Sprint Power Vision review

Other features
In addition to the videos, Sprint Power Vision includes many of the features in the old PCS Vision service, including Video and Picture Mail, text messaging, e-mail, Web browsing, downloadable games, ring tones, and screensavers, along with a new Java-powered On Demand application with constant news, weather, movie, and TV info. You can get up-to-the-minute news, sports, and stock market updates. Moreover, you can personalize the information by punching in your zip code. And since the phone has GPS capability, you can access movie and TV listings, weather reports, and maps for your current location. Finally, there's an online phone book and dictionary.

Video quality and performance
As with Verizon's V Cast service, the video from Sprint Power Vision is a small, jerky, and often murky affair. Keep in mind that quality will vary by make of phone, but at 15 frames per second (vs. 30fps for broadcast-quality video), pictures overall are visibly jittery compared to the smooth action on the TV in your living room. The video quality fares best when watching the talking heads on Fox News and CNN, with relatively smooth and clear images; switch to sports or action shots, however, and the frame rate and picture quality drop dramatically, with the image sometimes freezing completely. The good news is that it takes only about 15 seconds or so for the Power Vision media player to buffer and begin playing your videos.

Those in EV-DO coverage areas will appreciate the speedy music previews, which begin almost immediately, and downloads, which typically take less than a minute. Though lacking much bass response, music quality was decent on the Samsung MM-920 and MM-A900. The player won't replace your iPod, but it does the trick for short periods.

Thanks to the broadband speeds offered by Sprint's new 1xEV-DO service, we managed to fly through mobile Web pages and quickly download games and applications; for example, we downloaded the 280K Jamdat Doom RPG in less than 15 seconds. It was noticeably slow in some instances, however. For example, when using the on-demand GPS mapping application, it took up to 10 seconds to pan between map sections.

Pricing
You can get your video clips and feeds à la carte through the $15-per-month Sprint Power Vision Access Pack (most feeds and clip categories cost between $4 and $7 a month)--a price that includes unlimited Web browsing and data access. If you're a sports or fashion aficionado, the $20 Power Vision Plus Packs adds free video clips from Fox Sports, the NFL Network, Fuel, Fuse, and Fashion TV. Finally, full-on video junkies can max out with the $25 Ultimate Pack, which includes all the streaming news and sports channels, as well as music, plus clips from NBC, the Discovery Channel, and the Weather Channel--a pretty good bargain, considering all the content you get.

Music services are priced separately, and trust us, they don't come cheap. Though you can get up to 20 radio channels for $6.95 per month, music downloads to your phone or your computer cost a sky-high $2.50 each. You can get a free preview for a few seconds, but since there's no way to buy in bulk, a CD's worth of songs will seriously impact your wallet. Verizon's music downloads are significantly cheaper, so we expect Sprint will drop its prices at some point.