Features
Sanyo built the M1 to be a media-centric handset, with its 1GB on onboard memory, music player with dedicated controls, and 2 MP camera. The phone works well with Sprint's online music store and you can also load it up with your own unprotected music files by way of Bluetooth or USB data transfer. I was a bit surprised to find that
Sanyo didn't include a memory card slot to supplement the onboard memory — while 1GB is room enough for a few hundred mp3 music files by themselves, your available space will be noticeably less should you start taking two megapixel photos and loading the phone up with video clips and games. The lack of user-expandable memory means the M1 is less attractive to power users now and prone to become obsolete in general that much more quickly.
Though it's no iTunes, the Sprint music player and music store interface was easy to navigate, and the store offers a good selection of music for sale even if its $2.50/song (or three for $5) is pretty high. Each purchase also includes a high quality PC download of the same song available through Sprint's Web site. Songs were available for playback using the M1's built-in stereo speakers or over your own stereo headphones using the included 3.5mm adapter.
The M1also works very nicely with Sprint's Power Vision TV and multimedia offerings. Available channels on Sprint TV include CNNtoGo, ABC News, the Weather Channel, the Cartoon Network, Music Choice, Access Hollywood, Diva for beauty tips, Fox Sports, and the Discovery Channel. Sirius Sattelite Radio and Rhapsody streaming music services are also available for use on the M1, as are a plehtora of gaming options including arcade, strategy, and "classic" games. I developed a bit of an addiction to "Monopoly Here and Now" while testing the M1, and appreciated the choice of solo (against the computer) and online (against other people) gaming options. Access to Power Vision content was generally speedy thanks to the EV-DO data connection. Of course, all of this premium content requires a Power Vision subscription plan.
A GPS receiver built into the M1 allows for e911 services. Push-to-Talk capabilities on the M1 come via Sprint's Ready Link service, and the phone is also compatible with the network's new Wireless Backup feature for remote storage of your contacts list on Sprint's servers. Speaking of contacts, the M1's 500-entry address book was quite robust, with fields for Web URLs and memos along with the usual contact information. Contacts may be assigned photo, ringtone, and even video IDs as well as gathered into contact groups.
Calendar features on the M1 were good, as well, with the standard array of appointment, to-do list, and reminder alarms at the ready. The handset also features voice command, a voice recorder, and world clock, countdown timer, and stopwatch features.
Sanyo is touting the M1 as a high-end multimedia phone, and accordingly built it with a 2.0 megapixel camera with flash assist light. While phones are moving to 3 and even 5 megapixel shooters, 2MP is still at the high-end of handsets carried by US service providers.
The M1's camera performed only decently considering its specs. Image quality was too often fuzzy and lacking depth or warmth. Not a true flash, the LED assist light could only go so far in terms of correction for low-light conditions. As such, pictures taken with the light on at night or in dim indoor lighting tended towards grainy and/or oddly colored results. A few of my shots came out quite well, but I honestly don't know what I did differently to capture them as opposed to the less pleasing majority of my photos. Fiddling with the myriad photo settings and editing options didn't seem to help much. That being said, the phone does offer USB, Bluetooth, and PictBridge as means of transferring images and they all work quite well.
A camcorder mode is also available on the M1. Videos are shot in resolutions up to QVGA (320 x 240), which is impressive. Unfortunately, the quality of those videos is on par with the M1's still image quality - generally lackluster. Videos can be sent as MMS messages, saved to the phone, or transferred to a computer via USB or bluetooth.
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4.5
