Say hello to the Vodafone 845: The first Android Smartphone featuring Vodafone 360
Smartphones are so commonplace now that it’s hard to remember not all of the population use them. Though they may be the best thing since Firefly got cancelled, checking emails, using maps and social networking is not an everyday activity for many
Vodafone’s latest foray into the handset market aims to change that as they’re offering their first budget priced branded Android handset loaded up with their social 360 interface. Though they’ve already shown a willingness to embrace the Android OS by signing up to the HTC Desire and HTC Legend, the Vodafone 845 is their first branded foray into the world of Android. Boasting the latest Éclair 2.1 OS (following on from the equally tasty Donut and Cupcake updates) the handset has one touch access to the wealth of the Android marketplace allowing you to download a myriad of apps with ease.
The screen measures in at 2.8 inches with measurements of 100 x 55 x 13 mm. The handset features an optical trackpad, and the screen can be navigated with the trackpad or the touchscreen and it has built in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G/HSDPA connectivity. The camera is rather low spec with a mere 3.2MP camera and it has 512MB of built in storage, and no obvious flash (details are still fairly scarce at this point).
What’s interesting about this handset is that is has Vodafone’s built in 360 interface, which offers the user complete aggregation of their social networks and address book through a rather jazzy interface. The 360 software pulls information about your contact from all sources, including your texts, phone numbers, Facebook account and photo library and will give you updates in all of these in one long stream of consciousness. This is the 3rd Smartphone released for Vodafone that features the 360 software, following on from the dubious reception of the M1 and H1 handsets. With Android onboard, this is sure to be more successful though, and they’re positioning it as an affordable mid range phone.
I quite like the slick look of the handset, as though it doesn’t contain and premium features, it nonetheless looks rather stylish and the matt black finish with the red button accents gives it a rather modern look. This handset might not win any style awards, but with the Éclair installed upon it and the Vodafone 360 features, this is a phone full of multimedia and networking goodness. Hopefully the low price will make this option open to more people, but we’d like them to clarify that, as we don’t have a definite figure..yet.
