U.S. Mobile operator Sprint has unsheathed two new Katana phones from Sanyo—the Katana DLX and Katana II—offering budget-friendly phones with music, photo, and video capabilities which improve on the storage capabilities of its popular predecessor. And, of course, the new Katanas are very fashion-friendly, coming in a variety of colors to suit diverse personalities.
“We have sold millions of the fashionable Katana handset since its debut last summer,” said Danny Bowman, Sprint’s VP of Customer Equipment, in a release. “Sprint is focused on listening to the needs of our customers so we updated the original model with more memory and improved features while also adding a step-up version that offers industry-leading music and video capabilities on our high speed network.”
Both new Katana models sport Bluetooth wireless connectivity and phone-as-model capabilities, a QVGA (320 by 240 pixel) display, and wireless backup capability in case a phone is lost or damaged. Both phones also offer GPS capability so they can tap into Sprint’s TeleNav-powered Navigation service, and (of course) both phones can access Sprint’s wireless content offerings, including the $.99 per-track over-the-air Sprint Music Store.
The Katana II offers a VGA camera, 21 MB of internal memory, voice SMS, and mobile email capabilities, and comes in Cosmic Black, Pink Fascination, an Midnight Steel. Stepping up a bit, the Katana DLX offers a 1.3 megapixel camera, a microSD slot supporting 4 GB microSDHC cards, and the capability to tap into Sprint’s wireless television, streaming radio, and mobile sports and entertainment programming. The Katana DLX is available in Platinum Ice, Champagne, and Pink Satin colors.
Both phones are available now through Sprint retail channels; the Katana II is $49.99 after a $50 rebate with a two year service agreement; the Katana DLX runs $129.99 with a two-year service plan and a $50 mail-in rebate.
