The pint-size Orange SPV M500 communicator is dwarfed by its older siblings - but as the cliche goes, less is sometimes more. An in-depth review by Jørgen Sundgot.
Filling a void in its product line-up, Orange has finally introduced its version of the T-Mobile MDA Compact, i-mate JAM or whichever other alias the SPV M500 might be known by. Fortunately for the mobile network operator, late appears to be better than never in this case, with the M500 quite feasibly being just the ticket for those who feel that an SPV M2000 is too large and an SPV C550 lacking in features.
Does that come with a magnifying glass?
Decidely minute, the SPV M500 firmly entrenches itself among the ranks of the smallest Windows Mobile communicators in existence with its weight of 150 g and 108 x 58 x 18 mm measurements. Rather attractive, its grey metallic case gives off a sturdy and compact feel, and - although we never thought we'd find ourselves saying this about a Windows Mobile for Pocket PC device - is in fact highly pocketable.
Albeit small, the 2.8-inch 65K colour screen of the M500 is perfectly viewable despite brightness being only adequate, performing very well indeed with ClearType enabled in tandem with its 240 x 320 pixel resolution. Similar praise is bestowed upon the navigational array of the device, which offers excellent tactile feedback all round - although audible feedback is a tad loud in some cases.
Particularly worthy of notice are the flush power on/off button which negates accidental activations and the comfortable the up/down volume rocker, although we wish for more hard buttons; as it is, only the Contacts and Calendar applications are available through a single key press.
Moving around the back for a moment, we find the 1.3 Megapixel camera of the M500 complete with vanity mirror: an entirely mediocre affair as noise levels are too high and white balance is off, but the camera remains sufficient for the odd snapshot here and there.
Sacrifices must be made
In order to be made as small as it is, the SPV M500 has expectedly done away with unnecessary fluff, sticking to the basics. In the connectivity department, for instance, we find tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz with GPRS Class 8/10, accompanied only by Infrared, a flush selection of Bluetooth profiles and USB connectivity; no Wi-Fi or 3G here.
What little is present performs well, however, with signal reception and audio quality both delivering adequate results - although we did experience echo artefacts with the volume at its highest setting. One of the things we're most pleased with is the inclusion of USB charging - and we can't say we mind the SDIO capable SD/MMC Card expansion slot either, although inserting and removing cards proved to be a tad fickle.
Powered by a 416 MHz Intel PXA270 processor, the SPV M500 provides ample processing power for the majority of tasks. Its 64 MB of RAM, however, is a severely limited amount that will only cater to basic users - leading to the near-inevitable purchase of a memory card, which subsequently (and frustratingly) blocks use of the SD card slot for, say, a Wi-Fi card.
Then again, using a Wi-Fi card with the SPV M500 would likely run down its 1,000 mAh Lithium Ion battery from a comfortable two days of average use to approximately a day.
Keeping tweaks to a minimum
Thankfully, Orange is the one mobile network operator that doesn't insist on customizing the hell out of its Windows Mobile communicators - and in this case has settled on the well-rounded 2003 version of the platform. The few Orange applications that are present are not only useful and timely, but are also accompanied by sensible 3rd party applications with further enhance the usefulness of the M500.
Among these we find speaker independent voice dialing from Fonix, which - although it doesn't work properly with a Bluetooth headset - reduces the amount of poking required to place a call whether on foot or whilst driving; readers for Adobe Acrobat (PDF) and Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) files; and the always-excellent bandwidth monitor software from Spb Software which lets users monitor data usage and costs.
Also new in the M500 is T9 predictive text input, which is a handy addition - and particularly so for those trading up from a conventional handset. Alas, despite its smartphone-like size, proper one-handed navigation remains elusive in the SPV M500; a fact worth keeping in mind considering the imminent arrival of Windows Mobile 5.0 devices with similarly small form factors and a vastly improved navigational paradigm.
Availability
The Orange SPV M500 is at the time of press available exclusively to customers of mobile network operator Orange, selling from £100 GBP, or €150 EUR, with subscription.
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