Customer Reviews

PCS Vision Picture Phone Sanyo PM-8200 Silver (Sprint)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I have had Sprint PCS service for just under 3 years, and in that time have switched phones 3 times. My previous two were Samsung phones -- the first was good, the second so bad that I had to consider getting another one just to get reception in my home. With the performance of that phone, I decided this time to try a Sanyo product. I had heard good things about the 8100, which this phone replaces, and was hoping the 8200 built on that reputation.

After using this phone for almost 2 months, I have to say that I am very pleased. This phone has all of the features you can ask for, and yet with rebates and other offers is very affordable. Both color screens are very clear, and they display easy to use menus and a camera that takes pretty good pictures, considering the phone is not a stand-alone digital camera. The phone has a solid feel, and talk time is more than adequate, too (compared to my last phone, which may not be saying much). The nicest addition is the speakerphone, although the speaker could use a little clarity. Oftentimes, at low volume you cannot hear it, and when you put it higher, the sound is distored and reverberates.

Since you can read about the remaining features above, I will point out a couple of disappointments, other than speakerphone quality. The first is the lack of screensavers, ring tones, and games. I know that since this phone is advanced, most people will end up downloading these things, but for someone that has little interest in PCS Vision or such services, this is a setback. Next, I am not sure why Sanyo only included 9 speed dial numbers -- my Samsungs allowed over 100, and it is limiting to have just those that are dialed by one touch of the keypad. My third complaint is not necessarily with this phone, but with the fact that even as good as it is, it does not mask the sometimes poor service Sprint PCS provides. It is either crystal clear or not there at all, and despite being told that this phone would give me much better reception (and it does compared to my last phone) it is still not near where some of the other carriers are.

In summary, for the cost, you won't find a better Sprint PCS phone out there which includes all of the features you would expect from an advanced phone. And, when Sprint gets the service to where it should be, this will be a great phone to complement it.

I purchased this phone as an upgrade replacement to my SCP-4900 about a month ago. I have compared it to my old 4900 as well as a SCP-8100 in terms of reception and function. Overall, it has been a decent phone, but it does have its quirks. My current firmware is v1.007SP, PRL 10025, hardware 0202 for those of you that care about these things.

First, the bad:
- Noticeably worse audio quality in the built-in earpiece compared to the other phones. I think that putting the camera in the same part of the phone as the earpiece speaker made them have to compromise the earpiece quality. The 4900 was clear but too quiet, the 8100 is loud and clear.
- Reception is different. The phone always shows fewer bars than both my 4900 and 8100 in the same location (2 bars vs. 4 bars). However this said, I think all three phones are comparable in reception - the first week I had the PM-8200 I went all over town with the SCP-8100 to compare. I have read that Sanyo used to exaggerate the signal strength meter in the older phones and that the 8200's signal bars are now more in line with other phone manufacturer's. Some places I can get better reception (ie. make a call) with the 8100, in other places only the 8200 works. Strange.
- Battery life is somewhat limited. Sanyo states 12 days' standby life for the 8200. I manage 3-4 days at best (I am a 700 minute-a-month talker and use the web an average of 5 minutes a day). I can easily talk 2+ hours at a time without problem. I was spoiled by the 4900 with 1 week between charges minimum with the same usage pattern and 16 days if I didn't use it much. The 8100 I have to charge about as often, though, and that's only rated for 10 days' standby.
- Build quality is not quite as good. In comparing the other two phones, the 8200 is not quite built up to the same standards (eg. the hinge is looser, the finish coarser). Of course, this may or may not have an impact on functioning.
- I find the polar bear animation irritating, but fortunately this can be turned off. A choice if different onscreen 'Buddies' would be appreciated.

