Reviewed August 21, 2007 by Tong Zhang, Senior Editor Editor's Note 9/2008: Check out our review of the new Katana Eclipse that replaces the DLX. Last summer, Sprint launched the original Sanyo Katana as their answer to the Motorola RAZR. It sold reasonably well to Sprint customers who craved a slim feature phone back in the days when Sprint didn’t have the RAZR. This summer, Sprint and Sanyo released the Katana II, an update to the original Katana, and the Katana DLX, a Katana on steroids. The DLX betters the original Katana and the Katana II by adding  EV-DO Power Vision support, access to the Sprint Music Store and Sprint TV video services, a 1.3 megapixel camera,  increased internal memory from 5MB to 21MB and an expansion slot that supports up to 4GB storage cards. The Katana DLX is a dual band digital CDMA phone with EV-DO (Sprint Power Vision). It’s available in three colors: Platinum Ice, Champagne and Pink Satin.  Design and Ergonomics The original Katana had a plasticy look that gave it an entry-level image. The Katana DLX still looks a bit plasticy but got a shiny makeover with its mirror-like finish. It’s smaller than the original Katana, measuring in at 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches (though ever so slightly thicker). It has more curved edges compared to the original and those edges do make the phone look better. The camera lens and flash live on the front plate above the external color display with the camera quick launch button and volume controls on each side of the flip panel. Inside the phone, we found keys that are raised and easy to press. The keypad backlight is in dim blue, which makes it a little difficult to see in certain lighting conditions. The Katana DLX has a rear-firing speaker that’s loud and there’s a dedicated speaker launch key that sits in between the Talk and End keys. The microSD card slot lives on the right side of the Katana DLX with a standard 2.5mm headset jack right below it, and the charging port lives on the left. The battery is under a latched door on the back of the phone. Phone Features and Reception The Katana DLX is a CDMA digital dual-band phone that operates on Sprint’s 800/1900MHz networks with EVDO (Sprint Power Vision) for data. The DLX has great reception, and gets a stronger signal strength than the LG MUZIQ and the Samsung UpStage. The voice quality is quite good. We didn’t experience any dropped calls in the Dallas Metroplex area. The Katana DLX has a nice set of call management features including call waiting, three-way calling, call forwarding, call screening and roaming guard. The Contacts application can store up to 500 name entries with 700 total phone numbers, 1000 email addresses and 500 web addresses. You can also put street address, assign ringers and caller ID to a contact and assign contacts to groups. The Katana DLX has support for speed dialing, but you can only assign 8 speed dials. While the Katana DLX doesn’t come with speech recognition software for voice dialing, it does offer voice tag-style voice dialing. You must record voice tags for each contact entry you wish to use with the voice dialing. Once the voice tags are recorded, you will be able to make calls using the voice tags, voice dial through Bluetooth headsets and car kits. You can record voice tags for up to 30 contact entries. If you need more that this, you can use Sprint’s Voice Command services for a monthly service fee. For a better hands-free driving experience the Katana DLX does offer a voice guide feature where the phone will read out the keys you press on the phone so that you can hear what you are doing while not looking at the phone. Display, Gaming and Multimedia The Katana DLX has a 2” TFT QVGA internal (main) LCD that can display 260K colors. The display is reasonably bright and color saturated and photos look good. In comparison, the LG MUZIQ phone which sells for less has a larger and sharper display. You can set the display brightness on the Katana DLX as well as assign screen savers. The Katana DLX has a 1.0-inch TFT external (sub) LCD that’s capable of displaying 65K colors. The Katana DLX is a good multimedia feature phone that has access to Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, On Demand and mobile games. In comparison the Katana II doesn’t have support for Sprint’s Power Vision (EV-DO) or the Sprint Music Store and Sprint TV. When you get Sprint’s Power Vision data pack with the Katana DLX, you can buy tracks for $0.99, which is the lowest among carriers in the US. You can play MP3/AAC/AAC+ music files on the Katana DLX through the built-in speaker or through a headset via the standard 2.5mm stereo headset jack. Audio sounds great through the headphone jack, and the audio through the built-in speaker is decent. The  Katana DLX supports Bluetooth A2DP and AVRCP which means you listen to stereo music wirelessly over Bluetooth.

