Sanyo SCP-2400 (Silver Sky)
Intro:
Positives: The Sanyo SCP-2400 supports family-friendly features, such as Sprint's parental control and family locator services. It also supports Sprint's Ready Link push-to-talk network, plus it features voice recording, voice dialing, analog roaming, and a speakerphone with great audio quality. Negatives: The Sanyo SCP-2400 has a rather unappealing design, and the colors on the internal display appear washed out. Facts: The Sanyo SCP-2400 is a basic handset that didn't impress us in terms of design. But because of its support for family-friendly services, it could be a great phone for both parents and kids. Note: This product is part of the Sanyo SCP-2400 series. .
Sanyo SCP-2400 (Silver Sky)
Sprint is one of several cell phone carriers now offering family-friendly handset packages. Verizon has its Chaperone service for the LG Migo, which lets parents know where their kids are, and Disney Mobile will have its own version sometime soon. Sprint's service comes in the form of a built-in parental control feature in selected handsets, and the Sanyo SCP-2400 is one of them. While it is a basic phone, the SCP-2400 also supports the Ready Link walkie-talkie network, which is another handy feature for families wanting to keep in touch. The phone is available now for the suggested retail price of $179.99, though it's only $29.99 after rebate with a two-year agreement. It comes in five different colors: Silver Sky, Midnight Black, Dark Bronze, True Blue, and Misty Rose. Like the Sanyo SCP-3100, the SCP-2400 has the appearance of a child's toy. Its plastic exterior and large speaker grille scream kid-size walkie-talkie. At 3.3 by 1.8 by 1.0 inches and 3.5 ounces, it fits in a purse without a problem, but it fits rather tightly in a pants pocket. Opening the clamshell takes a negligible amount of effort, and it cradles comfortably next to the ear. The Sanyo SCP-2400 has a large speaker grille. Right beneath the speaker grille is the 1-inch-diagonal monochrome external screen that has an orange backlight when activated. It displays the signal and battery strength, the time, and caller ID. On the left spine is the headset jack, a voice-recording key that doubles as the Ready Link key, and the volume rocker. The SCP-2400 has an extendable antenna as well. Open up the phone, and you'll find a rather disappointing 65,000-color, 1.75-inch-diagonal display. Colors appear washed out, and the screen is difficult to see in bright sunlight. You can adjust the backlight timer of the internal display, the keypad, and the external screen. The font size, the default greeting, the background, contrast, the background color for incoming calls, and the sleep-mode timer are adjustable to suit your preference. The navigational controls and keypad layout are very similar to those of the SCP-3100. There are the two soft keys, a five-way toggle that doubles as shortcuts to messaging, the phone book, the My Content folder (a list of games, ring tones, screensavers, applications, IM and e-mail, and call tones), and the My Favorites folder (a "smart" list of shortcuts to frequently used features). Underneath the left soft key is the Web browser button, and underneath the right soft key is the Back button. We found this arrangement a little odd, and we found ourselves accidentally hitting the Web button when we meant to make a call because it is located where the Talk key usually is. Below those are the Talk, Speakerphone, and End/power keys, followed by the keypad. The keys have a greenish backlight when activated. The primary attractions of the SCP-2400 are Sprint's parental control services and support for the carrier's Ready Link push-to-talk network. Aside from those, the phone has mostly basic features. There's a 300-entry address book, and each contact can store up to seven numbers, an e-mail address, a Web site URL, an assigned group label, a personalized ring tone [you can choose from 16 polyphonic (32-chord) ring tones], and a picture caller ID. As the phone doesn't have a camera, you'll have to get the picture ID in a multimedia message or download some clip art as photo substitutes. There is a separate Ready Link contact list that stores up to 200 personal contacts and 200 business contacts. Other offerings include text and picture messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, a calendar, a scheduler, a to-do list, a world clock, a calculator, a stopwatch, an alarm clock, voice dialing, voice recording, a vibrate mode, a wireless Web browser, analog roaming, and a built-in speakerphone that can be activated prior to calls. The SCP-2400 also supports an optional service called Wireless Backup, which lets you back up your entire phone's information to Sprint's servers, in case your phone gets lost or stolen. Accessing the parental control features couldn't be easier; it's actually the first option on the top left of the main menu screen. Enter in a lock code, and you can then set limitations on incoming and outgoing calls (ranging from allowing all calls to just special preselected numbers), lock or unlock the Ready Link walkie-talkie service or the PCS Vision service (which includes text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, Web browsing, and games), assign special phone numbers, edit the phone book, and change the lock code for the phone. What's more, there's an optional service called Sprint Family Locator, which uses GPS technology that lets parents track where their child is at all times. Parents can track their child either from another Sprint phone or from their PC. As for personalization options, you can customize your phone with a variety of different backgrounds, animations, screensavers, ring tones, and more. The only game included is World Poker Tour, but as with all the other options, you can download more from Sprint's store via the wireless WAP 2.0 browser on the phone. We tested the dual-band, trimode (CDMA 800/1900; AMPS 800) Sanyo SCP-2400 in San Francisco with the Sprint network. Call quality was great on both ends, and callers could hardly tell we were on a cell phone. Speakerphone audio quality was similarly impressive. Web performance was slow, as expected. The Sanyo SCP-2400 has a rated talk time of 3.5 hours, which we met in our tests, and a standby time of 5 days. We doubled the standby time to 10 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the Sanyo SCP-2400 has a digital SAR rating of 1.27 watts per kilogram.
