Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Handhelds Wireless Networking Hardware

Microsoft Orange SPV Phone Review 237

Posted by timothy from the sticky-fingers dept.
Ian Bell writes "HowardChui.com just posted a review on Microsoft's new Orange SPV which is the first commercially available Smartphone. The SPV stands for Sound, Pictures, Video and you can download games like Doom or listen to MP3s on the speaker or even chat to your friends using the built-in MSN Messenger. But for all that the SPV features, there is no Bluetooth support. It still looks like a killer phone and I like that it is smaller than the PocketPC phones currently on the market."
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Microsoft Orange SPV Phone Review More

Microsoft Orange SPV Phone Review

Comments Filter:

  • Ad campaign? (Score:5, Funny)

    by mao che minh ( 611166 ) * on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:29PM (#6111876) Journal
    "Can you hear me n..."

    Your phone has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down

    • Re:Ad campaign? (Score:5, Funny)

      by jrl87 ( 669651 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:41PM (#6111954)
      Your phone has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down

      This is assuming you agreed to the EULA which you agreed to by: openning the box, turning on the phone, and then clicking yes to the message that appears (if you click no, the phone becomes inopperatable). Then, after you accept the EULAs you must activate your phone with a carrier and Microsoft, failure to do this will cause your phone to be inopperatable whithin 30 days.

      We, Microsoft, reserve the right to use any media for advertising or other purposes that is and/or was on any phone that was activated ... if any of this media is pertaining to Microsoft in any way, shape, or phone, you will be subject to a unlawful usage lawsuit. See article Q!@#$you for further details.

      • Re:Ad campaign? (Score:3, Informative)

        by beefness ( 112934 )
        Actually, I have had an orange SPV since it Launched in November and the phone works very well, it does lag occasioanlly, which can be very irritating, it also has a few quirks in terms of the navigation system (it just isn't very logical - sorry microsoft).

        However, it's audio quality is fantastic for such a small device, it was in fact the main reason I bought it, as for WAP? Why does anyone even comment on that any more, WAP is useless anyway. The SPV has regular internet access via GPRS, and that work
    • From the article: no J2ME

      Hello !?! Microsoft incorporating Java in one of its products without a 10 year lawsuit before hand!

      Over Bill's dead body!

    • Slow (Score:5, Interesting)

      by IO ERROR ( 128968 ) <errorNO@SPAMioerror.us> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:51PM (#6112004) Homepage Journal
      Seems the reviewer thought the phone was sluggish at times. I'm not surprised at this; Microsoft certainly has lost the art of writing solid, efficient code. As have most of us, unfortunately. And apparently the signal quality sucks, the audio sucks, and the buttons are too small.

      So why would anyone buy this phone at all?

      • Re:Slow (Score:5, Funny)

        by malia8888 ( 646496 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:02AM (#6112051)
        From the article:

        Cons: *poor RF * poor sound quality * no easy way to switch tasks * phone gets sluggish at times * terrible keypad * camera attachment could be better * could not get WAP browser working * no J2ME

        I guess since the phone doesn't explode on impact or cause humans to spontaneously combust--could give it a go;)

      • I have the Nokia 3595 and it runs slow at parts too. It can run Java, but it struggles when pulling up complex menus and the like. It seems to me that the problem is the hardware isn't expecting all of that work!

      • Re:Slow (Score:3, Interesting)

        by mcjulio ( 68237 )
        The sluggishness of the device has nothing to do with the OS or apps software on the phone, and everything to do with the flash filesystem and the driver that powers it. The SPV is quite powerful enough to run snappy on WinCE - the bottleneck lies in the file I/O tech used for this version.

        This will eventually be fixed, but it will require new hardware and/or driver upgrades. It is currently the #1 SPV complaint, I believe.

    • Re:Ad campaign? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Red Pointy Tail ( 127601 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:57PM (#6112036)
      "Cool! It even has a blue LED backlighting!"

      "That's NOT blue LED backlighting, you dolt..."

  • Well... (Score:5, Funny)

    by eightball01 ( 646950 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:29PM (#6111877)
    Either the phone is small or his head is really big. Hard to tell.
    • He's got a HUUUUuuuge head.

      I bet he cries himself to sleep on his HUUUuuuge pillow at night.

      (for the salivating Troll/Bameflait modders, do some research, it's called an inside joke).

