Sanyo SCP-7300 / RL-7300
Average Ratings
BEWARE
HAD THE 7300 FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND NOTICED A SMALL CRACK ON THE HINGE. i NEVER DROPPED IT OR ABUSED IT. WENT TO SPRINT STORE AND TOLD IT WAS NOT COVERED. WROTE SANYO NUMEROUS TIMES AND WAS BLOWN OFF. BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Decent Phone w/ some reservations
I got this phone to replace my aging B&W Samsung A460.
PROs:
Ruggedized nature, good hinge, doesn't get dinged badly when dropped
Screen is real bright and readable
Ringers are nice and loud and have good quality
LED on outside is bright and well positioned so you can see calls coming in in a noisy environment
Call sound quality is very good.
You can disable the "turning off" sound
It's not the damned silver color :)
CONS:
Standard Battery doesn't seem to last too long (Disclaimer: I had the extended battery for my A460)
T9 mode is not the default for SMS compose
Reception is, on average, one bar less than the Samsung A460
Have to position phone precisely to be able to hear OK when making a call.
No quick and easy "set all incoming alerts to silent" mode.
BOTTOM LINE:
I'm happy with my purchase and will probably get the extended battery to improve the run-time
An Ok Phone
This is my 3rd Sanyo phone. I started w/ the 8100 (not my first phone, just first Sanyo) then moved on to the 5500. 5500 was nice but too much and too fragile. Now I'm on the 7300. An obvious plus is the built in SMS. Having to get on-line for it before was getting really, really old. I have to say though, the Ready Link feature leaves a lot to be desired. My RL broke on this phone. I ended up turning it off. I can't blame it all on the phone but it certainly played a part. Another problem is the lack of customization. For the menus I have only 4 color schemes to choose from. For a phone with 16bit color capability that's pretty sad. Despite all this I have to say that this phone has remained scratch free for way longer than any other phone I've had (this is my 5th phone in 3 years.) The rubber around the edge is a great idea. The speaker phone isn't bad. The only other problem I have is that I can't record Voice Dial over the hands free set. No biggy though. Overall a good working phone that I'm happy with.
My favorite phone EVER until after 6 months service very shotty
I bought this phone after seeing a co-worker who had it. I loved the rubberized feel of the outershell, and the larger coler screens. After plunking down $279 and then getting a $150 rebate check back after 2 months, things were going just great. Then suddenly out of nowhere the phone would say "Connecting...", followed by "Re-dialing...", and then 15 seconds later it would jump itself off the network and back on it. This would only happen in my home, which was strange since I had very little problems (if any) since then. And the strangest thing about it... I had at least 2-3 bars when I would place the call! So I put the Roaming option on "automatic" and gave that a try... eventually it would force itself into Digital Roam and even though I had the America plan upgrade, I was worried about going over the 1/2 of total minutes to avoid roaming charges. So I switched to Verizon, but darn it the new Sanyo MM7400 looks awesome, and if someone could explain why my service turned for the worse, I might consider switching back to Sprint. This RL7300 of mine had terrific call clarity and I loved being able to use the speakerphone with the flip closed.
Stay Away...
The speaker phone works wonderfully...even in noisy environments. All the
features built in were everything and more that I wanted in a cell phone. I
have several digital cameras...so no need for a "toy" camera built into my
phone. THE RECEPTION STINKS, though...my old Samsung 8500 has been
brought back out of the closet while the eggheads at Sprint try to figure out
how to remidy the problem. SOLUTION...STAY AWAY FROM THIS
PHONE. What good are phone features if the darn thing can't hold a
signal...my old Samsung 8500 is going back online for the third time and the
price I paid eaten because Sprint "can't even replace it"...because it's not on
the "available refurb" list... A REAL ZERO FOR THIS PHONE!!!
Not Impressed
I've had this phone for about 3 months and returned it for Sanyo 4920. Here's the breakdown:
Pros: Styling/looks, user friendly, loud spekerphone
Cons: weak signal, bad reception, so so sound quality, VERY BAD microphone (other person can't hear) especially in speakerphone mode, relatively weak battery life.
Would not recommend it
Rockin' good
I've had this phone for over 2 months now. They gave it to me for free after my 6400 went wacko.
It has tremendous RL, more then adequate sound quality, good construction, and a nice overall aesthetic. One slight complaint is that it's a wee bit too large ( oh, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that.) One more thing. The speakerphone is the greatest thing ever included on a cell phone.
I've had in excess of 8 sprint phones and this one is the best, with the second being my beloved Timeport 8727.
If you're looking for a reliable, uncomplicated phone with enough features (cameras are for sucks) go with it.
Great Phone: Often Doesn't Connect
I have owned the phone for more than 2 months
This is a very pleasant phone to use form a Human Factors perspective. Nice, tactile feel, great key pad, terrific display, intuitve menus. Speaker phone is fine.
Only one little problem. The phone either can not connect or drops calls. This happens about 50% of the time. I have tested it against an old Motorola clamshell that is on the same account and it is just fine. In fact the only reason that I stopped using the Motorola phone was that after 4 years it broke in half and quick glue wouldn't fix it.
This is the second Sanyo phone I have tried as a replacement and I believe that the problem is Sanyo design defect. I wish Sprint would offer Motorola phones.
In any case this is an expensive phone and it does not do the job. Sprint has been unable to do anything.
Major Reservation
While I like the overall design and features of the RL7300, a major reservation I have is with the sound quality of the earpiece: it is consistently muffled or hollow sounding, as if the diaphragm of the earpiece speaker wasn't effectively sound insulated. Frustrating, this.
Otherwise, the unit has a solid feel to it, with a satisfying click when opened and closed, and signal strength appears to be consistently strong.
Pros:
Great looking design.
Sturdy and relatively compact.
Good speakerphone sound.
Cons:
Poor earpiece sound.
Cluttered Sub LCD on front.
No charging cradle, only a plug-in travel charger.
Great Phone
I've been using my Samsung SCH-8500 for about 4 years now. I thought it was time for an upgrade and wow!! I picked a winner, I tried several different phones but I like this one the best. The feel is just terrrific, the vibrant screen, and the reception is really good for a clam shell style phone. I recommend this phone!!
