vB Easy Archive - Sanyo 5000 Review...sort of

Pages: 1

Sanyo 5000 Review...sort of
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: DaBigBR

As far as my opinion goes...it's very mixed. I got mine for $500, a little over a month ago, and now I can't wait to ship it off (I sold it on Ebay already). To me, the phone just didn't do $500 worth of stuff, and I felt I'd be happier with a somewhat simpler phone, for this phone I chose the Nokia 6185.

The color screen is striking, and very fun. Take the phone out of the holster and people will say "What kind of phone is that?", open the flip and you can hear their jaws hit the floor. I found that the phone has the "wow" factor of a Ferrari.

Although the color screen is nice, I found myself more impressed with the sub-LCD on the outside of the phone. It's a very good feature, and I really do love it. Just wish it would show the date as well. My other problem with the sub-LCD is that when you enable side key guard (locks the three side keys), there is no way to enable backlighting for a moment's time, you have to open the flip to see the time.

The signal meter (these are not good signal indicators on most phones), is from anothe planet. It never gets above three bars out of four....three is a rarity. This doesn't necesarily mean the phone gets poor reception, I think it calculates signal strength differently. When I was driving home with it, my Samsung 3500 showed a full signal all the way up to a point when it dropped to one bar and then to analog. The Sanyo showed 1-2 bars the whole time, and worked perfectly in digital for almost five more minutes before finally losing the signal.

Audio quality is pretty good. The speaker is like most Sanyo phones, where you have to place it perfectly over your ear to get good volume. You definitely learn where that spot is and subconsciously put the phone there. People told me that I sounded like Darth Vader coming through the phone...it's much better to hold the phone along your chin and talk that way. The microphone appears to be a little more sensitive than necesary.

The extendable antenna on the phone deserves an honorable mention because it is one of the best I have seen. It has a solid top that doesn't bend, but it also has a solid metal area that extends 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch down the antenna shaft. There is very little risk of bending or breaking it. In case you are wondering, there is a light-up antenna adapter for Audiovox phones that should work with this one. Don't expect much, because CDMA and light-up antennas don't work well together.

Battery life is probably the second worse thing about this phone (next to the price of course). Sanyo claims 120 hours standby...is that with the phone off or what??? I got two days with sparing (less than 1 hour) of use. One day is a better estimate for most of us. I have been told the extended battery is better...never had time to send in the form for a free one. Like most PCS phones, WAPing kills the battery, and you know there isn't much out there, so don't waste your time.

The phone is also missing something that's showed up missing in past Sanyo phones -> a life timer. I just sold my phone, and I know that nobody wants to see "I think I used it for less than 20 hours.", it screams uncertainty. The call logs hold ten calls of each flavor.

I never had a chance to use the calendar much, but I'm sure that with the aid of T9 and a little patience, one could definitely put this feature to use...I still prefer my Jornada. The calculator on this phone is a gem, much easier to use than the Nokia or Ericsson one. It uses the four-way arrow and ok button for functions, instead of scrolling through or pressing a key three times to multiply.

The game is pointless. Catch little turds in a crab's claw. I could write something better than that game. Nokia could license Snake and make a fortune.

This is only a partial review, but I hope it helps you guys in deciding.

Brad

Posted by: Bonka

You generalized on Audio quality. How is it in terms of incoming and outgoing? Since you're getting your 6185 soon, see if you can compare received/transmitted audio quality between the two.

Posted by: DaBigBR

I got my 6185 today. It has audio quality that is a world better...like a corded phone almost.

Incoming audio on the 5k is good, but you have to have your ear right over the earpiece, outgoing I'm told is bad unless you hold the mic away from your mouth.

Brad

Posted by: Bonka

That's pretty disappointing information.

Posted by: tolwyn

Thanks for the review, I've seen the phone a couple of times and hadn't played with it as long as I wanted.

Overall, it sounds like the phone is getting mixed reviews. Sanyo appears to be making waves with their designs and quick releases, but is missing the boat on certain areas.

Mind you, that crab game has been around for a while. I take it, that game hasn't improved at all since it debuted a few years ago?

