DO NOT Purchase this Phone Unless...
Written: Nov 12 '00
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Pros: Amazing features that are technological marvels, a good phone,
Cons: Too much phone, will you surf the net from a phone?
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| hwz1's Full Review: Sanyo SCP-4500 |
Web enabled phones are upon us and might be all the rage this Christmas- or will they? What are the positives and what are the negatives when it comes to web enabled phones? Should you buy one? What is with my title? Ah, all questions that I hopefully provide clear answers for.
First of all, a web enabled phone is basically another way to surf the internet (though limited in scope) and another way to get into your wallet/purse. In my opinion, the Sony SCP-4500 is a very nice cell phone with a lot of cool features that other phones do not have. The cool features do not even take into consideration the ability to surf the internet. Here is a glimpse at what the SCP-4500 has to offer:
THE PRODUCT:
* Web enabled cellular phone
* CDMA technology (the latest and greatest- for now)
* 240 minutes talk time/288 hours of standby
* Radiation rating of less than 1.4 W/kg (first I have seen this)
* Just 5.5 OZ of weight (Careful or a fly might fly away with it)
* Built in speakerphone
* Voice activated dialing
* Memo recorder
* Personal information manager
Yes, the phone is loaded with just about every gimmick that you can possibly imagine. I have not included all of the gimmicks, but just the sampling that I did include shows that this baby is fully loaded. Does all this stuff work? Do you need all this stuff?
Yes, it does work and no, you do not need all of this. What I like about the phone:
1. The speakerphone is a great touch. How annoying is it to hold a tiny cell phone between your shoulder and ear? Now you do not have to do so. A nice touch and also a safety feature for those who insist upon chatting while driving.
2. The voice activated dialing is also a nice touch and, again, a safety feature. However, I have to wonder how lazy this country has become if we cannot even page through our digital phone listings. A nice touch, nonetheless. You can dial by simply saying the name of a person after you have input the number and the system recognizes your voice.
3. The information manager is a great feature, but only if you do not already live and die by your PDA already. Many people who will use the information manager already have a PDA that they swear by. In my opinion, it would make all the sense in the world to switch everything over to a cell phone/PDA combination. Why not consolidate all of your important information?
4. The voice memo feature allows you to leave yourself up to five minutes of messages. Again, a nice touch for those of you will use the SCP-4500 as a phone/PDA.
5. The voice mail function is a one touch system rather than the often annoying and confusing multiple touches that many phones now use. For instance, I now have to enter a four- eight number password on my older phone in order to get into my mailbox. Why and how annoying.
If it sounds like a lot of aspects of the SCP-4500, I do. The features are great and usually easy to setup and master. The voice activated technology is something to behold. However, the reason I titled this the way I did is that there are so many useless aspects to the SCP-4500 that you may find yourself wondering why you needed all of this. Here we go:
1. Who really needs a web enabled phone? With a screen that is smaller than your driver's license do you really see yourself surfing the net? Do you realize that you are limited in where you can surf do to the slow download times that exist? Are you really so addicted to the internet that you need to surf while on the can? In the car? Waiting for the bus? Yes, some people will want to surf anytime and anywhere, but do you really need this?
2. The ringer options are cool, but please. You can program your phone to ring a certain way for each of 30 people who call you frequently. In other words, if your wife/husband calls you can have the phone in a funeral tone (kidding). If your child calls the ring will be different from your spouse. Have we become so lazy that we cannot even look at caller id- which is a feature? Additionally, how long will it take you to input all of this and then remember who is who? A cool option that really is not needed.
3. CDMA technology is already beginning to lose favor among the technological elite. Yes, CDMA is the best technology available to the masses. However, there is a new technology that is not too far down the road that will make CDMA obsolete in a few years (The new technology name is escaping me at this point in time). I realize that a few years is a long time, but not when you are spending $200 for a phone.
4. The memo recording device is great, but also annoying. Why? For the simple reason that you cannot go for five minutes straight. You cannot even go for a minute straight. The SCP-4500 permits you to record for 30 seconds at a time. In other words, if you have a long memo, you will have to stop after 30 seconds and then pick up where you left off.
THE PRODUCT STRICTLY AS A PHONE:
The SCP-4500 serves as a good phone when you strip away all the extras. I find that it is clear most of the time and very light. The battery says you can talk for four hours without charging and I wonder how they came up with that figure. I have not made it over three hours. As a cellular phone without all the bells and whistles, the SCP-4500 fits in with the crowd but does not stand out by any means.
WHO IS THIS PHONE FOR:
The SCP-4500 is a potentially great phone for a select group of people. Who are they- techno geeks and those who must have the latest and coolest thing.
I am a pretty busy business man and I can tell you that I do not need, nor want, all the options that this phone provides. They are simply not practical, nor useful. However, to some people this will be the perfect phone.
In my opinion, the SCP-4500 would be much better is they forgot the web enabled part. Like I said before, who wants to surf the net on such a small screen and who needs to be on the internet all the time. Yes there are some people who meet this description, but about 99% are not addicted to the internet. Eliminating the web capabilities might shave $50 off of the purchase price and still leave the features that are useful.
Therefore, I would recommend waiting for a phone that combines a PDA with a cellular phone. The SCP-4500 basically does this, but then the web browser is added and makes it overly expensive. Find a phone that combines the attributes that you are looking for.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 199
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Epinions.com ID:
hwz1
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 845
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About Me:
Just got a big promotion that will move my new wife and I to Atlanta.
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