Sprint PCS Video Phone Shootout - Usability/Performance
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Sanyo:
Very well rounded phone with decent size buttons and easy-to-navigate menu. I found it hard to get through the menu when set in the “icon” mode, but had no problem with the screen’s contrast after changing it to “list”. Very ergonomic and features are simple to access.
Voice quality is acceptable, however, I’ll note that half-duplex operation on Sprint’s network was not what I was used to. It’s a lot more pleasant to hold a conversation when you actually hear yourself and the other person speak at the same time, which we don’t have here. Speakerphone is extremely loud and sounds crackling at the high volume – overall very dissatisfactory performance of a speakerphone in general. I was not able to hold a conversation with a normal tone of voice in the car on it at all. Same went for the ringtones; the tones sounded distorted and not pleasant at all when the ringer volume was turned up. A big plus, however, is Sanyo’s push-to-talk performance, where half-duplex is no longer a problem since you have to wait for the other party to respond anyway. With a minimal delay and a very crisp speakerphone sound, PTT feature gets two thumbs up from me.
Samsung:
The smallest of the three, phone is very well suited for people with smaller fingers. I had a lot of problems trying to navigate through the menu with the middle key serving as a “camera” key and an “ok” key getting in the way all the time. Menu was very clear and the screen was nice and bright.
Out of all the phones, this one had the best speaker sound when it came to ringers. It was a pleasure to talk on the phone and ringtones came out nice and loud without distortion. Samsung had the best battery life within these models as well when tested. While the specifications comparison will tell you that the battery life is supposed to be less than the other two phones, our model lasted for 4 days with talking and receiving occasional calls, taking 2-3 camera stills, 1 movie and a few Mobile Web visits. I do have to mention that this phone neither has a speaker that we used on a VM4500, nor a huge screen that helps drain the battery on the Toshiba.
Toshiba VM4050:
If Toshiba spent a little more time designing this monster’s case and implementing a nicer sub-LCD screen and a better speakerphone, this would be the ultimate phone to have. Even with the flaws, you pick up this phone and it looks as if you were staring at a small version of an XGA laptop screen. Amazing color display and an array of features definitely make this phone the best choice for me. Unfortunately not everyone feels the way I do about phones and there are a few things user may not like.
The speakerphone was not up to par; not too different from Sanyo’s speaker performance it was very unclear when used at a high volume. Buttons are laid out nicely and with ample space to use the phone without hitting buttons you didn’t intend to press. Otherwise the phone’s sound performance was satisfactory, the signal was strong all the time, and features were very easy to access since there was enough space on the keypad as well as both sides of the phone. The battery lasted the least on this model, only 2 days, but that had a lot to do with me playing with its features a little more than I did with the other models. Overall I would have to say, that Toshiba is my phone of choice.
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