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(More customer reviews)Currently options are limited for Sprint users who would like to join the QWERTY crowd but don't want an expensive data plan. As of this writing, your current choices are the Samsung Rant, LG Rumor 2, LG Lotus or the Sanyo SCP-2700. Cool name it has not, but the Sanyo SCP-2700 has been proven to be a very reliable and durable and these factors alone make all the competition pale in comparison. Both the slider QWERTY's, the Rant and Rumor, are prone to issues with the screen and keyboard. Even if you're lucky enough to avoid the widespread issues of screens breaking and keyboards becoming unresponsive, the issue of the keyboard becoming dislodged in a pocket or purse and thus unlocking the keypad is a major annoyance. True, they can both play music, hold an SD card and the Rant has a camcorder, but the track record for the durability of these phones is absolutely awful. It is common to hear of people replacing these phones every few months. I don't think the music player and SD slot are quite worth that headache. As for the Lotus, it has just as many great features as the slider phones, but it has it's own host of issues, the most glaring being that it simply stops working for absolutely no reason at all. My brother has had this phone replaced twice in the 4 months he has owned it and both of my niece and nephew's Rants started having issues almost immediately after purchase.
That really leaves us with only one option: The Sanyo SCP-2700. Now, there are some major issues regarding the feature list on this phone. Other websites offering this phone claim it is music enabled. A call to Sprint even verified that the phone is music enabled, but upon bringing it home and reading the manual, it is not music enabled. Another source of confusion is whether or not you can use a Micro USB cable to transfer files to and from this phone. When attempting to purchase the phone from the Sprint website, it actually offers you a Micro USB data cable as an optional accessory. It took 3 calls to Sprint and one call to the tech department to get a definitive answer on both of these issues. This phone is NOT music enabled and does NOT have the capability to transfer files to and from your PC or laptop. If you like custom ringtones, you will have to download them. You aren't able to bluetooth them from another phone either. All of the negative reviews you will find on this phone are directly related to the misinformation that customers receive. They go into it thinking it will have features it does not, and then are rightfully disappointed. Though, in the Sanyo SCP-2700's shining favor, I've yet to come across a single statement about this phone breaking. Also, as of this writing, Sprint seems to have corrected their product page and "music-enabled" no longer appears in the feature list for this phone.
Now that I've emphasized the reliability and durability, it's time to talk features! I don't know how I lived without threaded texting before this phone. It makes texting so much easier and you can view entire conversations from over a course of several days or weeks rather than have all your messages from different contacts all jumbled together in one menu. It also has a kind of "call waiting" feature when it comes to texts. On past phones, when sending a text and another text or call comes in, you will lose what you were typing. With this phone, it saves a draft of the message you sent, even if you have several uncompleted messages to different people. It's entirely possible to carry on several text conversations at once with this feature. Text entry itself is very responsive and quick. Some people have stated that the keyboard is too small for their fingers but my husband has large, rough hands and has no trouble texting on this phone. The keys on the keyboard are rubberized and feel nice as you are typing. I also feel that the rubberized effect makes typing easier and more accurate than smooth keys, such as those on the LG Rumor 2, because it doesn't allow your fingers to slip all over the keyboard. Another nice feature is the ability to add a unique tone for each contact when you have an incoming text. Typically you only see this feature for incoming calls and the texts are all required to share the same tone. Now you can differentiate who is texting you with unique ringtones, or even make some incoming texts, such as those from people not in your contact list, completely silent. Clearly, this phone is the queen (or king!) of pure texting.
Another favorite feature of mine is the voice & ringer option for incoming calls and texts. When selected, it will read the name or phone number of the incoming call or text. Such as "Incoming call from Bob" or "You have a message from Chris". This is nice for people who want to have custom ringtones so they can identify the caller/texter without having to pay to download them off the internet. It does a pretty good job of pronouncing the names. You can enter a very long name if you'd like, though it will only pronounce the first three words. So, for example, you could have it say "Incoming call from your husband, John." All of this is done via text entry. You just name your contacts and set the ringer to voice & ringer and the phone does the rest. It's an excellent feature, especially for bluetooth users who like to be completely hands free. You can know who is calling without even looking at your phone.
