written by pipe23 on 01/01/2006
There is one little technical flaw, but overall, the Orange SPV is a perfect mobile phone.
It is a PC in your pocket with a phone built in.
Enjoy, but be prepared to spend time installing applications and making it your own personal computer.
written by srihari rao kotni on 26/05/2004
I'm posting an additional comment on this Orange SPV mobile phone. I have bought a new SD/MMC of 128MB beause the default one that comes with purchane is 8MB too little for any thing. When i have incerted this i was expecting the mobile to recognise automatically because it has microsoft windows. To my surprise it did't recognise the sim, i have tried all the options in the Active sync software that comes with it. There is no format option or any way i can copy the files from my disk to the set. Did any one experience this in the past. Please write to me.
written by wilistew on 26/05/2004
This Orange SPV mobile phone is good if you want a slow small screen palm top with a phone built in. If you do a lot of calling or texting then forget it. The phone has cut me off calls loads of times, crashed, slowed down enough to make it unusable and none of your mates have got a charger. The text function is useless. The phone has a very small dictionary and seems to not remember words. If you are not a computer nerd who has to download stuff using addsync then get the nokia 6230. The interface on the nokia is so nice after using this thing for a year. My blood pressure has come down significantly. I tried all the available updates to make it quicker and prevent crashes - i even got orange to do a download - but it prob made the thing worse. Needs a scandanavian interface overhall desperately.
written by stephen delaney on 22/02/2004
This Orange SPV mobile phone is the worst phone on the market, I have been a mobile phone owner/user since 1987 from the big transmobiles to the present day following the advances in technology and advances size reduction until this phone. The technological advancements in quality of reception, clarity of voice, battery life and features.
Recption is very poor even against the small Samsung phones, battery life is prehistoric,The features dont work and when you buy the phone it has lots of feature but within 30days they are almost all trial versions and vanish until you spend more money to the ever averous Microsoft/Orange for the feature, The phone was supposed to be reliable I have just recieved my third SPV E100 in six months the product is not of merchantable quality and the support from Orange is a mixture of incompitant advise and rude superiority from its staff, If you put your stall out as a phone/communications company then you should understand the product and the services you proport to provide I have been with orange for 12years yes 12years I will not be with after the last part of my current contract is up. I feel like cancelling now and see orange in court for breach of contract because I have not recieved from Orange niether the product or the service orange should have provided, Oh sorry for the mistake I mentioned service and Orange in the same sentance
Written on: 06/06/2004
I completely disagree with this phone Yes the batterey life is poor but it will last you a day or two. It plays mp3s mindows media and video, it has internet explorer, send and recieve email and a camera. What more would you want for a PHONE? If you are rich just get a £5000 computer. This is a mini computer, phone that fits into your pocket
written by adg75 on 18/12/2003
For a business phone, I've very pleased with the SPV E-200 (many improvements over the 100 series). The latest releases have fixed most of the bugs...
written by adp00 on 16/12/2003
I've had this Orange SPV mobile phone for nearly a year now, and I am still absolutely delighted with it. Having read a few of the reviews posted here and on other websites, I have noticed that most of the problems people encounter with this phone (can be slow, unreliable etc) can easily be overcome simply by having the phone unlocked. Visit websites such as www.modaco.com and www.coolsmartphone.com to realise the potential of the SPV. I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU DO THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE !!!!!!
There you will find programs which will prevent your phone from freezing or slowing down, updates which will improve battery life, games such as "Doom" (with great graphics) and much more. Just check it out!!!! Once you have downloaded these programs, I'm sure you will agree with me that it is the best phone out there.
written by cdrogers on 04/12/2003
This Orange SPV phone sounded great in the literature and promotional videos and materials from Orange. However, once I had opened the box and turned it on I was VERY disappointed.
The phone is un-attractive and bulky. It takes 2 presses of the power button to turn on, and then you have to wait up to a minute for WIndows to load, then it's hit and miss that you'll get the PIN screen to go any further.
