Sanyo M1 Cell Phone Review - Hardware
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Alfredo Padilla Published on March 15, 2007 Comment on this |
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Keypad
Text Words Per Minute (7.3)
Using the Sanyo M1’s predictive text system we entered a sample piece of text in 5 times using 2 hands. The average time to write out the piece of text was 26.4 seconds, which works out to 36.4 words per minute. This is an excellent score for a regular phone and comes close to rivaling the speed you can get on phones with a QWERTY keyboard. For example the Motorola Razr V3m was only able to write 29.4 words per minute, while the Motorola Q was able to do only a little better at 39.5 words per minute. One factor that came into play is that the predictive text system learned our usage patterns, meaning we didn’t have to select the word we wanted after using it a few uses. Overall we were extremely pleased at how quickly we were able to type on the Sanyo M1’s keypad.
T9 and Auto Complete (10.0)
The Sanyo M1 has both T9 predictive text entry and limited auto completion. The Sanyo does not offer to complete all words, but will occasionally suggest something, for example when typing out groceries, you will see it the word pop up after only entering groc. Although predictive text entry is a standard feature on phones, predictive text is not, and we were pleased to see it on the M1.
One Handed Usability (6.4)
We also run our words per minute test with one hand to give you an idea of how difficult it is to type things out single handedly. In our tests the Sanyo M1 took an average of 29.8 seconds to complete enter our sample text. This works out to 32.2 words per minute. Although not as good as our two handed score, this is still an impressive score for a regular phone. It is still faster than the Motorola Razr V3m’s two handed score. We should not however that we found the Sanyo M1 to be very top heavy and difficult to hold while texting with a single hand.
Keypad Backlighting (4.0)
The Sanyo M1’s keypad is backlit in blue. The backlighting is very bright towards the center of the keypad, but get dimmer towards the edges, especially near the bottom of the phone. There is no light sensor to automatically adjust keypad backlighting, however you can adjust the length of time it stays on in the settings. Overall we were not very impressed with the backlighting on the Sanyo M1, it was not very even. We preferred the backlighting on the Motorola Razr V3m.
Controls
D-Pad/Joystick (2.0)
The Sanyo M1’s directional pad is a rounded square placed on the upper part of the lower flip. Like many of the controls on the M1 it is covered by enamel, which makes it rather slick. We found the directional pad very difficult to use, mostly because the center button is raised up above the rest of the D-Pad. This means that it is very easy to accidentally hit the center select button when you don’t want to. We would have liked to see the edges of the directional pad raised, like on the Treo 700p, to make using the directions easier.
Touch Screen (0.0)
The Sanyo M1 does not have a touch screen.
Jog Dial (1.0)
The Sanyo M1 does not have a jog dial, however the volume rocker keys can be used to move up and down menus in either open or closed mode. The keys are not well placed to use as a jog dial on a regular basis, but its nice to see the functionality available.
Soft Buttons (5.0)
The soft buttons on the Sanyo M1 lie slightly above and on either side of the D-Pad. These are the only control keys that are not enameled, with a brushed metal look instead. Despite this they keys are almost as slick as the rest of the control keys. Because they are so slick it can be difficult to find them by feel. When pressed they provide only slight tactile feedback. Overall we found the soft keys on the Sanyo M1 to slightly below average, we would have liked more tactile feedback, both in finding the keys and when they are pressed.
Volume Control (4.5)
The volume control on the Sanyo M1 is located on the left side of the phone, towards the bottom of the bottom flip. The keys themselves are a single piece on a rocker switch, with either end raised up slightly. We found this arrangement very easy to use, it was easy to identify by feel where we should press. Like many keys on the M1 the volume rocker is enameled and slick. We would have liked to see more tactile feedback when the key is pressed. These are minor issues however. The biggest issue we faced with the M1’s volume keys is there placement. Whether the phone is open or closed they are not convenient to use, requiring you to readjust your hold on the phone in order to access them. We would have preferred to see the keys located higher on the phone to make them more convenient to use.
Power and Standby (6.0)
The power key on the Sanyo M1 is a secondary function of the end key. As we discussed before they key is placed sightly below and to the right of the directional pad. It is enameled and slick, with very little tactile feedback. To turn the phone off using this key you simply need to press and hold it. We found that the amount of time you have to hold the key down is much less than other phones like the Motorola Razr V3m. The key has the traditional on/off symbol on it, and using the end key as your off button has become standardized enough that most users should be able to find the functionality quickly and easily. We were pleased to see that it only took a single tap on the key to start the phone back up once it was off. Overall we found the power key easy to use aside from the issues with tactile feedback.
Other Buttons (5.5)
The Sanyo M1 has an array of buttons, both on the inside and outside of the phone. In addition to those we spoke about above, the M1 has a dedicated camera key, back button and dedicated speaker button surrounding the directional pad. A single press on the camera key takes you to the pictures menu, while a long press takes you directly to the camera. When on a call the speaker button will activate the speaker phone. When not in a call a short press will take you to the call history, while a long press takes you to the voice tag menu. The back key simply takes you back to the previous screen. All of these buttons are enameled and suffer from the same drawbacks seen on the other control keys.
The left side of the phone has dedicated voice recorder button. This key is plastic and has three pips on it that make it very easy to find by feel. We wish that Sanyo had made the other buttons on the device as easy to find. A short press on the key opens the voice recorder menu, while a long press takes you directly to voice recording.
