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Written by Marc
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Wednesday, 04 April 2007 14:18 |
 There's no doubting the fact that satellite navigation has taken off nowadays, drive down any road tonight and you'll see an odd glow emanating from within, driver's windscreens have never been so full of car mount suckers! Smartphone users have not been left behind either, its one thingy to envy someone's latest, greatest sat nav unit but to find your way around on your phone, well that's even more impressive. So what's been the single greatest hurdle to date? In my opinion it has to be the lack of integrated GPS. Having to carry around an additional piece of hardware, namely a Bluetooth GPS receiver is a nuisance. Orange's first attempt in the UK to solve this dilemma comes in the form of the SPV M700, a Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC Phone Edition that's caused quite a stir.
Specification
- Processor: Samsung® SC32442A 400 MHz
- Platform: Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 5.0
- Memory: ROM: 128 MB, RAM: 64 MB SDRAM
- Dimension: 108 mm (L) X 58.2 mm (W) X 18.4 mm (T)
- Weight: 150g with battery
- LCD Type: 2.8” TFT-LCD 240 x 320 dot pixels with 65,536 colours
- Cellular Radio Module: Tri-band HSPDA/UMTS: 850, 1900, 2100, Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
- Device Control: Jog Wheel, 5-way Navigation Control
- Connectivity: Infrared IrDA SIR, Bluetooth® 2.0, Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
- HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB and audio jack in one)
- Camera: Main Camera: 2.1 Megapixels CMOS color, Second Camera: CMOS VGA/CIF color
- Audio: Built-in dual (microphone and speaker), Headphone: AMR/AAC/WAV/WMA/MP3 codec
- Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer battery, Capacity: 1500 mAh, Standby time: Up to 200 ~ 250 hrs for GSM, Up to 180 ~ 250 hrs for UMTS, Talk time: Up to 5 hrs for GSM, Up to 4 hrs for UMTS
- Expansion Slot: miniSD™ memory card
- AC Adapter: AC input/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60Hz, DC output: 5V and 1A
Hardware
The SPV M700 comes with a 1500mAh battery, spare stylus, stereo handsfree headphones, leather case and car charger, all of which are housed in a rather large retail box!
 Orange SPV M700 Box  Orange SPV M700 Battery  Orange SPV M700 Car Charger  Orange SPV M700 Case  Orange SPV M700 Headphones  Orange SPV M700 Headphones  Orange SPV M700 Headphones  Orange SPV M700 Stylus
The first thing that grabs your attention is the finish, the M700 comes in two colours, gloss black and gloss white (as seen here). The casing is unlike any other device of its kind and turns heads. You could easily be forgiven for mistaking the device as being part of the iPod range were it not for the lack of scroll wheel. Generally speaking this is an attractive device then; the device pictured is accented with matt silver features and is marketed as the consumer device with the black alternative being aimed at the business market.
 Orange SPV M700
Should you feel so strongly about one colour, rumour has it that certain Orange customer service representatives will offer you a choice; in my experience you'll be lucky though! Whilst on the subject of choice, allow me to lay one myth to bed too, both colours come with integrated GPS. I don't care what you've heard elsewhere, that is a fact and anyone who tells you otherwise, at Orange or elsewhere is mistaken. The fact is that the GPS function is not being actively marketed to the consumer, that is being reserved for business customers. Some consumers are in for a nice surprise then when they attempt to configure their GPS software of choice - throw away that primitive Bluetooth receiver!
Lets take a look around the SPV M700, the top of the device is blank, just a nice piece of curved translucent plastic stares back at you. This is because the hardware buttons, stylus silo and the like are located around the rest of the device.
 Orange SPV M700 Top
The bottom of the device features the customised mini USB socket that works with a standard mini USB jack as well as the bundled stereo hands-free headphones. The small reset button is also located on the bottom of the M700 alongside the InfraRed port, microphone and lanyard loop.
 Orange SPV M700 Bottom
The left hand side of the M700 features a three way scroll wheel, ideal for navigation and an OK button that doubles as a Windows Flag button to launch the Start Menu when viewing the Today screen.
 Orange SPV M700 Left
The right hand side of the M700 features the power button (short press for sleep, long press for shutdown), voice notes button (short press for voice speed dial, long press for notes), mini SD slot with cover for memory expansion, camera button and stylus silo. That sounds like a lot but they are all well separated and positioned for ease of use.
