Sanyo MVP (Mobile ESPN)

ESPN's new mobile service is a touchdown, a game-winning shot, and any other victory-celebrating sports cliche you can conjure. As the first true niche phone service, its innovative interface will surely be imitated by many handset makers.

The Sanyo MVP, a pimped-up version of the Sanyo MM-9000 for Mobile ESPN, does a great job of delivering the ESPN service, powered by Sprint's EV-DO network. The service is expensive; 450 minutes plus access to ESPN content is $64.99 per month.

Bearing a black-and-red color scheme, you can pick from several wallpapers, including a leaping Michael Jordan. The MVP's bright red dialpad keys, bathed with a cool blue backlight, seem to leap out of the phone's base. All of the key lettering is in the familiar ESPN font, including the big "E" that tops the navigation array and provides direct access to ESPN's copious coverage of the sports world.

Its bright red keys don't distract you from one of the best LCD screens we've seen on a cell phone. All of the text, from news to box scores, is as clean as if it were printed on a laser printer. Video and image edges are smooth and devoid of jaggies or splotches on areas of solid color.

MVP's sharp screen dovetails perfectly with ESPN's tightly-packed content. Mobile ESPN's most striking feature is the "sideline," a vertical scroll on the left side of the screen. You use the Up and Down navigation keys to roll the scroll to its intended feature, which includes user definable Favorite Teams, Favorite Players, Mobile Motion (ESPN video clips), Fantasy, Sports Nation, ESPN Columnists, Menu (which leads to the front pages of the news section of specific leagues), Hot Corner (headlines on one specific topic), and News.

At press time, ESPN's coverage was restricted to major leagues: NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA football, and NCAA men's basketball. Shockingly, there was no NASCAR, tennis, or any women's sports (that easily could change by the time you read this).

These sub-areas take about 10 to 12 seconds to load. Game video clips, which will theoretically be available in bits and pieces throughout a game, take about 15 seconds to load. On our test model, all of the clip packages and ESPN show highlights had to be downloaded before they could be played.

The video looks as if you're watching CNN, but you can't zoom the picture to fill the phone's impressive 2.1-inch screen. With such a squinty image, don't expect to see a baseball or a hockey puck. We didn't like backtracking through multiscreen text stories to tab over to the next menu category, but this is only a minor annoyance.

The MVP's screen quality is almost matched by the audio quality. The speaker is located on the top of this clamshell's lid and faces away from you, but it delivers enough power and even some directionality to be heard in most normal environments. Phone calls sounded mostly clean if leaning toward the dull side, and devoid of the usual Sprint echo. Both signal strength and our connections remained stable throughout our wanderings around Manhattan.

The MVP runs on the Sprint's EV-DO network, but you don't get access to Sprint's Power Vision Music Store or live streaming video (at least not yet).

For the nail-biters who are away from their TVs and radios, the service reports on events almost as they happen. For instance, using the auto update feature, we followed the New York Giants overtime victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on December 11th. The news of Jay Feely's winning 36-yard field goal was pushed to the phone seconds after the ball went through the uprights.

Included with the phone (in its fancy box with faux red velvet tray) is a similarly styled pair of black-and-red stereo earbuds at the end of a lanyard that feels as if there's a referee's whistle at the other end. Solidly attaching the earphones is probably a good thing, since at some point you'll likely to want to chuck the phone in anger after seeing a replay of a bad call.

Because of its steep calling plans and lack of affordably priced phones (at least for now), Mobile ESPN certainly isn't for the casual sports fan. It's for the person who can't get enough sports, whether it's fantasy leagues or the need to know much more than just the score on the go (even if it's answering a few quick trivia questions at a bar). Our only suggestion to this new service provider is to add even more video clips. When it comes to satisfying its target audience, this service hits it out of the park.