Sanyo introduced the SCP-5300 camera phone a few months ago, we were clearly impressed with the company’s efforts. The only aspect that might keep that impressive mobile from having mass-market appeal is its prohibitive price point.
Enter the SCP-8100, an arguably affordable phone/camera that has many of the sought-after features of its sibling without the high cost.The Sanyo SCP-8100 is more compact (3.3 by 1.8 by 1.1 inches; 3.9 ounces) than the SCP-5300 and fits better in a small purse or a pocket. However, you’ll find the same overall design: a built-in camera and a small, 65,000-color external LCD that not only displays network strength, battery life, time, and caller ID info when available but also a picture of those calling (if they have an image associated with their phone-book entries). All that’s missing cosmetically from this slimmer model is a built-in flash.
Open the flip phone, and you’ll see that the SCP-8100′s internal, 1.8-inch, 65,000-color, eight-line TFT display is the real eye-catcher. We particularly appreciated the animated green alien that sometimes skateboards from side to side. The Sanyo’s list-type menu interface is easy to navigate via the phone’s four-way navi-button and two dedicated menu-selection keys.
Like the SCP-5300, you can snap pictures using the large internal display as the image finder for the digital camera or flip the phone closed and go to the small, 1-inch external display to frame a self-portrait. The latter also serves as a decent substitute for a mirror in a pinch. On the side of the phone, there’s a shutter-release button, a headset jack, and two volume-control buttons, which can be used to scroll through the 5300′s menus.
As you might expect, if you’re running out of subjects in your own life to decorate your phone, you can always download graphics, pictures, and polyphonic sounds from the Sprint PCS Vision site. In the features department, the 8100 has its fair share. Highlights include a 300-name phone book, voice-activated dialing for up to 30 names, menus, caller ID, text messaging, a vibrating ringer, voicemail, games, a calendar, a world clock, and wireless Web access via Sprint’s 1xRTT next-generation network. Although the phone will work with a separate USB cable to upload images directly from phone to computer, it lacks an IR port to easily transfer images to other IR-enabled devices, such as a Palm or Pocket PC. (Note: The Samsung V205 has an IR port, but you can’t use it to beam images to other IR products.)
Enter the SCP-8100, an arguably affordable phone/camera that has many of the sought-after features of its sibling without the high cost.The Sanyo SCP-8100 is more compact (3.3 by 1.8 by 1.1 inches; 3.9 ounces) than the SCP-5300 and fits better in a small purse or a pocket. However, you’ll find the same overall design: a built-in camera and a small, 65,000-color external LCD that not only displays network strength, battery life, time, and caller ID info when available but also a picture of those calling (if they have an image associated with their phone-book entries). All that’s missing cosmetically from this slimmer model is a built-in flash.
Open the flip phone, and you’ll see that the SCP-8100′s internal, 1.8-inch, 65,000-color, eight-line TFT display is the real eye-catcher. We particularly appreciated the animated green alien that sometimes skateboards from side to side. The Sanyo’s list-type menu interface is easy to navigate via the phone’s four-way navi-button and two dedicated menu-selection keys.
Like the SCP-5300, you can snap pictures using the large internal display as the image finder for the digital camera or flip the phone closed and go to the small, 1-inch external display to frame a self-portrait. The latter also serves as a decent substitute for a mirror in a pinch. On the side of the phone, there’s a shutter-release button, a headset jack, and two volume-control buttons, which can be used to scroll through the 5300′s menus.
As you might expect, if you’re running out of subjects in your own life to decorate your phone, you can always download graphics, pictures, and polyphonic sounds from the Sprint PCS Vision site. In the features department, the 8100 has its fair share. Highlights include a 300-name phone book, voice-activated dialing for up to 30 names, menus, caller ID, text messaging, a vibrating ringer, voicemail, games, a calendar, a world clock, and wireless Web access via Sprint’s 1xRTT next-generation network. Although the phone will work with a separate USB cable to upload images directly from phone to computer, it lacks an IR port to easily transfer images to other IR-enabled devices, such as a Palm or Pocket PC. (Note: The Samsung V205 has an IR port, but you can’t use it to beam images to other IR products.)