Now the good:
- Reception is quite good overall, I get signal in the places I need it (work and home). Sprint's coverage is rather good here in Sacramento, CA, about the same as Verizon and much better than either Cingular/AT&T or T-Mobile (I'm a former customer of Cingular and AT&T before they merged). Likewise for San Francisco - my friends there with Cingular borrow my phone to make calls.
- The camera, although not as good as other maker's, now is up to VGA resolution and has a flash.
- The camera flash (really just a bright LED in the cover) can also be used as a flashlight (just hold down the volume toggle while the cover is closed). This is good in a pinch trying to find the keys you've dropped at night.
- You can text message now without having to go on the wireless web, unlike the older units.
- The phone now has a real GPS chip imbedded for locating the phone in e911 conditions, but some may also consider this bad for privacy. I don't think this feature is entirely functional yet anyway.
- The web browser is much much faster than the 4900 and also noticably faster than the 8100.
- The ringer can now be set to ring at the lowest volume and vibrate at the same time. Before it was either high volume with vibrate or vibrate only.
- The screen is bright and clear.
- The phone now has a built in clock. Sprint phones in the past have relied on the network to provide the phone with the time so if you didn't have reception, the phone couldn't tell you what time it was. With this phone you can.
- The speakerphone works reasonably well, although not as clear as on the 4900. The 8100 does not have a speakerphone, although the earpiece is loud enough you'd think it did.
- The phone has analog (AMPS) capability, unlike almost all GSM phones. Not really useful in a urban setting, but if you go out into the countryside, many rural areas are still analog only (the analog signal travels further than digital requiring fewer antennas), which may be a lifesaver in an emergency. Roaming on analog is normally $0.50/min, but Sprint has a nice Free and Clear America option that lets you roam on any carrier (including analog) for $5 extra/month. Good if you're the outdoors type. Be aware, however, that if you are talking in analog mode your phone number is vulnerable to cloning.

Overall, I would recommend this phone and am glad I bought it, despite the flaws I mentioned above. I, like many Sprint users, are fond of the Sanyo phones because they have been the best performers in the past. Other phones to consider if you don't need a camera are the SCP-4920 (candy-bar style) and the RL-2500, both these phones are by Sanyo with good reputations.

The Sanyo PM-8200 is an awesome piece of equipment. Don't believe the hype! If you live in a major metropolitan area, Sprint service is often BETTER than that of other cariers. I live in the New York / New Jersey area and the service is great here, especially with a high quality phone like this one. I'm sure in some areas of the country Sprint may not be as good. I've never had a problem with my connection, although their customer support is another issue.

That being said, this phone utilizes all the good things that Sprint offers. The wireless web through PCS Vision is great. The new link feature is nice too. It basically allows you to use this phone as a walkie talkie. Watch out Nextel!

Contrary to some of the other reviewers, I actually like the speaker phone. I think the quality is good. How many cell phones actually have a speakerphone by the way!

The camera is a nice feature. The PIM is cool too. It is true that there's not enough speed dial numbers for those who use that. I never used it too much with my Samsung phone anyway. What's worse is that my Samsung just was not durable. My experience with Sanyo phones is that they stand up to a lot of abuse!

True, there are also not enough games and ring tones on this phone. Downloading that stuff sucks, not to mention that they want you to pay extra. It's a $300 phone, include some decent ring tones will you!!!!!

Adding another criticism, why does Sprint go out of its way to sell phones that come with no accessories? This is an annoying problem, considering most of those cheapo plastic accessories cost them pennies to make overseas. Check out some of my reviews of the accessories for these phones. This is one problem that is not just about this phone, it's about the cell carriers trying to sqeeze their customers till they go broke.

All in all, the positive far outweighs the minor issues with this phone. Every generation gets better, and the features on this particular phone make it more than worth the cash. This phone rocks, which is what I expect from Sanyo! Enjoy!

I don't have this audio problem that people are complaining about. The only time I have a problem is when the person I'm talking to has a bad phone or poor service. Perhaps there were some bad shipments?

This is my second review for this phone because I've had it for about a month now, I just want to point out a bunch of observations.

