vm4050 vs 8200?

[jayhawks]

I am getting ready to switch to sprint today and I have a question about their phones.. I have them narrowed down to the toshiba vm 4050 and the sanyo 8200.. I am not in need of all the bells and whistles. I need very good range and good batt. life..I am getting 4 of them and 2 are for my parents who are in there 60s so we need to keep it somewhat simple..So I would like a little imput from all you pros here.. Thanks in advance

[a_c_s]

I've had the 4050 since April and love it...but I love the bells and whistles, so that is part of why I got it...if your parents are in their 60s, they might do better with the larger and clearer display on the 4050...I'm 34 and have the 4050, my mother is 58 and has the 8200, and both are pretty nice...I personally find the call clarity and reception on the 4050 to be slightly better, but they are really both pretty good basic phones...if you strip away the cameras and vision, I think the 4050 is a little better for reception and clarity, but is also a little larger...the 8200 has a size advantage, and I personally like the speakerphone better on the 8200...

[jayhawks]

I am worried about the 4050 because I have a friend that has one and they are a nice phone but the darn video cam button on the side seems to be an issue for her.. And boy I dont want my parents calling and b***ing me out about a the cam all the time lol

[NightRider]

i had the VM4050 for about 3 months. personally, I couldnt deal with the largeness of it. the screen and picture quality was great, but it was just something about that BIGNESS i didnt like. but to answer your qustion, i think you should get the VM4050 for yourself and the PM8200 for your parents. the reason being is because the PM8200 is not as complicated as the VM4050...(not saying your parents are slow or anything.... :o ;) )

[DcDave63]

The 4050 is nicer for older people because it helps with the hearing and sight impaired with its voice guidance. It is a nice feature that many other phones do not have. Here is the explanation from the users guide:

Using the Voice Guidance

Your phone offers voice guidance capability that informs you of the
phone’s status and other information in voice and notifies you of
several events in beep tones. Voice guidance is only available in
English.

To activate or deactivate the voice guidance mode:
1. Press to access the main menu.
2. Highlight Settings and press .
3. Highlight Voice Guidance and press .
4. Read the message and press .
5. Highlight Voice Guidance again and press .
6. Highlight On or Off and press .

Shortcut: From standby mode, press and hold to activate or deactivate the
voice guidance mode. (The phone beeps twice when activated; beeps once
when deactivated.)

Note: The voice guidance volume is based on your phone's Ringer Volume. If the phone's Ringer Volume is Off or Vib, the voice guidance will be muted. (When you press and hold , the phone vibrates to notify you that no voice guidance is available. It vibrates twice for activation or once for deactivation.)

Note: If Silence All is active, you have no voice guidance, beep tone, or vibrating notification.

To set up the voice guidance options:

1. Press to access the main menu.
2. Highlight Settings and press .
3. Highlight Voice Guidance and press .
4. Read the message and press .
5. Highlight Settings and press to display options.
6. Highlight the option and press . To activate or deactivate
the option, highlight On or Off and press .

 Handset Status tells you the phone’s status (the battery level,
signal strength, roaming status, missed call notification,
new incoming messages, and phone locked).

Controlling Your Phone’s Settings

 In/Out Call # Guide tells you who is calling you or whom you
are calling. (The phone reads out a phone number or a
name displayed on the screen.)
 Call History Guide reads out the call history when you display it.
 Idle Mode Guide beeps when the phone returns to standby
mode.
 Menu Position Guide beeps when the first menu item is
highlighted by scrolling the menu down.
 Call Guard Guide tells you that you are making or answering a
call with Call Guard enabled.
To listen to the guidance on the handset status:
 Press and hold from standby mode. (Both the voice guidance
mode and the handset status option should be activated in advance.)

Note: The voice guidance volume is based on your phone's Ringer Volume. If thephone's Ringer Volume is Off or Vib, the phone vibrates once to notify you that no voice guidance is available.

Plus, the size is nice because sometimes older people have a hard time with smaller phones. That includes being able to change the font size, which on the 4050 is quite large and easy to read.

[jayhawks]

i had the VM4050 for about 3 months. personally, I couldnt deal with the largeness of it. the screen and picture quality was great, but it was just something about that BIGNESS i didnt like. but to answer your qustion, i think you should get the VM4050 for yourself and the PM8200 for your parents. the reason being is because the PM8200 is not as complicated as the VM4050...(not saying your parents are slow or anything.... :o ;) )

LOL you hit the nail on the head.. They are very simple people.. Thanks all for the input, I think I have decided to go with the 8200 for all four. I got a new digi camcorder for xmas and I highly doubt I would ever use that function on the 4050.. I just wish that damn button for the camcorder wasnt on the side of the 4050..

[lgmayka]

There is a simple setting to lock that outside key (except when the phone is flipped open).

[a_c_s]

In 9 months with the 4050 I have never had an issue starting the video cam by accident...the button is locked when my phone is closed...not sure what kind of info you are getting from your buddy but that should NOT be the reason you choose one phone over the other...just want to be sure you are objective...as I said, I have family members with both...and don't forget, with a larger phone comes the advantage of a larger keypad, which probably works more easily for seniors...if you are looking for a good working phone, you'll be happy with either one of these...the only knock I've ever had on Sanyo's are muffled sounding earpieces...

[bluecoyote]

I've never had an issue with the video either.

