The Sanyo Katana II is yet another addition to the slim flip-phone market. With a thickness of only 3/5 of an inch, the profile is small while still offering a reasonable number of multimedia features. Probably the best thing about this phone, however, is its low price.

The Katana II is very svelte when closed, making it easy to slip into a shirt or front pocket. On the outside of the phone is a small external display measuring one inch diagonally. The screen supports 65k colors, which is rather meek for a flip phone. It does, however, support picture ID and also displays more standard items such as signal strength, battery level, and time.

The camera is particularly unimpressive, it being VGA, or pretty much what was offered when camera phones were first introduced a few years ago. As expected, photo quality is quite poor with images being blurry and lacking color definition or detail. You do have the option of three different resolutions though (640x480, 320x240, and 160x120) as well as three options for file size (fine, normal, and economy). Additionally, there are a few editing options including one for soft focus, which can make a blurry picture really blurry (or you can use the snow setting to make it flurry). A self-timer is included and a dedicated button for the camera is on the side of the phone. There is also a 12x digital zoom.

When viewing pictures on the internal screen, which also supports a paltry 65K colors, things don't improve. In fact, the internal screen is not particularly good for navigating the menus either. You can change the font size, but the LCD difficult to view in poor lighting conditions. However, the screen is sizeable at two inches diagonally, which comes in handy when playing Pool, Poker, Ms. Pacman, or Tetris. There are numerous screensavers and you can download additional ones from the Web. Files are stored in the internal memory which, given the low-resolution of the images, is fairly sizeable at 21MB.

Layout of the keypad is reasonable, with buttons spaced fairly evenly and easy enough to dial by feel. The speakerphone has rich sound and the microphone does a fine job of eliminating ambient noise--and it came in handy when using the voice-activated dialing. Its performance remained strong when using the voice memo feature, which records files up to three minutes in length. If you're not a fan of speakerphones, the Katana II supports Bluetooth 2.0, so you can plug in a wireless headset and obtain the same hands-free advantages.

As for other ergonomics, the phone is quite easy to open and it sits comfortably in the palm of your hand. Meanwhile, it's comfortable up against your ear and the lightweight design is great for lengthy conversations. The shell itself is prone to fingerprints, so you'll be wiping it quite frequently, especially if you use the camera often as the external LCD doubles as the viewfinder. On the left side of the Katana II is a volume rocker that is rather thin and difficult to operate, but things improve once you get used to the phone. Also on the same side of the phone is a headset jack.

If you're someone who's prone to losing your phone, the Wireless Backup feature automatically stores your telephone book entries on the Sprint web site. If you need to replace your phone, you won't lose your contacts. Another useful feature is the built-in GPS locator that, if you subscribe to a special service, allows you to obtain turn-by-turn directions from your phone. Unfortunately, the network that the phone utilizes is not 3G, so loading maps or other web pages is rather sluggish. Still, the GPS locator also lets you track the phone's location from another computer, which is especially good for worrisome parents.

As for more standard features, the Katana II's telephone directory is capable of 300 entries, with 500 total numbers, 600 email addresses and 300 web addresses. You can assign distinctive rings to each entry, with ringers made from 72 chords and if you aren't happy with the built-in ones, you can download others from the Internet. Of particular note are the four variations for the vibrating alert. This feature is phenomenally handy.

Given the performance of the rest of the phone, the call quality is shockingly superb. There was no problem getting signals in out-of-the-way locations, and packets were rarely, if ever, dropped. Meanwhile, the battery performed reasonably well, delivering up to 3.5 hours of talk time and seven days of standby. There is also the option of purchasing an extended battery that is rated at 5.8 hours of talk time.

Other features include T9 predictive text entry, hearing-aid compatibility, world clock, stopwatch, alarm clock, calendar, and calculator. Overall, the Sanyo 6650 Katana II is geared for people who want an inexpensive device but don't require many multimedia features. It is also slim and stylish.

Pros: Thin, good speakerphone, inexpensive, great call quality, four vibrating alerts
Cons: Lousy camera, poor LCDs

Warranty
1 year