Pros:
-Again, the pictures of this phone do not do it justice. The color is more of a shiny cobalt, dark red, and silver instead of that flat color/white that these pictures show. I'm sure the same goes for the other colors.
-LOUD! The speaker on the outside is the ringer instead of the earpiece. I've had a lot of trouble with past phones and other people complain about how they never hear their phone ring. If you turn the volume up on this you will always hear it.
-External color LCD is a nice touch, especially when someone with a photo assigned calls.
-Camera takes good quality pictures, even though camera phones are mostly pointless.
-Side buttons are set in nicely so they don't get pressed very easily.
-Normal button layout. Nokia thinks they are innovative by making the numbers in different layouts, but really it is just annoying and always will mess you up, no matter how long you have your phone.
-Buttons inside are smooth and the screen doesn't get imprints from them. I've heard of this happening on other phones, but never this one.
-Settings, after settings, after settings. There are a lot of options that you are able to set on this phone.
-Phonebook will remember which number to default calling to (home, mobile, work) by pressing left right when you are hovering over the name.
-I find myself turning the volume down when having conversations with people because it is often loud enough in normal mode to use it as a speakerphone.
-Lightweight
-1 Beep volume setting is nice. It is not disruptive and you will still know that you are getting a call.
-Click-locks open/closed. This is not one of those phones that just randomly falls open all the time. Only problem is, I like the clicking and I open and close it constantly. It is okay though, because there is no sign of wearing out!
-Voice services are great. Voice ring-tones can let you know who is calling audibly.
-White LED by camera is great when you are in the dark. Just hold down a volume button while the phone is closed for the light to come on. I use it plenty.

Cons:
-Probably not bad, but annoying, that the lid, only when closed, is a tiny bit jiggly.
-Can't turn down the ringer volume without opening the phone up.
-Soft keys (bottom of screen buttons) are always Memo and Web, can't change them. I actually wish that they could be hidden.
-Number keys are hard to locate when you aren't looking or going through recorded caller systems. I always have to look to make sure I press the right buttons.
-Casing is smooth and shiny and constantly full of fingerprints and smudges.
-I don't like the menu system style and graphics, but that's all personal preference (from a designer perspective).
-The volume buttons are hard to press during a call. It takes some getting used to with your ring-finger.
-Unable to sync to my Mac.
-Talk time is pretty low. 80 minutes.
-No pre-installed games.

Overall though, I recommend this phone to everyone. It has durability, style, and features that will please everyone. I wouldn't believe the people who say the audio quality is bad, mine is great. The external speaker and color LCD give this phone a bit more functionality and class than other phones. Be cool, stay in school... and buy this phone!

I purchased this phone in July 2004. I previously had a Sanyo 5150 and other Samsung phones. This phone is simple to operate has great reception and has many other nice features, especially the speakerphone.

There are three annoying things that I have found with the PM-8200.

1. Earpiece sound is poor, especially at higher volumes it really sounds like an AM radio from the 60's. (my Sanyo SCP-5150 sounded like a landline phone)

2. The speakerphone is nice, however it is really just okay to be on hold or for dialing and not to have a conversation. I always hear "are you there?" and am told that the sound comes in broken words.

3. The camera is average at best and if you use the highest quality setting which is a little better you get very few pictures.

Overall, I am pleased with the phone and would recommend it. You can't have everything.

I have had 9 different Sprint phones in a little over two years and 8 of those phones were between January 2004 and October 2004. The first was a LG, the next 7 were Samsungs and the 9th and final is the Sanyo 8200. This is the best phone I've ever had. Sometimes, Sprint's service is crappy, but this phone is great. It's the only Sprint phone that I would recommend. Get either color, silver, red or blue and you won't be disappointed. Just stay away from a Samsung phone, especially the VGA 620 and VGA 1000. Just go with this phone. It has great sound, takes great pictures and the speaker phone and ready link make talking so much easier.

the Sanyo PM-8200 is a powerful business tool. You can surf the web for map quest directions, collect your email, view your IP cameras and basically just about anything else you would do with your laptop.