 Orange SPV M700 Right
The back of the M700 features the 2.0 mega-pixel camera (no self-portrait mirror on the M700), loud speaker (press and hold the green dial button whilst in a call to activate), external antennae grommett and three small feet (the antennae grommett doubles as the fourth) to stabilise the device when laid down, as well as to protect the camera lens.
 Orange SPV M700 Back
Finally the front of the device features a 2.8" QVGA touchscreen, earpiece, forward facing camera for video calls and a familiar array of buttons offering navigation and call making facilities (two soft keys, green dial and red hang up buttons, d-pad with action key in its centre, Windows flag key for launching the Start Menu and OK button).
 Orange SPV M700 Main Controls  Orange SPV M700 Front  Orange SPV M700 Front/Top
The SPV M700 feels good in the hand; it is one of a breed of compact Pocket PC Phone Editions and as such manages to pack a whole host of features into a pocketable device. The M700 is a derivative of the HTC Trinity (link) reference design and as such you will more than likely have come across similar devices with different branding, this is common place in the market now with HTC now branding their own devices too.
The M700 features a Samsung 400 MHz processor, 64 MB RAM and 128 MB flash memory. The processor and RAM make for a speedy device with minimal loading times for menial tasks (except for startup which stills seems to take an age, something that is common place amongst smartphones in general). To get the most out of the device the 128 MB flash memory will not be sufficient though, especially when you consider that only a portion of this is available to the user, the mini SD slot seeks to solve this problem and will allow for the installation of a whole host of third party applications.
Owners of the SPV M3100 or HTC Herald will notice at this stage a lack QWERTY keyboard on the M700, this is countered with a reduced size but anyone who has used HTC's implementation of their slide-out keyboards (as featured on the SPV M3100) will vouch for its usability. Having made this transition myself I found this took some getting used to. Sending SMS whilst on the move becomes difficult and all pieces of third party on-screen software that attempt to ease this process seem to struggle to initiate on the device which is a real shame. Persevere though and you'll find yourself tapping away to your hearts content.
In terms of connectivity the M700 offers a range of options, there's Quad Band GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900, GPRS, 3G, HSPDA/UMTS, WiFi b/g, InfraRed, GPS and mini USB to cater for the vast majority of user's needs.
The SPV M700 comes with a forward facing camera for video calls and a 2.0 mega-pixel camera for normal shots. The main camera isn't best on the market but it isn't the worst either. I was lucky enough to get tickets to the opening match at the new Wembley Stadium recently and typically forgot my digital camera which meant that my SPV M700 had to deputise and it did a decent job in good lighting conditions (see below). Its lowlight conditions that cause it a problem though and will leave you longing for your digicam. The camera will also record videos, once again see the video below!
Software
The SPV M700 comes pre-installed with Windows Mobile 5 AKU 3.0, its release has been too close to that of Windows Mobile 6 for its inclusion to be a possibility however what that does mean is that you'll get an operating system nearing the end of its lifespan which in theory means that most of the bugs will have been ironed out. Is this the case? Well the Windows Mobile platform has, does and most probably will always come under criticism by the average user for its complexity however this is as a direct result of its scalability, ignoring PIM functionality it's what defines a Smartphone. As such the criticism I speak of more often than not originates from users who in reality do not require the wealth of functions offered by Windows Mobile devices and as such find themselves a little confused, after all, who chooses to learn how to use something that they will not make use of? It is also fair to say that the Windows Mobile platform is conducive to the odd reset, something that I feel will always be the case for an operating system so complex, especially when you consider the ability that the user has to install third party software where you potentially place the stability of your device firmly in the hands of the developer.
Pre-installed on the M700 you will find the usual array of software and games including File Explorer, Internet Explorer, Pictures and Videos, Download Agent, Help, Internet Sharing, Orange Plus, SIM Manager, Terminal Services, Bubble Breaker, Solitaire, ActiveSync, Adobe Reader LE, Bluetooth Explorer, Calculator, Camera, Excel Mobile, Java, Notes, PowerPoint Mobile, PV Player, Search, Tasks, Voice Speed Dial, Windows Media, Word Mobile and ZIP. Its fair to say that there's a wealth of software available for nearly all of your needs!