Camera Another upgrade on the Katana DLX is the 1.3 megapixel camera vs. the VGA camera found on the original Katana and the Katana II. It’s a big improvement not only in pixel count but also in picture quality. The photos taken with the Katana DLX look sharp, color balanced and with good contrast in both indoor and outdoor shots. The camera application over-sharpens the photos in a generally pleasing manner. There is no noticeable colorcast in most photos and the Katana DLX deals with contrast better than most 1.3 megapixel camera phones. There’s still some whiteout in direct sunlight, which is common among camera phones, but it’s not too bad by 1.3 megapixel standards. Some intense colors also overwhelm digital cameras and the DLX camera has some issue with that as well. Like most low megapixel digital camera phones, indoor shots have some noise. But the indoor images are quite useable as the noise level isn’t very high and post-production with a desktop image editor can reduce the noise. The Katana DLX can take photos at three resolutions: 960 x 1280, 480 x 640 and 240 x 320 pixels.  You can save the photos to either the phone’s internal memory or a microSD card, post them online, print them to a PictBridge printer or Bluetooth printer, send them to other phones and computers via Bluetooth, or you can send photos to as many as 25 people at a time via MMS. Photos copy fast from the phone to the memory card. The Katana DLX can also take video with audio at either 176 x 144 or 128 x 96 resolution. You can record videos suitable for MMS or long movies, and record videos with or without sound. Video clips taken with the DLX had decent quality, and the audio was in sync with video.

The Katana DLX and Katana II

The Katana DLX and Katana II

Pro: Better aesthetics than the original Katana with pleasing curves and color choices. Strong signal strength and fast data speed by EV-DO standards on feature phones. Support for $.99 per song music store with a Power Vision plan. Comes with Sprint TV and On-Demand. A2DP and AVRCP support. Good camera quality by 1.3MP camera phone standards. Good battery life.
Con: Keyboard backlight is dim. Limited numbers of speed dial entries (up to 8) and voice tags (up to 30). No external music controls.



Display:: 2.0-inch TFT QVGA LCD Main display, 260K colors. 1.0-inch TFT LCD Sub display, 65K colors.
Battery: Sanyo standard Lithium-Ion battery, 920 mAh, 3.7v. Model number: SCP-28LBPS.
Performance: Undisclosed processor. 21MB internal memory. Contacts can hold up to 500 contacts.
Size: 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches. Weight: 3.5 ounces.
Phone: CDMA digital dual band (800/1900 MHz) with EVDO for data.
Camera: 1.3MP with up to 12x digital zoom.
Audio: Built-in mono speaker, mic and standard 2.5mm headphone jack. Voice tag dialing supported, 72-Chord Polyphonic ringers. Voice memo up to 3 minutes. Vibrating alert supported.
Networking: Bluetooth v2.0. Supported profiles include: GAP, SPP, GOEP (General), HSP (Headsets), HFP 1.5 (Hands-free), OPP (vCard transfer), DUN (Dial-up networking), FTP (File Transfer), BPP (Bluetooth Printing), BPP (Bluetooth Printing), A2DP, AVRCP (Stereo Bluetooth) and PBAP (Phone Book Access).
Software: Icon/text-based menu interface. Contacts, Calendar/To-Do list, alarm clock, world clock, stopwatch, countdown timer and calculator. Music player, Sprint TV and On Demand included. SMS, MMS, VoiceSMS, web browser, Mass storage (to PC), PictBridge onboard. Voice tag for voice dialing.
Expansion: 1 microSD slot, 128 meg card included. Supports up to 4 gig cards.
In the Box: The Katana DLX with standard Lithium Ion battery, AC charger, 128MB microSD card with SD card adapter, printed User Guide and other Sprint documentation.
                                                   ( Author : Tong Zhang, Source : mobiletechreview )

  

