Sanyo SCP-8100
Average Ratings
Just what I need
I upgraded from an A500 which I was very happy with, but this phone surpasses it.
- Great battery Life. I'm hard pressed to even use one bar after several days off the charger and heavy use.
- Beautiful screen. Sharp, large, even better than the A500.
- Loud earpiece. I was a little hesitant because I read all the reports of the 5300 being low on volume. Not the 8100! almost a speakerphone when turned up.
- Camera. Ok, it's no 5 megapixel 3 CCD wonder, but they do turn out pretty good. Yes the 5300 is higher resolution, but both get lots of noise in less than perfect lighting. 5300 pictures in my opinion are not $200 better. Untill they fit a 1.3Mp into a phone, don't plan on replacing your digital cam.
- Signal Strength. Much better than my A500.
I am honestly hard press to find any downside to this phone. And for $99(!?!) The day I bought it, 3 other people from my office immediately went out and bought one, and a fourth debated shelling out $200 to break his Verizon contract. For my needs, I love it.
Thumbs up for Sanyo!
I have been waiting for Sprint to come out with a new, good and reasonably priced phone and the Sanyo SCP-8100 is it. This phone has a lot of features and is a good phone. The only problem is that with the ear piece volume turned all the way down it is still very loud and the phone does not have a calender and speaker phone. I can handle the volume but they should have definitely added the speaker phone and alarm. I would still recommend this phone to anyone.
8100 A lot-a-phone for not-much-$
The Sanyo 8100 is a very good phone. For starters you always have to consider what you pay for a phone when rating it. If i had paid 300-400 for this phone i might be dissapointed, but for 99.00 it's fantastic!
The camera, the 8100's big selling point is actually much better than i expected. Pictures are clear and lighting inside and out does not seem to be a problem even without an included flash.
Uploading the photos via SPCS Vision worked much better than expected as well! Even the feature to record a little voice clip worked nicely.
The phones menu is easy to navigate and pretty clear. I was dissapointed that there is no true alarm clock, only event reminders, ala Motorola.
Reception seems to be on par with other recent Sprint phones. I was able to get a strong signal everywhere i traveled over the first weekend with my 8100, including my office elevator, not something easily accomplished. In field test mode the 8100 seems to be almost identical with my LG 5350, meaning quite good.
Outgoing audio seems to be fine. Incoming audio is where the Sanyo kinda misses a step. The earpiece design makes it somewhat difficult to initially find the sweet spot, but once you do BOOM, the sound is so loud it'll startle you! I have my earpiece volume set on "1" and i still wish i could get it lower.
All in all a very decent phone for the price. The phones body is sturdy and closes and opens with a nice "click". The resolution of the screen is EXCELLENT, and even with the backlight off, it's MUCH easier to see than the LG 5350.
Had the phone had an alarm clock and a little more attention paid to the incoming audio this would be quite simply a perfect phone, but as it is, it's still pretty good.
Good value, but some flaws
In general, the 8100 is a good phone. It's certainly a great value - you'd be hard-pressed to find this feature set in a $500 phone, and of course this is much less.
The main display is simply amazing - the best I've seen in any phone so far, although not the largest. It's brighter than the 5300, and even the Samsung A500. The colors are saturated and beautiful.
The outer display is a bit disappointing. It's dim, and has some sort of strange refresh-rate issue that causes annoying lines to appear across it unless you hold it perfectly still.
The interface is improved over past Sanyo phones. It looks much better, although it still won't win any awards. It is very straightforward and intuitive, though.
The camera quality is poor compared to other Sprint camera phones. The image is much smaller, and the corners are very, very blurry. It's still fine for casual, fun use, but don't expect to capture much detail.
Like the 5300, the 8100 is very thick. I don't understand why the same company that makes one of the thinnest phones in the world (6000 series) makes all of their other phones such thick monsters. The 8100 will make a sizable bulge in your pocket. Unfortunately, the phone isn't designed to give you the option of a slim battery - the (huge) included battery is as slim as it gets.
The biggest disappointment is the speaker quality. It gets reception like other Sanyos (like a champ) but the sound quality is... crap. It sounds muffled at any volume, and very distorted at any volume above "2", which is a little too low for me most of the time. It's not so bad it's a deal-breaker, but it could be a lot better.
The ergonomics could be better, too. The side keys are on the wrong side for most (right-handed) people, and it's hard to find a place to put your thumb or index finger that isn't over something important. Also, the keypad buttons are flush with the phone and hard to feel out.
In summary: for the money, it's a good phone - I'll be keeping mine - but there are some trade-offs for the price.
Fat, ugly, little phone
This phone is awful. It's fat. It drops calls. the keypad barely lights up. The camera is a joke. 8200 are you going to be better?
None Like It
Clarity is beautiful on this phone, people most the time can't even tell I'm on phone. Battery life is a must on any phone and this one has a great one, hardly charge it. Camera's okay, if you want the most beautiful pictures, get a real digital camera! wouldn't trade my phone for any of the other pieces out there.
New, sleek, professional and CHEAP!
I work at Radio Shack and I remember thinking about the 5300. It was a great phone with a LOT of functions, but too much money. This 8100 has many of the same function, but at a slightly lower quality and a LOT cheaper price. All around a great price for the money you pay.
All around good phone!!!
I am a Customer Service Rep with sprint.I deal with alot an I do mean alot of problems with the defects of a phone I have had very little problems with Sanyo in general. I can say this about the phone its self I believe in comparison to its big sister the 5300 (which is about $200 more ) it is a great bargin
Great phone
This is the bestest phone it has A cool camara and a color screen I like it a lot the signal is great the screen is awesome you need to buy this phone too
Just another entry in the long list of good Sanyo phones...
When I had service with Sprint, I was a big fan of Sanyo phones. I owned the 5300, this one, the 4900 (the workhorse), and the VM4500. Sanyo phones, IMHO, were the best around. Solid performers (RF perf. & voice quality), good build quality, and were overall just great phones. The 8100 was no exception. Sure it had a craptacular camera (like most phones), small main display, lack of connectivity options (no bluetooth, IR, wi-fi...but most CDMA phones didn't have these features when the 8100 rolled out), but yeah, it worked and worked well. Exceptional RF, great voice quality, loud earpiece, loud ringers, and durability make this phone a winner.
