Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 review

November 27, 2009 12:30 pm

by Joe Minihane

Categories: Mobile Phones Reviews Tags: samsung m1, Vodafone 360

We love

Slim and cheap, Vodafone 360 is ace

We hate

Touchscreen is occasionally laggy, no Wi-Fi

Verdict

A decent budget touchscreen that gives the competition a run for its money

5 Pages

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With the Vodafone 360 Samsung H1, the Korean gadget giant had a phone packing not just the latest social networking skin, but also big old smartphone cajones too. But for those who don’t want all those clever extras, the new Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 might be a better bet. A dinkier version, stripped of some of the H1′s top end innards, it’s out now. So is it worth signing up for? Read our Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 review now and we’ll reveal all.

A quick glance and you’ll struggle to tell the Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 and the H1 apart. The only notable difference is on the outside, with the screen dropping to 3.2-inches. Kick it into gear though and the other changes will quickly become apparent.

Instead of an OLED screen, you get a glare-tasic LCD instead. And similarly the camera on the Vodafone 360 Samsung M1has taken a step back to 3.2 megapixels. That’s not too much of a hardship, with shots in dayliight appearing crisp and clear. It compares well to its stripped down smartphone rivals in this department, certainly.

Read our Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 review now

As the name suggests, Vodafone 360 is present and correct. This social networking friendly UI is great and we really can’t get enough of it. Pulling together contacts from IM, Facebook and Google Talk, it’s a great way of stauyng on top of what your pals are doing without having to dive into the deep end of your favourite social networks. It works just as well here as on the H1, with the touchscreen being surprisingly responsive for such a cheap effort.

The Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 is let down by one maor miss though: the lack of Wi-Fi. This is fast becoming standard on even the most basic of touchscreen devices and it means you’re reliant on being in a decent 3G area for making VoIP calls and IMing your mates. Fine if you’re in the middle of town, not so if your only web access is a wireless hotspot.

As we found with the H1, the Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 is also lacking in the app department, with a basic selection not coming close to rival efforts from Android and even Nokia.

However, the Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 is a bargain and well worth looking into if you’re after a cheap touchscreen, the only caveat being it’s limited to 24 month deals. Just make sure you shop around first. This is the manufacturers favourite new type of phone, and with the HTC Tattoo and T Mobile Pulse on the prowl, there are plenty of options that are as good, if not better.

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gaz

Do Not buy this phone, im on my second handset and having lots more trouble with it.
360 is a great idea but it doesn’t work yet.
technical support is useless and after removing battery and sim for the 100th time this month in hope it wil work again has pissed me off beyond belief.
kriswithak

I’ve been lent an M1 by my father whilst my Sony C905 goes back (again) because the speakers don’t work…

But my god, I think I’d rather have a silent Sony than this Samsung rubbish.

My dad, who is not an expert in phones, was tricked into taking this phone on his last upgrade by a salesperson at a Vodafone store who promised it was easy to use and perfect for him…

Well, he used it for 30 minutes before putting his sim card back in a 6 year old Siemens phone.

I’ve borrowed it now and realised just how awful it is. The first thing that I noticed was that it took ages to start up. Then I had to create a 360 account… which was easier said than done. Eventually I got into the phone and tried to bluetooth my contacts list from my Sony. The Samsung couldn’t read the standard vcard file. So I had to upload from my sim card, which then meant I had to edit every contact back into a normal format that looked like a name rather than 1~smith;b for example.

Then the hell I created when I added Facebook… Suddenly my “phonebook” was full of everyone on my facebook as well as my normal contacts. Oh great. So every time I wanted to make a call or send a text I had to wade through people’s facebook contacts and their updates trying to find a phone number. Eventually I managed to delete facebook off the phone and then manually remove all the contacts from it. But the phonebook is still stupid with some kind of “3D” effect… just awful and completely senseless. Every phone I’ve ever used has a list, but Samsung and Vodafone clearly thought this stupid rotating thing was a step forward.