Review posted Aug. 26, 2006 by Tong Zhang, Senior Editor Update, Augst 2007: Check out the Katana DLX which replaces the Katana. Sprint is the only US carrier who hasn't offered the Motorola RAZR. Instead they've found some interesting alternatives in the super-slim flip phone category. If you want a feature phone with a slim form, built-in Bluetooth, VGA camera, a large display, basic PIM (Personal Information Management) applications and the NetFront web browser that supports Sprint PCS Vision (but not PowerVision) services, the Katana beckons. Named after the Samurai sword, the Katana has a very similar 0.6" thin body and a feature set that’s similar to the Motorola RAZR. Design and Ergonomics The Katana looks like the RAZR with thin panels and an antenna bulge at the bottom. This CDMA phone measures in at 3.88" x 2.0" x 0.58" compared to the RAZR’s 3.86 x 2.08 x 0.57 inches. The Katana doesn’t look as solidly built as the RAZR since the Katana has very thin plastic covers that have more low-end look. When the phone is closed, you will use the color external screen for information such as signal strength, time, battery status and incoming caller IDs as well notifications. Above the display you will find the VGA camera lens. You can launch the camera application and take self-portraits without opening the flip by pressing the camera button on the right side of the phone. Below the LCD is a LED light that shows phone connection stats and more. The mono headset jack also lives on the right side. You will find the volume up and down rocker on the left side of the Katana along with the charging port. You will find the speakerphone grill right below the battery door. When you open the clamshell, you will see the vibrant 2.2” main color display and the earpiece above the display. The keypad on the Katana has a slightly better feel than the RAZR’s and has blue backlight. The number keys are separated from each other but aren’t raised much and won’t provide you with much feedback when dialing by touch. There is a small dot on the number 5 which centers the number pad. Above the number keys you will find a three-key row that includes Talk, Speaker and End/Power buttons. We prefer the dedicated speaker launch button on the keypad to a side button as you will often hold the sides of the phone when talking. You will find the square 5-way directional pad above the number pad and it’s flanked by two soft keys and another camera launch button and the Back key. The mic hole lives below the number pad and just above the antenna bulge. The Katana currently comes in four colors: Blue Sapphire, Mystic Black, Cherry Blossom Pink and Polar White. It's likely we'll see more colors in the future. Phone Features and Reception The Sanyo Katana is a dual-band/tri-mode CDMA phone. It operates on Sprint’s 800 and 1900 MHz digital networks with support for 800 MHz analog, a feature that’s hard to find nowadays thanks to disappearing analog towers. The Katana’s reception is middle of the road. That’s not as good as the Treo 700p on Sprint network here in the Dallas area, but it’s better than the Samsung a920. In a very strong coverage area, the Katana gets full signal strength and in good and fair coverage areas, the Katana usually can get 50% coverage strength. The voice quality on Sprint is very good: voice is crisp and loud without any distortion.

Camera The Katana has an integrated VGA camera that’s takes decent photos by VGA camera standards. With more and more camera phones weighing in at 1.3 megapixels, VGA feel outdated. But it’s certainly better than nothing when you want to snap a fleeting moment. The camera application offers basic functions such as a self timer, white balance and brightness settings and digital zoom. Maximum photo resolution is of course VGA (640 x 480), and the camera offers QVGA resolution (320 x 240) and a low resolution (160 x 120) for caller photo ID. There are also three image quality levels you can choose from depending on how good you want the pictures to look and how big a file you want to send or store. While photo quality isn’t as good as that of the Treo 650’s VGA camera (one of the best among phones we’ve tested), it’s better than many low-end VGA camera phones and images have reasonable color saturation and light balance. You will notice full sun shots look washed out, (a problem which plagues all VGA cameras), and a warm color bias in indoor shots with incandescent light (also not uncommon). Noise levels are quite low by VGA camera standards. Once you’ve taken a photo with the Katana, you can save it to the phone’s internal memory or send it to other compatible phones, email or upload it to Sprint’s picture site. The Katana’s internal memory can hold up 33 photos taken in Fine mode at VGA resolution.  You can send a photo to 16 contacts at once. The Katana doesn’t have a memory card slot or Bluetooth file transfer support. You cannot take videos with the Katana’s camera.

Battery Life The Sanyo Katana comes with a standard Lithium Ion battery that’s 820 mAh in capacity. That’s not too small a battery for a phone that doesn’t have MP3 and video playback capabilities. The claimed talk time is 3.6 hours which seems optimistic in our tests. Talking for 30 minutes on the phone, pairing it with Bluetooth headsets, taking 5 photos and send them to email addresses used about 1/3 of the battery life while keeping the Bluetooth radio on. If you are heavy on the messaging and web usage along with some photo taking and moderate talk time, be prepared to charge the phone everyday. There is no claimed standby time, but in our tests it lasted more than a week in standby mode. If you don’t use the phone very frequently you can put it in power save mode which will prolong the battery life on a charge significantly. If you travel a lot and can’t get to an A/C outlet before using up a charge, you can purchase an extended battery that’s 1350 mAh in capacity which will almost double your talk time. Messaging, Web and PIM The Katana offers SMS/MMS, Sprint PCS Mail and IM and chat features for messaging. Sending and receiving text messages is almost instant, but MMS take a while to get through between carriers if you are sending MMS to phone numbers on other carriers’ networks. The Sprint PCS email and IM features are handy since the phone doesn’t come with an email client. You will need to set up your account online and the speed is decent for the 1xRTT. The Katana comes with a WAP browser that takes you to Sprint’s WAP portal. The portal has links to your messages, downloads, news, weather, sports, entertainment, finance info and more. The browser displays WAP sites fine, but don’t expect it do much more. To manager your personal information, the Katana offers a contacts database what can store up to 700 phone numbers in about 500 contact entries. That’s pretty standard for a feature phone. The Katana supports several address fields including URL, email address, and several phone numbers per record. You can add picture caller IDs, special ringtones, speed dials and voice tags to contact entries. The contact database has group support and is integrated with phone dialing, voice dialing and messaging. In addition to the contacts database, you also get a calendar application that has a monthly view and a day view. You can keep your event schedules and appointments in the calendar and set alarms to remind you of the events. There is also a simple To-Do List application that allows you to keep a list of to-dos with status.  You will also get Stop Watch, Alarm Clock and World Clock applications.

