Review: Sanyo M1 w/1GB Storage for Sprint

Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1

Recently we had a chance to get our hands on Sanyo's M1 for Sprint Wireless. The M1, the newest addition to Sprint's ever growing portfolio of music-centric phones, is an EV-DO handset that works on Sprint's Power Vision 3G network, and is loaded with 1 full gigabyte of internal memory. Sanyo's M1 can be used to access any number of services, such as Sprint's own phone-based, over the air music store, streaming audio programs such as Sirius Music, and live TV. Without any options for memory expansion, can the M1 handle the job of being Sprint's ultra multimedia phone?

Physical Aspects

Physically, the blocky Sanyo M1 is rather short in length for a clamshell styled device, with a measurement of 91mm (3.6"). But what the M1 lacks in length, it makes up with its 23mm (0.9") of girth. The thick and chunky middle of the M1 is an obvious standout at first glance. Maybe I am a bit jaded, as today's phones are so slim and slender in comparison. The stout M1 is constructed of black plastic throughout and accentuated with an aluminum silver outline. Its black semi-gloss exterior does attract fingerprints and smudges but seems to be quite resistant to most scuffs and abrasions. Overall, the phone seemed physically strong minus a few questionable items. There was far too much flex in the clamshell's hinge. That is something you would not expect in a brand new device. Also, the hinge's assist spring seemed weak. At times, the cover would only flip open halfway causing me to use two hands to get the device to open to its full open position. Despite some of its shortcomings, the 108g (3.8oz) M1 is still compact and pocketable.

When closed, the top of the M1 houses the built-in 15mm speakers that sits above the colorful external 262k color LCD, 128x96 pixel, display. Below the display lies a circular 5-way d-pad controller that allows for multimedia access and control while the phone is in its closed position. Around back is the M1's 2 megapixel camera and flash, above the very well designed battery cover. Something to note is the device's rather large and prominent hinge that sits at a sharp angle on top of the M1. Although the device's internal antenna is housed here, the hinge protrudes too far and definitely could be a turn-off to some. It looks a bit like an ice scraper. The phone's left side is where the covered headset jack sits along with Sprint's push-to-talk Ready Link button that also doubles as a voice recorder button. The device's volume rocker and plastic covered power charger jack are also located on the M1's left side. Flipping over to the phone's right side, a dedicated camera button and call button can be found. The call button allows calls to be placed by using speech recognition. Lastly, on the bottom of the M1 sits the phone's plastic covered accessory port. The device ships with a USB cable to allow for easy music transfers, and can also be recharged from here.

Things get a bit more interesting on the inside of the Sanyo M1. The device's bright 2" QVGA (320x240 pixel) resolution display, capable of showing up to 262k colors, resides here and takes up almost all of the space on the top half of the flip. Working from the bottom up is the M1's rectangular styled keypad that sits flush to the unit. The flat and metallic alphanumeric keys feel sturdy and provide a solid click when pressed. My only complaint is that the keypad sits a bit low on the M1, which forces me to adjust my grip when holding the phone. My thumb and fingers feel a bit cramped, not being able to fully extend. This will probably be even more of an issue for those with large hands. Above the keypad is where the phone's talk and end buttons are located, with a dedicated speakerphone button sitting directly in the middle. Above the talk button is another dedicated camera button. A convenient back button sits directly atop the phone's end key. I wish that I could swap positions of the back and speakerphone buttons since the back button is something I use fairly often, and I would prefer it to be closer to the keypad. The square 5-way d-pad sits on the upper half of the phone and is straddled by two softkeys, with their respective labels displaying on the large screen above. The d-pad is fairly small but accurate.

Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1

 

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