New Sprint PCS VisionSM Multimedia Phone MM-8300 by SANYO improves upon successful Sprint PCS Vision Picture Phone (SANYO 8100) and Sprint PCS Vision Picture Phone PM-8200 by SANYO models by adding a built-in media player and Video Mail functionality in a stylish handset
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – June 29, 2005 – Color can spark emotion. Now, adding that spark to your mobile phone is as easy as slipping on an “Accent Plate” – an interchangeable color trim element designed for use with the Sprint (NYSE: FON) PCS Vision Multimedia Phone MM-8300 by SANYO, which is expected to be available in stores and online the week of July 11. The MM-8300 by SANYO, being offered in three dynamic “base” colors – Silver, Atlantic Blue, and Red Hot – comes standard with two Accent Plate color choices, and a multitude of other Accent Plate colors will be sold separately. Mixing and matching the base colors with the Accent Plates results in a host of distinctive personalization choices.
The MM-8300 by SANYO features a built-in media player and offers customers access to 19 channels of high-quality video and audio on demand through the Sprint PCS Vision Multimedia Service. With this optional service, customers can keep informed with live news from FOX News Channel Live or stay on top of the hottest music with Music Choice. They can also entertain themselves or their kids with classic “Looney Tunes” cartoons or preview what movies are coming out from major motion-picture studios Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Independent Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and Universal Pictures.
“The MM-8300 by SANYO offers the best of what customers want in wireless – high-quality video on demand, music on demand and imaging,” said Jeff Hallock, vice president – Product Marketing and Strategy, Sprint. “The design, colors, features and price of this phone make it perfect for anyone wanting a great wireless experience.”
“SANYO is changing the consumers’ experience of owning a mobile phone,” said Andy Kodera, senior vice president and general manager of SANYO Fisher Company’s Wireless Communications Division. “The MM-8300 by SANYO has evolved from the popular PM-8200 by SANYO to the present by offering consumers the creativity of color choices and the excitement of multimedia. It’s really amazing what a little accent of color can do to change the style of a phone.”
The MM-8300 by SANYO, as well as three other models by SANYO, comes in multiple colors, making it easy for family members to own the same phone but in different colors, giving each family member their own unique identity with their mobile phone. Some of these phones also come with interchangeable color faceplates or color Accent Plates for additional color variety. Leatrice Eiseman, color specialist and author of five books on color, including Color Answer Book, said in a recent television segment that up to sixty percent of the reason we buy a product is based on color.
“The ability to change color can improve our mood,” said Leatrice Eiseman. “Mobile phones are increasingly becoming a fashion accessory, and fashion trends change. Mobile phones that offer color variety, like the MM-8300 by SANYO, allow us to use color to express ourselves as our mood and styles change.”
The MM-8300 by SANYO has a rich feature set, including a built-in camcorder, VGA camera with flash and digital zoom, and a high-quality speakerphone. It supports Sprint PCS Vision, a service that allows customers to browse the Internet at speeds faster than most dial-up connections; check email and send instant messages; and download Music Tones, voice ringers, and full-color, graphically-rich games and screen savers, all on the Sprint Nationwide PCS Network.
The MM-8300 by SANYO is Picture MailSM-, Video Mail-, Sprint PCS Ready LinkSM- and SMS-text-messaging-capable. It will be available in Sprint Stores nationwide, third party retailers and online (www.sprintpcs.com) for $299.99 or $149.99 after rebate the week of July 11.
About Sprint
Sprint offers an extensive range of innovative communication products and solutions, including global IP, wireless, local and multiproduct bundles. A Fortune 100 company with more than $27 billion in annual revenues in 2004, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States’ first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network; an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone; and one of the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide wireless networks in the United States. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/mr.
About SANYO
SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: SANYY) is a $23 billion manufacturer and distributor of consumer and commercial electronics, including multimedia and telecommunication products. Based in Chatsworth, California, SANYO Fisher Company (a division of SANYO North America Corporation, a subsidiary of SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.) markets PCS phones, audio systems, portable and mobile electronics, televisions, DVD players/recorders, dictation devices, digital camera/camcorder combinations, home appliances, LCD projectors, security video equipment and air conditioning systems. For more information, visit SANYO Wireless Communications online at www.SANYOwireless.com.