That said, 4050 over 8200 HANDS DOWN. My sister has the 8200, and, while by itself it is a competent phone, next to the 4050 it is inferior by a long shot on almost every level. There's not enough memory for those who like downloading a lot of ringers/apps/games, the earpiece is barely tolerable (as opposed to exceptional on the Vm4050) , reception is middling (while it doesn't drop a call, it garbles one pretty fast) , the keypad hurts your fingers if you use it often, the menu layout is hard on my eyes (personally). The screen, while absolutely fine by itself, doesn't hold a candle to the knock-your-socks-off brilliant display on the Vm4050.

Then there's the quality of each phone individually. My sister's 8200 has had the worst reliability of any phone I've ever come in contact with. Too often it'll say "redialing" and be unable to place a call (quite dangerous.) Her first, third, and fourth models would short out on her, shutting themselves off at random times in the day. Her most recent model's antenna fell apart (bad adhesive that connects the base of the antenna to its innards), which was graciously replaced by Sprint.

Some people have their 8200's and love them. My sister loves hers, but I just cannot advise anyone to purchase this phone unless there is some peculiar reason.

[ALPHAMAN]

Wirelessly posted (Sanyo MM7400: Mozilla/4.0 (MobilePhone MM-7400/US/1.0) NetFront/3.1 MMP/2.0)

Get A Sanyo. It Will Make A Cool Starter Phone

[Trini]

There is a simple setting to lock that outside key (except when the phone is flipped open).

How do you get to that setting, I can't seem to find it.

Thanks,
Trini

[NONAME]

LOL you hit the nail on the head.. They are very simple people.. Thanks all for the input, I think I have decided to go with the 8200 for all four. I got a new digi camcorder for xmas and I highly doubt I would ever use that function on the 4050.. I just wish that damn button for the camcorder wasnt on the side of the 4050..Good choice :) (in my opinion).

[tuolumne]

The Sanyo is smaller, it's speaker phone can be used with the flip shut and it has Ready Link. It supports more downloadable content and comes in different colors. It also looks better in my opinion.

The Toshiba is larger, uglier (imo), but has a nicer display, earpiece (cleaner), and mildly better RF reception. The Toshiba has a battery door that feels flimbsy.

I am going to have to disagree about 8200's be unreliable though. Everyone I know loves them. In fact, compared with other phones with similar prices *cough*Audiovox 8920*cough*, the 8200 is a blessed bug free device.

[outofgum]

I think that the only phone that competes with the 4050 is the Sanyo 7400 and maybe the Samsung 740.

For the money, the 4050 is the best you can get.

[lgmayka]

How do you get to that setting, I can't seem to find it.
When my 4050 is closed, and I hit the Camera button, all that happens is that the external screen lights up and then (with repeated pressing of the button) it switches between time and date. What does yours do?

I did not find a setting for that button. (I thought I had remembered one.)

[bluecoyote]

I do think it's important to note that most older adults I've talked to (family members) absolutely HATE... and I mean HATE the 8200's keypad. It is extremely flat, and the keys are small.

Also, let's go into relative pros and cons here....
Looks aren't really going to be important, since neither of these phones are fashion phones, or even have significant visual advantages over one another.

The speakerphone being able to be used shut is probably the biggest pro of the Sanyo. However, if they don't use speakerphones, this obviously is a moot point. If they do use speakerphones, this might be a reason to pick the Sanyo.

Downloadable content is also insignificant. There are some essential apps covered with the Vm4050. If they plan on watching MobiTV, then it's an issue.

Related to downloadable content but perhaps a little more important is on-phone memory. There's about 800K on the Sanyo vs. 4 MB on the Toshiba (even though it has 6.5MB of memory, that's how much is accessable to the user.) This is big if they wish to download / save pictures and videos, and is a major pitfall of the 8200. My mom could not stand using my sister's 8200 due to the limited onboard memory.

(also keep in mind that onboard memory is separate from in-camera memory, where the Toshiba also excels. Onboard memory is for downloaded-pictures and assigned pictures, not ones taken from the camera)

[Trini]

When my 4050 is closed, and I hit the Camera button, all that happens is that the external screen lights up and then (with repeated pressing of the button) it switches between time and date. What does yours do?

I did not find a setting for that button. (I thought I had remembered one.)

That is true, if you only push it once it gives you the date. The problem is when you hold the button down the camera comes on. This is sometimes a problem depending on where you carry the camera or if, for example, the holster is too snug

[bluecoyote]

When my 4050 is closed, and I hit the Camera button, all that happens is that the external screen lights up and then (with repeated pressing of the button) it switches between time and date. What does yours do?

I did not find a setting for that button. (I thought I had remembered one.)


You must hold the camera button for 5 seconds for it to activate.

[mrvid]

Had both phones the 4050 gets better reception than the 8200 where I live, and the sound on the 4050 is much better.

[Trini]

You must hold the camera button for 5 seconds for it to activate.

More like 2 seconds... I just timed it!

[lgmayka]

This is sometimes a problem depending on where you carry the camera or if, for example, the holster is too snug
My case was too snug because of an extended battery, so I simply cut a hole for that button to ease the pressure on it.

[bluecoyote]

My case was too snug because of an extended battery, so I simply cut a hole for that button to ease the pressure on it.

I got the extended battery, and have no problems with it.

That said, I think the leather case Sprint sells sucks.

[NONAME]

I think the OP already stated that their mind is already made up. :huh: The 8200 is what was decided it would be on all four lines ;).