I purchased this phone as an upgrade replacement to my SCP-4900 about a month ago. I have compared it to my old 4900 as well as a SCP-8100 in terms of reception and function. Overall, it has been a decent phone, but it does have its quirks. My current firmware is v1.007SP, PRL 10025, hardware 0202 for those of you that care about these things.First, the bad:- Noticeably worse audio quality in the built-in earpiece compared to the other phones. I think that putting the camera in the same part of the phone as the earpiece speaker made them have to compromise the earpiece quality. The 4900 was clear but too quiet, the 8100 is loud and clear.- Reception is different. The phone always shows fewer bars than both my 4900 and 8100 in the same location (2 bars vs. 4 bars). However this said, I think all three phones are comparable in reception - the first week I had the PM-8200 I went all over town with the SCP-8100 to compare. I have read that Sanyo used to exaggerate the signal strength meter in the older phones and that the 8200's signal bars are now more in line with other phone manufacturer's. Some places I can get better reception (ie. make a call) with the 8100, in other places only the 8200 works. Strange.- Battery life is somewhat limited. Sanyo states 12 days' standby life for the 8200. I manage 3-4 days at best (I am a 700 minute-a-month talker and use the web an average of 5 minutes a day). I can easily talk 2+ hours at a time without problem. I was spoiled by the 4900 with 1 week between charges minimum with the same usage pattern and 16 days if I didn't use it much. The 8100 I have to charge about as often, though, and that's only rated for 10 days' standby.- Build quality is not quite as good. In comparing the other two phones, the 8200 is not quite built up to the same standards (eg. the hinge is looser, the finish coarser). Of course, this may or may not have an impact on functioning.- I find the polar bear animation irritating, but fortunately this can be turned off. A choice if different onscreen 'Buddies' would be appreciated.Now the good:- Reception is quite good overall, I get signal in the places I need it (work and home). Sprint's coverage is rather good here in Sacramento, CA, about the same as Verizon and much better than either Cingular/AT&T; or T-Mobile (I'm a former customer of Cingular and AT&T; before they merged). Likewise for San Francisco - my friends there with Cingular borrow my phone to make calls.- The camera, although not as good as other maker's, now is up to VGA resolution and has a flash.- The camera flash (really just a bright LED in the cover) can also be used as a flashlight (just hold down the volume toggle while the cover is closed). This is good in a pinch trying to find the keys you've dropped at night.- You can text message now without having to go on the wireless web, unlike the older units.- The phone now has a real GPS chip imbedded for locating the phone in e911 conditions, but some may also consider this bad for privacy. I don't think this feature is entirely functional yet anyway.- The web browser is much much faster than the 4900 and also noticably faster than the 8100.- The ringer can now be set to ring at the lowest volume and vibrate at the same time. Before it was either high volume with vibrate or vibrate only.- The screen is bright and clear.- The phone now has a built in clock. Sprint phones in the past have relied on the network to provide the phone with the time so if you didn't have reception, the phone couldn't tell you what time it was. With this phone you can.- The speakerphone works reasonably well, although not as clear as on the 4900. The 8100 does not have a speakerphone, although the earpiece is loud enough you'd think it did.- The phone has analog (AMPS) capability, unlike almost all GSM phones. Not really useful in a urban setting, but if you go out into the countryside, many rural areas are still analog only (the analog signal travels further than digital requiring fewer antennas), which may be a lifesaver in an emergency. Roaming on analog is normally $0.50/min, but Sprint has a nice Free and Clear America option that lets you roam on any carrier (including analog) for $5 extra/month. Good if you're the outdoors type. Be aware, however, that if you are talking in analog mode your phone number is vulnerable to cloning.Overall, I would recommend this phone and am glad I bought it, despite the flaws I mentioned above. I, like many Sprint users, are fond of the Sanyo phones because they have been the best performers in the past. Other phones to consider if you don't need a camera are the SCP-4920 (candy-bar style) and the RL-2500, both these phones are by Sanyo with good reputations.