Review: Sanyo SCP-3100 free clamshell

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	Review: Sanyo SCP-3100 free clamshell	By Ben Patterson, Friday 25 August 2006

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A close cousin of the Sanyo SCP-2400, the 3100 clamshell comes in the same range of eye-catching colors but replaces the 2400's parental controls with a VGA camera. How does it compare to its free-phone competition?

Review summary of the Sanyo SCP-3100:

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Armed with a VGA camera and solid calling and messaging features, the colorful and relatively compact Sanyo SCP-3100 makes for a tempting entry-level phone. While this clamshell lacks the parental features and voice messaging of the SCP-2400, the 3100 will do the trick for anyone looking to make calls, squawk with their push-to-talk buddies, text and snap the occasional photo. That said, we wish the phone had a bit more battery life. Release: April 2006.

Pros: Good call quality; three-way calling; voice commands; while-typing search results for contacts; VGA camera

Cons: No Bluetooth; instant messaging requires monthly fees; so-so battery life

Poor

Mediocre

Good

76%
VERY GOOD

Excellent

Full review of the Sanyo SCP-3100:

Calling - Very good

The SCP-3100's call quality was quite good; we heard our friends loud and clear, even over the speakerphone. The phone doesn't support Bluetooth (no surprise with a free handset), but you do get three-way calling, voice tags, and push-to-talk via Sprint's Ready Link service. We got 3 hours and 20 minutes of talk time from the phone, which is slightly below average but still acceptable. You can store up to 300 contact entries (or a total of 500 numbers) in the 3100's internal memory -- again, not a huge number, but good enough for an entry-level handset. We liked the support for live, while-typing name lookup, and you assign pictures shot with the phone's VGA camera to individual contacts.

Messaging - Good

The SCP-3100's messaging features aren't quite as robust as those on its sibling, the SCP-2400 (which lets you send voice SMS messages), but they're still pretty solid for a free handset. The phone's messaging screen has room for about 125 of 160 possible SMS characters -- not bad -- and you can create new folders and move messages from one folder to another, a feature we don't usually see in basic handsets. Meanwhile, sending snapshots from the built-in camera via MMS is a relatively straightforward process. Instant messaging fanatics can chat via AIM, MSN and Yahoo IM services, but you'll have to fork over an extra $3 a month for the privilege.

Related phones: Budget Sprint phones

Sanyo SCP-2400

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Score: 82% When: July 2006 - $180 Carrier: Sprint

Available in five colors, Sanyo's family-friendly clamshell boasts voice SMS, a speakerphone and push-to-talk for the kids, along with parental controls for the grown-ups. See how the SCP-2400 fared in our rough-and-tumble phone playground.

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Samsung SPH-A640

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When: June 2006 Worth: $Free - $200 Carrier: Sprint

The mid-range A640 boasts Bluetooth, a VGA camera and a striking OLED display, while the entry-level A420 comes with a thin-and-light profile and the SCP-2400 sports a series of parental controls.

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