PCS Phone Sanyo SCP-8100 (Sprint)

by Sanyo

Product Details

Product Manual [2.31mb PDF]

|

Supplementary Guide [42kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3.3 x 1.9 x 1.1 inches ; 3.9 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000AYKXG
• Item model number: SCP-8100
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #271,005 in Cell Phones & Accessories (See Top 100 in Cell Phones & Accessories)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll have loads of fun... even if no one ever calls you, November 25, 2003

By 

Kyle Brotherton (WA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: PCS Phone Sanyo SCP-8100 (Sprint) (Wireless Phone)

I have owed the 8100 for about four months.

- The main lcd screen:
This screen is very bright. During a recent power outage, I used it to find my way around my house.

- The call clarity:
I used to make jokes about the poor reception I got with my Nokia 6185. With this phone, it sounds more like a land line than a cell phone. The first time my brother called my mom with the 8100, she could immediately tell that he had a new phone. The earpiece volume is adjustable, and can get very loud (almost sounds like a speakerphone).

- The camera:
Ok, so the image quality is low. But the features are impressive. You can assign images as caller id's for people in your phone book. You can email a picture to anyone immediately after taking it. I don't carry any family pictures with me. If I want to show pictures of my nephews and nieces, I can just pull out my phone. It even has a self-timer, so you can set your phone down and get in the picture.

- The Calendar:
I use this feature every day. You can set reminders (like: "take out trash") to repeat weekly, monthly, or annually. You can be alerted of events minutes or hours in advance. You can even assign a specific ringer as the alarm for an event.

- Ringers:
This phone supports polyphonic ringers, which are like normal ringers- except more "vibrant." It also supports ".QCP" ringers (which are actual sound clips) containing songs or voice. You can assign different ringers for individuals in your phone book.

- Games:
The games aren't "gameboy" quality, but they do come close to those little pocket lcd games. Using the keys on the phone as controls feels a bit wierd. Some games use the phone's vibrator as a "rumble"
feature. The selection of games available is adequate.

- Applications:
This phone supports some applications. I have installed and used a stop watch, an instant messaging app, the RealOne player (subscription service), and a to-do list app. I have yet to see any "full-motion" video displayed on this phone.

- Email:
After you sign up, Sprint gives you an email address that's attatched to your phone. You can send and receive text emails using that address (from your phone or their website).

- Misinformation:
When the documentation says it has "screensavers," that's not true. What they mean is that the phone uses images kind of like the desktop wallpaper on your pc. When the phone is not in use, the screen turns off automatically. When the documentation says "wireless internet," that is misleading. You can only view small html pages or specially designed "wml" or "wap compatible" pages. You can't view the amazon site the way it looks right now on your computer screen.

- Ways to use it:
This phone works even better when combined with some other services.
>Textamerica provides free "moblogs."
>Qualcomm "Purevoice converter" lets you turn your mp3 files into
ringers.
>Sites like 3GUpload let you upload images and ringers from your pc to your phone (for a small fee).
>Wireless internet sites like Mapquest and Hollywood give you driving directions, movie times, and more using your phone's browser.

This is a great phone. You'll have loads of fun with it, even if no one ever calls you.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific phone, but don't expect much in image quality, November 11, 2003

By 

Gadgester "No Time, No Money" (Mother Earth) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: PCS Phone Sanyo SCP-8100 (Sprint) (Wireless Phone)

The Sprint PCS 8100 is a terrific camera phone. It's the second camera phone to be sold here stateside. Size-wise, it could be a bit thinner like the Panasonic GU-87 GSM phone for AT&T Wireless; but, to be fair, the 8100 is already quite compact, and much smaller than the very first camera phone to hit the U.S. market: the venerable Sanyo SCP-5300.

Compard to the 5300 (which is still being sold by Sprint), this 8100 phone has a very bright main LCD, albeit slightly smaller (1.8" vs. 5300's 2.1"). Its 56k color range is very good, and did I mention it's super-bright? Definitely the brightest and clearest phone LCD screen I've seen so far -- and I've personally checked out lots of phones on sale in the U.S. and also in Europe. BTW, an interesting thing about the 8100's screen is that, even if you turn off the backlight, the main LCD is actually still backlighted (backlit?) at a lower level. So for the 8100, backlight on means very bright backlight, and backlight off means dim backlight. The main LCD supposedly uses some new technology developed by Sanyo that draws less power than other LCD screens even when it's backlit. (I read this on some geek website.) The external sub-LCD (on the flip cover) is squarish and also capable of 56k colors, but at 96x96 its resolution is quite low. One interesting use of the external sub-LCD (other than displaying picture caller IDs) is to use it for taking self-portraits. Since I'm an unapologetic narcissist, I simply adore this feature! :)

As a cell phone the 8100 shines, no pun intended. The reception is just exceptional! If you've read my other phone reviews you'd know I live in a basement apartment here in the outskirts of New York City. The 5150 and 5300 I had owned before used to get 2-3 bars on the signal strength indicator, but the 8100 regularly gives me 4 bars! I'd say 3-4 is my normal strength, occasionally it drops to 2, and very rarely it goes to 0-1. The built-in earpiece has good voice quality, and it's definitely the loudest earpiece of all Sanyo phones sold s far -- and better than other Sprint PCS offerings. Close to 20 high-quality ringers are included, ranging from simple ringing tones to melodies; they are pretty loud at the highest setting, although a perfectionist such as myself always thinks we can use a bit more volume.