Our recommendation: Undecided
Provided by Evelyn Taylor - Belzoni, Mississippi
Keywords: cell phone rental, smallest mobile phone review
Nokia 6030
Intro:
Positives: The Nokia 6030 is a basic yet stylish phone, and it has a raised keypad, which makes it easy to dial by feel. The speakerphone and the built-in radio are a nice touch. Negatives: The Nokia 6030 has disappointing display quality, and the navigational controls feel a bit cheap. The handset is also a tad bulky for such a basic phone. Facts: The Nokia 6030 is a basic phone that's actually stylish. And with extra perks such as a speakerphone and a built-in radio, the Nokia 6030 is great for those who just want to make calls.
Nokia 6030
The Nokia 6030 is yet another of Nokia's basic phones, primarily for those who just want a phone that works. Devoid of fancy features such as a camera, a music player, and Bluetooth, the Nokia 6030 is intended only for making phone calls. It retails for an incredibly low $19.99, but if you sign up for a two-year contract with Cingular Wireless, you can get the phone for free. The Nokia 6030 is basic not only in terms of functionality but also in its design. Measuring 4 by 1.7 by 0.7 inches and weighing 3.17 ounces, the 6030 is a tad bulky and has a simple candy bar design. Yet, it does have smooth, rounded corners and a sleek black and silver color scheme that adds style to its otherwise basic appearance. The display isn't much to look at, however, with its 65,536-color palette and small 1.5-inch-diagonal stature. Although you can't change the font size, you can change the display's contrast. Underneath the Nokia 6030's screen are the navigational controls, which consist of two soft keys and a five-way toggle that doubles as shortcuts to text messaging, Cingular's Media Net portal, the address book, the My Stuff folder, and the menu. These shortcuts cannot be changed. Below the soft keys are the Talk and End buttons. All the above buttons were simple enough to press, but they felt cheap and plasticky, which didn't make for a tactile navigation experience. The dial-pad keys are raised and shaped in pill-like bumps, making them much easier to press than the navigation controls, and it was also a cinch to dial by feel. In a departure from most cell phones but similar to most other Nokias, the Nokia 6030's power button is on top of the handset. On the bottom are the charger and the headset ports. The Nokia 6030 has a basic yet stylish design. The Nokia 6030 comes with an impressive 500-contact address book, and each entry can store up to five numbers, an e-mail address, a Web address, a street address, and a note. You can add an image for each entry for caller ID, but since there's no camera, you'll have to use one of the included graphics as a replacement. You can organize your contacts by caller groups and assign a group with any of seven polyphonic ring tones, though you can download more MIDI and MP3 ring tones. The Nokia 6030 has a built-in speakerphone that you can turn on only after you make a call, plus there's instant messaging (AOL, Yahoo, and ICQ), text and multimedia messaging, a vibrate mode, automatic redial, and last-number redial. A WAP 2.0 browser that connects to Cingular's Media Net portal is also included, but Web access is predictably poky and close to unusable. Organizational tools include an alarm clock, a calendar, a to-do list, notes, a calculator, a stopwatch, and a countdown timer. There's also a built-in FM radio, which requires a headset to work. You can personalize the Nokia 6030 with a variety of themes, wallpaper, screensavers, graphics, and alert tones. Java (J2ME) games included with the phone are Block Breaker, Club Pinball, and Tetris. You can purchase additional ring tones via Cingular's Media Mall, as well as additional graphics, games, and applications. We tested the dual-band (GSM850/1900; GPRS) Nokia 6030 in the San Francisco area using Cingular's network. Calls sounded good despite a little fuzz, and callers heard us loud and clear. The Nokia 6030 has a rated talk time of 3 hours, but we managed to eke out an amazing 15 hours of tested talk time. The rated standby time is up to 12 days; we got 3 extra days in our tests. According to FCC radiation tests, the Nokia 6030 has a digital SAR rating of 0.70 watts per kilogram.
