Review of Orange SPV
27th November 2002 by Simon
Related article
Comparing SPV & SPV2 (E200)
When I first saw the Orange SPV (Sound, Pictures, Video), the first commercial GPRS phone to use the Microsoft ‘Smartphone’ 2002 OS, I was really excited about it. It looked like it had everything; you could carry around the contents of your MS Outlook as it duplicated all of your data directly from your computer, it could send and receive email, Web browse, run Instant Messenger and it connected via GPRS - all on a 177×200, 64k colour screen.
Side benefits were its ability to play music via MS MediaPlayer as well as video’s, although I didn’t think the latter would be realistic.
It could also run third-party applications and I hoped it could start to replace my Compaq iPAQ that I was finding too fragile. The only thing missing was Bluetooth.
The promise
The SPV package from Orange was amazing. The handset with 8Mb SD plug-in memory, stereo headphones with mike, a natty docking station that charged your phone while providing PC connection via USB, PLUS the plug-on camera was included. If you’ve looked into buying a phone with this kind of functionality, you’ll appreciate that what the phone manufacturers view as accessories - like the lead to allow you to swap information with your computer (not what I’d think of as an addition) is where they really sting you in the pocket.
All of this was now on offer for an incredible £129, after they had dropped the price from the expected £179. In addition I was offered £50 money-back for my old phone and, although I wasn’t mentioned to me there was also a free gift available.
I ordered direct from Orange as all of the Orange shops I had called had sold their stock out and during ordering I learnt that for the first six months, GRPS charges would be capped at £6/month with up to 10Mb of data transfer included and for the first three months MMS would also be free.
I was reeling.
The phone arrived the next day, as promised and in no time I was charged after installing an upgraded and better functioning version of ActiveSync, I was sync’d, up and running.
The reality
There’s lots of extra functionality in this phone and it is undeniable that people moving from their current phone to the next-generation phone like this are going to do through some learning pain. I’ve always worked in technology and have had an iPAQ since they were released and I found it pretty hard to get used to.
Sadly some of the problems are just down to bad software design
Can’t dial other phones
I may be old fashioned, but there are a couple of things I would have thought that a mobile phone would do. Make calls and send SMS’s being top of the list. Sadly, the experience I’ve had with my SPV doesn’t make this possible.
To make a call, you type the name of the contact at the phones main menu and using T9 technology it attempts to match your keystrokes to a list of matching entries in your Outlook, you then select the required contact and hit dial.
Sounds pretty usable up to there, (frankly it really is a bit slow while it’s cutting down the number of records that match your keystrokes) but sadly, just as you expect to hear the phone at the other end ringing, you get is a continuous dead-line tone.
I spent the first day trying to fight against this and getting nowhere, well, slowly. I was confused that occasionally I was able to connect calls, but most of the time I wasn’t. The only numbers I could only get through to were Orange customer services and fortunately, my wife’s mobile.
It then all became clear; I was dialling these numbers rather than retrieving their contact info from Outlook and using this to dial.
I spoke to Orange today and after trying for a week for their technical support to give me an answer to this problem, I got it. There is a known problem with dialling numbers from the contacts in the SPV. This is just amazing, clearly one of the big sales points of these phones is that you just plug them into your PC and all of your contact details are transferred and kept up to date. All of this is no use whatsoever when you can’t use them to dial, or as I’ve also found out, send them SMS’s.
Keyboard
As an overall problem, the keyboard really is too small for an adult to use, especially for entering text, which renders is next to useless for most of the extra functionality the phone brings. It’s not practical to type anything but the briefest email, sms, web addresses or IM session.
This was underlined by the joy I felt at returning to my Nokia 6210. With the comparison, I realised just how stressful it was using the SPV’s tiny keyboard.
Outlook
Tasks - can’t view any more than 20 chars
Not the notes or dates or anything
No wonder they’ve hidden it on the second screen of programs
Performance and crashing
It runs pretty slowly. No surprise some would say, as it’s Windows. Sometimes it goes so slow that it freezes for 30 seconds, which may be just about bearable on a desktop PC but it cannot happen on a phone – it’s not what people expect.
