Sanyo Pro-700 (Sprint)
CNET Editors' Review
CNET Editors' Rating
- Reviewed by: Nicole Lee
- Released on:
- Reviewed on:
The good: The Sanyo Pro-700 has a rugged military-spec exterior and works with Nextel's Direct Connect push-to-talk network. It also has built-in GPS, Bluetooth, and great performance.
The bad: The Sanyo Pro-700 is rather bulky with a lackluster display.
The bottom line: The Sanyo Pro-700 is a good push-to-talk phone with a ruggedized exterior.
When Sprint merged with Nextel almost three years ago, there were concerns with how Sprint would integrate its CDMA network with Nextel's iDEN network, and how the two companies would coordinate their respective push-to-talk services. A new push-to-talk technology was developed by Qualcomm, called QChat, to help that process along. QChat is a CDMA upgrade to iDEN, and allows interoperability between CDMA phones and the iDEN network. Three years later and we finally see the first QChat phones to hit the market, in the form of the Sanyo Pro Series--the Pro-200 and the Pro-700. Even though both phones are ... Expand full review
When Sprint merged with Nextel almost three years ago, there were concerns with how Sprint would integrate its CDMA network with Nextel's iDEN network, and how the two companies would coordinate their respective push-to-talk services. A new push-to-talk technology was developed by Qualcomm, called QChat, to help that process along. QChat is a CDMA upgrade to iDEN, and allows interoperability between CDMA phones and the iDEN network. Three years later and we finally see the first QChat phones to hit the market, in the form of the Sanyo Pro Series--the Pro-200 and the Pro-700. Even though both phones are CDMA handsets to be used via the Sprint network, they are compatible with Nextel Direct Connect.
The Pro-200 and the Pro-700 have essentially the same features, with different designs. The Pro-700 is the bulkier of the two, because it is clad in a rugged exterior built to military standards. Aside from push-to-palk capabilities, the Pro-700 has Bluetooth, built-in GPS, a speakerphone, and EV-DO Rev. A. The Pro-700 is definitely built to withstand the elements, and is slightly more expensive than the Pro-200 at $69.99 with a new two-year service agreement.
Design
The key difference between the Pro-200 and the Pro-700 is in design. The Pro-700 is clad in a rubberized shell and is definitely ruggedized for the great outdoors. It's built to military standards, meaning it will withstand dust, shock, and vibration. However, it's not water resistant. Measuring 4 inches long by 1.8 inches wide by 0.8 inch thick, the Pro-700 is only a slightly bigger than the Pro-200, and weighs a bit more at 3.8 ounces. Thanks to the rubber exterior, the Pro-700 has a very nice feel in the hand, with a good solid grip. Unlike the Pro-200, the Pro-700 is clad in almost all black, except for a silver chrome border around the external display.
Similar to the Pro-200, the Pro-700 has a 1.5-inch monochrome external display that shows the date, time, battery life, signal strength, and caller ID. Backlight time and font size are adjustable. The speaker grille sits underneath that. Above the external display is a speakerphone microphone, which is only activated in speakerphone mode. The volume rocker and push-to-talk button is on the left spine while the right is home to a headset jack, a Side Call key, and a Side End key. The Side Call key lets you make calls with the phone closed, plus it toggles the push-to-talk speaker on or off. The Side End key can end a call, and it also brings up the recent call history when in standby mode.
Just like the Pro-200, the Pro-700 has a lackluster 1.9-inch 65,000 color display. You can adjust the backlight time, the background, the animation for outgoing calls, the color of the screen for incoming calls, the contrast, and font size.
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Compare selected Nicole Lee is a senior associate editor for CNET, covering cell phones, Bluetooth headsets, and all things mobile. She's also a fan of comic books, video games, and of course, shiny gadgets.
User Reviews
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Most recent user reviews
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"Dead in one 45 minute jog" By mrchris42
Pros: A simple well laid out phone. Rugged case that can probably be dropped without consequence and is easy to hold.
Cons: No water resistance what-so-ever. A 60 degree day and 30 minutes of jogging rendered this unit useless.
Summary: I put this phone in my pocket the second day of owning it and went for a run. It was fairly cool out and I put it in my pocket like I often do for a run. After about 30 minutes I pulled it out to look at the time ... Expand full review
"Great PHONE. Mine has be on 24x7x365 for over 3 years." By w0fen
Pros: I use it as a phone, no DC, no messaging. I have over 300 contacts in it. I do read email but use a netbook to answer.
Cons: No qwerty keyboard. poor navigation on internet. limited screen not useful for browsing
Summary: I use a phone for contacting people and would rather talk than message. It is great for this. Being able to read my email is a great plus. Sprint navigation has saved me many times.
Specifications
See full specsQuick Specs
- Service provider: Sprint Nextel
- Cellular technology: CDMA2000 1X
- Talk time: Up to 300 min
