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- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 67 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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15 out of 15 people found this review helpful
5.0 stars
"Best cell phone I've ever owned or used."
Pros: Reception, 2.0 megapixel camera, external speaker volume, high resolution screen, large external screen, fast menu options, storage space, stereo bluetooth, fast EV-DO speeds, overall feel & function.
Cons: Wish it had even MORE storage space!
Summary: This phone has just about everything you can pack into such a small package. I get excellent reception with it and have yet to drop a single call (I've had the phone for almost a month now). I loaded it up with about 100 mp3's the first day I got it and have been in stereo bluetooth heaven ever since. I used to have to pack a separate mp3 player when I went to the gym but with this phone I get to ditch that and the messy wires that came with it. I'm using a Plantronics 590A headset and the sound comes through loud, crisp and clear. I still can't believe you can get such great music clarity and volume from a wireless set-up and still not miss a call, it's the perfect combo. I've transferred a few short video clips and a couple music video's from my pc and with it's 1.3-inch 260K-color QVGA LCD 240x320 resolution display they come out AMAZINGLY clear. Everyone I've showed them to has been absolutely blown away with the resolution.
With the EV-DO network I can surf the web like I'm on a broadband network, although I found that doing this tends to put a drain on the battery. Although it's not meant to view sites like eBay I was able to track an auction I had going to get the final sale price so that was very useful.
I also wanted to mention the fast menu options as I tried a few other 3G phones in the past that were supposedly very good but I couldn't stand waiting a full second for every menu option to load. My old Sanyo 5500 would load them instantly so I got used to that speed. Because of that I had to return a Blade and I specifically did not purchase a few other advanced 3G phones I tried out at the Sprint store since I noticed they loaded at the same slow speed. I think the internal 1gb memory has something to do with that but I'm not sure, but I do really appreciate the speed with witch you can maneuver through the different menu options. That and the overall feel of the phone and intuitiveness of it?s layout and functions are excellent, but I?m sure I?m a little biased since I?m coming from another Sanyo phone, albeit an old one (5500).
There are tons of other things to appreciate about this phone like the 2.0 mp camera, space-only limited video capture times (although you have to transfer anything over 500kb(?) Via. The USB cable), superb voice activation controls etc. but this review would never stop if I went on about all of that stuff. The only thing this phone really lacks is MORE storage space, but that's only because it's such a great phone to begin with.
I read another review that complained about the phone not having an fm receiver and I don't know where he or she lives but around here we get about 25 minutes of music (the same songs too) every hour and about 35 minutes of commercials so I don't miss that at all. I can easily load all ten songs I'm missing without the commercials and have tons of space left so that doesn't make any sense to me (unless you just HAVE to hear a specific radio show or really do like listening to commercials) which, correct me if I'm wrong, is one of the reasons why the original Walkman was created back in the 80's, so that people could take the music they wanted to hear with them and not have to bother with commercials or hearing the same played out songs over and over again.
While this phone is probably not a 10 (no phone is) I'd like to give it a 10 in fairness to make up for a couple of the ridiculously low ratings I've seen for a phone of this caliber. Anyone who gives it anything lower than a 7 should not be allowed to own or operate any cell phone. It's a solid 8.5-9 in all honesty IMO. You can ALWAYS ask for more in any hi-tech item these days, but at some point you have to realize and accept that you're at the cusp of what can be practically and economically produced and sold and only time and further technological advancements will allow for a significantly better model of whatever it is you're assessing. In that respect, this phone IS the cutting edge of 3G cell phone technology these days.Updated
Nicole from Cnet seems to have missed the self-portrait feature (I guess a very important feature for women??) in the camera's menu. To take a self-portrait turn on the camera, go to options, picture mode, then select self portrait. Walla.
Also, I don't know of any LCD that's easy to see in the sun. Seems like a weird comment to make since you could basically make the same comment on any phone with an LCD display. It also seems very inappropriate since this phone's LCD is excellent and one of the best on the market with it's high resolution and contrast. Way off base there IMO.
- 6 replies to this review
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Matt,
The LG Fusic phone (another mp3 player/phone that sprint offers) allows you to transmit the music from the phone into an FM radio so you can listen to it through the radio speakers. I think that's what the other writer meant!!! -
I agree wholly, especially with your last paragraph about the m1 phone. This phone knocks all the other currently available sprint phones down hands down~ Great review by the way
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I'm just wondering if anyone else had an issue with the mp3's not load from the front controls. On occasion it doesn't load and I have to press play multiple times to get it to work.
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I would like to be able to play my own music and to upload photos to my computer. Will I be able to do this with this phone without the Sprint vision or other premium services? We have 4 phones on the family plan and can't afford the vision on them.
I thought I could with the phones that have the micro SD, but with this I'm not sure. I'm not one to change phones. I get one and use it for a couple of years at least.
I know this phone has more features than I'll ever use. However, I want a small flip phone for purse or pocket, well built and durable, good call reception and good with Bluetooth. It will be used primarily for what it is....a phone.
However, the camera and music features would be a great bonus if I can use them. Sorry to be so ignorant about all this! Thanks for any info. -
I just received my M1. I love it!! The quality of the stereo speakers is amazing! I am just a little confused about playing my downloaded music on the player. I can't seem to play the mp3's without connecting to the Sprint music store...can you help? It's probably something simple...like I said..just got it!
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Matt, I am one of the people that posted a low score for the phone and I can tell you that in Cols, Ohio the signal strength continually fluctuated and the phone was almost unusable in fringe reception areas. I might have had a bad phone but with making my living on the phone there is no way I could wait on a replacement. Sprint's answer to me after 5 hours with the horrible customer service was to go pay full price on another model and they would give me sprint credits on my next three bills. I've had Sprint service in the past and should have known better. Finally went to Verizon and have nothing but great service and not one problem with reception even in the fringe reception areas.
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