SANYO S750 review

The S750 is Sanyo's first mobile for the UK market. This budget 3G handset, available exclusively through Orange, offers full access to the Orange World internet portal and video calling.

Although it is not available on prepay, the S750 is one of the cheapest 3G phones available on contract from Orange. The S750's looks do little to conceal its budget nature, though. The handset is relatively small for a 3G phone, but the plastic finish, stiff slide action and large external aerial give it a decidedly retro feel. The styling of the directional joypad and keypad is rather fussy. Still, the keys have a solid action. The handset's interface software is fast and easy to use. Call quality is decent, although the built-in loudspeaker is barely loud enough for video calling.

As an Orange-customised handset, the S750's web browser is optimised for the Orange World web portal, giving access to news, sport and entertainment information as well as music and video downloads. Unlike the 3 network's internet service, the Orange 3G service doesn't suffer such problems as the 'walled garden' restricting access only to the network's own content. Unfortunately, the handset's built-in browser is limited. Although websites load, the software doesn't size them as well as Nokia's Series 60 browser or Orange's own SPV, and out-of-memory errors are a frequent annoyance.

The beauty of owning a 3G handset is the promise of near-broadband download speeds when connecting the phone to a notebook or PDA to surf the internet. Sadly, the S750 is hampered by its bizarre Bluetooth implementation. Instead of turning Bluetooth on and letting the phone decide whether to use dial-up, file transfer or synchronisation, you have to specify which type of connection to use. The handset also refuses to keep the Bluetooth connection open, so connecting the phone to a PC is impossible. Sanyo is due to fix this with a software update, but for now an optional USB cable is the only way to connect reliably to a PC.

The handset, however, scores well with its imaging capabilities. The 1.3-megapixel camera produces very clear images with few compression artefacts, even in low light. The built-in LED flash makes close-up night shots possible and the camera software has several effects that can be applied to an image.

The S750 is an easy-to-use handset with a superb camera. It is let down by its poor Bluetooth support, though, so it's hard to recommend over other 3G phones.