In what people will call true Microsoft style, I’ve had the phone crash on me twice to the point where even holding the power button down will not allow it to turn off.
The battery life is not good which will come as no surprise to iPAQ users. To try and extend it, the phone disarming turns the screen off completely, with the only sign of life being the brief flash of the LED in the top right of the phone. With moderate calling and about 20 minutes of gaming, the phone will last about a day without recharging.
Web browsing
The vast majority of Web sites are impractical to look at as the screen is too small. If you feel the iPAQ screen is too small, forcing you to constantly scroll left and right to see the content, the SPV will drive you wild.
For example, looking at eBay is near impossible. You could say that it’s not been coded for such a restricted screen – which might be true, but it’s the wrong way of looking at it. It’s going to be a long time between now and when every Webmaster has realised not everyone will be looking at their sites on anything as large as a 15” computer monitor.
Camera quality
I didn’t have high expectation for the quality of the pictures that the SPV would take and in fact it didn’t even reach those. I saw it being used for close-ups of friends on trips. The images might be 480×640 but the quality is terrible. [unaltered example]
It takes over ten key presses to take a photo and it has the slowest screen/image refreshes I’ve ever seen. To the point where it compares really badly with the first handheld digital camera I bought six years ago and I thought the performance of that was bad. What this means practically is that when you try and frame a photo, there is no guarantee that what was being displayed on the phone will be in the photo.
Sadly as the phone is so slow, that there a 3-5 second gap between the camera shutter click sound that it makes and the image actually being captured, leading people walk out of the photo in the process.
Generally not working
When someone leaves a voice mail you don’t know about it until the phone is turned off and on, which in theory should be the next day, but
I think a glaring omission is that there is no viewer for Word or Excel files. It can read emails, why not other Word files.
Conclusion
This is a phone that has shipped before it’s finished. Microsoft see their Smartphone OS as a way of stopping Symbian getting a hold of a platform that they don’t yet control and for this reason they’ve rushed it out.
I’m surprised at Orange, whom I’ve previously had the highest regard for as they normally won’t release a handset until it’s passed rigorous testing, which clearly hasn’t occurred here. I suspect that with Vodaphone Live launching, they thought they had to act now.
It’s just too slow. Phones have to react nearly instantly - it’s what people are used to and people aren’t going to change their expectations, even the patient ones. I was left wondering how much of the time I was waiting was being used to run the Windows OS.
The fact that the SPV cannot dial from the numbers stored on it is a shocking, basic error and could well be the reasons that it’s near impossible to get hold of now. Orange customer services told me that they hoped to have a solution to the problem by the end of the year - too little, far too late for me. I’m sending my SPV back for a refund and plan to get a SonyEricsson P800 when they’re released.
- Possibly related posts -
- Sendo suing Orange UK
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An interesting read… One of the few decent write ups on the SPV I have come across yet!!. Do you still have the phone? If so, have you now overcome some of the problems with it ?
I am planning on buying the phone in the next month, and was wondering whether it is still early days for this phone?
Your view is very much appreciated.
Thanks very much for the compliment. The pieces raised quite a lot of attention [http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/64/28351.html], [http://slashdot.org/articles/02/12/01/2110203.shtml] which surprised me.
I do still have the phone - but not for lack of trying to return it to Orange. I’ve called them a number of times but they still haven’t picked it up.
As far as clearing up the problem, mine hasn’t been on since then so I’m pretty sure it’s still in the same state. The later release phones might be getting better and Orange were talking about an official upgrade/bugfix around the end of the 2002.
I’m back with my 6210 and feel pretty relaxed about it really.
I have had an SPV for some months now, mainly because Orange refuses to change it for another handset. Apart from the software problems….
The battery life… I use my phone a lot and now have to carry around an old Ericsson as backup due to the poor SPV performance. I do not get 1 days proper use out of the phone.
Signal strength is very poor.
Voice quality when calling long distance international is poor (USA, ASIAPAC), very strange problem.
The phone will often fail when you go to accept a call. etc etc etc
Orange refuse to change the phone for another GPRS handset even though I spend nearly #2000gbp per annum with them! I have given up with them!