The phone functions are easily laid out and responsive. The user interface is clean and simple. You don't need to read the user's guide to figure most things out, as the phone uses a pop-up menu system extensively. One nice touch is the "Mi Amigo" animated character. I won't tell you what it is, though, as you have to see the fun little thing yourself. (Hint: it bathes, exercises, sleeps, beams down from Mars, etc.)

Of course, the main draw of this phone is its built-in camera. Compared to the older 5300, this one's resolution is a step down, something like 172x220, vs. the 5300's true VGA (640x480) resolution. The 8100 also doesn't have a built-in flash like the 5300, and you cannot do special digital effects (e.g., digital zooming) as on the 5300. The picture quality is also lower than on the 5300.

On the other hand, you get two distinctive pluses vs. the 5300: 1) it takes surprisingly decent pictures in low light, so party photos should come out ok -- in fact I've seen a lot of users take party pics using their 8100s and many would come out surprisingly well, 2) it's much easier to organize and share (or upload) picture files on the 8100 than on the older 5300, and you can also store more pictures due to the smaller size. With each picture, you can upload to Sprint's free picture-sharing website, or you can save to the "picture wallet" folder, from where you can assign them to wallpaper or caller ID. Last but not least, you can simply keep your best on-the-go pictures and laugh silly at them on your commute!

It ought to be emphasized that you mustn't expect too much about the picture quality. It reminds me of the first-gen digital cameras that came out back in 1995. Fuzzy and distorted colors best describe the images. The quality is also very sensitive to hand shakes, so often I use one hand to hold the phone steady and the other to press the shutter button. This is especially true when you use the self-portrain mode. I personally find the camera work best in low-light settings like inside a bar, and also on beautiful summer days. The minimum distance to subject is around one foot in order to get a focused picture. The point is, the 8100 is more a fun toy than a serious (or semi-serious) digital camera. Snapping quick shots of people fighting outside Yankees stadium is fine, but family get-together photos are no-no on this.

Now a word of warning: in places like New York City cops have started arresting people who surreptitiously take pictures of girls' behinds and legs and whatnots. Please use your phone responsibly!

One more virtue of the 8100 is its affordability. In short, this is a terrific camera phone that you'll get addicted to easily. Many other users seem to agree: less than a year after its release, it's already the best-selling phone in Sprint PCS's entire history.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great phone, Great features, but ..., December 17, 2003

By 

Jason P. Gold (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PCS Phone Sanyo SCP-8100 (Sprint) (Wireless Phone)

I bought this phone two weeks ago. It is very nice as a phone - compact, light, with enough volume in the headset so I can hear it with the car top down (but not at 80 mph!). The keyboard is logical and lightly backlit. All the set up and control functions can be accessed at the press of a button.

It has lots of really nice features. The 1.8" screen is bright and colorful, with good resolution. It has a built in camera which takes fairly good pictures which you can use as your screen's background. You can also e-mail and upload the pictures if you pay for the service. The battery lasts forever. The phone has PCS web access. You can also download games and programs to make the phone more functional. It has a built in calculator. You can use it as a modem if you purchase a USB cable and software (which Sprint no longer provides). You can upload the pictures to Sprint's web cite and then e-mail them. The pictures you take or d/l can be displayed as four to a screen thumbnails.

So, what's the catch? "Sprint" charges for everything. And the contract is for two years. You can upload pictures, backgrounds, ringers and software from your computer -- if you buy for the cable and software, which Sprint no longer supplies, but I can't find software to d/l my pictures directly to the computer. (The cable and software can be purchased separately, but not together! There are three sets of software -- again each sold separately!) If you want access to your pictures, you have to upload them to Sprint's web cite, and then download. Sprint charges for this service. I bought a USB cable to try to use the phone as a modem. I used it for a very short period, and had my phone turned off the next day because I ran up a bill of $80.00. In some ways, it is kind of offensive. At least they reversed the charge because I had two months free trial!

10/30/04 -- As an update, I have now had the phone for almost a year. I continue to be happy with it, although I think I might like one with a speakerphone built in. The battery has held up and continues to last for days. In addition, I have found that Sprint's coverage in Los Angeles and Orange County areas is very good, and I lose reception much less than I did with AT&T.