Our recommendation: Buy
Provided by Cynthia Beggs - Ceresco, Michigan
Keywords: the tracf cell phone, free pay as you go mobile phone
Preview: HP iPAQ hw6510 Mobile Messenger
Intro:
HP iPAQ hw6510 Mobile Messenger
Our recommendation: Do not buy
Written by Stephanie Fries - Jemison, Alabama
Keywords: hands free cell phone, sagem 3020 mobile phone
In the lab: Motorola Razr V3m (Verizon Wireless)
Intro:
Positives: The Motorola Razr V3m adds an integrated music player, VZ Navigator (Verizon's GPS navigation service), and a Micro SD card slot. Like the V3c, it has a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, a speakerphone, EV-DO support, and access to Verizon's 3G service. Negatives: The Motorola Razr V3m suffers from poor speakerphone quality, a low-resolution display, and no analog roaming. You also have to remove the battery to access the Micro SD card, which is a bit of a pain. Facts: The Motorola Razr V3m is the same as the Razr V3c in many ways, except for the addition of the music player, the Micro SD card slot, and support for VZ Navigator. Note: This product is part of the Motorola Razr series. .
Motorola Razr V3m (Verizon Wireless)
The Motorola Razr V3m is the successor to the Razr V3c, both of which are exclusive to Verizon Wireless. The most notable improvement is the addition of an integrated music player, a Micro SD card slot, and support for VZ Navigator, Verizon's GPS navigation service. Otherwise, the Razr V3m looks and feels exactly the same, and it has many of the same features as its sibling. The Razr V3m retails for much cheaper than the V3c--about $119.99 for a two-year contract and $169.99 for a one-year contract--but unless you want an integrated music player on your phone, you shouldn't feel compelled to upgrade. The Motorola Razr V3m looks exactly like the previous Razr V3c. As we mentioned, the Motorola Razr V3m is identical in look and feel to the V3c. It boasts the same sleek profile (3.9 by 2.1 by 0.6 inches) and shares the same gray coloring, external display, controls, flip mechanism, and so forth. The Razr V3m also has the dedicated camera and video recorder key next to the navigation controls. While there's nothing wrong with keeping the design elements, we were a little disappointed that Motorola didn't increase the screen's 65,000-color output or add a camera flash. Another complaint we had was with the Verizon menu system (also found on the V3c), still a little confusing to us. For example, the music player and camera functions are hidden in the Get It Now submenu rather than having dedicated icons in the menu. The Motorola Razr V3m has a 1.3-megapixel camera. Now, we hate to sound like a broken record, but the Motorola Razr V3m is very similar to the V3c, even in terms of features. It has a 1,000-contact phone book, caller groups, picture caller ID, and ring-tone caller ID; 25 polyphonic (72-chord) tones are included with the phone. Other features include text and multimedia messaging, a calendar, Bluetooth, voice dialing and commands, a voice recorder, a vibrate mode, an alarm clock, a calculator, a note pad, and a world clock. The 1.3-megapixel camera on the V3m also mirrors that of the V3c, with many of the same settings and options. The only new item we noticed with the V3m was the addition of a self-timer function. Like the Razr V3c, the Razr V3m took pretty decent shots but nothing great. You can read about all the other camera options in our review of the Razr V3c. The Motorola Razr V3m took good but not great shots. The primary attraction of the Motorola Razr V3m is the addition of the MP3 player. To access the music player, navigate to the aforementioned Get It Now submenu, select "Get tunes & tones," then My Music. It supports both MP3 and AAC formats, and you can upload music to the phone or download tunes via Verizon's V Cast Music store. We liked that you can create a personalized playlist of songs. With this multimedia functionality, we're also glad to see the addition of a Micro SD card slot, giving the V3m more storage options for photos, videos, and music files. Unfortunately, you have to remove the battery in order to access it, which we found annoying. Also new is the addition of Verizon's GPS service called VZ Navigator. For a modest fee of $9.99 a month or $2.99 per day, you get a decent GPS service and fewer reasons for getting lost. Along with EV-DO, the V3m also supports V Cast, Verizon's high-speed content service. V Cast offers a wide variety of content such as video games, TV show clips, movie previews, and application downloads, while V Cast Music is Verizon's online music store that offers speedy downloads of the latest music hits. However, the V Cast service costs $15 per month, and V Cast Music store charges $1.99 per song download. As with the previous Razrs, you can personalize the V3m with a variety of wallpaper, screensavers, and ring tones, along with the option to download more. As for games, Tetris and Pac-Man are included, and you can download more if you want. We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900; EV-DO) Motorola Razr V3m in San Francisco using Verizon Wireless. Call quality was great, and callers had no problem hearing us and vice versa. Speakerphone quality was acceptable. As for the audio quality of the music when heard through the speakers, it was decent but a little one-dimensional, tinny, and nothing too impressive. The Razr V3m supports stereo headsets, but since the V3m doesn't have a regular headset jack, you'll have to purchase Motorola's stereo headset ($29.99) separately. V Cast reception was pretty good, and we liked how fast songs and stream video clips downloaded to the phone. The Motorola Razr V3m has a rated talk time of 3 hours and a standby time of 13 days; we managed to eke out a talk time of 3 hours, 58 minutes in our tests. For standby time, we managed 10 days. According to FCC radiation tests, the Razr V3m has a digital SAR rating of 1.14 watts per kilogram.
