Sanyo M1 Cell Phone

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User rating   Not rated - Add review The 2.0 megapixel M1 camera phone by Sanyo has auto focus, LED flash, multi-shot and self-timer functions.  If you feel like capturing some video instead of taking a phone, record up to 120 minutes.  Other key features include stereo Bluetooth, a music player, EVDO high-speed data, voice dialing and voice recorder. View full phone specs View image gallery View reviews Compare against other phones Compatible accessories

Sanyo's not one of the larger players in the American mobile phone market, but they have made something of a name for themselves with solidly built and easy to use, if sometimes less than stylish, phones.  The M1 is no exception - it's myriad features are easy to use and navigate, and its physical controls are well designed and labeled.  About the only thing to fault with the M1, in fact, is its somewhat "unorthodox" styling.  While this clamshell is compact, it's also rather thick and boxy-looking.  While beauty is ultimately in the eye of the beholder, it's hard to make a case for the M1's looks.  In fact, nobody I showed the review sample to found it particularly appealing.  Still, there's a lot under the hood of the M1.  But is there enough to get people to look past its odd looks?

On the one hand the M1 is shorter and narrower than most clamshell handsets out there.  On the other hand it's quite a bit thicker and noticeably heavier than most of them, too.  At 91.5 x 48 x 23 mm and 108g, the M1 is a tiny brick of a phone with a small - but heavy - footprint.

Finished in black with silver trimmed plastic, the M1 packs alot into a small package.  The front panel features an external display flanked by stereo speakers and an LED status light above it and a wheel-shaped set of music controls below.   The phone's flip hinge is actually located at the top of the front panel, and not on the rear edge like most clamshells.  As such, the rear edge actually is on a slant - the bottom of the phone is somewhat longer than the top. While that's not really noticeable in itself, the overall effect is that the hinge is quite large and chunky looking - particularly when the handset is open.

Flipping the phone open reveals a 1.9" color display on the upper portion of the flip and a keypad on the lower half.  The display is framed by silver plastic strips running vertically along the left and right sides of the screen and a Sprint logo beneath it.  A Sanyo logo adorns the very top of the lower portion of the housing, just above a five-way directional pad flanked by two softkeys and dedicated buttons for Camera, Back, and Speaker.  Though it's a small detail, I really appreciated Sanyo's decision to label the "Back" key as such - most phones use a "C" or left-facing arrow instead, and Back is much more obvious in its meaning when you're deep into online service or entertainment menus.

The rest of the keypad is laid out in a standard 12-button dialing configuration with dedicated Talk and End buttons added to the top edge.  Buttons are large, clearly labeled and easy to see - they're finished in silver plastic with black labels, which contrasts nicely against the black panel of the phone's housing.  The M1's buttons are also easy to price and provide good tactile feedback.  The somewhat "robotic" look of the numerals adds to the M1's overall blocky industrial design, but it'd also be pretty hard to misread a 6 for a 9 on this phone.

The left side of the handset houses buttons for voice recording and volume and rubber-capped 2.5mm headphone and AC charger ports.  A sole accessory port is mounted on the bottom edge of the handset, and dedicated camera and voice command keys are found on the right side. 

Flipping the handset over, the back side is largely taken up by the battery.  A spring latch edge locks and releases the battery, and to the left of that is the camera housing.  A 2.0 megapixel sensor is framed by a silver plastic circle, and a small circular LED flash assist light sits to its left.

The M1 isn't going to win the "Sleekest Handset" award anytime soon, but it's chunky, industrial look has something of a practical aesthetic to it.  Don't get me wrong - at roughly twice the thickness of your standard "slim phone," this handset bulges noticeably in the pocket of all but the baggiest pants.  But one could make the case that the M1 is appealing in a utilitarian sort of way with its big buttons, and big solid hinge.  Unfortunately, nobody I encountered while testing the M1 wanted to make that argument - by and large he consensus was that the M1 is not a particularly good looking mobile phone.

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Sanyo M1 in-depth review - Introduction & Design

Sanyo debuted their media-centric M1 mobile phone for Sprint at CES in January 2007.  The clamshell handset features 1GB of onboard memory, an integrated music player with included stereo headphones, and compatibility with Sprint's Power Vision EV-DO data network and entertainment offerings.  A two megapixel camera rounds out the M1's spec sheet, putting it at the upper end of Sprint's multimedia phone lineup. Sanyo's not one of...

Feb 20, 07, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Sanyo,  Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1 in-depth review - 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...

Feb 20, 07, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Sanyo,  Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1 in-depth review - Display & Audio

Both of the M1's color displays yielded excellent results.  The internal 2" QVGA (320 x 240) TFT LCD screen is capable of displaying 262,000 colors, and generally rendered crisp images with sharp, clear color.  The only trouble I had reading the display came under direct, fairly intense sunlight.  Navigating menus, browsing the Web, playing games and watching videos were all a delight on this display.  While color depth isn't...

Feb 20, 07, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Sanyo,  Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1 in-depth review - Messaging, Internet & Connectivity

The M1 has support for SMS, MMS, and Email messaging.  My review sample came with a full Sprint Power Vision plan, and it was easy to send any type of message from the handset. Combining a high resolution main display with large, easy to use buttons, the M1 makes reading and composing messages quite easy to do.  The M1 relies on Sprint's standard navigation and messaging screens, which are functional if not the most elegant UI...

Feb 20, 07, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Sanyo,  Sanyo M1

Sanyo M1 in-depth review - Conclusion

I recently reviewed the LG Fusic for Sprint and found it to be a winner of a multimedia phone.  The Fusic is compact, stylish, and features a solid music player with external controls and a 3.5mm stereo headset adapter for compatibility with high-quality standard headphones.  While the Sanyo M1 trumps the Fusic in every department on the spec sheet, it doesn't deliver as good an overall experience mainly due to its styling. The M1...

Feb 20, 07, by Noah Kravitz - Add a comment - all about: Sanyo,  Sanyo M1

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