Vm4050 Vs A620 Vs PM8200

[Darkspectre]

I'm an existing customer and just recently upgraded from LG5350 to a a620. Now, my original choice was the vm4050, but the lady at the store and my wife talked me outta it. I'm still within the 14day return window, anyone have any idea which one is the better phone? The vga1000 is decent, but it feels like an older phone. I'm not too keen on the sanyo menu layout, but it might be worth it to upgrade to that. Anyone have any ideas/complaints about any of these phones?

Thanks,

- D

[Ted]

better is relative to what you like. go to the store and look at them.. the most notable thing about the 4050 is the screen. i think the 8200 has readylink. yours has a vga camera.

[tas1234]

I would say go for the toshiba, I did and I have loved it, and as far as the 620 it is old tech ,when your talking about the toshiba ,the 620 does not have sms it has shortmail and it is just old but it is a good phone but not as good as the toshiba or the 8200 .

Tas

[DcDave63]

I like my 4050. Yea, its a little bigger than the a620, but the menus are amazing, its fast as hell, the sound is great on the speakerphone, the camera works nicely and the screen is as sharp as can be. Yes the 4050 is being discontinued, but most of the phones out there are being discontinued in the next 4 months as Sprint "refreshes" their line of phones before the end of the 1st Qtr, 2005.

[Darkspectre]

The idiot sales guy at the other store keeps pushing the sanyo because it has better signal strength. I'm not going to be using the readylink feature on the phone because I do not know anyone else that has that. The screen and a few other features on the vm4050 is nice, but it's hard do to a real world test of a phone inside of the sprint store. They will only allow me to return my cell phone once within the window, which is something they didn't tell me when I bought it the first time.

- D

[Darkspectre]

where would be the cheapest place to pick the vm4050 up? The sprint store has them for 159 after the rebate, and i've heard stories about best buy having them cheaper. Anyone?

- D

[DcDave63]

I hear that Costco has them pretty cheap, and they give you free hands-free or car kits too.

[Darkspectre]

eh, don't have a costco around here anywhere. Just sam's club and such. If I buy the phone from a 3rd party store (best buy, etc.) do I still qualify for the $150 mail in rebate?

[Ted]

eh, don't have a costco around here anywhere. Just sam's club and such. If I buy the phone from a 3rd party store (best buy, etc.) do I still qualify for the $150 mail in rebate?

Yes. Mail in rebate still applies. Just make sure they give you the form and an extra copy of your reciept.

[Darkspectre]

sweet, now if only best buy would answer their phones. I guess i'm gonna have to drive out that way.

- D

[bluecoyote]

I can't believe they talked you out of a VM4050. It's a better phone in just about every dimension than the A620, as well as the 8200.

[tuolumne]

I can't believe they talked you out of a VM4050. It's a better phone in just about every dimension than the A620, as well as the 8200.
A620 has a better exterior display:hee:

[DcDave63]

A620 has a better exterior display:hee:

Which you use for about the first 3 seconds of every call to see who is calling, or what time it is...


Versus the interior which is used for 99% of the other things the phone has.

I guess its all in priorities...

[Perfectance]

^Good point. I say that I need an outside display on my phone, but since I've assigned everyone their own ringer, I never look at it anyway.

Do you think the Toshiba 4050 will drop in price now that it's at the end of it's run or will keep it at it's current level till all supplies are gone?

[Il Moderatore]

I heart my 4050... best phone yet.

[Darkspectre]

If it was 50 bucks lower, i'd trade in my a620 right now. It's a nice phone, don't get me wrong.. but i'd like to have the ability to use speakerphone or maybe text message someone without having to use shortmail. The camera is decent, but not great. After looking at the phone info, this phone was a refurb.

Anyone know of a place that might have the 4050 for a good price? (other than costco, we don't have those here)

- DS

[Pavilion1]

Might try ebay.

[Darkspectre]

other than ebay, like a store or something.

[pcsperson]

better is relative to what you like. go to the store and look at them.. the most notable thing about the 4050 is the screen. i think the 8200 has readylink. yours has a vga camera.


The 8200 does have readylink Also you can get the 8200 for 50.00 after 150 mail-in rebate at costco. If you did find a costco you get a free earbud, holster, and car charger. My phone was stolen so I had to buy a new one and the total came to $211 after tax for the phone and the accessories

[Darkspectre]

Don't really know anyone with readylink, so it's a waste of a feature. Costcos are no where around here, just sam's clubs and such.

[onevoice]

If it was 50 bucks lower, i'd trade in my a620 right now. It's a nice phone, don't get me wrong.. but i'd like to have the ability to use speakerphone or maybe text message someone without having to use shortmail. The camera is decent, but not great. After looking at the phone info, this phone was a refurb.

