Vodafone 360 H1 deals & review

In a word or two

With the Samsung H1 phone and Vodafone’s 360 social networking service onboard, the Vodafone 360 H1 has a 3D interface with access to multiple communication channels.

The Design

The Vodafone 360 H1 is available in a smart black or a brushed stainless steel silver exterior. Being a social networking smartphone, the touchscreen measures an impressive 3.5 inches with images displayed in clear resolution. The size and quality make the screen ideal for watching videos and films, as well as interacting with friends and colleagues.

The majority of the front is consumed by the screen, with only three buttons beneath for calls/messages, contacts and applications. Clicking on the buttons takes you through to the relevant screen, with calls and messages (emails, texts etc) displayed on the one view.  

Similar in look to the Tocco Ultra Edition, the Vodafone 360 H1 is not a small mobile but is comfortable to hold and the screen more than compensates for the size. Typing on the 360 H1 is fairly easy as when you press each virtual key, an enlarged version pops up so you know exactly which letter you hit – just like on the iPhone 3G S. This function helps to speed up typing and texting as you know you’re typing accurately as you go along. And if you want larger keyboard keys, simply flip the phone on its side for landscape mode.

Specifications

Run on the LiMo Operating System, the interface is 3D. The messages and calls history is displayed in time order and you simply scroll through them. You can filter by email, text or call, and you can even choose to revert to the more traditional list viewing mode if you are not a fan of the travelling-through-time feel of the items. The contact page can be customised with all the relevant information including which social networking sites each friend belongs to, so you can simply chat to them straight from this screen. Each contact has its own tile which you can colour code for, say, work and friends; and those you speak to most are displayed at the front to save you searching for them each time.

The applications screens have lots of icons on them for you to scroll between and select – similar to the iPhone except the icons are expandable so you can press them and view the contents before deciding to fully open the application. This is great if you are in a hurry and just want to check the weather application or music player to see if your songs downloaded. You also have access to the Shop so you can browse further applications to download onto your phone.

The Samsung H1 handset features the Vodafone 360 software. Designed to give you full, 360 degrees, networking ability, the service lets you connect easily with sites like Facebook, Google Mail and Windows Mail, as well as linking up with the Vodafone 360 site and its other users. You can tap on friends’ pictures to reveal their full profile, chatting directly with them across one of the many sites or communication channels you both share.

Considerations

The Facebook application is just limited to status updates, which is a disappointment on a social networking mobile. There is currently no Twitter application although this is said to be coming soon.

The QWERTY keyboard is spacious enough for typing but having commonly used punctuation keys in the symbols section means two extra presses every time you want a full stop or comma, slowing your typing down.

Verdict

The flagship phone of the Vodafone 360 social networking service, the Vodafone 360 H1 is a good phone for keeping in touch with friends, family and colleagues, as well as entertaining yourself thanks to its 5-megapixel camera, music player and reliable web browser.