Yet another huge bonus on this phone is that it uses the Nuance voice recognition software. For those who aren't familiar, Nuance allows you to talk out loud to make calls and perform other tasks on your phone, such as checking time, checking signal strength, or even opening your calendar, all using your voice. Voice recognition isn't exactly new to the scene, but in the past you had to "train" your phone to recognize your voice, going through one contact at a time and recording your voice so that the phone would recognize you and you alone. With Nuance, there is no training. It can read your voice along with everyone else's. No training required. You can simply say "Call Mom" and it will call. It may ask to verify what you said, to which you just answer yes or no and it will then make the call. If there are several numbers listed for that name, it will ask you which you'd like to call. To bypass this, you can just say "Call Mom Mobile" and it will go straight to your mom's cell phone without asking for you to choose which number you'd like to call. It is amazingly accurate in reading what you say, and you don't have to pronounce it slowly and overly loud to make it understand you. A normal tone of voice and normal pace of speaking works just as well. This feature is simply awesome with Bluetooth. With my Samsung WEP200 (which is perfect, by the way) I can leave my phone in my pocket or even in a central area of my home and have complete control over incoming and outgoing calls with just a single touch of the multi-function button on the headset. I can plug my phone in to charge and still go on with my day and send and receive calls from my phone without being near it. Again, awesome!
The battery life on this phone is also fantastic. I can easily go three days without charging the phone. That's primarily with a lot of texting and at least three hours of phone time. Overall, it is a fantastic phone for texting and hands free enthusiasts, young and old. I don't believe for a second that this phone is reserved for teens and tweens as other reviews have suggested. It is plenty sophisticated for the seasoned texter. The only thing it lacks are the more "fluff" features such as an MP3 player and camcorder which is most definitely aimed more at the younger crowd as most of the rest of us already have a dedicated MP3 player and camcorder that will easily outperform them. I may be old-fashioned but I like my phone to be a phone. I want it to be a communication device that I can use on the go. End of story. I don't want to burn up my battery listening to music and find myself unable to make any calls.
These are the main features of the Sanyo SCP-2700 that I love and use all the time. It has a lot more to offer though, including a great GPS system, web browser, voice memo (you can record calls as well with this), all your typical organizer tools, polyphonic ringers, and more. Some of the features go hand in hand with the QWERTY keyboard like the email software and access to social networks. The product description goes into full detail of all these features. Overall, this is an excellent phone and is hands down the choice for active texters and hands free users. Pass up the other junk on the market and get this phone that will last long after the others have been recycled.
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Sprint SCP-2700 by Sanyo - Cellular phone - CDMA2000 1X - QWERTY keyboard - impulsive pink - Sprint NextelPerfect for the seasoned texter or beginner of any age, the Sanyo SCP-2700 from Sprint offers a full QWERTY keyboard as well as dedicated text and emoticon softkeys to give you one-touch access to adding flair to your messages. And with the optional Social Zone service, you can post mobile photos and updates from virtually anywhere to Photobucket, MySpace and more.
This handset is compatible with Sprint Navigation, which provides full-feature GPS navigation including voice and on-screen, turn-by-turn driving directions and more than 10 million business listings. You can also sign up for the optional Sprint Family Locator service, which uses GPS technology to locate your child's phone and displays the location on an interactive map. Other features include Bluetooth for hands-free devices, a 1.3-megapixel camera for still photos, threaded text messaging, voice-activated dialing, and up to 4.8 hours of talk time.
Sprint Service This GPS-enabled phone provides optional access to Sprint Navigation for driving directions on your mobile phone--by voice and onscreen. Along the way, turn-by-turn directions will be announced in a clear voice and displayed on your phone. For example, Sprint Navigation will say, "Go 1.2 miles and turn right on Elm Street." As you approach the turn, you will hear, "Turn right on Elm Street." Sprint Navigation also provides proactive traffic alerts with one click re-routing. And it's easy to find restaurants, banks, cafes, hotels and more from over 10 million points of interest across the U.S.
This phone also offers the Sprint Family Locator capability, an optional GPS service that allows you to locate your loved ones from your phone or the web. Convenient features like Safety Checks enable parents to receive automatic notification (via e-mail or text message) at pre-scheduled times. Other parental-friendly features include teh ability to restrict incoming/outgoing calls to Contacts only, lock/unlock data capabilities, and input up to three special numbers that are always available.