Our recommendation: Buy
Provided by Kirby Escobar - Grove Hill, Alabama
Keywords: cover cell phone water dot, mobile phone tools outlook
Review: Samsung SGH-ZX20
Intro:
Positives: The Samsung SGH-ZX20 offers decent call quality and comes with a full range of features including support for high-speed networks, world phone capability, Bluetooth, and a speakerphone. Negatives: The Samsung SGH-ZX20's low-key design doesn't lend itself to its high-end features. Facts: Though the Samsung SGH-ZX20 offers some cool features and solid performance, its mundane design doesn't do them justice.
Samsung SGH-ZX20
Back in January, when we first saw Samsung SGH-ZX20 at CES, we have to admit we took notice. Sure, the design wasn't particular impressive, and it paled in comparison to the company's Korean-market handsets, but the prospect of a 3.5G HSDPA handset from a U.S. carrier was exciting. Yet seven months later, we can safely say that much of that initial excitement has worn off. Not only did we have to wait a long time for the SGH-ZX20, but in the meantime LG beat Samsung to the punch with the LG CU500. And though the SGH-ZX20 delivers on its promised features, the CU500's sharper design is better suited to the advanced multimedia capabilities both phones share. On the upside, the SGH-ZX20 is fairly priced at $149 with a two-year contract. It's difficult not to use the word but when discussing the Samsung SGH-ZX20's design. For example, we give Samsung props for not pumping out yet another Razr imitator, but the SGH-ZX20 is far from eye-catching. We like its compact shape, but we aren't in love with the small and uninspiring internal display. The black-and-silver color scheme is attractive but we don't care for the monochrome external LCD. So really, the SGH-ZX20 is a mixed bag. While some users may like the modest design that blends in with many other Samsung handsets--it's almost indistinguishable from its predecessor, the SGH-ZX10--we were hoping for a somewhat more stylish form factor, particularly from a 3.5G handset. The Samsung SGH-ZX20's right spine holds the MicroSD card slot. The SGH-ZX20 measures 3.5 by 1.9 by 1.0 inches and weighs in at 3.9 ounces. As a result, it's easily portable and will fit in smaller pockets. It also benefits from a solid construction, and it feels comfortable in the hand. An external antenna adds a bit more girth, but it doesn't feel flimsy. Front and center is the external display. Though it's big for the phone's size (1 inch diagonally), we were disappointed that it was monochrome only. It shows the date, the time, battery life, and signal strength, but it doesn't support photo caller ID. Though you can adjust the contrast or personalize the screen with a greeting or a rudimentary image, it's just below our expectation for a megapixel camera phone. Immediately above the display is a small flash, while the camera lens sits in the middle of the hinge. In a nice touch, the lens swivels 180 degrees, enabling you to take self-portraits or shots of objects away from you. On the right spine is a button for changing the ringer profile and the covered MicroSD card slot. A volume rocker and a covered headset jack sit on the right spine, while the bottom end houses the charger port. We were hoping, however, for an external camera shutter. Inside the phone is the 262,000-color TFT display. As previously mentioned, it's smaller (1.75 inches diagonally) than many other 3G phones, and at 176x220 pixels, it also has a lower resolution. While it's perfectly fine for scrolling through menus, playing games, and taking photos, it won't do justice to the streaming video. You can change the backlighting time, the brightness, and the font size and color. Yet like most Samsung displays, it's difficult to see in direct light. The navigation controls and the keypad buttons take cues from the Samsung SGH-ZX10 as well. The four-way toggle is a bit small, and the OK button in its center instead acts as a Web browser shortcut when in standby mode rather than opening the main menu. We liked, however, that the toggle can be set to give one-touch access to four user-defined functions. Immediately above the toggle are two thin controls that activate the camera and open a secondary shortcut menu. While the keys were user-friendly, their placement above the two soft keys was confusing because we kept pressing them to activate the command on the screen. On the other hand, the