Another let down is the call qaulity, the ear piece is not very loud and the ring tone volume is appalling.
I've used Pocket PC devices with ActiveSync for a while wihtout any problems, this is not the case with the SPV/ Sometimes it syncs, sometimes it doesn't. Not very reliable.
The OS is also very slow. Sometimes when you press a button or select a menu option the phone sits there and thinks about it for at least 30 seconds.
Finally, when you try to answer a call, the phone will on occassion cut you off.
Overall, if you are thinking of buying this phone I have one word of advice - DON'T!
written by scollins316 on 03/12/2003
The Orange SPV Battery lasts less than a day even without making any calls or using the smartphone features.
- The software fails locks up constantly.
- Orange won't exchange it for a different phone..!! I've written letters, been to the store, numerous phone calls to no avail, they are standing buy their guns - no exchange. aaaaargh
COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY (and my time)
written by niteowl on 28/11/2003
Wasted a day of my busy life on the phone to Orange tech support but they still do not know why the Orange SPV does not sync with a PC. The whole point of a smartphone is to have a very mobile office, this does nothing of the sort yet. Perhaps this will be fixd one day but the product was 6 weeks late due to field testing and still does not work out of the box. Anti-virus software kills it dead in the cradle and Orange's final shot at fixing the sync errors was to leave A.V. turned off all the time! Battery lasts 6 hours with bluetooth enabled so needs power lead when in the car, the jogger button is too light which means more incorrect than correct entries. All in all a nice looking phone but not yet ready for the market. Mine goes back today, as did my P800 (because that needed two hands to work properly.) A Nokia 6600 is next on trial......Then a Palm Tungston..... I don't trial phones for a living I only want a mobile that has outlook and works as faithfully as my 6310i for the last 15 months.
written by spv boy on 25/11/2003
The Orange SPV is an awesome phone in brief it has the integrated mp3 player that is great with the fact u can play the songs from a speaker and dont always need headphones although there can be a lag wen loading and opening up programmes but the best point is the ringtones make a wav. file shorter in a wave editing programme e.g nero wave editor and use that its brilliant as well as software updates such as games and applications that can all be added on with the usb cradle AWEOSME PHONE !!!
Written on: 29/11/2003
Have you got it to sync with a pc ? (I'm on Xp Pro) Also my battery seems to last only the working day, like less than 12 hours without Gprs or bluetooth running, does yours? I have the new E200, I just can not believe how poor their customer support is with this.
<br>
<br>What alternatives are there, anyone!
written by Rotaree on 19/11/2003
I hate this phone, I can't wait for my contract to be a year old so that I can get rid of it without paying for the privilege. The battery life is atrocious, the software is not sufficiently advanced for its capabilities, the endless random malfunctions are infuriating (not being able to 'hang up', not being able to turn the thing on having had to turn it off to end a call, not having any of the buttons working, not charging when placed on the charger etc. etc. etc.). It is the worst phone I have ever had the misfortune to own and quite possibly one of the worst acquisitions I have ever made. Even though I did not have to pay for it as it was an 'upgrade' I have still rated it zero value for money as I have had to maintain a contract for the damned thing.
Written on: 03/12/2003
i agree 100% with you
Written on: 11/02/2004
Nokia phones are the biggest waste of money. My Nokia cell recently had so many problems, such as the unlock button would not respond, and sometimes the sound for the phone would be cut off until the recharger was plugged in for a second(the phone being fully charged). I got the phone for a deal since i signed a contract with cingular. Now there telling me i have to buy a new one because its "broken beyond repair". I asked how much a new one would cost and they told me 180.00 dollars!!! i laughed an said, "yea right, idiot!" So now im stuck with a half-ass phone and a contract that if i breach i will have to pay 200 dollars. Ironic how the crud service matches the crud phones! NOKIA SUCKS!
