September 22, 2005
Orange SPV M5000
The Orange SPV M5000 is a 3G PDA that can be used to make and receive voice calls; it's even got a mega-pixel camera and a screen that you can turn through 180 degrees.
Battery life
- talk time 5.0 hours
-standby 10.0 days
Weight: 285g
Features:
- 3G
- Bluetooth technology
- GPRS
- Mega Pixel Camera
- Photo Messaging
- tri band technology
- Video Calling
- Video Messaging
- Windows compatible
SPV M5000 Reviews
The Independent reviews the T-Mobile MDA Pro, which is also known as the SPV M5000, and concludes: "Add Bluetooth and pocket versions of Word and Excel and the MDA Pro is a very effective package. The drawbacks are minor: the screen could be larger and battery life is limited: the MDA Pro really needs charging daily."
Webuser reviews the T-Mobile MDA Pro (also known as the Orange SPV M5000) and concludes: "If it weren't for the price, the MDA Pro would be getting an easy five out of five. Its keyboard is fab for keeping up with email, you really can surf the web on it and, despite being a little on the large side, it should genuinely eradicate the need to carry any other gadgets about. It's insanely useful, whether you're out and about or surfing from your bed, but the price might put it out of the league of most individuals with sensible mobile phone budgets."
Infosync reviews the Orange SPV M5000, and says, about the palmtop's camera, "The 1.3 Megapixel camera on the back of the M5000 takes decent pictures, but does not quite measure up to the likes of recent handsets; still, it trumps any other communicator on the market but for the MDA Pro and XDA Exec, although we have to say that the LED flash is more of a gimmick than anything else." Overall, though: "Granted, unstable GPRS-UMTS handover can cause frustration at times, but despite this the Orange SPV M5000 ranks alongside the O2 XDA Exec as the most capable communicator we've seen to date."
PCAdvisor reviews the T-Mobile MDA Pro (also known as the Orange SPV M5000), and writes, "The Pro's design is unusual but functional. Open it up and you've got a standard clamshell PDA with full qwerty keyboard. Spin the screen around and fold it flat and you've got yourself a Pocket PC. Fold the screen the other way and it's a phone. All very impressive."
MSMobileNews reviews the Orange SPV M5000 and writes about the phone's camera: "The M5000 has two cameras, one facing towards the user and one facing away, as is the case with many 3G telephones so as to provide the ability to record and transmit your own face whilst viewing the screen in a 3G video call as well as take photos as you normally would on a camera phone. The main camera on the M5000 has a 1.3 Mega Pixel lens but offers 2 Mega Pixel sized photos via a software enhancement. As is the case with most camera phones, the quality of photos taken with the M5000 are not going to make your digital camera redundant but the will happily pass for acceptable and will probably be ok for print at the size of 6 or 7 inches. The inclusion of a flash is a nice touch and the LED implementation works well, its very bright and will help you capture your photos when it’s dark. "
CoolSmartPhone reviews the Orange SPV M5000 and concludes, "So to return to our original question. Is it a phone ? A mini-laptop ? Actually it's not quite in either camp. I can't call it a phone. Making a call can take a few seconds if you need to locate a number and the screen isn't showing - I'm not used to that as a Windows Smartphone user. You can't call this a fully fledged laptop, however it has got way better than my normal laptop. However, you can remote-desktop (Terminal Services / RDP) into a normal PC / Laptop if you're really hungry for some functionality. It's not a normal "phone" either as we can plainly see. To be able to carry out a call whilst simultaneously surfing the net over the 3G connection ? You can't do that on many phones can you?"
ActiveWin reviews the Orange SPV M5000 and says, about the pocket PC's camera, "As with any 3G phone, the M5000 comes with a camera on the back of the device and on the front screen (video cam). The 1.3 Megapixel camera on the back of the M5000 takes a very good picture in quite good quality too, so transferring those over to your PC isn't a bad thing. The LED flash is basically useless though and seems more of a selling point that doesn't work." Conclusion? "So overall the Orange SPV M5000 is perfect for the business users or tech savvy users who it is aimed at, for those who still want some of the Windows Mobile 5.0 features but a smaller device, get ready for my Orange C600 Smartphone review next week, its a fantastic too."
Trusted Reviews reviews the Orange SPV M5000 and concludes, "The Orange SPV M5000 is a great device for someone that needs this kind of functionality in their pocket. I’ve come to rely on my M5000 quite heavily, and find it an invaluable tool. However, it is expensive to buy and to run, so if you’re an individual that pays your own bills it might not seem so compelling. But if you’re a business user that needs to be connected and productive wherever you may be, ask your IT manager to sort you out with one of these."
From the news release:
Orange SA today launches the SPV M5000, a new laptop-style 3G phone and connected PDA for business users. The SPV M5000 is designed to provide quick, easy and high speed access to remote office applications and the internet, as well as offering full voice capability. It provides mobile business workers with a genuine alternative to carrying a laptop, PDA and phone by combining them in a sleek, pocket-sized device running on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0.
The SPV M5000 features a customised Orange Homescreen and an icon that provides shortcuts to the key applications required by business users. The laptop-style device has a pivoting screen and a user-friendly QWERTY keyboard. It also operates as a stylus-driven connected PDA with a screen display that automatically switches between portrait and landscape, depending on its orientation.
The first 3G connected PDA from Orange, the SPV M5000 underlines the company’s commitment to provide its business customers with the widest range of mobile devices available today. The SPV M5000 is being launched simultaneously in France, Switzerland and the UK and will be made available across other Orange territories by the end of 2005.
The SPV M5000 is also one of the first business devices to take advantage of Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, giving business users the type of functionality and applications they use on their desktop PC such as email, personal information management and Microsoft Office. The SPV M5000 comes with Microsoft applications such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel so that users can continue to work within their familiar Microsoft Office environment while away from their desktop computer.
Orange, Microsoft and HTC worked together closely to design the SPV M5000 which is optimised for data-centric business use. It has a built-in modem and fax capability and the user can read emails and access their calendar whilst making calls using their handsfree kit. A 128MB flash memory gives the SPV M5000 ample storage for the majority of short business trips. The device also features an integrated camera and supports video playbacks. An in-built loud speaker and sensitive microphone also makes the SPV M5000 suitable for conference calls. Its sleek form factor is complemented by a selection of screensavers, wallpapers and ringtones suited to business use.
The flagship product in Orange’s newly-created Signature devices for business range, the SPV M5000 features an Orange Homescreen which provides one-click access to key business functions and applications such as ActiveSync, Notes, File Explorer and Calculator.
See more from our PDAs with Cameras category »
Posted by BJ at September 22, 2005 12:08 PM
