[jimmyjames]

1. Construction. Average. The phone feels very solid, but the rubber bumpers are actually more slippery than regular plastic. It adds size and weight to the phone, without giving anything in return. The phone is not water-resistant, so it seems like this is Sanyo's answer to the terrible Samsung Matrix phones. Yuck. The phone is also very top-heavy. When you've got it flipped open in one hand, it wants to tip forward out of your hand. I'd prefer it to have more heft in the bottom half and less in the top.

2. Reception. Very good. On par with the 4500, but slightly worse than the 4050. The signal bars displayed are less than the 4500, but the dB's are in the same range. I like that the reception meter isn't so blatantly optimistic on the 7300.

3. Earpiece. Average. Sanyo did not fix the earpiece muddiness/muffled sound from the 4500. I compared the phones by calling *4 and listening to the same recording on each phone. The 7300 is clearly worse to me than the 4050. I was really hoping for better.

4. Displays. Average. The external LCD cannot be read easily without the backlight like the 4050's can. The internal LCD is decent, but nothing special. Coming from the 4050 though, everything else looks like @ss.

5. Speakerphone. Poor. The rubber bumpers actually cover up the microphone on the 7300 while the 4500 leaves a cut-out to help the mic pick up sound when the phone is closed. When open, the speakerphone sounds good and is nice and loud.

6. Ringers. Very good. The stock ringers are actually terrible, but the speaker sounds good and is very loud. The vibrating ringer is also nice and strong.

7. Menus. Average. Same old Sanyo menus. Very little customization, but very functional.

8. Keypad. Poor. I was very disappointed with the keypad. The buttons are recessed and not easy to hit. The lighting is also very poor as the top four buttons are not backlit. I wish that they had used the same keypad layout from the 4500.

I wouldn't recommend the 7300 over the 2500, except for the SMS. The rubber bumpers are a gimmick and make the phone less functional. I guess that Sanyo and Sprint are hoping to push in on Nextel's demographics so they feel that they need a sturdy-looking phone. Oh well.