Sanyo M1 Cell Phone Review - Software
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Alfredo Padilla Published on March 15, 2007 Comment on this |
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OS (3.0)
The Sanyo M1 uses a proprietary operating system. The interface is straightforward, with a standard menu organized into 12 different icons with submenus organized into lists. Lag was minimal when moving through standard programs like contacts, calendar, etc. We did notice significant lag when launching Sprint’s music player, but this is likely as much about the program as it is about the operating system. We liked that both the main menu and sub menus are mapped to the number keys, so you can jump to the item you want. Unfortunately the menus found under the soft keys are not mapped to number keys. Overall we found the interface to be more responsive and better organized than that found on the Motorola Razr V3m, and on par with that found on the LG Chocolate. Proprietary operating systems are scored between one and five points, we reserve higher scores for the much more flexible and powerful operating systems found on smart phones like Palm OS or Windows Mobile.
Home Screen Score (4.0)
The Sanyo M1’s home screen is very basic. Indicators are found at the top, including battery, signal, network, time and date. You will also find indicators for things like data services and Bluetooth. Most of the screen is taken up by the animation or picture that you have assigned. At the bottom of the screen are the indicators for your two soft keys. Although there is no on screen indication, you also have access to four shortcuts using the directional pad. By default these applications are media player, on demand, send text to and my content. These can be changed under the settings.
Overall we found the home screen on the Sanyo M1 to be fairly standard, similar to the one found on many phones like the LG Chocolate or the Motorola Razr V3m. We would have liked to see some indicator for the functions of the directional pad like that found on the Razr, but other than that the functionality is very similar.
Extensibility (3.0)
The Sanyo M1 has limited opportunities for adding third party software. You can add java applications, which you can purchase from Sprint’s store or download from the internet. Compared to advanced operating systems like Windows Mobile or Palm OS, the M1’s operating system is very limited. That being said, there are some nice java applications available, such as Google Maps and the Opera Mini web browser.
Customizability (4.0)
The Sanyo M1 has average options to customize your interface. The background on either screen can be set to any photo you take. Alternatively you can choose from built in or downloadable animations. The M1 ships with two themes, the standard Sanyo theme and a Tropical Paradise theme. The Tropical Paradise theme significantly changes the interface on the home screen, and adds tropical vistas as backgrounds to all of your menus. You can also download new themes. There were no options to change fonts or colors on the phone beyond the automatic changes that come with different themes. You can also customize your experience using the favorites menu. On the home screen the left soft key is mapped to a list of favorate applications and actions. This list can be easily customized to meet your needs. Overall we found customization on the Sanyo M1 to be very standard, similar to that found on the LG Chocolate or the Motorola Razr V3m.
OS Responsivness (5.0)
The Sanyo M1 responds well to key presses and commands, but occasionally displays some pauses. It is almost as responsive as the operating system on the LG Chocolate, and significantly faster than that found on the Motorola Razr V3m. We rarely found ourselves frustrated when moving through menus and accessing applications.
Gaming (1.7)
We were disappointed with the game options available on the Sanyo M1. There were demonstrations versions of several games, but not a single full version available. I guess its better to have some demonstration versions rather than none (like the LG Chocolate), but frankly we think its rather cheap to ship a phone without even a single full game to provide some entertainment.
The M1 is capable of playing most Java games, and all of the demo versions found on the phone are java based. You can purchase these directly from Sprint. The controls on the M1 are not very well designed for game play. We found the directional pad to be a little too small, and the raised center menu key resulted in lots of mistaken key presses.
Browser Features (6.0)
The Browser on the Sanyo M1 supports a fairly standard range of features including WAP and HTML pages. Javascript, images, cookies and encryption are also on board. More advanced features like RSS feeds, the ability to save items from a web page and password management are not available. The Browser on the M1 is similar to many other phone browsers, such as those found on the LG Chocolate and the Motorola Razr V3m. The basic features are present, but advanced features are not.
Browsing Interface (4.0)
The interface on the Sanyo M1’s browser reformats screens to fit on a smaller page in a single column view. There are no other view options available. You can use the directional pad to move around the page link by link, but cannot scroll up/down by full pages. There are no shortcut keys available apart from the left soft key that takes you back to the previous page. The right soft key gives you access to the menus.
The history on the M1’s browser is a simple list of previously visited pages. You can save an item from this history to your bookmarks. We were also pleased to see that the history is saved between sessions. You can also view a history of previously entered urls under the “Go To URL” feature in the menu. Bookmarks are organized in a simple list with no folder support. You can edit existing bookmarks and reorganize them to fit your needs.
The menu on the M1’s browser give you access to the basic features you would expect; bookmark this page, go to a url, etc. In addition you can go directly to a search page from the menu or choose to send a page via SMS, a nice feature that is not always found on phone browsers. The preferences allow you to adjust items like font size, your home page and whether images are shown. You can also delete your cookies from this page, but we saw no option to clear your cache.
No advanced features like full screen viewing or full page rendering with zoom were available on the M1’s browser. Compared to other basic phone browsers like that found on the Motorola Razr V3m the M1’s browser offers similar functionality with a few minor extras. We particularly liked the ability to send a link via SMS and the fact that your history is saved between sessions. The Sanyo M1 browser however lacks the advanced features you will find on the iPhone or the excellent Series 60 browser.
Browser Access Speed (5.0)
To test how easy it is to access the browser we count the number of steps it takes to go from standby to our own website. We count steps instead of doing a timed test in this situation to control variance in network conditions. Entering the web address is counted as single step. The Sanyo M1 took 8 steps to navigate to our website. This score is significantly better than the Razr V3m’s 13 steps, but not as good as more advanced phones like the Treo 700p, which took only 5 steps. The M1 is hurt by the fact that there is no shortcut to the browser on the home screen an that there is an extra dialogue in the browser menu that you have to go through before you are able to enter a url.
Calculator (5.0)
The calculator on the Sanyo M1 is basic and very easy to use. The directional pad is assigned to plus, minus, multiple, divide and equals, while the soft keys allow you to clear the screen or insert a decimal point. We were able to do our simple calculations, but of course weren’t able to do more advanced calculations like taking a square root. Although we were not impressed by the functionality available, we were very pleased with the ease of use.
Alarm (6.0)
The Sanyo M1 allows you to set up to 5 different alarms. Each one can be set to go off once, every day, every given day or on weekdays/weekends. You cannot set an alarm for a single date, for example January 10. Each alarm can be set and the easily turned on or off. We were pleased to see multiple alarms, and the flexibility provided in the repeating alarms, but were disappointed that you could not set an alarm for a specific date/time.
Document Software (0.0)
The Sanyo M1 does not include software to view or edit office documents, such as word or excel files.
Additional Software (3.0)
In addition to the software covered below we felt it necessary to mention the fact that the Sanyo M1 includes a file browser. Most phones, even advanced ones like the Treo 700p, do not include a file browser, requiring you to manipulate files either within applications or when connected to a computer. Having a file browser on the Sanyo M1 lets you easily rename, move or delete files on your device, and this flexibility is worthy of points.
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