CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
» infoSync TV » Review Center
» Tech Gifts » Expert guides
» RSS & Alerts » Ask The Editors
Home / Review Center / Cell phones / Stylish and lightweight phones
Review: Sanyo SCP-8400 entertainment phoneBy Philip Berne, Tuesday 3 October 2006
GALLERY
Sanyo SCP-8400
Enlarge
Sanyo SCP-8400
Enlarge
Sanyo SCP-8400
Enlarge
Sanyo SCP-8400
Enlarge
Sanyo SCP-8400
Enlarge
 
 
Sanyo's colorful flip-phone graduates to full 3G status and packs in a 1.3-megapixel camera, GPS navigation and push-to-talk. See if the SCP-8400 survived our torture test.

Review summary of the Sanyo SCP-8400:
Compare »   Gallery »
Sanyo SCP-8400 The Sanyo SCP-8400 makes for a fine addition to Sprint's Power Vision EV-DO line-up. Streaming video looks great full-screen on the phone, and Sirius radio sounds so good you'll wish there were more channels to hear. Web browsing is clunky, which is unfortunate because the phone is obviously fast. Though Sanyo tries hard to make the camera worthwhile with innovative features such as a macro mode and loads of imaging settings, ultimately, mediocre image quality and a confusing interface hold it back. Happily, calls on the phone sound great, a nice reminder that Sanyo hasn't forgotten the "phone" in "mobile phone." Release: October 2006. Price: $100.
Pros: Smooth video streaming; 20 channels of Sirius radio; GPS navigation with points-of-interest database; above-average call quality.
Cons: Tricky keypad; too easy to sign out of the for-purchase IM client.
Poor
Mediocre
Good
78%
VERY GOOD
Excellent
Full review of the Sanyo SCP-8400:
Multimedia - Very good

Though it suffers from a feeble Web browser, multimedia offerings on the SCP-8400 are good thanks to Sprint's online content. Plenty of tunes are available from the Spint Music Store, and the player can show artwork and group music into playlists. Sprint TV also works well: shows look good, with a little blockiness on some programs, and the phone can display video full-screen in landscape view, revealing a nice, wide picture. Sirius offers 20 music channels through Sprint's Power Vision network, at an additional cost, of course, and these sound great, although track titles and artist listings would have been nice. The browser, while snappy, cannot handle any complicated content. The New York Times homepage looks jumbled, with overlapping fields and missing images. We liked the phone's GPS navigation abilities, courtesy of Garmin Mobile. Directions were accurate, though the maps were not very detailed. The GPS software can recommend nearby points of interest, including the cheapest place around for gasoline.

Camera - Good

The camera on the SCP-8400 is above average for a multimedia phone, but it won't be competing with Nokia's high-end camera offerings any time soon. Image colors were accurate, though bright lights tipped the balance toward overexposure. Sanyo claims a dial near the lens will switch between macro and landscape images, but there was no visible difference between the two. Time between shots was a little slow, about four seconds, and navigating the camera's settings was confusing, as menus had ambiguous names such as "Picture Mode," and "Image Controls." The photo album viewer was disappointing, with no zoom and no quick method for sending pictures to the computer via Bluetooth. The camera boasts an LED flash, but it was hardly effective, as low-light pictures were too grainy to be useful. The camcorder -- low resolution though it is -- functions well, without stutter or blurring.

Messaging - Good

The screen on the SCP-8400 displays text at tiny font sizes, making it easy to fit a couple hundred characters on screen in your IM client. Yahoo, MSN, and AOL clients are available for an additional fee, and, once purchased, function more or less like their desktop counterparts. Typing on the phone is made difficult by the recessed keys, and the sluggish interface had a hard time keeping up with our speedy keystrokes. The phone does not handle multiple applications well, and though it is possible to leave your IM client running in the background while you access other functions, it is too easy to accidentally quit your client and go offline, which means you won't get new messages until you sign on again.