The Social Zone application is your gateway for keeping up with all your favorite social communities such as Photobucket, MySpace, and more. From the easy-to-use dashboard view, you can respond to friend requests, view and send messages, post comments and update your status or profiles, all from your phone. You can also use your phone's camera to take photos, then upload them straight to your networking sites without closing the application.
With Sprint Mobile e-mail, you'll get easy access to your favorite home e-mail services including AOL, Yahoo!, Gmail, and MSN/Windows Live Hotmail and more. And Sprint Mobile e-mail Work enables you to access e-mail from corporate servers, including Microsoft Exchange 2000, 2003, 2007 and Lotus Notes Domino versions 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 (with the latest software update).
You can also can easily stay in touch with family and friends using Sprint Messaging, offering threaded SMS text messaging and the ability to share pictures and video with MMS seamlessly in one application. It also offers Sprint IM with access to Yahoo! Messenger, AOL's AIM service and MSN Messenger.
Stay Sporty with Sprint With NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile, instantly connect to the NASCAR information you want, when you want it. Follow NASCAR action from practice to race day with real-time leaderboard and alerts. Get exclusive access to your favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver with real-time driver stats, breaking news and more. Live in-car audio, race radio, NASCAR on SPEED and other audio/video only available on select phones. Visit sprint.com/speed for details.
To access, just text "NASCAR" to 7777 on your Sprint phone or visit the Sprint Digital Lounge to download NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile (standard text messaging and data rates apply).
This phone also provides access to Sprint Football Live--free for any phone with a data plan. You'll be able to follow all the live play-by-play action with the Live Game Center for both pro and college football games, as well as stay on top of the pro football draft with a Live Draft Tracker and in-depth analysis and bios on nearly 500 top prospects. Access by texting "FOOTBALL" to 7777 on the handset to download Sprint Football Live from Sprint Digital Lounge (standard text messaging and data rates apply).
Phone Features Blending the practicality of a full QWERTY keypad with a vibrantly colorful designs, the Sanyo SCP-2700 offers a wide range of mobile features at a nicely affordable price. It has a 2.2-inch LCD screen (320 x 240 pixels, 65K colors) that sits above a navigation area and the handset's full QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard includes a dedicated text messaging key--in one touch you're taken to your contacts list where you can create a message--as well as a dedicated emoticon key, which helps add humor or other expressions to your text messages. And with threaded SMS text messaging, you see the full conversation for each contact in a chat-like interface. Organized conversations make it easy to go back and see the history of any conversation.
The internal phonebook can store up to 600 contact entries with seven phone numbers, three e-mail addresses and one web address per contact entry. Other features include a speed dial function that can store up to 98 numbers (plus one for voice mail), a history of your 60 most recent calls, and caller ID (number, picture, ringer). The phone has a 16 MB internal memory, which cannot be expanded.
hands-free communication is easy thanks to the integrated speakerphone. This phone also provides Bluetooth wireless connectivity (version 2.0), and includes profiles for communication headset, hands-free car kits, and file transfer. You can connect your laptop (either via Bluetooth or wired USB) and enjoy dial-up networking--surf the Internet, send e-mail, and access files from a server (additional charges or subscription applicable).
The 1.3-megapixel camera can snap still photos in three resolution options (1280 x 960, 640 x 480, and 320 x 240 pixesl), and it features up to a 12x digital zoom (depending on your selected resolution, three quality settings, brightness and white balance controls, multi-shot capabilities, fun frames, several color tones, and a self-timer. This camera does not include video capture capabilities.
Other features include:
Wireless Backup to manage contacts list in the event that the phone is lost, stolen or damaged
Voice-activated dialing: Say the name of the person you want to call, and the phone dials the number automatically.
Speakerphone
Voice Memo Recorder--up to 1900 recordings
Organizer tools: alarm clock, world clock, stopwatch, countdown timer, calculator
72-chord polyphonic ringers, vibrating alert (4 distinctive)
2.5mm stereo headset jack
Bilingual User Interface--English and Spanish supported
/T4 Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Rating
TTY Capable
Downloadable screensavers, ring tones, applications and games
Vital Statistics The Sanyo SCP-2700 weighs 3.4 ounces and measures 4.3 x 2.4 x 0.6 inches. Its 840 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 4.8 hours of talk time. It runs on the 800/1900 CDMA frequencies; 1xRTT Voice & Data Capable.
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