motorola's RAZR handsets and the Samsung MM-A900 "Blade," although it's lacking their 3G abilities.

We had a chance to check out the Katana at Gotham's Digital Experience show, and we came away impressed by how light and comfortable the phone felt in our hands, although at 3.9 by 2.0 by 0.6 inches and 3.5 ounces, the Katana has about the same size and heft as the RAZR and the Blade. Zipping around the various menus, the phone seemed reasonably responsive, and the internal 65,000-color LCD looked reasonably good given its cut-rate STN pedigree.

While the Katana's design is certainly striking, it falls short in the feature department. Saddled with 2.5G 1xRTT support – as opposed to the 3G EV-DO speeds of the Blade and the CDMA RAZRs – the Katana can't download music tracks or stream video like its wafer-thin competitors, and its VGA camera pales compared to the 1.3-megapixel cameras built into the Motorola and Samsung phones. Still, the Katana packs in Bluetooth (including hands-free, vCard transfer and dial-up networking profiles), Sprint's wireless backup service (which lets you preserve your contacts online), voice dialing and memos, and a speakerphone.

Specifications

  • VGA camera
  • Bluetooth
  • Wireless backup support
  • 1xRTT data
  • Dual 65,000-color LCDs
  • Voice dialing and memos
  • Speakerphone

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