Posted by: Bonka

Yep. Either terribly good or terribly bad reviews. Games are generally useless in phones, especially here in Vancouver when the there's a transit strike going on. Of course, it would be nice to have access to something favourable when conditions are henced "boring". Too bad Sanyo had to include the crab game again. Pretty lousy game.

Posted by: DaBigBR

I think Nokia could license Snake and make millions.

Don't get me wrong, the phone is very cool...just not for the price. When you lay down $500, you expect a high quality (like six sigma) piece of equipment. The phone's quality and features are more in the $150-$250 range.

Brad

Posted by: Bonka

Well, Telus is offering the 5000 for $399 on a 3yr plan. I would not be the least surprised when I see a flock of people conversing with this model a few weeks later.

To my dismay, the more I emphasis on the 5000, the less interested I am in wanting to purchase the phone. For a $400 phone, Sanyo wouldn't even bother adding trimode, whereas, you see the $25 6185, Audiovox 9000, etc with trimode. Ugly I say!

Posted by: DaBigBR

Even $400 is a world better price range for that phone.

Brad

Posted by: SamFar

For those folks that are complaining about the battery life, how is your signal strength when your phone is on standby? I live relatively close to a tower, so my phone does last a long time on standby. Also don't be fooled by the battery indicator, I've talked on the phone when the indicator has indicated that the battery is almost dead, and it didn't die!

Sanyo needs to fix that bug! It's very misleading.

Sam

Posted by: SamFar

You may also want to read the "What do you think about the new Sanyo SCP-5000?" There are some good discission there, and I did a mini review as well. Brad did a pretty good job, but there are something that I don't necessarily agree with him on, but we are both entitled to our oppinions.

Sam

Posted by: DaBigBR

And everybody is going to have a different experience, my review was intentionally biased negatively because I wasn't satisfied with the feature/cost ratio.

Brad

Posted by: Bonka

Quote:

Originally posted by SamFar
For those folks that are complaining about the battery life, how is your signal strength when your phone is on standby? I live relatively close to a tower, so my phone does last a long time on standby. Also don't be fooled by the battery indicator, I've talked on the phone when the indicator has indicated that the battery is almost dead, and it didn't die!

Sanyo needs to fix that bug! It's very misleading.

Sam

Sanyo handsets are notorious for having very pessimistic reception meters.

Posted by: chuckieland

my standby time is good too
and i also have exprience that battery life indicate very low
and i have chat for more then 20 minute
then still have power, to plug in and recharge for the night
sign quality is not bad, but then i have been on the sony phone for 6year, before i got this.
i just love this phone
i only wish the software is can be better made
such as key in the phone book on the computer, or calender then download to phone

Posted by: Mister Marcus

I like the 5000 better than any other phone. It has its shortcomings, but it's the best phone there right now.

Pros:
- Color, obviously
- Comes with the software to upload pics and sounds
- Killer appearance and "WOW" factor
- Web Browser looks great

Cons:
- Syncing tool is Serial port, not USB
- Not compatible with Ringers & More
- Signal Strength is nowhere near comparable to my Touchpoint Dualband
- Price IS high compared to its successor
- highly limited with ringtone size (20K? Can't get no good songs at that size)
- not 3G ready

The guys at the Sprint Store near me said I should upgrade to the next one, but I don't know. The 5150 is so cheap because it doesn't come with all the cool stuff that the 5000 does - like the free holster, the software, the data cable, free extended battery, etc. SO I don't know.

Posted by: ECJ

You should update. I just bought the Data cable, and software. My next thing is the extended battery. All that is $120. All the accessories you have will work on the 5150, so you will be set. Just make sure if you buy the 5150 that is has the v1.106 software version. That is supposed to be the 3G update to allow 3G voice.

Posted by: Sthack

And what are the differences between the 5000 and the 5150?

From a non-user of the 5000k I think that's kinda sad to see a so awsome handset with so medium performances / sound quality. I mean, the color and 'ferrari-wow-factor' is terrific and it could have been a very top-notch handset.
The 5100 is suppose to be the next version as their website says; just curious to see what's next it's gonna be