PCS Phone Sanyo VM4500 - Silver (Sprint)

Rating:
Summary: VM4500 (SCP-5500) ....IS HORRIBLE!!
Review: I have had this phone now for a couple of months. The first one was a complete "lemon". The second one that Sprint traded for the same one in silver is horrible as well. (Now I dont even have the blue color one!) Numerous dropped calls...I mean NUMEROUS!! Sprint folks reluctantly agree that there is a manufacturing defect with this model phone. So much for the excitement of getting the "Best" sprint phone!! Another problem is that you have to repeatedly call them to tell them u r having the problem...and they think you are giving them excuses. They then want to trade you another "refurb" phone since you've had it for more then 15 days!! A bunch of "- - - -"! Anyway...My suggestion...DO NOT GET THIS PHONE!

Rating:
Summary: Best Cell Phone I've Used
Review: This is simply the best cell phone I've ever used. Sure, it has lots of features 75% of the population will not use everyday...if you're in that 75%, then spending the cash for this phone probably isn't for you. However, if you're like me and got rid of your landline phone and need a solid cell phone, then this phone is great. I really like the voice dial (it's built into the phone -- you don't have to pay Sprint's fees for Voice Command for this particular phone if you know how to use it) and the speaker phone. The battery life has been wonderful. I get around 2 hours of talk time per charge and I've gotten as much as 2 weeks of standby between charges. My advice is to look over the phone's features...if you will use 75% of them on a semi-regular basis, then this is the phone for you...otherwise, find you a cheaper model and save some money. (NOTE: I only gave 4 stars because I had a couple of bugs with the phone...like it forgetting my voice dial...nothing major at all, but 5 out of 5 and it's not perfect, but it sure is close.)

Rating:
Summary: Finally a Phone that Lasts
Review: I purchased this phone up around Dec 2003, and as of Feb 2005 this phone is just as fabulous as it was the first day of purchase! I've had many phones over the years and I never considered myself rough or tough on my cell but somehow after 3-4 months the phone became utterly useless making me regret getting the "deal" phone. You know the phone that just happens to be on sale and is practically the same price as it would take for a pair of movie tickets.

I found with other phones dropped signals grew rampant shortly after purchase, and battery life decreased to about 2 short length phone calls. But with this phone, the standby power lets this phone last up to atleast 2 days full power, so I can actually make phone calls while not at home tied to the base or in the car connected to the charger!

I personally don't feel that I needed a camera or even worse video capabilities with my cell BUT I need a speakerphone. I'm not a fan of headsets, and since it's now against the law (in my area of the country) to drive with a phone in the drivers hand, the speakerphone option is excellent. This cell totally delivers with the speaker, and 90% of the time the person on the other side of the call doesn't even realize that they're on speaker! Plus they can actually understand what you're saying even if you're not close!

Sadly I wish they hadn't discontinued this phone. It's a beautiful phone with the crystal clear screen. Quite a preformer a year later!

Rating:
Summary: Not Worth It!
Review: The phone has a ton of features and if it worked as it is supposed to, it would be a great phone. I was pulled in by the blue color. However, the phone has major power issues. My first one kept losing power and cutting off as if the battery had been disconnected. The second, a refurbished replacement, would not take a charge...so after two days with that one, I'm off to get a third one. There are cheaper phones that are much more reliable, and that you will be more satisfied with.

