Esato

Sanyo's new 2 Megapixel CCD camphone

13 July 2004 by axxxr
The "W21SA" is a CDMA 1X WIN phone of Sanyo make that can use its dual axis hinge design to expose the main screen to users while closed. It also supports the newly introduced Flash and high volume (600KB) BREW Appli

Its 240 x 320 dot (QVGA) 2.4" main display can be twisted around so that it is still exposed while the phone, called the "front style." EZ Navi Walker can be used, and EZ Channels can also be viewed. As an external memory, miniSD is support, and the slot also supports saving copyrighted data to the card. However, a miniSD card is not included in the package.

A 2MP CCD camera is featured, and it can record still images up to UXGA (1600 x 1200) size. When using still image recording, an autofocus feature can also be utilized; it also supports the reading of QR codes. PictBridge, to print images directly from the phone without a PC, is also supported. Another interesting feature of this unit is the "Camera de Dictionary" function that utilizes OCR to automatically search for the meaning of an English word recorded with the camera in the included dictionary. Said dictionary includes 20,000 words from English to Japanese, 10,000 words from Japanese to English, and 20,000 "katakana English" words.

Substantial amounts of video-related functions are also included, such as the phone's ability to record 384kbps QVGA size videos; it can also extract individual images from video scenes. A "favorite scene" function, and fuction to play sound while fast forwarding is also included. Images recorded with the camera, or images and video that came by way of mail can be outputted to a TV using the included cable.

Furthermore, an IC recorder function, and audio is recorded using the AAC codec at 48kbps (high quality mode). The sensitivity level and tone quality level of the microphone can also be adjusted, and when using a 128MB miniSD card at normal recording mode, up to 480 minutes of voice data can be stored.

Another feature of this unit is the inclusion of an FM radio tuner like the "A5503SA" or "A5505SA." Requests and messages can be sent to radio stations, and up to 40 minutes of programming can be recorded to the phone's internal memory. Since the included earphones also have the capability to act as an antenna, listening to the radio can be done by either using speaker output or by equipping the earphones.

With the use of a USB cable (not included), the "W21SA" can be used as a modem when connected to a PC. Although up to a 2.1Mbps data stream can be achieved, the "double fixed discount" does not apply. Images o­n the phone can be sent to a printer using the PictBridge function, and the miniSD card is recognized as USB Mass Storage when connected to a PC. Operating systems supporting this function are Windows ME, 2000, and XP.

EZ Navi Walker is also supported, and since a digital compass is also included, by use of the "heading up function" that always puts the direction in which you are walking as "up," navigation can easily be done using EZ Navi Walker. Also supported is the automatic setting of destinations in EZ Navi Walker such as house addresses using data encoded in QR codes.

The size of the phone is 50 x 102 x 25mm (W x H x T), and it has a weight of 139g. The continuous idle time is 220 hours, and continuous talk time is 200 minutes. Advanced Wnn is used as a Japanese conversion function. Three body colors will be available: Zero White, Custom Black, and Solid Mint.


 




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