Screen

The 1.0-inch external display lets users monitor the Katana's status and see who's calling without ever opening the phone. Basic information includes time, signal strength, battery charge, Bluetooth, location, and other phone settings.

Offering 65K-colors at 96 x 64 px in resolution, the external screen is large and vibrant enough to use while calling previously dialed phone numbers or as a camera viewfinder for self-portraits or group shots. To protect against accidental usage, consumers need to press and hold the Volume Keys to disable the Key Guard.

The internal screen uses a similar 65K-color display, but with a much larger 2.5-inch size (240 x 320 px resolution), the LCD offers superior surface area for outstanding imaging.

Both LCDs are built from TFT (Thin Film Transistor) technology. More vibrant and luminous over competing LCD technologies such as STN (Super Twisted Nematic) and OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), TFT is also the most power intensive, consuming more battery life.

While providing outstanding clarity indoors, unfortunately the Katana's screen is a bit washed out in direct sunlight.

Audio

Without an MP3 player or FM radio, the Katana is fairly weak as an audio device. Many music phones now not only play full tracks and radio stations, but are also integrated with the carriers' online music stores. Even some have technology to enhance music listen such as integrated Bluetooth stereo music and FM transmitters to stream music wirelessly to a car radio or headphones. With the Katana's limited internal memory, users will only be able to play MP3 ringtones (or 72 chord polyphonic tunes).

Messaging

Illuminating the darkness with a faint blue glow, the Katana's keypad lets users text message through SMS (Short Messaging Service), EMS (Enhanced Messaging Service), and MMS (Multimedia Message Service) standards. Unfortunately the design of the keypad hinders typing speed. Being flush with the phone, the numeric keys lack the tactile feel protruding keys have.

Regardless, consumers can connect with friends and family by sending photos via Picture Mail. Users can send and receive email on the road through Sprint's PCS Mail, including several popular third party clients such as AOL Email, MSN Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, and Earthlink.

Sprint also integrates popular instant messaging platforms on its devices. Going past traditional SMS-based chat, the Katana integrates AOL, MSN, and Yahoo! Messenger. Giving users real-time access to their buddies, conversations no longer have to stop at the PC. Data charges for services may apply.

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