Calling - Very good

Call quality was very good on the SCP-8400. Voices sounded clear and accurate. Sound was a little muddy on the receiving end, but background noise was suppressed, and there was no audible static. The contact list looks good and is easy to edit, but while-typing lookups are not supported, so be prepared to scroll if you have a long list. The phone has enough fields for contacts, with the ability to add numerous phone numbers, but naturally isn't as robust as an Outlook-style client. Three-way calling is not difficult, but requires a step or two into the menus to make the final connection. Reception was always good, Power Vision, Sprint's EV-DO, seemed to always be available. Finally, Sprint's Ready Link service should appeal to anyone looking for push-to-talk chatting.

Related phones: Samsung entertainment phones

Samsung MM-A900M
Full gallery »
 
Samsung MM-A900M

When: September 2006 Worth: $10 Carrier: Sprint

Available now on Sprint, the MM-A900M boasts a few interface updates, but otherwise it's the same Blade you know and love.

Full story »
Samsung MM-A960
Full gallery »
 
Samsung MM-A960

When: October 2006 - $230 Carrier: Sprint

First spotted last April at CTIA, this classy handset comes with EV-DO data capabilities, Bluetooth, an external OLED, and a speakerphone.

Full story »


Comparison

Compare the Sanyo SCP-8400 with similar products


Price and availability

Available October 1 through Sprint, the Sanyo SCP-8400 will retail for $280, or $100 with a two-year contract.

Best Stylish and lightweight phones
Name Score Price Carrier
C
Click here to see full and advanced chart »
 
 
 
RECOMMENDED
Bold vs. E71 vs. Epix vs. Treo 800w
 
Storm vs. iPhone 3G vs. Omnia vs. Touch Diamond
 
T-Mobile G1 vs. Xperia X1 vs. Touch Pro vs. AT&T Fuze
 
TOP STORIES
New cell phones and smartphones this week
 
BlackBerry Storm review (Verizon Wireless)
 
Best Windows Mobile smartphones
Top 15 smartphones
 
Best slider QWERTY smartphones
 
Hottest smartphones and cell phones coming in November
CELL PHONE RESOURCE CENTER
Best phones
 
Expert guides
 
Ask the Editors
» Top 15
QWERTY phones
 
All-touch phones
 
Touchscreen phones
Business phones
 
Multimedia phones
 
Concept phones
3+ inch screen phones
 
Wi-Fi phones
 
More...
» Search (New!)
Search by cell phone features
» Manual comparison (New!)
Select up to 4 cell phones side-by-side
» By release
October 2008, November 2008, December 2008
» Top 15 by carrier
Unlocked, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Helio, Alltel
» Top 15 by user type
Average Joe, Business users, Calling addicts, Fashion conscious users, Globetrotters, High-res addicts, Internet addicts, Multimedia enthusiasts, Music aficionados, Outdoor enthusiasts, TV addicts, Video lovers, More...
» Top 15 by brand
Apple, HTC, LG, Motorola, Nokia, BlackBerry, Samsung, Sony Ericsson Other
» Top 15 by platform
Palm OS, Symbian S60, Symbian UIQ, Windows Mobile
» Top 15 by cell phone type
Business smartphones, Multimedia smartphones
Consumer QWERTY phones, Multimedia phones
Concept phones
NOW IN PHONES
Are gadgets and CE in general more useless than ever?
 
New cell phones and smartphones this week
 
iPhone 2.2 software update
 
Samsung Eternity review (AT&T)
 
BlackBerry Storm review (Verizon Wireless)
LG Incite all-touch Windows Mobile smartphone comes to AT&T
Adobe Flash 10 support for smartphones in late 2009
Xperia Panels review for Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
Next 25 stories
MUST READ
CELL PHONES
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
LAPTOPS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
CAMERAS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
MP3 players
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
INTERNET TABLETS
» Coming soon
» Top 15
» Best-rated
GPS NAVIGATORS
HDTVs
CAMCORDERS
About us | Site map | How to advertise | Feedback | RSS Feeds | | Archive
Copyright 1999-2008 © infoSync World