As mentioned in your article Orange have been very good in the past, but now they seem to be suffering from a serious case of ‘stuff the customer’ syndrome.
Jonas - Disturbing reading. If their ?2k/year customers don’t get good treatment, who will?
You mention the Orange ?stuff the customer? syndrome - I wonder if this is a sign of the financial crisis in the mobile business, as they try to cut back, by being hard on the customer. Pretty short sighted - most mobile users have no affinity with the provider, I think this is slightly different for Orange users but it is a fragile thing.
I was speaking to a friend in Sweden where the the P800 has been out for a while. He recently had a chance to play with one and was very impressed with it, particularly with size of the screen.
Interestingly, the phones’ owner had taken off the front keypad and just uses the screen to dial.
I know there will be faults with the P800 and it’s not a panacea, but I am looking forward to seeing it.
I also upgraded to the SPV, and was really looking forward to receiving. I was also very disappointed.
The most disappointing was 10 keypresses, and 1 minute before you could even frame your picture, which kind of defeats the convenience of having a camera in your phone.
For some reason I also failed to get explorer or MSN working. I think that may have been due to the poor signal strength. I also have had a few crashes, which resulted in a white screen. Very reminiscent of a windows blue screen error.
Within 24 hours of taking it our of the box, I had decided that for everyday use the phone was virtually unuable and I had called Orange to return it. They haven’t collected it yet but assure that they will tomorrow.
I intend getting a nokia 7650 instead. I have always had and been very happy with nokias and should never have been tempted away from them.
Jimmer - I’ve heard the same thing about the SPV from many people now.
The 7650’s are being given away for some new contracts. I looked at it and decided it might be a little heavy - but I’ve used it and was pretty impressed.
Before the SPV goes back it might be worth wiping it.
Can’t agree. Have you never heard of Microsoft? The SPV pretty well behaves exactly as I expected and is far more a phone than a PDA can ever pretend to be. I download programs after breaking the program security lock and it runs on O2 if you know how. It’s got a neat boot loader that works off an xda serial cable.
Picture quality is good if used carefully, mine has crashed once only and the upgrade out in Denmark already should fix this.
I got onto our Exchange server in a about a minutes setup time - days of work on a T68!
Keep trying - it grows on you!
Hate to sound like a scratched record, but I’m also unhappy with my SPV. I was warned by the guys in the office that it was buggy, but I went ahead and upgraded by SL45 (which apart from the annoying ariel is a great phone).
I’m going to persevere though. I think the dialling problem when synching with Outlook is due to the country code stuff Outlook adds to a number. Take out the +44 and brackets and it seems to be ok.
My other little gripe is that Orange don’t provide a way of sending email - I’m told I need to sign up with an ISP. I have POP accounts so only need a mail server to send from… Oh well.
I have owned an SPV since November and I agree the problems were rife to begin with. It’s similar to a pocket PC it requires careful memory management to maintain the performance. Orange have set-up the phone with the average phone user in mind and it takes a few 3rd party downloads to gain full control over the phone to manage it’s performance properly. Now I have installed the new UK update the phone works as I expected it to back in november, much better performance, signal strength and reliability. I have always bought the latest gadgets and am used to putting up with the ‘early adopter’ syndrome of bugs and paying to be a beta tester, but it’s the price you pay for having it first. I really do think that this phone, once you really get used to it and download the latest update, is worth persevering with. I’m not saying this simply because I have paid for it (got mine free) or because I have an unhealthy love for Microsoft, but simply because this handset has become a joy to own over the past month (2 months after I initially bought it) it’s just taken some time to learn how to get the most out of it. All that said, like I said I’m a gadget adict and will most prolly be procuring a P800 this month ;-)
Meant to say in my last message to Gavin, if you type in ’smtp.orange.com’ (might be .co.uk can’t remember) this will allow you to send messages aswell as receive via orange’s server. Just put the return address as your email address and voila… :-) This is straight from the horses mouth (Orange techy support)
I really like mine, although admittedly it is buggy as hell, the OS was definitely rushed out. Any problem you get that wasn’t fixed by the first update can be solved by a visit to www.modaco.com - a top forum with answers to most things, although they’ll thank you for searching for previous posts regarding problems before you submit a new query. Mine is nor working pretty much as I want it, you can play Doom if you remove the security certification and I also have a Nintendo emulator on there which means I can play Super Mario on the train. There are various speed tweaks that boost the phone’s performance as well, and battery life has been massively improved by a software update. So I’d say that right now, at 79 squid, they’re a bit of a bargain compared with 250 odd notes for a P800.