Rating:
Summary: Best Phone so far !!!!
Review: In terms of performance and fun, the Sanyo 4500 is clearly the best phone I have ever owned (so far).
I am the "gadget" type of person who if forced to label my personal "bad habits" I would label the number one habit as being a "tech freak" , I have owned at least 10 cellphones over the past 6 years and the VM4500 is simply the best. This is the 1st phone that I have ever owned that I liked (nearly) everything about it,for the longest I have wanted a phone (since the old motorola startacs) with a loud ringer , my past 3 phones all had terribly low ringers on them (even after trying some of the ringer downloads).I believe the best feature on this phone is the speakerphone , it is a serious convienience to have this feature to simply eliminate having to have the phone up to your head (when put on hold or checking voicemails while driving) and like the other reader stated the speaker phone is nice and loud (no,I do not have a hearing problem :) I simply need the volume louder when in the car to get over the road noise).Personally speaking , I think the dark blue color is awsome !! The battery life is very good although I purchased a slighly heavier aftermarket battery that after frequent usage for several hours had lost only one bar of power. Personally speaking I love using the readylink feature (Sorry Nextel users , I have had both and Sprints is MUCH more user friendy).The camera/Video on the VM45OO I would rate as good to very good (but not excellent) the picture quality is much nicer than my previous Verizon Phone and Sprint's unlimited online storage site is awsome ! Signal quality I would rate as very good to excellent , after 4 months of (Heavy) usage I have had only had 3 dropped calls ,which in my opinion it is just as reliable as the Verizon service that I was previously with for 3 years , I might also add that I have noticed somewhat of a link between people who get a lot of dropped calls and lower priced phones , regardless of the carrier the cheaper phones tend to drop more calls. If I had to list something that I really dont like about this phone I would have to say the location of the earphone jack which is located on the lower left side of the phone (this works against you when you use an earbud and place the phone in your pocket) ,Thats it for now (Ive already got my eye on the MM-7400 by Sanyo) Thanks for reading !

Rating:
Summary: Phone Okay, Sprint Not and Combined No Good.
Review: The phone is okay, but for the price it is not. Many phones now a days have similiar feature to this Sanyo VM4500, but alot cheaper with better carriers. My experience with sprint has been terrible. Even with their new investment of improving their network and service, it is pretty much still no good. You hear hissing in the background and the connectivity bars are all misleading. You can have 4 bars and still have it "digitally roam" and the dropped calls are just annoying. I think it's always better to go with Verizon.
- tech saavy a.j.

Rating:
Summary: Anyone else have power problems.
Review: I picked this phone up when it first came out. I have had nothing but problems with the battery. Now dont get me wrong with a fully charged battery this phone is excellent. But dont expect your blissfull feelings to last very long because very quickly it will no longer take a charge. I come back now to see it was discontinued. Lame. Oh

Rating:
Summary: VM4500 (SCP-5500) ....IS HORRIBLE!!
Review: I have had this phone now for a couple of months. The first one was a complete "lemon". The second one that Sprint traded for the same one in silver is horrible as well. (Now I dont even have the blue color one!) Numerous dropped calls...I mean NUMEROUS!! Sprint folks reluctantly agree that there is a manufacturing defect with this model phone. So much for the excitement of getting the "Best" sprint phone!! Another problem is that you have to repeatedly call them to tell them u r having the problem...and they think you are giving them excuses. They then want to trade you another "refurb" phone since you've had it for more then 15 days!! A bunch of "- - - -"! Anyway...My suggestion...DO NOT GET THIS PHONE!

Rating:
Summary: Best Cell Phone I've Used
Review: This is simply the best cell phone I've ever used. Sure, it has lots of features 75% of the population will not use everyday...if you're in that 75%, then spending the cash for this phone probably isn't for you. However, if you're like me and got rid of your landline phone and need a solid cell phone, then this phone is great. I really like the voice dial (it's built into the phone -- you don't have to pay Sprint's fees for Voice Command for this particular phone if you know how to use it) and the speaker phone. The battery life has been wonderful. I get around 2 hours of talk time per charge and I've gotten as much as 2 weeks of standby between charges. My advice is to look over the phone's features...if you will use 75% of them on a semi-regular basis, then this is the phone for you...otherwise, find you a cheaper model and save some money. (NOTE: I only gave 4 stars because I had a couple of bugs with the phone...like it forgetting my voice dial...nothing major at all, but 5 out of 5 and it's not perfect, but it sure is close.)