Sanyo Katana DLX Cell Phone
Review

By Richard Baguley
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
Published on August 24, 2007

The Sanyo Katana DLX is a mid-range handset from Sprint that boasts a decent range of easy-to-use features for $129.99. It can play music downloaded from a computer or through Sprint's online music store, and has a very good e-mail client. However, the camera is awful, and the poorly constructed flip phone feels too plastic.

The Katana DLX has a good-sized keypad under its 2-inch screen, and we found it was quick and easy to dial with; it took us an average of 3.76 seconds to dial in our tests, and the phone was quick to start up. Our only complaint here is that the talk and end buttons are right above the keypad, making them a little too easy to accidentally press. The DLX has an easy-to-use contacts application that makes organizing contacts simple; we had no issues with creating, finding, and dialing friends and family. It also has a decent calendar application and a to-do list, unusual on a feature phone like this.

Our audio quality tests produced a mixed bag of results. The quality of the audio it sent (the sound of your voice as heard by the person you’re calling) was good, so your voice should sound clear and bright. The received sound quality wasn't so good, though; the bass was suppressed, and some of the mid-range was exaggerated, which could make deep, bassy voices difficult to understand. The side tone (the small amount of your voice the phone feeds back to the speaker so you can hear yourself) was just about right; you shouldn't find yourself shouting when using the Katana DLX.

A 1.3-megapixel camera, built in near the hinge of the lid, took rather disappointing images. Although the color of the captured images was fine, the images lacked detail. We don't expect much from a 1.3-megapixel camera, but the images from the Katana DLX were positively fuzzy, while similiar resolution cameras on the Sprint UpStage and KRZR K1m took much sharper photos. The Katana DLX can capture video, but it's so fuzzy and unpleasant looking that you should only use it as a last resort; pretty much every other cell phone we've seen takes better video than this.

The Katana DLX has strong messaging features, though; it's one of the few low-end phones we've seen with an e-mail client that allows you to compose e-mail without network coverage. Most other phones just offer Web-based e-mail clients that don't work offline. It also supports instant messaging services such as Yahoo! Messenger and AIM, but beware: these are sent and received as text messages, and they count against the number of text messages on your calling plan. Sprint typically charges 10 cents a message and up, so IM conversation can quickly get expensive.

In our tests, the Katana DLX managed a talk time battery life of five hours; a pretty reasonable time that should allow for a couple of days in between charges. That's 17 minutes longer than the new LG Chocolate. The Katana also lasted a long time when playing music (7 hours and 25 minutes) and browsing the Web (3 hours and 54 minutes). These are both decent times, but they aren't the longest we've seen; the Apple iPhone holds the crown for our music test at 31 hours and 48 minutes, and the T-Mobile Wing has the longest browsing time at 9 hours and 52 minutes.

The Katana DLX is a reasonably priced, mid-range handset with a decent set of features. But none of the features are real standouts; they are all just adequate. A few are even less than adequate; the camera, for one, is awful, and the sound quality has some issues. But these issues aside, the Katana DLX is a decent pick for those who want a cell phone that does more than the real bargain basement models, but without the premium price of high-end smart phones.

For a more in-depth review, visit the Sanyo Katana DLX 8500 Review at our partner WirelessInfo.com

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Sanyo Katana DLX Cell PhoneReview

Sanyo Katana DLX Cell Phone
Review