The camera on this phone is excellent, it has three resolution settings and even a digital zoom feature. I am an electrical contractor in Atlanta, Georgia. All of our electricains in the field have these phones, should one of them have a question they simply take a photo and either email it to me at our office or send it to my phone. We also use the camera feature for estimating.

The "Ready Link"(Radio)feature, much like that of Nextel's "Direct Connect", is outstanding, however, unlike Nextel, you will be hard pressed to find yourself without signal. Sprint's coverage in Atlanta is excellent. I rarely drop a call.

The Sanyo PM-8200 is by far the best cell phone/tool our company has ever provided for its employees and Sprint is a very customer service minded company. I would reccomend this phone and Sprint to anyone considering changing cell providers and/or upgrading equipment.

The last PCS cell phone I owned was the venerable SCP-8100 from Sanyo. It was a cute little phone that was the second cell phone from any U.S. carrier that could take pictures. (The first-ever model was the SCP-5300 also from Sanyo, released in July 2002.) The PM-8200 addressed two shortcoming of the 8100: 1) camera quality, and 2) speakerphone.

The 8200 sports a higher-resolution built-in camera. Picture quality is also improved. The old 8100's pictures often had streaks and distorted colors. The 8200's pictures look much better. The speakerphone is definitely a great addition for those of us who like to multi-task yet dislike headsets. The volume and clarity could be a little better, but given the compact size of this phone, it's not bad.

Reception on the 8200 is great, thanks to its external antenna. Battery life is good, unless you save a lot of things in memory, which depletes battery faster the more stuff it holds. The phone is attractive and can be customized in many ways, not to mention it comes in three colors. To Sanyo, I suggest you use the iPod Mini color scheme, because not many people like big red!

In summary, the 8200 delivers lots of improvements over the already-excellent 8100. If you have Sprint or plan to get Sprint, this is the phone. If you want video recording, check out the Toshiba phone for Sprint.

I'm glad that so many people have a great time with this phone and I must admit I loved it as well, until about 6 months after I bought it. I am VERY careful with my phones, usually keeping them in great condition for years and one day I open the phone and the circular bar, where the flip front rotates, cracks. Of course, dealing with sprint, they are not to blame, and the manufacturer is not to blame. Apparently, I am to blame, and as my punishment, there is no one that I can even pay to fix it and I was informed that I would have to buy a new phone.

Well, I don't like when people tell me I HAVE to do something, so I decided I would deal with the crack until it was completely broken. About 2 weeks later, the phone decides to stop responding to the charger after 5 minutes or so, so I wake up and take my phone to work and have it for about an hour without touching it before the low battery warning comes on.

I hope that I just got a bad phone and they can do something with it down at the sprint store, but I noticed some of these problems creeping up pretty often, especially the charger. (Of course Sprint told me they don't have any of these listed as a common problem with the phone... Thank you Amazon reviewers!!!)
Good luck with yours, but I'd do a little more research unless you want to spend your days on hold and/or screaming at Sprint supervisors (one of which made me cry), or writing bad reviews on Amazon.

This represents a mid-end phone. But it has everything I was looking for in a cell phone:

* Great reception and voice clarity. I had Verizon Wireless before and wasn't happy with voice clarity as people always sounded robotic. The Sanyo phone gives good, crisp clarity on the Sprint network.

* Camera with flash. OK the flash is a bit of a joke, but it does help a bit when you are in a bar.

* Speakerphone. Finally I have a cell phone with speakerphone! It's just so cool.

* Color LCD inside and out. I love having a "sub LCD" on the flip cover so I can see who's calling, esp. when I have a picture ID for the caller.

* Can play streaming videos from Sprint. I tried the free Vision service for two months. It was fun, but for me, not really worth the extra cost. Streaming video was a lot of fun, though.

* For those who care, you get walkie talkie service called Ready Link. Expensive monthly fee, though.

Here you have it, a high quality, high fun factor phone for a great price. I love it. I'm getting another one for my family.