Display & Audio
The Katana's displays are two of its best assets. The external screen is a full 1.0" (90 x 64 pixels) in size. It is a 65,000-color TFT LCD display that provides a crisp and clear picture and allows you to quickly view signal strength, battery strength, date and time, a screensaver (if selected), picture caller id,
Bluetooth connectivity, and more. The interior screen is more or less a bigger version of the external screen at 2.2" (240 x 320 pixels), but its size makes its clarity and brilliance even more breathtaking. The only downside to these displays is that they can be somewhat difficult to view at certain angles in direct sunlight.
The Katana has the clear and precise call quality and voice clarity that has come to be associated with
Sprint, although there are some volume issues with the phone. For some reason, the speakerphone is located on the back of the phone, so it can be difficult to hear the ringers or a person speaking if it is impeded in any way. The installed ringer tones and melodies also do not have enough volume variation. (Quite frankly, the ringers aren't that great in general; there aren't many options and the options that do exist are very similar to each other.) Downloaded ringtones are also fairly quiet, although you can alleviate that somewhat by downloading a loud ringtone.
For those times when you need to turn off your ringer, the Vibrate options on this phone are top-notch. You can select from four different vibration patterns, and the vibrations are substantial enough to draw your attention, even if you are distracted or the phone is in your purse.
One of the accessories included with this phone is a 2.5 mm audio jack adapter, which allows you to use a variety of stereo headphones with ease. However, since the Katana doesn't have an MP3 player or satellite radio capabilities, it is likely that a standard headset or Bluetooth headset are all you really need.
Next: Messaging, Internet, & Connectivity »
4.3