Display: Display: Main display: 2.2” QVGA TFT LCD; 65K colors; 240 x 320 pixels. External display: 1.0” TFT LCD, 65K colors; 96 x 64 pixels.
Battery: Sanyo standard Li-ion battery, 820 mAh, 3.7v, model number: SCP-23LBPS.
Performance: 5 megs internal memory, indisclosed CPU.
Size: 3.88” x 2.0” x 0.58” inches. Weight: 3.4 ounces.
Phone: CDMA digital dual-band (800 MHz and 1900 MHz) and analog 800 MHz. 1xRTT for data.
Camera: VGA camera with digital zoom. Camera resolution: VGA (640 x 480), QVGA (320 x 240) and QQVGA (160 x 120). Can’t take video.
Audio: Built-in mono speaker, mic and proprietary headphone jack with 2.5mm adapter. Voice tag dialing supported. 72-Chord Polyphonic ringtone support. Voice memory, unique ringtones and vibrate as well as silent features supported.
Networking: Bluetooth 1.1.
Software: Contacts, Calendar, text and MMS client, World Clock, Alarm Clock, Stop Watch, To-Do List, Calendar, WAP browser, camera software and games.
Expansion: None.
In the Box: The Katana phone with a standard battery, travel charger, a headset adapter and a printed users guide.
                                           ( Author : Tong Zhang, Source : mobiletechreview )

     

What's hot: Very affordable messaging phone. Attractive phone for the younger crowd. Good messaging features. What's not: No video capturing, no expansion slot and no A2DP support. Reviewed April 28, 2009 by Tong Zhang, Senior Editor Texters who require full QWERTY keyboards on their phones have a lot to choose from these days, but few are at the entry level. Sprint and Sanyo have changed that with the Sanyo SCP-2700 full QWERTY phone, available May 10, 2009. Dressed in your choice of boy/girl blue or pink with floral overlays, the Sanyo SCP-2700 targets the young mobile texting crowd with a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, and built-in GPS and Sprint Navigation support. The phone has the Sprint grid UI that's simple to use, threaded messaging and a web browser. At $29.99 debut price (with a 2-year contract after mail-in rebate), the Sanyo SCP-2700 has some omissions to separate it from higher-priced phones in Sprint's line up: the phone doesn't have an expansion slot, doesn't shoot video, lacks A2DP Bluetooth stereo and it only supports 1X (no EV-DO). Phone Features and Applications The Sanyo SCP-2700 surprisingly doesn't get full bars of 1X everywhere in metro areas where Sprint has good coverage. It usually gets half of a full signal strength but full when coverage is very strong, although the phone never drops a call. Incoming voice quality is very good with clear audio and very little noise, and outgoing voice quality is also good but has some white noise. The SCP-2700 has an internal phone book that can store up to 600 contact entries with up to 7 numbers, 3 email addresses and 1 URL for each entry. The Sanyo allows you to store up to 98 speed dials and supports photo caller ID and unique ringtones. The Sanyo has the excellent Nuance voice command software that works great for voice dialing, using voice to launch applications and checking the time and the phone's status. We tested the voice command via Bluetooth headset and it worked like a charm. The Sanyo has Infraware's Polaris 6.01 basic web browser that loads web pages reasonably fast over 1X networks. The browser can't display full HTML pages very well, but it had no problems with WAP sites we tested. The phone also has a full set of built-in PIM applications including calendar, scheduler, to-do list, world clock, alarm clock and stopwatch. Keyboard and Messaging The Sanyo SCP-2700 is about the same size as the Palm Treo 755p for Sprint, though the Sanyo is half as thick as the Treo. The QWERTY keyboard on the Sanyo has slightly larger keys than the Treo 755p but without the Treo's space between keys. You will need to use the tips of your fingers to type on the QWERTY unless you have smaller hands, which is another design cue in favor of the pre-teen to early teen market. The keyboard is easy to use and has dedicated keys to launch the messaging application, turn on/off speakerphone and emoticons. The 2.2" TFT LCD isn't terribly bright and it supports 65K colors at QVGA resolution. For phone users who favor phone charms, the Sanyo provides the lanyard holes.

                                                                   ( Author : Tong Zhang, Source : mobiletechreview )