Written on: 16/12/2003
Absolute rubbish!!!!This phone is class! It really isn't that hard to end a call. Press the red button. Word of advice to anyone whose phone lags at times, you can download a lot of free software and tweaks from the net. Get your smartphone unlocked and you can do a whole load of things!!!! It is by far the best phone out there. If you want a simple common phone that can't do anything, get a retarded nokia!
written by nhai1 on 07/11/2003
This is the worst phone I have EVER had. I bought it in June 2003, it is now Nov 2003 and this is SPV number 4. The on-off button has failed, twice. The software fails, the keys are fiddly.... how much time have you got. On the eve of the 5th replacement I have persuaded Orange to give me an upgraded phone SPV E100... They agreed and lets see if this incarnation works. If it worked as advbertised, though, it would be a good techy utility
written by PicSee on 26/10/2003
I purchased this phone nearly 12 months ago and my contract is nearly up and i can't wait to change it!
Originally I wanted it because of it's near 'PDA' features and that part of it is great. However, I'm fed up with waiting ages for it to boot up and the, very often, slow and painful wait while it decides to do what you asked it to, I have had to take the battery out on several occasions as it froze solid.
The reception for phone calls has been quite good but the texts have been very much a 'hit or miss' affair, I work nights and my husband and I text back and forth (when I'm not busy) and although my texts seem to reach him OK, i very often don't receive his (and I know he's sent them because they have arrived the next morning!!) I could send a letter quicker. This is very annoying as I have a package that includes 100 texts a month!
The VERY cool thing that I like is that I get an MP3 of ANY music I like, convert it into a MIDI or WAV file and then 'drag & drop' it into the sounds folder of the phone via the cradle and voila! I have REAL music as a ringtone and I change them every so often to 'ring' the changes :-))
The other thing that I love is that I resize a photo small enough and drag that to the phone in he same way and I have a very personal home screen!
These are some of the things I will miss the most, but all I want now is a phone that switches on as soon as I press the 'on' switch and one that will send and receive text messages. . .as a phone should!
Oh! the other thing is that even though I have very tiny hands, even I find the keys VERY fiddly and difficult to read.
I am now looking at the Siemens SL55, any pointers anyone?
written by srihari rao kotni on 23/09/2003
hi! I had brought the orange SPV mobile phone in Uk as i'm one of the few supporters of Microsoft. Another reason is its very fancy and very rich with features. I took this to India and begins all the problems. As its the basic GPRS phone, i have no problem in connectivity, but no service provider was able to support the phone incase of any service problems. Added to this the usb interface stopped working and the set is running outof memory. I cant upgrade this as i'm not in UK. Since i have changed to other than orange service, the basic support from website was also stopped...ufffffff...
Written on: 13/10/2003
I stronly disagree to the point of connectivity, GPRS is widely being used today in the country. I Orange gives a national connectivity and it wrks fine, I was using HP Jordano 928 in Mumbai which woked fine. I am looking at buying the SPV phone and wud appreciate if I could get any details about the same in India.
Written on: 13/10/2003
sorry brother, i do not mean the connectivity.
<br>If its just connectivity and to be able to receive the call why i should spend 300odd Pounds. I'm not in position to utilise the fancy features of the set. Orange in India is not supporting this model yet i guess. Since i had taken the Air tel sim in India, i'm not sure any one Air tel ever heard of such a handset.
<br>What about the memory?. I could hardly store 4 mp3 songs.
written by Phil. on 18/08/2003
This is possibly the most unreliable phone I have ever owned. In three months I am now awaiting for replacement number 4.
The problems have included the operating system freezing (normally at the end of a call). Buttons failing to work. Problems with the phone recognising attachments (the camera or SD card). Most recently the phone has refused to switch on... instead it just clicks! Like a twitching corpse!
Am I the only one to have this bad luck.
written by Krosfyah. on 04/08/2003
Iv had the Orange SPV Mobile phone for a week - certainly rich in features, especially compared to my old 8310 (why on earth can we not have a radio too though?!)
