Sanyo Katana Blue cell phone, specs, user reviews, images, user manual, and more...

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The Katana from Sanyo is an ultra-thin clamshell phone. With a VGA camera and QVGA main display, viewing your photos is crystal clear. Other key attributes include speakerphone, Bluetooth, and Sanyo's large vibrant outer display.

Sanyo's new phone, the Katana, is named after the beautifully and brilliantly crafted swords used by Japan's legendary Samurai warriors. While comparing the design and workmanship of this phone to that of a Japanese master swordsmith might be a bit of a stretch, there are some areas of similarity. Katana swords are not about excessive detailing; they are about perfecting the general form to improve the function. In these areas, Sanyo's Katana is much like these ancient swords: unencumbered by unnecessary features, but well-structured for its primary purpose – communication.

The Katana is an important addition to the Sprint family of phones, offering sleek style and solid performance in an affordable clamshell phone. With its availability in several trendy colors and features like a VGA camera, several Bluetooth profiles, and diverse messaging capabilities, this phone is designed for the fashion-forward consumer.

The Katana is Sanyo's answer to the Motorola RAZR – compact, stylish, and available in a vibrant color palette. With dimensions of 3.88" x 2.02" x 0.58" and a weight of 3.40 ounces, its specifications are almost identical to those of the RAZR, but somehow the phone feels more substantial. It fits nicely in the palm of my hand, and the crisp click I hear when I open or close the phone is oddly pleasing.

The Katana is a beautiful phone. It has a rectangular shape, with curving edges and sharp angles melded together to create a look of technology blended with high-fashion. The camera lense is discretely located on the front of the phone, above the crystal-clear external screen, and the antenna is internal, so it doesn't distract from the appearance of the phone. (However, since the internal antenna is located in the bottom edge of the phone, you could interfere with the quality of your service if you cover the antenna with your hand or cheek.)

You can really show your personal style with one of the four rich and gorgeous color choices: Blue Sapphire, Mystic Black, Cherry Blossom Pink, and Polar White (available only at RadioShack). The Cherry Blossom Pink and Polar White phones are accented in gray, the Blue Sapphire phone is accented in black, and the Mystic Black phone is all black. The interiors of the phones complement the exterior colors, using combinations of the primary color and the accent color. The background color shows through the transparent keys, which are illuminated with a pleasant blue backlighting.

The numeric keypad and associated operational keys fill most of the bottom half of the phone. A navigation panel is situated above the keypad. It includes a central, dual-purpose key (the Menu / OK key) and the navigation keys you use to move through the menus, which also function as shortcuts for quick and easy access to Send Quick Text (up), My Content (down), Voice Memo (right), and the Web (left). The navigation panel is flanked by four additional keys, three of which perform standard operations and one that is a camera shortcut.

The charger jack and volume control buttons are located on the left edge of the phone, and the headset jack and a camera shortcut button are located on the right edge of the phone. The design of the external features is a bit of a disappointment. When you open the phone, the buttons flank the interior screen on the top half of the phone rather than the keypad on the lower half of the phone. It just isn't comfortable or practical to use the keys in this position. This is not such a big deal for camera operations because the internal camera key is a more logical choice when the phone is open, but it is an unnecessary difficulty when it comes to volume control. If you are like me and have to adjust the volume of the phone depending on who's on the other end of the line, the location of the external keys is a real bummer.

The Katana's buttons are flush with the phone, which I typically dislike immensely, but these buttons are an exception. They depress with authority, and I have no problems using them with ease. Most importantly, the Menu / OK key is elevated slightly higher than the navigation keys that surround it, so I never accidentally hit an adjoining button. It is possible that the flat keys could still be a hinderance for people with large fingertips, but I don't encounter any difficulties associated with the design of the keys.

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Katana Blue

Pros: Bluetooth enabled, good quality speaker phone, sturdy, nice big buttons

Cons: Battery life

Summary: While this phone is not so great on battery life, the pros of it seem to outweigh this one con. There is good voice quality and excellent antennae reception. The buttons are nice and big for the less delicate dialers, and the phone is sturdy and not easily broken if dropped. If considering this phone, factor in a car charger as well.

29 out of 75 people found this review helpful

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awesome

Pros: I love it

Cons: battery is hard to take out i mean difficult to take it out

Summary: I was using the sanyo brand from last 1 yr, recently I changed to its new model katana which is too kool n nice n light n it provides me all facilites which i required rght now so gr8 for me

37 out of 96 people found this review helpful

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Awesome Phone

Pros: Large Bright Screen and workes just great. This is the best phone I have ever owned. Easy to use and very stylish

Cons: None at this time

Summary: I have had this phone for about a month now and it works perfect. Excellent sound quality gets reception even in areas with little or no cell coverage. The speakerphone on it works better than my desk phone. I only have to charge mine about every three days it holds the charge that well, and I use my phone a lot. I download and text message and call all the time. The phone is thin, yet, sturdy and well built. I have taken great pictures with it and I am very happy with this phone. My office mate bought the Verizon Chocolate and had nothing but problems with it, mostly the phone would use up the battery without him using it. He brought it to the Verizon store and they gave him an extended battery and even with that the phone would use up the charge without him using it at all. He then bought the Verizon Razor and it does not even come close to the Katana. I own two Katana Phones and gave one to my brother who lives in an area with weak cell coverage and he has no problems with his Katana. Sanyo built a great all around phone.

43 out of 71 people found this review helpful

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Great Phone!!

Pros: Thin, easy access to use the speakerphone, vibrant display, sound is always great, and the reception is as well. The phone looks sharp and feels very sturdy.

Cons: The camera is not what you should buy this phone for. For a new Sprint phone I thought it should have had EV-DO.

Summary: I am really glad I waited to re-new my contract and upgrade my phone to get the new Katana. It's new to me and I like that I haven't seen everyone else with it already. The features that it has, which are a lot, work well and I am able to access all of them easily.

35 out of 58 people found this review helpful

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Impressed so far!

Pros: The blue is great and really makes the phone look clean and very sharp. It feels sturdy, like it is going to last and not fall apart after one accidental drop! The menu was friendly and easy to learn along with the camera functions. Both the internal and external displays are clear and bright. Love the Bluetooth and won't buy another phone without it again! Like most new phones the battery has been great for the first few days that I have been using it, so let's hope it will stay that way.

Cons: I can't speak of any yet.

Summary: After a few days I have been impressed with the Katana. This is my first Sanyo and I am happy to say that so far I can't really think of anything that I would change.

28 out of 63 people found this review helpful

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Sanyo Katana Blue Cell Phone

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Katana Blue

awesome

Awesome Phone

Great Phone!!

Impressed so far!

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