Silver – price plummets! (Other Mobile Phones...)

Member Name: fruitcake

Product:	Other Mobile Phones...
Date:	05/09/00 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Durable, budget priced phone with more than enough features for the average user.

Disadvantages: The ring volume could be louder.

Acquired as a prize in a competition, the Vodafone MN-1 was actually fashionable when I first laid hands on it. Nowadays, with the arrival of WAP ‘phones it does seem dated. However, for precisely this reason, it’s an extremely cheap way to get ‘phonewardly mobile’.

The blue model that I own is now priced at £29.99 in our local branch of Sainsbury’s, and for some peculiar reason quite beyond me, you can pick up the silver version, (identical in every other respect), for just £19.99.

When you switch the ‘phone on, you’re greeted with a welcome message that you can personalise yourself. A PIN number of your choice can be used to prevent anyone from simply switching it on and draining your calling credit, but beware of leaving your mobile within the reach of the fiddling fingers of children. Three wrong attempts at entering the code, and you’ll find yourself making frantic calls to Vodafone just to get into your own ‘phone – take it from me, I’ve been there!

There are nine ring tones available (three of which are musical), and none of them particularly inspiring. My one real criticism of this ‘phone is the fact that the ring tone isn’t as loud as I’d like, even on the highest of the six volume settings. Still, I suppose it’s better than some of the ones I’ve heard which sound like a chain-store theft alarm.

My favourite feature is text messaging – the ability to communicate at a distance with someone while everyone in the room remains unaware. Now you know what the guy on the bus fidgeting awkwardly with his hands in his lap is really doing.

The ‘phone is also capable of receiving e-mail and voicemail, and shows the balance of your calling credit on the screen, instead of you actually clamping it to your ear and listening to an automated message.

A handy ‘phone book facility holds one hundred numbers, an
d once entered into this database, the number of the caller is displayed, together with the name whenever they ring you, so you can pretend to be a million miles away from your mobile whenever the boss calls!

This is a ‘pay-as-you-talk’ mobile, and included in the box is a voucher for £2.50 – sufficient to connect you to the network for a week. Register your ‘phone and they’ll credit you with another £7.50.

The Vodafone network covers most of the country now, although there are local blind spots. In Bristol, the area around Safeway in Fishponds is an example, though with the best will in the world you can’t prevent the kind of communications error that found my husband standing skint at the bar of The Crown in Soundwell, while I sat snugly in The Crown in Staple Hill with two pints in front of me.

I’ve found that on average, the battery lasts between three to five days, provided the ‘phone is turned off overnight, and takes around an hour to recharge.

This mobile is also incredibly durable. Mine has been dropped so many times that I’ve lost count, including once onto concrete from the dizzying height of approximately four feet, yet it still looks and operates the same way as it did when it was new. Of all the people I know personally with a mobile, I’m the only one who is still using the same one I started with. The very reason I can comment on what’s in the MN-1 box today is because I’ve just replaced my husband’s third mobile with one.

Naturally, human nature being what it is, I’ve already got my eye on the new technology, and when funds permit I’ll probably upgrade, but it will be with some reluctance. This ‘phone and I have been through a lot together – pubbing, clubbing and partying - switching to another will almost feel like parting company with a friend. If you’re looking for a mobile with an ample amount of
features in comparison to an extremely low price, then you could do a lot worse than the MN-1. Spend just twenty quid on the silver version, or go really wild and opt for the blue!

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