actual soft keys are large, as are the Talk and End/power buttons and also the dedicated Clear control. The backlit keypad buttons are large, easy to read, and well spaced, but they're flush with the surface of the phone, which made dialing by feel difficult. The Samsung SGH-ZX20's phone book holds a hefty 1,000 contacts, while the SIM card holds an additional 250 names. Each entry holds five phone numbers, two e-mail addresses, a Web address, a birthday, a job title and company, a nickname, and notes. You can organize callers into groups and pair them with one of 5 polyphonic (64-chord) or 10 MP3 ring tones. You can also assign photos to a contact, but as previously mentioned, they won't appear on the external display. Other features include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a daily and weekly calendar with an event scheduler and a task list, a calculator, a unit converter, a world clock, and a speakerphone. Instant messaging is on board as well with options for AOL, MSN, Yahoo, and ICQ, and in an improvement over the Samsung SGH-ZX10, there's full Bluetooth 2.0. As we said earlier, the SGH-ZX20 follows the LG CU500 as Cingular's second HSDPA phone. A step above the 3G UMTS network on the SGH-ZX10, HSDPA is a 3.5G technology that essentially brings wireless broadband data speeds to a cell phone. Cingular is promising speeds of 400Kbps to 700Kbps for its HSDPA network, which allows for steaming video and quick downloads. The ZX20 supports Cingular Video, and its full assortment of programming that includes news clips, weather reports, and sports recaps. The Samsung SGH-ZX20 has a rotating camera lens. The Samsung SGH-ZX20 has a 1.3-megapixel digital camera. You can take pictures in four resolutions (1,280x1,024; 640x480; 320x240; and 176x144) and use such features as a multishot and mosaic-shot options, four quality settings, brightness and white-balance effects, spot metering, three lighting effects, 50 fun frames, three ISO settings, a self-timer, and a 4X zoom. Take note, however, that zoom is not an option at the largest resolutions. The camcorder shoots clips in two resolutions, 176x144 and 128x96, with sound; editing options are on a par with the still camera's. Videos sent for MMS messages are capped at 20 seconds, or you can record for as long as an hour. Once you're done with your shots and clips, you can save them to the phone's 40MB of shared memory or to a MicroSD card. The Samsung SGH-ZX20 has decent if slightly washed-out photo quality. If you'd rather just listen to some tunes, the Samsung SGH-ZX10 has a music player with support for MP3, AAC, and RealOne files, which you can store on the TransFlash card. The interface is Spartan, but it does the trick if you need aural entertainment in short stints. You can personalize the SGH-ZX20 with a variety of wallpaper and background colors. You can purchase more options and more ring tones from Cingular. As for gaming, there are demo versions of five Java (J2ME) titles: Midnight Pool, Bowling 3D, Asphalt Urban GT 3D, The Last Age, and Power Inline X. If you want the full games or more choices, you'll have to buy them. We tested the quadband (GSM 850/900/1800/1900; UMTS 800/1900) Samsung SGH-ZX20 world phone in San Francisco using Cingular Wireless service. Call quality was quite good and comparable with that of its predecessor, the Samsung SGH-ZX10. Callers could tell we were using a cell phone, but the handset performed admirably with little static, interference, or disruption. Volume quality was acceptable as well, and we experienced decent speakerphone and Bluetooth calls. With the HSDPA network, downloads of games and ring tones was lightning quick. Web browsing was somewhat sluggish, however, and HSDPA coverage faded in and out when inside buildings. The SGH-ZX20 also supports UMTS, EDGE, and GPRS networks. At the time of this writing, our test phone wasn't approved to access Cingular Video to assess the streaming-video quality. Check back soon for a full report. The Samsung SGH-Z20 has a rated talk time of 4 hours and a promised standby time of 10 days. Our tests revealed a talk time of 3 hours and 53 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the SGH-ZX20 has a digital SAR rating of 0.76 watts per kilogram.
Our recommendation: Do not buy
Contributed by Kenneth Welch - Howard, Kansas
Keywords: apple cell phone, answer questions via text on your mobile phone melbourne australia