Russ - thanks for the post. I went along to the MoDaCo-arranged visit to the London Microsoft offices on Saturday and everyone there seemed pretty happy with their phones, so I’m sure the new software updates fixed many of the initial problems.
I saw the SPVx (or whatever it’s officially going to be called) there and was really happy to see new version will have enlarged keys, which removes one of my major gripes.
I got my PSV on sunday. Now its free with 200 talk plan, with ALL the extras. I have to say my pictures are sharp as a button, I think you camera could be damaged, as it is a fixed focus affair. There are now a growing number of accessories, roll-up qwerty keyboards, headphone adapters, not to mention flash upgrades. In the lastest version of activesync, it will convert word files to note versions for phone reading. My only grip is not being able to SMS contacts to others. My be a fix due out soon. Apparently MS have given one of these phones to most of their employees. BTW MMS and GRPS are disabled as standard, you need to phone Organge CS to enable. Maybe why you had connectivity problems.
I would advise anyone who is thinking of the SPV to think again. mine, which i only got 6 weeks ago, keeps crashing and stalling, the only way to fix it is by taking off the battery all the time and powering up. I have just had it happen again and now it wont even turn on!!! i will be taking a walk to the Orange shop tomorrow for a refund or a replacement. please people do not waste your money until either windows and orange part company or orange promise a working version.
Hi
I bought my SPV 2 weeks ago, and it was allready repleced by orange, because the sreen was suddenly burnt… yes burnt, like fire….
This was weird, when i came there, they gave me a SPV, when i turned it on, it had an error, and was useless, so i got a good one, that was broken a week later!
Now this one was replaced, now it’s still okay, working perfectly, but i dont know for how long this will be….
Hi,
I work in Orange data support (156… you’ve probably all been calling us!)
I agree that when the SPV was first released the problems were endless. The ROM update has cured 95% of these however.
The battery life isnt great, but thats what you get for a big colour screen.
I myself also prefer the P800 to the SPV E100, but wait 4 months and meet the SPV E200. I’ve had chance to play with one and cannot talk highly enough about it. Integrated Bluetooth, integrated Camera (far better quality and response time) and Smartphone 2003 OS. The SPV E200 is the SPV come of age.
The SPV has its problems, but so does any phone (anyone that buys a panasonic GD87e needs to be shot, we have huge volumes of calls about them things)
Alot of the SPVs problems are, IMHO, caused by the fact that they were given away dirt cheap at one point, and old grannys that only really need a nice simple nokia are trying to set up POP3 email and ActiveSync themselves (can i take it into boots to develop my photos?)
*waits to get flamed*
Richard
Yipee!!! my 12 month contract is finally up. At last I can get rid of my SPV and swap to somthing that actually works
i just recetly got my staff upgrade to the SPV E200 and i have to say even though i wasent loking forward to getting it i think it is one of the best that we have released on orange. i only have a problem that i cant use the docking station to finish the configuration wizard but that is down to the fact im running millennium and the USB wont work so i have been advised to get an IR port and use it from there. i am annoyed because i want to be able to put MP3’s on it from the net. if anyone has any tips to help me out then they r most appreciated.
I have to agree with earlier comments about oranges “stuff the customer sindrome”
Before upgrading to SPV i could not say enough for Oranges customer sevice it was second to none.
The mintue i upgraded and needed help (CONSTANT CRASHING AND FREEZING) I seemed to get passed from one person to another on the now world famous 156 number. None of which helped in the slightest. After six months and two replacement handsets i am eagerly awaiting the end of my contract so i get something that works.