The right side of the device has two buttons. The top one is a dedicated voice command button, while below it is a second camera key. These buttons are again enameled, and don’t provide very good tactile feedback. A short press on the voice command button takes you to the main voice command menu where you are prompted to speak any command. A short press will take you directly to the calls section of the voice command program. A short press on the camera key takes you to a short menu where you can choose to open the camera, camcorder or voice recorder. A long press will take you directly to the camera.
On the front of the device when closed you will find a second directional pad below the exterior screen. This directional pad allows you to navigate through the media menus. In addition the different directions and the select key double as media control keys when music/video is playing. Unfortunately the exterior directional pad suffers from the same issue as the one on the inside of the phone. Specifically the select key is more prominent than the surrounding directions, meaning that it is too easy to hit by accident. This is made even worse by the fact that this directional pad is smaller than the interior one.
A lot of buttons can be good or bad, depending on how useful and operable they are. We feel that the Sanyo M1 has a few too many buttons as can be seen by the functions that are repeated on many of them. We also found many of the buttons difficult to use with little tactile feedback and awkward positioning. Our standard for scoring additional buttons is to award a single point for each additional button that fulfills a useful function. With the Sanyo M1 we found the extra buttons sufficiently redundant and difficult to use that we only awarded half points for this section.
Display
Primary Screen Gross Resolution (8.0)
The Sanyo M1 has a QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) display. QVGA is becoming a standard for mid to high end cell phones, and we are glad to see it on the M1. This screen resolution is the same as that found on the LG Chocolate or the Cingular 3125, and is a step above the 176 x 220 pixel display found on the Motorola Razr V3m.
Primary Screen Pixels per Inch (10.3)
The Sanyo M1 has an impressive pixel density of 205 pixels per in (PPI). Higher pixel density means richer colors and sharper renderings on the display. The Sanyo M1’s pixel density is about the same as the LG Chocolate and significantly better than the Treo 700p’s 160 PPI.
Screen Physical Size (5.0)
The Sanyo M1’s screen is 2” diagonal. This is a standard size for cell phone screens, and is the same as that found on the LG Chocolate. The Motorola Razr V3m has a slightly larger screen at 2.1”, while some newer high end phones are starting to be seen with 2.4” screens. We found the M1’s screen large enough for most phone functions, but you start to notice how small it is when you try to use the phone to display visual media like photos and videos.
Screen Brightness (4.0)
To test screen brightness we set the phone’s brightness to maximum and navigate to a blank white web page. We then measure the brightness in lumens from two inches away. The Sanyo M1 came in at 50 lumens. This is an average score for a handset. Unfortunately the Sanyo M1 does not give you the option to adjust your screen brightness, nor does it adjust brightness automatically.
Screen Bright Light Performance (6.0)
To test bright light performance we shine a light on the screen at 3000 lux, which is comparable to bright sunlight. We then judge how legible the screen is. The Sanyo M1 does well under bright light conditions, although there is significant glare the screen is still legible. The Sanyo M1 did better in our bright light test than the Blackberry 8703e where the glare made the screen almost unreadable.
Color Depth (8.0)
The Sanyo M1 displays an impressive 260,000 colors. This amount of color depth is usually only found on higher end phones, with most phones settling on the much lower 65,000 colors. Phones with more color depth are able to better reproduce real colors on your screen.
Secondary Screen (7.0)
The Sanyo M1’s exterior screen has a resolution of 128 x 96 pixels that supports an impressive 260,000 colors. We were pleased to see high color depth and, for a secondary screen, good resolution as the exterior display on the M1 will see a lot of use as you navigate your music and perhaps even watch videos on it. The M1’s exterior display is a step above that found on most phones.
Ports & Storage
Power & Data Ports (3.0)
The Sanyo M1 has two separate ports for data and power. Both of these are proprietary and have plastic covers to protect them. The power port is found on the bottom right of the hand set, while the data port is centered on the bottom of the handset. We were pleased to discover that the M1 supports USB charging but we would have preferred to see a standard USB port as found on the Motorola Razr V3m.
Headphone Jack and Compatibility (8.0)
The Sanyo M1 has a standard 2.5mm headphone/headset jack. In addition the phone ships with a microphone that plugs into the 2.5mm jack and has an adaptor for 3.5mm headphones. This is a nice feature that allows you to use any standard pair of headphones while still being able to use the microphone on the adaptor as a hands free headset. In addition to these wired options the M1 supports Bluetooth stereo headsets using the A2DP Bluetooth profiles. Overall we were pleased with the headphone jack options on the M1. They provide flexibility and conform to standards, something that can’t be said about phones like the Motorola Razr V3m or the LG Chocolate.
Internal Storage (5.0)
One of the Sanyo M1’s selling points is the 1 gigabyte of built in storage. Most phones come only with a few megabytes of storage to use for contacts, photos and other content. Many modern phones come with expansion slots to use with memory cards that allow you to expand your storage, but these are an added expense and can often be fiddly to work with. We applaud Sanyo for making a phone with a generous amount of storage available for photos and music. We hope that other manufacturers take a hint from Sanyo and begin to provide generous amounts of built in storage for users.
Expansion Slot and Format (0.0)
The drawback of having generous built in storage is that Sanyo declined to include an expansion slot. This is an understandable decision as the addition of an expansion slot would have added cost and perhaps been confusing to end-users. Still, this means that users will be stuck with the storage built into the Sanyo.
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