Vodafone 360 H1Vodafone’s internet-based 360 service gets launched in the UK markets this October 30th with a couple of Samsung smartphones exclusively built for the UK carrier.  The Vodafone 360 H1 figures as the first smartphone in the lineup with 4 Nokia smartphones joining the service.   It now has 10 smartphones in its stable supporting the 360 service.

Smartphone meant for 360 Features.

Vodafone hopes to increase its subscriber base with the 360 which replaced the 7-year old Vodafone Live. The Samsung-built Vodafone 360 H1 does a perfect job maximizing the 360 service with its competent upscale features

The H1 runs on the stable Release 2.0 of Linux-based LiMo (Linux Mobile) OS that has been used by Motorola for its latter ROKR and RAZR smartphones.   No less capable than the Android OS that has since overwhelmed it, the H1 automatically links in one unique 3D interface your phone contacts with VOIP, IM and social networking sites like Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk and Facebook.  Twitter and other social networking sites will follow soon enough. It also makes sharing your multimedia content a breeze of the 360 service, provided your friends are on the same Vodafone network.

Hardware Features

The Vodafone 360 H1 is a full-featured touchscreen smartphone on a candybar that is fashionably slim and weighs just 134g.  It’s a quad band GSM and dual band 3G/UMTS with HSPA data connectivity for broadband internet speeds as well as WiFi that greatly complements the Vodafone 360 service in hotspots around the country.  It has a 3.5-inch AMOLED TFT touchscreen with Wide VGA resolution and 16 million colors. The usual accelerometer auto-rotate features are there. You get a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, GPS, FM stereo radio, Bluetooth with A2DP and 16 GB of internal memory which you can expand with its microSD slot.

Availability

The H1 handset is available now for pre-ordering at the Vodafone website.  Vodafone is offering it free on a tempting ₤35 24-month contract.  You have a choice of black or silver body color. If only for an elegantly sleek and full-featured handset you can get for free outright, it’s worth giving Vodafone your patronage this Christmas.