Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 review

Can Vodafone re-invent mobile social networking?

The definitive Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 review
The definitive Vodafone 360 Samsung H1 review

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The Shop on the Samsung H1 is well laid out – but the selection of applications currently available is a little bit poor – as is the fact you have to enter the application and then ask for more information to find out whether you have to pay for the option or not.

Downloading is quick, and the cool thing is in the future this application store (which is co-developed by three other massive networks worldwide) will see apps running on a much wider range of handsets than other competing application stores.

Vodafone 360 samsung h1

That doesn't mean those on offer now are adequate – there's no decent Twitter client on there, and the best thing we could find to play with is a version of Connect-4 (which they've recently updated in real life – what's happening to our childhood games?).

The gaming options on the H1 are average – we like Kroll because it's an odd platform/RPG that is very difficult to play. Asphalt 4, which seems to be licensed to appear on every phone in the world, is less of a good option – anyone that's played ANY car game on the iPhone will be bitterly disappointed that this is the only option for racing.

Vodafone 360 samsung h1

Maps

Of course, Vodafone has included its own version of mapping software, which is crucial to the success of 360 - allowing your friends to send you nudges of where they are, and those to be seen on the map is pretty cool.

However the mapping software itself isn't that great – it only allows you see things in a weird cartoony font.

Vodafone 360 samsung h1

Vodafone 360 samsung h1

It is cool that you can see where your contacts are using the map (providing they've sent you information on where they are) and you also get the chance to look at user generated content, with other 360 users telling you about cool places or routes to look at.

Vodafone 360 samsung h1

We're sad that it doesn't have a satellite route and the navigation software is a bit clunky – plus the GPS also takes a while to get a fix.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.