dragonfire88's Full Review: Sanyo Katana® II Cell Phone
Cell phone service had been available in my area for several years before I finally got one. I did like that two of my previous phones were flip phones, but I wasn't happy with other aspects of them. Earlier this year I ended up switching to Sprint and I got the Sanyo Katana cell phone in cherry blossom pink.
The Sanyo Katana is the smallest cell phone that I've had. It is a very slim phone even when it is closed and it is very light at only 3.4 oz. The phone is available in four colors. In addition to the cherry blossom pink one I have, it is also available in blue sapphire, mystic black, and polar white. The retail price when I got mine was $279 but I was able to get it for $19.99 because of a special offer going on at the time.
The Sanyo Katana came with a user manual, AC charger, headset adapter, and a 820 mAh Li-Ion battery. The charger plugs into a port on the side of the phone that has a small rubber cover. A car charger that has to be purchased separately also plugs into the same port. A Bluetooth headset can be used with the phone, though it would have to be purchased as well. My mother - who also has this phone - has a car that is Bluetooth compatible so she is able to make calls that come across the stereo system in the car without a separate Bluetooth headset.
I was able to start using my phone without reading the manual. It was very easy to go through the menus and find what I was looking for. Since then I have looked through the manual a little to see if there was anything important that I had missed. The menu will appear in either grid or text mode, depending on which option is picked. I have mine on grid. I really like that and find it easy to navigate through the menus to find what I’m looking for.
The keypad for the Sanyo Katana is a good size, with each number being on a different button. I had one phone before that had two numbers per button which made it very easy to dial wrong. For a short time after the phone is flipped open and when dialing, a blue backlight is visible. It is possible to change how long the backlight stays on. I haven’t changed that option on mine. Having the backlight stay on longer will make the battery drain faster. The menu button is located on the upper portion of the keypad and is surrounded by navigation buttons. There are two buttons, one on each side, that just have a dash on them called soft keys. The left one opens up the favorites. The right soft key pulls up the contact list.
Below the left soft key is the camera button. Pressing it once pulls up the main menu of options for the camera. Pressing that button a second time has the camera ready to take a picture. Pressing the button again will take the picture and then other options will come up for saving the picture, sending it through email or even deleting it. There is also a button on the right side of the top of the phone that can be used to take pictures. A back button is below the right soft key button. The back button is used to back out of menu options. Right above the numbers the talk, speaker, and end buttons. I really don’t use the speaker phone option, but it sounded fine when I did try it. The end button is also used to turn the phone on and off.
The Sanyo Katana contact list can hold 500 contacts and up to 700 numbers. Each contact can have seven numbers entered. When multiple numbers are entered for one contact, different little icons can be added to designate if the number is a home, cell, or work number. Street addresses and email address can also be added for each contact. Special ringers can be set for the contacts right from the contact list. It is also possible to add a special picture or graphic for each contact in the list. It is very easy to make a call from the contact list by hitting the talk button when the contact is selected. In addition to that, voice activated dialing or speed dialing can also be set up.
The Sanyo Katana has an LCD screen that is a good size and very easy to see. The upper left corner of the screen shows if there is a signal and right below that a little icon will show if the phone is set to vibrate. The upper right corner shows the battery charge. The outer LCD screen is much smaller with only room to show the time, battery life, and if there is a signal. When a call is received, the incoming number can be seen there as well. If it is from a contact programmed in the phone, the contact name appears. The wallpaper can be changed, thought the phone came with very few options for that. Pictures taken with the camera in the phone can be set as the wallpaper.
The Sanyo Katana has a VGA camera to take pictures either with the phone open or closed. Once taken, they can be stored on the phone, set for wallpaper, sent in an email from the phone, or uploaded if you have Spring Picture Mail. There is no way to hook the phone up to a computer to directly upload pictures that way. I have only taken a couple with the camera, so that isn’t a big deal for me. I wasn’t wanting to take high quality pictures with my phone. Really I have just tried to get a cute picture of one of my cats for the wallpaper but none of them will cooperate and stay still long enough. The camera did make a somewhat loud shutter sound, but that can be turned off in the camera settings. There isn’t any kind of flash option, but there are different picture mode options that can help with the lighting.
It is very easy to access voice mail on my Sanyo Katana. The LCD will indicate that there is a new voice message the first time the phone is opened after a message has been left. Pressing a button will connect to the voice mail system with prompts to follow to listen to messages. The voice mail box has to be set up before you can start receiving and retrieving voice mail. It is also possible to connect to the voice mail system by selecting messaging from the menu.
The Sanyo Katana is capable of sending and receiving text messages as well as long as that is part of the service plan. Options for text messages can be accessed through messaging from the menu. It is possible to browse the internet with the phone but I haven’t done that. A few game demos came with the phone along with the ability to download others if wanted. I haven’t done that either since I’m not really interested in playing games on my phone.
There are eight different volume levels for the ringer in addition to being able to set it to vibrate only. With other phones, I could set it to always vibrate along with the ringer. On this phone, vibrate will only work on the highest and lowest volume settings or when it is set to vibrate only. Different vibrate patterns can be selected for different things. The ringer volume can be changed from the settings option on the menu or by using the side volume key on the upper left side of the phone. That is how I do it when I need to adjust the volume. Unfortunately, there are very few ringers that come with the phone and I’m not that fond of any of them. Ringers can be downloaded, but I haven’t done that. From what I could tell when I looked in to it, even after paying for the ringers, they can only be used for a limited amount of time. I don’t want to have to be downloading a new ringer every three months which was why I haven’t done it even though I really want a different ring tone. Different tones can be set up for text messages, voice mail, calendar events or alarms.
I have had very good reception when using my Sanyo Katana. I haven’t had any trouble hearing anyone when I’ve made calls on the phone. I’ve never experienced any static or interference and I’ve never had calls disconnect. The phone does have an internal antenna that you aren’t supposed to block. If it is blocked during a call, it could impact the reception.
The phone has dual-band/tri-mode capability that allows the phone to roam so it can still be used if you are in an area outside of Sprint’s network. Additional roaming charges will be added when that feature is used. I could see that being very useful when traveling through many areas where Sprint’s coverage could be spotty. The phone also has something called airplane mode. When that is engaged, no calls can be sent or received and the phone can’t access the internet. Other features on the phone, like games, calendar, or voice memos, can be used.
The battery for the Sanyo Katana provides almost four hours of talk time and seven hours of standby time. I don’t think my phone has ever stayed charged for seven days, though I do know that I have left it in my purse for a few days and it was still charged when I finally did get it out. Using the vibrate feature for the ringer is supposed to make the battery drain faster. When the battery gets too low, it will automatically shut off. Charging a completely dead battery is supposed to take four hours. I’ve never really timed how long it took to recharge my phone. I did notice one time when the battery wasn’t down that much that it got a full charge in less than an hour.
I have been very happy with my Sanyo Katana and am glad that I got it. It is the best cell phone that I’ve had. It is very user friendly and I love that is lighter and slimmer than my previous phones. People that want a better camera built in or want the ability to play MP3 music on their phone will want to look for a different choice.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.99 Recommended for: Stylish Trendsetters - Hip and Trendy
With a sleeker shape, a radiant new finish, and a host of refined features, the Katana II enhances the spirit of the original Katana, achieving the pe...More at eBay
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