Review: Orange SPV - Page 5 - infoSync Reviews

Surprise, surprise

One of the things that surprised me the most about the SPV, however, wasn't the lack of an AvantGo client but rather the fact that it actually disconnects any active connections as soon as it goes into standby mode. This is a major flaw which Microsoft has caught considerable flak for on the Pocket PC Phone Edition platform, and I was baffled to find that it's present on a device which has connectivity as one of its key selling points.

To my great disappointment, data connections are dropped when the phone goes into standby mode - which means you can forget about always-on instant messaging

Two other surprises I had were the general voice quality whilst in calls, which consistently appeared choppy on the receiving end, and also in voice notes. In fact, I tried recording a couple of long voice notes and ended up with choppy audio, entire phrases being cut and the recording stopping even though the timer was still running - a note I recorded for 50 seconds stopped playing back after 30 seconds. The second surprise was that even though Smartphone 2002 supports ringtones in WAV and MIDI format, the only ones present on the device were in MIDI format and didn't really do the audio capabilities of the device justice. It's very powerful - despite its glitches.

Still, Microsoft has done a fairly good job with its Smartphone 2002 platform, and the most room for improvement lies here and not in the hardware of the Orange SPV. As a first-generation product, the result is better than the first version of the Pocket PC platform, but Microsoft apparently has a few issues to work out - such as when the time I switched the phone on, and couldn't make it stop vibrating before I switched it off and took out the battery.

Streaming Windows Media audio and video over a GPRS connection is possible, but absolutely not recommended

I've had my fair share of experience with a Nokia 7650 and would have to say that it is more stable than the SPV, but I've also been mindful to upgrade the firmware of the 7650 continuously as minor glitches did occur on that platform too. Devices based on both Symbian and Microsoft platforms are now breaking new ground, and I would be amazed if glitches weren't present - it's the result of devices growing increasingly complex. That does however not mean it should be tolerated, and it's a good thing the Orange SPV can be upgraded over the air.

Conclusion

The Orange SPV is a device that relies on raw power to perform its tasks, and it's very feature-rich. Its interoperability with Windows, Outlook and Exchange is unparalleled, and Microsoft has done a good job of adapting the user interface to one-handed use. Despite its positive aspects, however, the result seems unpolished as a number of glitches - some minor, some major - are evident even after a relatively short period of testing. We'd recommend buying the Orange SPV - if you want a versatile phone, and don't mind the occasional glitch.

What's positive: Easy to navigate, great display, raw power, feature-rich
What's negative: Performance drops, poor voice quality, unreliable GPRS connectivity, disconnect on standby

Overall:

Related review:

Nokia 7650

Price and availability

The will start selling for TBA () in November 1999.

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