The only thing i don't like is the fact that, as has been mentioned, i see the "hour glass timer" (or Orange equivalent a lot while using the various applications - ok, so at worst you wait a few seconds, but you dont really want to see the thing at all. Also, when selecting something, sometimes it is processing and the timer is not there at all, and you just think "has it even registered i want to access this thing?" so you press the action key again, only to then have pressed it twice so you jump into an area, then jump into another area etc - basically there is something of a lag at times.
Other than that its pretty cool - the only other gripe is you can't seem to change the number of rings before the phone goes to voicemail - the vibrate is quite gentle so i have missed some calls due to feeling it at the last minute and then being too slow off the mark to pick it up before voicemail kicked in - quite annoying!
PS you can get a car charger for it.
written by William. on 04/07/2003
RINGTONE PROBLEMS
Everybody seem to think the ringtones are rubbish but you need to look aroung the web like
I did. Basicly you can have all different types
of ringtones. Basic (1 note at a time for example nokia 3310, nokia 330) Polyphonic (a little more jazy. sounds cool) Music (real music cd type) The Orange SPV covers all three. I am only going to explain Music (CD type) if you want to know how to do the first two write back.
first :-
Go to http://www.download.com and download the trial version of Alive Mp3 Wav Converter. Once downloaded install program. Run the program and do the following.
1. Click on the little icon which says add to
list
2. An Open file dialog box will apear.
3. Search through the folders for your music.
4. Click on the file you want as a ringtone on
your phone. (must be Wav or Mp3)
5. Hover over the Play button and it should come up with (Click here to start converting (In a Bubble))
6. Click on the button and a new screen will
apear. (headed Convert)
7. Click in the Second dot :- Path :- Click the
little button ... at the end and find you
Desktop folder. Then click on it.
8. Next section says (output format) heres what
you need to do.
9. Click on the 4th dot headed :- Convert to wav. there should be a white box apear. Go into the box and make sure PCM on its own is selected.
10. You will need to change the two boxes in
this section to show the following :-
PCM [11025] kHz, 16bit [Mono]
11. Then click on ok.
12. You should have the new file save on your
desktop.
Next connect your mobile to the USB port.
Now you want to click on the explore button once your phone us Scyncronized through microsoft activesync.
You will then need to double click on my smartphone and double click on IPSM, Application Data and then sound(s) just how the manual tells you. Now don't close anything down but go to you desktop and right click on the file you want on the phone. Select Copy. Now click back on the directory window called windows go in the white section hit the right mouse key and click paste. Now take your phone out of the cradle and try and play the ringtone through your
phone. Need anymore help let me know.
Written on: 01/08/2003
It's possible to store loads more wav ringtones, on the memory card. You can have 100's of customised, REAL tunes. Not like that polyphonic/midi stuff!
Written on: 06/12/2003
need help downloading video clips if n e one has the time to help thanks [email protected]
Written on: 20/10/2003
I have finally found the answer. If there is no Sounds folder, create it by right clicking on the Application Data folder, select New folder and name it Sounds. Paste the sounds in as suggested and it works a treat
Written on: 19/10/2003
I am trying to download new ringtones for the spv but also have no ipsm\application data\sounds folder either.
<br>
<br>Can anyone help
Written on: 19/10/2003
I too have no Sounds folder where you suggested
Written on: 01/08/2003
why can i not put a song on my phone as a ringtone
<br>i have done what you said in your review yet it comes up with not enough space on disc,and if i try to delete anything on the phone it comes up with this is a read only file or in use by another application..note , i have an 8mb card and the phone is standard ,like it just came out of the shop.and i cannot find the sounds folder anywhere, all of my ringtones are found in the windows folder........help
<br>ps i would also like to watch a movie when i get a bigger storage card is this done the same way.
<br>
written by pepsichris. on 23/06/2003
The Orange SPV is a really good phone - not for the people who get scared by using Caller Groups or setting up Profiles etc. Obviously not perfect, but the automatic updates have improved it massively, mine synched up straight away, and all Internet Settings etc were already in place.