I’ve spent a couple of days playing with an original SPV and after finding it buggy and criminally slow, i did some research.
I tried the orange rom update and a couple of menu speed up tools, but they didn’t really make much difference.
I put the I-mate updated rom on it and it’s a completely different phone. It whizzes along now. I’ve just finished setting it up to download emails from my exchange server, and i’ve been chatting to mates on MSN messenger. All in all pretty good. You can’t go for cutting edge and not expect to bleed a little.
:)
The SPV e200 is much, much nicer. I’d have a review up on my own site by now, only they seem to have shipped me a faulty one: it won’t run the setup program on the disc!
No doubt, after the holidays, we’ll get someone to replace it…
By the way, Simon, I’ve lost your phone number, and emails aren’t getting thru…
Guy
Hans - very scary, the screen catching alight. I hope it wasn’t in your pocket at the time.
Richard - it’s good to hear the inside view from Orange. Supporting the non-technical on the SPV must be a nightmare - I admire your guts.
Rob - Glad to hear it’s now working out for you, what is frightening is that this original review was written over a year ago. It is amazing that it’s taken them that long to get it sorted out properly. Could you post a reputable URL for the I-mate ROM, as other might want to upgrade?
I used a friends MS-powered Motorola flip smartphone the week before xmas and found it stable and speedy to use. You can imagine how surprised I was to hear the new Vodaphone CEO announcing he didn’t think the Microsoft smartphone OS was ready for the main stream. I bet panic ensued at Redmond.
Thinking of getting a SPV E200 or a Nokia 6600. Any comments?
If you enjoy carrying a charger around with you then this phone is for you, the battery dies in half a day. The Active Sync took 6 attempts and one returned handset before it worked, the bluetooth rarily decides to connect to the Jabra headset. Its not very ergonomically designed as its top heavy, to keep it from falling down I often find my hand straining to reach the buttons. It takes 45 seconds to completely turn on! If you want my advice buy the new Nokia with all the same features. Most annoyingly none of the voice notes can be downloaded to PC. Apart from that they have packed a lot of useful features, nice headphones, great MP3 player, SD card slot- excellent.
*Joins an ancient debate after cruising Google*
I have had both the SPV and now own the e200. The original SPV was a bit wacky until the update came out, but I have never had any significant problems with either, both worked fine out of the box. It is a superb phone (windows media player is such a good idea on a phone!) I admit the p900 is better, but it is bigger and more expensive, so there is a definite trade off. Get one and stop whining, you will discard it in 12 months for the next hot poop phone anyway! (ebay anyone?…)
I got my hand on a P900 yesterday for the first time - I hadn’t rush about it because I was so underwhelmed by the P800.
The P900 felt, and appeared to act, in the way I thought the P800 would before I touched it.
I was thoroughly impressed, but … I’m going to wait until the Motorola E1000 is out before making a decision. That is a phone that has _everything_.
Got an SPV last June. BAD MOVE!
had constant problems with the first handset hanging- having to take the battery off at least once a month…
finally died completely in January. After a week of pestering Orange’s hopeless customer services they finally sent a replacement…
that lasted untill 2 weeks ago.
they sent me another.
that never worked at all. Looks like the SIM has finally had enough of being switched on and off and being swapped around.
Its a nice idea in theory…but
chronically unreliable
battery life is pants- as as for the above comment about what one expects for a big colour screen- my wife has a blackberry- will last all week end constantly polling for email.
And the screens nearly twice the size of the SPV.
The main reason I got it was integration with Exchange/Outlook. Unfortunately the implementation of Outlook is pants! Particularly the task list. And you can’t easily syncronise on the cradle AND via POP when on the move.(have to change all the settings)
Web browsing is crap (no frames, no java)
It is at best a beta product, and at worst a squeeky dog toy, not fit for purpose.Orange should have never marketed it.
As as for Orange customer services, you get a better service from South Central Trains.
So far I have been without my phone for 2 weeks-never waited that long for the 07:17!
I intend to take my probs to arbitration- at the very least I’m ditching Orange and the SPV as soon as my 12 month enslavement is up.
Lemon…the future’s s**t!