Review summary of the Orange SPV C500:
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 Price: $525.
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Full Orange SPV C500 Review:
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Support for SMS is much improved over previous SPVs, with the character-count finally working. MMS is of course included, with the included camera fulfilling its primary purpose. Instant Messaging over GPRS is courtesy of Microsoft Messenger, as usual.
As well as an Infrared port, Bluetooth is provided, and implemented better than before. It doesn't seem to affect battery life so drastically, and performance with headsets is far more reliable.
Rather than the SD slot of earlier Windows Smartphones, the C500 uses the miniSD format mentioned above. This isn't well supported yet, and its use will annoy those with an investment in the larger format. Such is the price of progress - although it also means there are no I/O accessory capabilities in the C500.
Specifications
The C500 is powered by an ARM OMAP 730 200 MHz processor, and although the published specifications claim 64 MB RAM, it actually shows about 28 MB of flash storage, plus 23 MB of memory for storage and program execution. The rest, we assume, is occupied by the OS.
The second big downside of the SPV range to date, after their size, has been battery life. The C500 is the first SPV that can be treated like a phone - which means it doesn't have to be charged every day. In fact, the C500 gave us a healthy four days of life, using the camera, Bluetooth and phone functions.
Software
The SPV C500 runs Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone, Second Edition, and has a number of enhancements since the first release. It's noticeably faster and more stable, and the tweaks, additions and changes are numerous. As well as the improved messaging application (which takes advantage of more reliable T9 input) and Bluetooth enhancements, there's a built-in File Explorer for the first time.
Software is provided to cover PIM, audio and video, basic gaming, messaging, phone book management, full web browsing and so on. It's worth noting that one of our favourite features, the quick lookup phonebook, remains unchanged. Further software can be added in the form of native applications, or those of the J2ME (Java) variety.
Users will also see the usual Orange Backup, Orange Download and Orange Help applications. The network's branding extends to the home screen, which now has a snazzy vertical arrangement with pop-out menus.
The camera unit seems to be the same as in the E200, with VGA still capture, 176 x 144 video capture with sound, 4x digital zoom and a swathe of adjustments for white balance, colours and the like. Its performance is adequate, but not up to the 1 MP units included with the latest handsets from Nokia and others.
On an audio note, the included ringtones are nothing to shout about, but loud enough and backed by an insistent vibrating alert. Of course, other sounds can be used as ringers, too - one of the advantages of a powerful platform such as this.
Synchronisation is, as always, provided by Microsoft ActiveSync, and natively works with Outlook on Windows PCs.
Availability
The Orange SPV C500 is available in Europe on the Orange network, as of Q3 2004, and sells exclusively with contract. Prices vary depending on contract, however the handset itself is estimated to sell for $525 USD.
Price and availability
The Orange SPV C500 will start selling for $525 () in November 1999.
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