Doesn't navigate like other phones or any Windows OS - has one main menu which is like a cross breed of the Windows Start Menu and a normal phone menu. Pauses for a second or two at times, but in understandable circumstances - loading songs into Media Player etc. Buttons are small and all my friends think they're irritating, but I got used to them within a day or two, the hardest bit being the button in the middle of the Directional Pad. Don't complain about the thickness - you aren't going to get that much into a phone and keep it the size of a 7220. The games are awesome - they load quickly and play quickly, and are way better than anything Siemens or other Java based firms are coming out with. Obviously the ringtones are aweful when you get it, but you can get midi files from anywhere now and it's very easy to update them. While it has a camera, and it works pretty well, it's not worth basing a decision on that - wait for the SX1 if you are (but it's still a lot better than a lot of other phones). No Screensavers are an irritant - you choose between always on or a blank (seemingly switched off) screen. Battery life is rubbish (a day, although you'll probably dock it every night to sync appointments & contacts etc anyway), the Powerpoint thing seems to be pointless as far as I can see. MSN Messenger is great (although just a toy, really) and people saying that call quality is poor are just picking - I've never had any problems - I've had better, but I've also had far worse.
I've had a lot of phones in my time, but I'm very happy with this one for now.
written by Louis. on 09/06/2003
Having had this phone for three months i feel ready to review it.
First of all i got it from orange on a upgrade for free. Happy Days!
Well i have opened the phone up to run on all networks, i can also put any software on it that i wish. Check this site for lots of help and advice www.coolsmartphone.com
I have lots of game on it, as i have upgraded my memory card.
The phone is amasing, yes it has downfalls like, baterry life, but if you do the orange update from there site it improves it considerably. Also when you use the interent or are watching films on the phone (yes films, i have watched austin powers on my spv, with a 128 sd memory card). It does zap the battery power.
There is so much to thsi phone. I think it is so much better thean the 7650 and the sony p800.
Photo's are very good on the phone much better that any nokia or panasonic, big and bold when sent to a pc.
I cant reccomend this phone enough. your daft if you dont get one.
Written on: 11/06/2003
Just wondering how you managed to get a free upgrade from orange?
Written on: 11/11/2003
5stars...e-mail me and let me know how much you want for it please. I had one b4 and got rid for a siemens s55...MISTAKE !!!
<br>regards 8paul2.
<br>[email protected]
Written on: 08/10/2003
I am getting rid of mine after 1 month. Anybody want it?
<br>I need more battery life than this offers.
Written on: 11/08/2003
hello, i also have an orange SPV phone, but it is currently unable to get a network signal, and was wondering if you could help me solve this? please contact me via email to [email protected]
<br>
<br>Thankyou
Written on: 27/06/2003
Well they were offering them at the time as far as i know they still are. here is a link to get a free spv
<br>
<br>www.onestopphoneshop.co.uk
<br>but as far as i have seen all shops on the high street are offering it for free, if not go in and tell tehm that you want it for free. Dig your heels in and they will let you have one.
<br>
<br>Regards
<br>Louis
written by Beks. on 03/06/2003
When i first bought this it was just a good phone with a lot of features but the battery life was awful just about triple the time on the new video phones and those are bad. But upon discovering the web sites www.modaco.com and www.coolsmartphone.com I have now got the full benefit or what i consider to be the best phone on the market. For stlye there is the samsung V200 but for features and size it is this. When you can play cd quality tunes for your ringtones. Just encoding WAV files from your CD and play films avi,or mpeg on your phone Matrix i have currently. Even for work it is good there is a MS office viewer and others in the pipeline. I was once jealous of P800 but i found that it is too big and the 3650 is also too big.
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Kgemes's Response to stephen delaney's Review
Written on: 11/04/2004
This review is basically correct. The SPV is an unmitigated disaster, compounded by the fact that Orange technicians themselves have little idea about how to use its features. The short-life battery problem can be solved by asking Orange for a new battery. My first battery lost its charge in half a day. My current battery lasts for 2-3 days.