Once again MSN Messenger has been omitted; it's a real shame as it is a great selling point and benefits both the user in terms of increased functionality and the operator in terms of increased data revenue. Having said that the operators may disagree in that they see potential SMS revenue being lost through instant messenger chat however I feel strongly that operators should not hold back technology for this reason, after all it is the handsets themselves that most influence a buyer's decision with regards their choice of operator.
To make use of the integrated GPS receiver you will need to install some third party software, fear not though as Orange are looking to enter this market themselves with their Orange Sat Nav software, a link to which can be found in any SPV M700's Internet Explorer favourites list. Orange Sat Nav operates in a slightly different manner to normal GPS software in that the maps are not stored on your device, instead they are downloaded as and when they are required when you plot your desired route. This results in a far smaller memory footprint on the device but is unlikely to be a popular option for anyone paying for their mobile data connection on a per megabyte tariff. Assuming you are happy with the data charges, the Orange Sat Nav solution is effective. One of the advantages of maps being stored remotely is that they should be and thankfully are more accurate than those offered by its competitors that store maps on the device as the maps can be updated without any user interaction, simply update them on the central server ready to be requested by the user.
Conclusion
The Orange SPV M700 is a good device to have in your pocket, its design is desirable and on top of the wealth of features that come as part of the Windows Mobile package you also have GPS at your disposal. The design will get people's attention but the capabilities will make them want one. It's not the perfect device, if you've owned an Orange SPV M3100 or derivative previously you will no doubt miss the slide-out QWERTY keyboard but appreciate the reduction in size. The camera, like all HTC offerings to date that we've reviewed is OK, nothing more than that really, you'll be glad you've got it but still take your digital camera when you know you'll want to take photographs. However you can't argue with the overall success of the SPV M700, the integrated GPS takes the SPV range a step further and makes this phone a contender not only in the Smartphone market but also in the portable GPS market where buyers may see this as a cheaper and more flexible alternative (smaller and with more functionality over and above that of satellite navigation). Put simply there's no way I would consider buying a standalone GPS device whilst I have an M700 in my pocket. If you're in the market for a Smartphone with GPS and the lack of QWERTY keyboard is not an issue for you then look no further. The Orange SPV is a worthy addition to the range and will no doubt be sought after.
The Orange SPV M700 is available from Orange retail stores and online through the Orange website with prices starting from free!
Video Review
We have published a video review of the Orange SPV M700 which you can watch below.
Third Party Accessories
There are a whole host of third party accessories already available for the SPV M700, here are a few of my favourites.
Proporta Screen Protector
This thin layer of protective film attaches itself to your M700's screen and forms a protective barrier against both damage and glare whilst having no impact on the use of the touchscreen, a brilliant way to protect your screen.
Proporta Windscreen Mount
The M700 is designed in part to be used in the car, hence the inclusion of a car power socket plug in the box, you'll notice there's no solution for holding your device though, this is one solution to that dilemma. Its a simple suction mount that attaches itself to your windscreen and offers up a strong magnet on the end of a movable arm, in addition you get a magnetic plate with an adhesive strip to attach to your device thus making your device attach to the arm. With a bit of persuasion the magnetic plate will squeeze in behind your battery cover and the battery itself keeping the magnetic plate out of site whilst making your device magnetic to the point that it will fix to the arm. This is a great solution that is really simple and effective to use.
Proporta 3 in 1 stylus
If you've ever found yourself looking for a pen then this after market stylus may be the product for you, it replaces the bundled stylus and as such slots into the stylus silo neatly but differs in that the end features a cap covering a small ballpoint pen! The stylus also doubles as a reset pin to make up the 3 in 1 function.
Sandisk Mini SD
Every Windows Mobile device should have a memory card, it really is the only way to utilise their potential and allows you to install a whole host of third party software as well as store vast quantities of multimedia files and office documents. Sandisk have been the market leaders in this field since its inception and as such can be trusted with your hard earned cash in return for a quality product with a guarantee.
For more information on these products please use the following links:
Proporta
Sandisk
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Last Updated on Thursday, 20 November 2008 10:31 |
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