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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