Anyone know of a place that might have the 4050 for a good price? (other than costco, we don't have those here)

- DS

Hi, I'm a newbie here. I am planning on joining Sprint soon, as soon as I can find a good phone to purchase. Anyway, our local Radioshack store in Daytona Beach, FL is selling VM4050 for $50 after rebates. You could see if your local RS has same deal.

- Onevoice

[d94]

RS didnt have the phone, but they got it @ costco for $64 w/phone charger/swivel leather case/ and the handfree headphone/microphone

so far im lovin it! service is okay, other than it kept trying to go roaming whenever i went in my basement, but i turned that feature off and it still has a bar signal.

[zipdrive007]

where would be the cheapest place to pick the vm4050 up? The sprint store has them for 159 after the rebate, and i've heard stories about best buy having them cheaper. Anyone?

- D

You can try the 4050 (229) and the 8200 (199) at costco they have a no questions asked return policy. Find out what suite you best and if you find it cheaper than Costco take it back and "most" of the time they will match the price or you can just return it and go buy the other.

[zipdrive007]

You can try the 4050 (229) and the 8200 (199) at costco they have a no questions asked return policy. Find out what suite you best and if you find it cheaper than Costco take it back and "most" of the time they will match the price or you can just return it and go buy the other.

Sorry just saw you don't have costco...Maybe Sams Club??

[Darkspectre]

Nah, Sam's club won't sell you a phone straight out. They only want new customers. Kinda cruddy. Called Sprint and *****ed at them, no hardware credit. I've called around the Rat Shack and a few other places but no good deals. I guess i'm stuck with my a620. Unless someone wants to sell me theirs.

:D

[tuolumne]

Nah, Sam's club won't sell you a phone straight out. They only want new customers. Kinda cruddy. Called Sprint and *****ed at them, no hardware credit. I've called around the Rat Shack and a few other places but no good deals. I guess i'm stuck with my a620. Unless someone wants to sell me theirs.

:DCostco has great deals on phones...

Sprint is selling the 9950 for $309, the A620 for $229.

You decide if you want to drop $330 on a 9950...

You would be gaining:

*Better internal display
*Better RF
*More coustomizable menu's
*Speaker phone
*SMS-MO
*Video capture

You would be loosing:

*Louder earpeice on A620
*Exterior display of A620
*Voice Signal voice dial
*Big status LED
*Selection of apps and games (9950 doesn't support a lot)

[bluecoyote]

For me, the external display is perfectly legible, which is all I ask. The Vm4050's external display does the job- it's visible in daylight, reproduces colors well enough to show photo caller ID, and is pretty crisp for an STN display. (In fact, I'd say it's better than the MAIN display on phones such as a Sony Ericsson T237, T68i, T300, Motorola V60T, T720, and C350) . While it's not as crisp as the TFT outer display the Samsungs have, it also doesn't suck up as much power. Considering I use the outer display to check time, battery, and signal strength, and the fact not once has the screen been unreadable, I'd say it does its job pretty damn well.

Also, while I'm at it, my main complaint about the VGA1K is its horrendous mic. Outgoing voices are soft and muted.

[tuolumne]

Also, while I'm at it, my main complaint about the VGA1K is its horrendous mic. Outgoing voices are soft and muted.
hmm, had no such problems...

[DcDave63]

the 9950/4050 is only 229 at costco from what I've seen. Thats if you can find them since they are discontinued and not being shipped anymore.

[tuolumne]

the 9950/4050 is only 229 at costco from what I've seen. Thats if you can find them since they are discontinued and not being shipped anymore.
You might also be able still find some $169 A620's at Costco...

[ryghtbrain]

Went to two costcos in WA (Kirkland, Renton) today and the 8200 was $229. Anyone else notice this?

[setasai]

For me, the external display is perfectly legible, which is all I ask. The Vm4050's external display does the job- it's visible in daylight, reproduces colors well enough to show photo caller ID, and is pretty crisp for an STN display. (In fact, I'd say it's better than the MAIN display on phones such as a Sony Ericsson T237, T68i, T300, Motorola V60T, T720, and C350) . While it's not as crisp as the TFT outer display the Samsungs have, it also doesn't suck up as much power. Considering I use the outer display to check time, battery, and signal strength, and the fact not once has the screen been unreadable, I'd say it does its job pretty damn well.

Also, while I'm at it, my main complaint about the VGA1K is its horrendous mic. Outgoing voices are soft and muted.

yea i agree, the external display may not be the best but it is perfectly legible. Actually, i found out that if i blur the picture that i want for the external display, it becomes nicer to look at. i think its because if i put a sharp image on it, it becomes very pixelated due to the low resolution. and if i blur it, the colors get rounded off or something and tends to look better.

Anyone tried the same thing?

I also believe certain contrasts work better as well... i tend to use slightly higher contrast than whats defaulted. Gives a more rich color image... atleast to me... but then again all colors are distorted for me since my glasses are slightly tinted yellow due to that auto UV pigmenting crap that they put in.

Sai