Charvana
09-17-2005, 02:16 PM
(...my first post so be gentle...)
My VGA-1000 (I keep phones a LONG time) started freezing up on me -- calls were still great but the keypad would quit on me in the middle of texting/ webbing/ emailing etc. SO, I read all the reviews for the phones in my price range, and looked at all the specs, etc (did a spreadsheet). Despite the mixed-but-leaning-toward-POS reviews, I bought an 8300. So shiny, so lovely, so retro-cool looking (silver). Of course I tried all the phones on the Sprint stores-- multiple times; I went to several stores b/c not every store had every model & I didn't want to rule anything out before checking it out. I was basically down to the LG PM-225, (Samsung) PM-A840, (LG) PM-325, & (Sanyo) PM-8300. Ruled out the 325 b/c it felt cheap. Ruled out the 840 b/c it looked too industrial, like a Tonka truck. Ruled out the 225 b/c it was "old"... or something. Not the most recent phone, or something like that.
I tried to call several ppl from the store w/ the demo 8300... my daughter was out of town, in a basement, so when her voice sounded weird to me, I blew it off to that (I really wanted to like the 8300). Several calls during that afternoon--- I sounded great to others, but everyone sounded sharp-tinny-loud-boxy-amplified--I don't know how exactly to describe it but as UNPLEASANT. This alone was enough to make me hate this phone. I don't care what else a phone can do-- and I like as many of the bells & whistles as I can afford (I am SO jealous of the flashlight on my daughter's phone!).
The night I got it, I talked to ppl on Nextel, landlines (both business and home), Sprint, and Cingular. Some sounded better (on my end) than others; no one had any real complaints about the way I sounded to them. The very worst sounding (on my end) were my daughters' & partners' phones-- they have their old VGA1000, Nokia 6225, & Nokia 3205 (hey, the kids like their old candy bars). These, however, are the ppl I talk to the very most (or whose voice I care most to really HEAR), so if the phone is no good for talking to them, it's useless to me. I double-checked this by talking to my partner both on my phone & hers (from in my driveway), and she... who is the LEAST likely person in the world to say I should spend more money :)... said "spend more if you have to, this phone sucks."
The next day, I went back to the store, was basically coerced into trying another 8300 ("maybe it's this particular phone, this is a very good phone")-- which I had for about 2 minutes-- I made 3 calls, two local (one on Sprint-to-Sprint, one to a landline), and one more to a long distance #... the sound was marginally better, but it was still unpleasant. I walked right back in & paid the %$#* $30 for a Samsung A880.
Some have posted that the 8300 has a flashlight-- it DOES NOT. Unless Sanyo makes phones differently for different US markets, this phone lacks this feature.
I played with my phone for the rest of the day-- like i said, I really wanted to like it, AND read the book so I would know all the coolnesses of the phone. The menu interface is ok-- I'm used to Samsung-- liked Nokia's better when I used that one, but this is no better nor worse than others.
The dedicated camera button is nice, and the camera loads quickly (a "+" in my book). This phone has a (slightly) better-than-average camera (no purple fringing, at least as far as I noticed)-- zoom is... well, it's only a digital zoom, which is not really a "zoom" but... well, you know what it means). Focus quality is fair, color is good. It's not my 8-mp home camera, but it's better (I think) than the 1000's. There were some in the store with better cam's (for a lot more $$), but none at this price point seemed as good as this one's. (The 325's was the worst.) I didn't like the location of the camera lens, but that's personal pref. Flash is what it is-- again, it's a PHONE.
The alphanumeric keypad buttons are way too flat. I found it hard to dial without looking, & I have pretty nimble fingers. I liked -a lot- the overall layout of the upper keypad (rocker & top menu buttons). I hated the position of the side rocker switch-- too hard to get to with my "rocker finger"-- I'm sure it's something I could get used to, but it still seemed awkwardly placed.
The faceplates (really just a rim-thing) are kinda dumb. I didn't care for the basic color "choices," either-- what about a black, or gunmetal gray, or pink, or green phone? What about copper (THAT would be cool...)?
MM features are a little silly... you can get what, a minute, a minute & a half at a time? whatever. I'd rather have better web enablement (let me access more of the content that's out there already rather than Sprint-approved media).
Ergonomically, the phone fits nicely into the hand, it feels solid and sturdy but still lightweight (remember, I had a VGA1000). Of course, it is nowhere near as light as my old Nokia 8390 (ahh, memories of my itty-bitty gem...), but you can't compare the two. I don't personally "know" that fabled "sanyo click," but it sounded to me like it had a definite click-feel if not an actual click-sound when the phone was opened/ closed. As I've never HAD a sanyo before, this was disconcerting to me, but I can see how it's be disconcerting NOT to have it if you're used to it.
The speakerphone is very nice. Sounds great, and the other parties said I sounded great to them. Wish the earpiece's speaker was as nice as this one!
Web loads quickly (another "+"), and the predictive text has some nice features (e.g., ability to add words to the custom list).
I'm undecided about the little kangaroo (?)... cute, but I think it'd get annoying after about 3 days.
Also-- the phone book (unless I missed something in my growing distaste for this phone) can't be sorted by speed dial entry-- it's only alphabetic.
The antenna stub sticks up a little further than my 1000's did, but it's not too obnoxious. Seems to get good reception without needing to extend it.