Things got worse. I managed to set an MP3 as my ringtone but became stumped when I tried to use my usual MP3 SMS alert. I have now discovered that Samsung and Vodafone have clearly decided that I shouldn’t be allowed to do this and that I must choose one of their three horrible little noises. None of which are audible when anywhere where noise levels are above a whisper and are quite frankly a bit fluffy. But I am sure you know best…

Ever since I have had a colour screen mobile (sometime back in the early 2000′s) I have had a photo wallpaper, sometimes my car and more recently my other half. But again Samsung and Vodafone have decided that they know better, obviously all I want to look at is their awful cheaply made and clearly iPhone immitating menu. Even when the phone is locked or in sleep you only get a clock in the font of their choice.

The touchscreen itself is awful as well, it is so slow. And the text input is particularly poor. If you are using the predictive text and want to use a word that isn’t there you have to come out of predictive using a backward menu system and enter it, before going back to predictive. There is no “Add Word” facility. Bad. Really bad.

The camera is poor (only 3.2mp, I had that four years ago on a Sony C series) and there is no flash, not even an LED.

The apps available are shocking and there is nothing I would even want. At least you decided that I must have your F1 app and your Time Out app. I don’t know how I lived without them.

To conclude, this is a terrible phone and if you are considering buying one don’t. If you don’t like it and it doesn’t suit you then you are stuck with it. Oh yes, Vodafone tie you into a TWO YEAR contract and refuse to accept any exchange whatsoever.

What next?

Well, hopefully my C905 will be fixed again and I can get back to a Sony. As for my dad, he’s just spent £90 on a C510 Sony to replace this. And once the contract is up he’ll be leaving Vodafone after 15 years as a loyal business customer. And so will I, and so will my brother and my mother and my girlfriend.

Well done Vodafone and Samsung. Job well done.

http://www.gravatar.com James Holland

Blimey kriswithak, you don’t muck about do you! Which network will you go to instead? Personally, I struggled with the 360 interface because, as you say, I couldn’t customise it very much. Strangely though, that hasn’t bothered me when using my iPhone… although I do constantly fiddle with app placements on my home screen. I’m a little bit OCD like that…
http://www.electricpig.co.uk Ben Sillis

Whew! I hope you let Vodafone know the drastic action it’s caused you to take. I don’t have as much of an issue with the M1 as I do the H1 actually. While I don’t like the 360 interface, it doesn’t feel quite so disappointing on a non-flagship model: there are some people who just want to see status updates, and they’re happy, though clearly that’s not what your dad was after so it’s a pity he was sold that. But to sully the H1′s hardware (Its screen really is quite phenomenal) with it is another matter: for top dollar, you really should get a smartphone OS to take advantage of too.
Paul Tunstall

I agree, this phone is not fit for purpose. My wife was sold it in a Vodafone shop and they wouldnt take it back. Im so pissed at vodafone, but Im stuck on a two year contract with a crap phone.

Stu Clough

Well after having all the issues above and vodafone denying there was anything wrong with the phone and fobbing me off constantly, they have fianlly given into me, and I have a new phone in the post as im typing this from vodafone as a replacement. The call centre lady was called emma, and she had the H1 and she agreed how terrible the phone was…. so she said i had a choice of a few phones and i opted for the Nokia N900. so if youve got an M1 collecting dust like u guys on here amongst others on other websites id get ringing and emailing, dont give up and they will eventually after 3-4 emails and 3-4 phone calls, will realise your serious if not speak to OTELO and they will give you some great advice. wish you all well, take care Stu Clough x
Paul Don

Same story as Paul T. My wife was sold this piece of Junk by a Vodafone shop. It is the worst phone ever. We recently went back and tried to trade it for the iphone but no dice. Wanted us to buy out the remainder of her contract. They did say that Samsung were publishing a firmware update which would make it more usable, but tried updating and its no better. She is now stuck with this white elephant of a phone. Thanks for the great customer service Vodafone.
Benjipage

This is the slowest, most illogical and generally rubbish phone I have EVER owned. dont waste your time. It crashes all over the shop, is unnresponsive and can't even save numbers to the sim card. I got ripped off. I HATE this phone. don't even consider it.
IQ

I agree with Benjipage! this phone was the worse creation ever! no dont samsung have a good phone is the actual 360 rubbish vodafone have put on it! i have tried to opt out! i've rung up and complain numerous times had it sent off for repair and they still will not allow me to have a new handset! i will be ending my contract and taking my business elsewhere.

Vodafone 360 Samsung M1 review

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