Orange SPV C500
Discontinued Due Q3 2004
The Smartphone market has proved to
be a little disappointing during 2004 so far, with very
little activity. Two of those most anticipated players,
the Windows-based Motorola MPx220 and the Symbian-based
Sendo X have so far failed to materialise, and frankly
most Smartphones currently on sale are clearly last
year's models.
Orange's announcement of the imminent
arrival of the SPV C500 is a bit of a relief then, especially
for those who favour the Windows platform for their
phones.
The most striking thing about the Orange
SPV C500 is how normal it seems. It weighs a reasonable
100 grams, and the form factor of 108x46x15 mm makes
it only slightly larger and heavier than the yardstick
Sony Ericsson T630.
It's not just about size, although we'll
come back to that. The SPV C500 also comes with a useful
software upgrade in the guise of Windows Smartphone
2003 Second Edition, plus the usual software package
that makes the Windows-based platform especially attractive
to corporate users. Orange subscribers can also back
up their data onto the Orange network itself for safekeeping.
Back to the hardware, and the SPV C500
comes with a fairly standard Smartphone resolution of
176x220 pixels in 65,000 colours, a VGA resolution camera,
removable memory on a mini-SD card, tri-band GSM support,
GPRS, Bluetooth, plus infra-red and USB connectivity.
Multimedia playback on the SPV C500
includes MP3 support and Windows Media formats, plus
there's an XHTML web browser and tight integration into
Orange's value-added network services.
On paper, the hardware and software
looks similar to the previous generation of Orange SPV
phones, until you realise that the SPV C500 is only
about three-quarters the size and weight of its predecessor.
This particular handset has been manufactured
for Orange by Taiwan's HTC, who also make the original
SPV, O2's XDA II and Xphone and other Windows-based
devices. Orange intend to launch about 20 "signature"
phones like this over the second half of 2004.
Perhaps the SPV C500 will help Microsoft's
platform be more widely accepted - currently the Windows
handset range is pretty limited. Certainly, we think
that Orange, HTC and Microsoft have set a new standard
in Smartphone design which will give Symbian a run for
its money.
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|
Orange
SPV C500 Specifications
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Available:
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Q3
2004
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Network:
|
GSM
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Data:
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GPRS
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Screen:
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176x220
pixels, 65K colours
|
Camera:
|
640x480
pixels
|
Size:
|
Standard
"candy bar" format 108x46x15mm
/ 100 grams
|
Bluetooth:
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Yes
|
Infra-red:
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Yes
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
No
|
Battery
life:
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Not
specified
|
OS:
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Windows
Mobile 2003 Second Edition
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|
|