My VGA-1000 (I keep phones a LONG time) started freezing up on me -- calls were still great but the keypad would quit on me in the middle of texting/ webbing/ emailing etc. SO, I read all the reviews for the phones in my price range, and looked at all the specs, etc (did a spreadsheet). Despite the mixed-but-leaning-toward-POS reviews, I bought an 8300. So shiny, so lovely, so retro-cool looking (silver). Of course I tried all the phones on the Sprint stores-- multiple times; I went to several stores b/c not every store had every model & I didn't want to rule anything out before checking it out. I was basically down to the LG PM-225, (Samsung) PM-A840, (LG) PM-325, & (Sanyo) PM-8300. Ruled out the 325 b/c it felt cheap. Ruled out the 840 b/c it looked too industrial, like a Tonka truck. Ruled out the 225 b/c it was "old"... or something. Not the most recent phone, or something like that.
I tried to call several ppl from the store w/ the demo 8300... my daughter was out of town, in a basement, so when her voice sounded weird to me, I blew it off to that (I really wanted to like the 8300). Several calls during that afternoon--- I sounded great to others, but everyone sounded sharp-tinny-loud-boxy-amplified--I don't know how exactly to describe it but as UNPLEASANT. This alone was enough to make me hate this phone. I don't care what else a phone can do-- and I like as many of the bells & whistles as I can afford (I am SO jealous of the flashlight on my daughter's phone!).
The night I got it, I talked to ppl on Nextel, landlines (both business and home), Sprint, and Cingular. Some sounded better (on my end) than others; no one had any real complaints about the way I sounded to them. The very worst sounding (on my end) were my daughters' & partners' phones-- they have their old VGA1000, Nokia 6225, & Nokia 3205 (hey, the kids like their old candy bars). These, however, are the ppl I talk to the very most (or whose voice I care most to really HEAR), so if the phone is no good for talking to them, it's useless to me. I double-checked this by talking to my partner both on my phone & hers (from in my driveway), and she... who is the LEAST likely person in the world to say I should spend more money :)... said "spend more if you have to, this phone sucks."
The next day, I went back to the store, was basically coerced into trying another 8300 ("maybe it's this particular phone, this is a very good phone")-- which I had for about 2 minutes-- I made 3 calls, two local (one on Sprint-to-Sprint, one to a landline), and one more to a long distance #... the sound was marginally better, but it was still unpleasant. I walked right back in & paid the %$#* $30 for a Samsung A880.
Some have posted that the 8300 has a flashlight-- it DOES NOT. Unless Sanyo makes phones differently for different US markets, this phone lacks this feature.
I played with my phone for the rest of the day-- like i said, I really wanted to like it, AND read the book so I would know all the coolnesses of the phone. The menu interface is ok-- I'm used to Samsung-- liked Nokia's better when I used that one, but this is no better nor worse than others.
The dedicated camera button is nice, and the camera loads quickly (a "+" in my book). This phone has a (slightly) better-than-average camera (no purple fringing, at least as far as I noticed)-- zoom is... well, it's only a digital zoom, which is not really a "zoom" but... well, you know what it means). Focus quality is fair, color is good. It's not my 8-mp home camera, but it's better (I think) than the 1000's. There were some in the store with better cam's (for a lot more $$), but none at this price point seemed as good as this one's. (The 325's was the worst.) I didn't like the location of the camera lens, but that's personal pref. Flash is what it is-- again, it's a PHONE.
The alphanumeric keypad buttons are way too flat. I found it hard to dial without looking, & I have pretty nimble fingers. I liked -a lot- the overall layout of the upper keypad (rocker & top menu buttons). I hated the position of the side rocker switch-- too hard to get to with my "rocker finger"-- I'm sure it's something I could get used to, but it still seemed awkwardly placed.
The faceplates (really just a rim-thing) are kinda dumb. I didn't care for the basic color "choices," either-- what about a black, or gunmetal gray, or pink, or green phone? What about copper (THAT would be cool...)?
MM features are a little silly... you can get what, a minute, a minute & a half at a time? whatever. I'd rather have better web enablement (let me access more of the content that's out there already rather than Sprint-approved media).
Ergonomically, the phone fits nicely into the hand, it feels solid and sturdy but still lightweight (remember, I had a VGA1000). Of course, it is nowhere near as light as my old Nokia 8390 (ahh, memories of my itty-bitty gem...), but you can't compare the two. I don't personally "know" that fabled "sanyo click," but it sounded to me like it had a definite click-feel if not an actual click-sound when the phone was opened/ closed. As I've never HAD a sanyo before, this was disconcerting to me, but I can see how it's be disconcerting NOT to have it if you're used to it.
The speakerphone is very nice. Sounds great, and the other parties said I sounded great to them. Wish the earpiece's speaker was as nice as this one!
Web loads quickly (another "+"), and the predictive text has some nice features (e.g., ability to add words to the custom list).
I'm undecided about the little kangaroo (?)... cute, but I think it'd get annoying after about 3 days.
Also-- the phone book (unless I missed something in my growing distaste for this phone) can't be sorted by speed dial entry-- it's only alphabetic.
The antenna stub sticks up a little further than my 1000's did, but it's not too obnoxious. Seems to get good reception without needing to extend it.