Sanyo Pro-700

The Sanyo Pro-700 is a clamshell cell phone using the speedy EVDO data network that has push-to-talk capability and a rugged, rubberized exterior built to military specifications. Some reviews say if you don't need quite such a rugged build, you might consider the sibling Sanyo Pro-200 for about $50 less; reviews say the Pro-200 has a slightly better keyboard anyway. With either phone, reviews say you'll get great call quality, excellent battery life and a loud speaker, but no camera and no video or music player. One owner review says the Sanyo Pro-700 looks like "a man phone" -- not pretty, in other words -- and a professional review says the Sanyo Pro-200 has a more "mainstream" appearance, but no one's placing that one on a best-dressed list, either.

It's worth noting that the Sanyo Pro-700 is water-resistant but not waterproof. "Rugged" products bring out the sadistic side of some, and InfoSyncWorld.com's Philip Berne says he "dropped it down a flight of stairs, made calls outside in the rain and generally beat on it as best we could without damaging our loaner unit." Still, the highest-ranked rugged phones at InfoSync at this writing are the Motorola Adventure V750 and Samsung Rugby, although PCMag.com's Sascha Segan says of the former, "not nearly as tough as advertised." Both the Adventure and the Rugby offer push-to-talk capability on Verizon and AT&T, respectively.

As for the innards, reviews say you're going to have difficulty using push to talk (or QChat or Direct Connect) outside major cities, but that's a given for any push-to-talk phone. The Pro-700 does have GPS and Bluetooth. PCMag.com's Sascha Segan says that the voice dialing is "primitive" but that you can enhance the web browser by installing Opera Mini. The external display screen is monochrome but not a bad size at 1.5 inches. The 1.9-inch color internal screen is described as "lackluster" by CNET's Nicole Lee, however.