Vodafone is preparing to launch its new Vodafone 360 suite of services this Friday, with the debut of its hero handset the Samsung H1. However, 360 could be extending its tendrils into some unexpected places soon.

Such as? iPhone and Android handsets, and even phones belonging to other mobile operators. That’s what ME learned during a hands-on demonstration with the H1 and 360 service today in central London.

The H1 offers the “true” Vodafone 360 experience, with a custom Linux-powered user interface, and all elements of the service – including Vodafone’s new app store (or ‘Shop’ as it’s known), and the innovative People connected address book.

However, according to Simon Ryder, marketing planning manager at Vodafone Internet Services UK, elements of 360 will be available to download for a range of other handsets, starting with Nokia’s 6730 and N85.

“For Symbian, it will be an OS overlay sitting on top, so People will be a client-based experience,” he said. “It will be available to download, and that will be the case for other handsets too.”

It’s at this point that we wondered aloud about the fact that Vodafone already sells two Android handsets – HTC’s Magic and Tattoo – and will have the iPhone from early next year. Could parts of Vodafone 360 make it to those devices as a downloadable app?

It’s not something Vodafone is talking about explicitly right now (i.e. yes), but Ryder said the operator is keeping an open mind.

“Today it’s the H1, but maybe in a couple of months time it’ll be on the new Nokia phone, and maybe on the iPhone,” said Ryder.

“It’s not just limited to Vodafone customers either. You’ll be able to download elements of the service onto your phone even if you’re with another operator. Some things are tricky – you can’t do the location-sharing stuff or send music recommendations. But you can do the basic things.”

We already knew that anyone will be able to sign up to Vodafone 360 on the web when it goes live tomorrow (around 7am, apparently), but the fact that this will also extend to non-Voda phones is a smart move by the operator. It’s a way to establish a presence on its rivals’ handsets, and then market to their customers.

Ryder also showed ME the new 360 Shop, which is getting its final tweaks today and tomorrow in readiness for Friday’s launch.

“The SDK has only been available for three weeks, so we’re expecting to have around 200 apps for launch,” he said. “But it will ramp up quickly after that.”

ME spotted games Kroll and Asphalt 4 on the demo H1 today, along with a YouTube app, and a McLaren-branded Formula 1 app that will apparently include live telemetry updates from the team’s cars during races.

Meanwhile, RealNetworks has supplied the 360 music application, which includes a player for songs stored on the phone, and access to Vodafone’s music store.

Users will be able to buy DRM-free songs for 97p each, or pay £5 for a bundle of 10, bringing the per-song price down to 50p.  Users will be able to recommend songs to friends, who (if they’re also on Vodafone) will be provided with direct links to preview and buy.

The H1 will also promote the Real-powered Music Unlimited subscription service, which costs £5 a month for unlimited (DRM’d) downloads, or £3 a month if customers bundle it into their monthly tariff.

The last bit of information we learned today is that the Vodafone 360 software won’t be static – like iPhone and Android, it will be upgradeable.

“We’ll be able to push upgrades to customers over the air to customers as things develop,” said Ryder. “It’s a very stable piece of software, so it’s more likely to be new features than patches.”