Review: Orange SPV - Page 3 - infoSync Reviews

Input is also a vital part of every operating system, and Smartphone 2002 is no different. Like most other phones you can pick off the shelf in this day and age, the SPV features multi-tap text input, and Microsoft has also licensed well-known predictive text software T9 for its platform. Changing between the various input modes is done through pressing and holding the star key down, while a symbol insertion menu is called up through pressing and holding the hash key. It takes a bit of time getting used to the fact that the 'Back' hardware shortcut button performs a backspace function when inputting text.

Navigating the Programs menu is surprisingly simple

The extras

Moving onto more operating system-specific features, I'll quickly mention a few of the features that distinguish Smartphone 2002 from Pocket PCs. We'll begin with Profiles - a feature common in most recent European mobile phones. Profiles lets users choose from a range of pre-defined (all of which are possible to edit) alert setting suites depending on the situation he or she is in. With names like "General", "Silent", "Loud" and "Speakerphone", further explanation should be unnecessary.

Then there's Smartdial, an ingenious little feature which kicks into place when users start entering a phone number. Smartdial immediately begins filtering the contact list for matches not only by number, but also the letters the key presses correspond to, allowing a user to locate an entry quickly whether he or she remembers someone's name, or just part of their number. It works great, and is surprisingly fast considering that the rest of the system has a tendency to lag at times.

Another nifty little trick is that phone numbers and URLs in e-mails, SMS messages and on web pages are automatically hyperlinked, allowing users to make a call when spotting a phone number on a web page without having to copy and paste the number. Other features worthy of mentioning are Speakerphone, Speed Dial and Call History. Speed Dial is simple and easy to use while Speakerphone works well, but the Call History application scores low since it doesn't list GPRS connections - a feature which is vital to keep track of costs, particularly since a great deal of the intent behind the device is to use data heavily.

The Calendar application provides several views - in this case, Month view

Of course, the Home screen is close to a feature of its own, and in the case of the Orange SPV, it lets users quickly access certain applications, see what network they're on, what the time is, whether they have any upcoming appointments, have received any SMS, MMS or e-mail messages and what Profile their phone is set to. Orange has also put in place shortcuts to web-based News and Sport services, as well as for accessing the user's online picture gallery (a clip-on digital camera will be available as an accessory for the SPV) and a download service where users can find and download applications for their device. As much as I like the Today - or Home - screen concept in general, Orange showed a spark of brilliance through putting these links on the home screen since being able to access content quickly is just the thing you need to actually start consuming content on a device like this.

Orange has also added a few more parts to the puzzle on top of the basic Smartphone 2002 software, including an MMS client and software from Action Engine which allows users to remotely back up and restore information to their phone - as well as lock it, and wipe information stored on it. The MMS client, provided by EZOS, performed well through testing, and allows users to create and send MMS messages with ease thanks to the generous amount of screen estate the phone offers for this purpose. The Action Engine software also deserves a bit of praise; the solution is simple to use and works fine, although we didn't get to test the remote lock and wipe information parts of the suite. Bandwidth is a major concern for GPRS users, and fortunately the Action Engine solution not only compresses data but also backs up information incrementally so that not all information stored on the phone is transferred every time a backup is made.

Whilst on the topic of OTA capabilities; it's also possible to update both the operating system and the radio stack of the phone wirelessly by means of Action Engine's software, so any patches or updates for the SPV can in theory be downloaded and installed without ever connecting it to a PC.

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