    • a lill bit OOT but...
      anybody noticed that on all reviews on his site ,this guy always put his face along with the phone.
      like he wanna be famuos or sumthin?

    • Re:Well... (Score:2, Interesting)

      by vurg ( 639307 )
      No, Howard does that all the time not to be popular. He's already popular (go to www.howardforums.com) and he's a regular in phone conventions and stuff.

  • Better buttons please (Score:4, Interesting)

    by ObviousGuy ( 578567 ) <ObviousGuy@hotmail.com> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:31PM (#6111888) Homepage Journal
    I was deriding the Yopy a couple days ago for having a chiclet keyboard. This thing's got a chiclet keypad. Make it bigger!

    Add to that the fact that you're going to get face-grease all over the screen every time you talk on the phone. I don't see any reason to get one of these yet.
  • Or does anyone here believe the sound, pictures and video won't be slathered with DRM bloat?

  • Poor Audio? What's the point then? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by orthancstone ( 665890 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:34PM (#6111913)
    Guy says in the review that the audio isn't that great, thus flushing the functionality of mp3 playing and making its usefulness as a cell phone kinda crappy.

    That's a shame too because it looks like an nice phone and has some decent feature.

  • Apple should make one! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by seanthenerd ( 678349 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:35PM (#6111920) Journal
    I believe, as an Apple fan, that Apple should make a really good phone for all us geeks wishing we had big wallets. They could get Jonathan Ive [slashdot.org] to do it, and put a *scaled-down* version of OS X on it. Plus, they could call it the iPhone! (It has a *ring* to it, yuk yuk...) I would definitely buy one (if I had said big wallet).

  • Pros vs. Cons (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ELCarlsson ( 570500 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:35PM (#6111922)
    Look at all the Pros. None of that makes a good phone. Who cares about a customizable today screen or an optional keyboard when the phone sucks.

    • Re:Pros vs. Cons (Score:4, Funny)

      by jrl87 ( 669651 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:55PM (#6112023)
      I am interested in the technology, but, like everything else I am going to let it mature before I even think about purchasing one.
      And besides, what is actually so hard about carrying a PDA and a phone, what did people do before computers?:
      Bob: George what do you carry with you?
      George: I carry a day planner, phone book, a few rolls of quarters, and a legal pad.
      Bob: Why?
      George: So I can keep track of my day, make phone calls and produce documents
      Bob: Really, I got this new fangled smart phone that does all that plus some ... but it only works for five minutes every other half hour.
      • most 'better' normal gsm phones come with phone book(_all_ gsm phones here, ever), a calendar, and some way to take notes.

        anyways.. i got myself a nokia 3650 yesterday.. 400 euros, still a _phone_ but with a twist(symbian apps, j2me, mmc cards for memory expanding(16mb default card comes with it), bluetooth). pretty slick compared to other phones in the price range that may come with j2me and 1mb of memory, or the 7650 that has less memory(and i don't like it's sliding pad, 3650 is also cheaper(!)).

        but if

  • he's clueless... (Score:4, Informative)

    by stewart.hector ( 87816 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:36PM (#6111928) Homepage
    He is obviously clueless...

    "While it seems to lack a little bit of polish as the first commercially available Smartphone, the SPV is not a bad device. "

    Erm, It isn't the first commercial smartphone. Symbian phones have been around for a while, years in fact - for example, Erccisson R380 (I think there was a version before this one?), and Nokia - the Brick - Communicator 9210 - and there was a version before this too.

    With Symbian you get a rock solid phone and software, far more than MS can possibly provide. Symbian phones have far better security and their OS isn't bloated, as opposite to MS its in pathetic (toy) OSes.

    • Re:he's clueless... or not (Score:5, Informative)

      by Faeton ( 522316 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:57PM (#6112034) Homepage Journal
      Howard's obviously not clueless to this, as he's reviewed both those phones already a while back. Check out his site.

      Smartphone (with a capital S) is Microsoft's brandname for... smartphones (duh!). They've copyrighted the name, so that's what Howard means when he writes "first commercially available Smartphone".

      I've played with the phone myself, and the OS isn't bloated compared to the Symbian phones (they're about the same). In fact, my Nokia 3650, which uses Symbian, crashes every now and then. I'm not saying the MS one doesn't crash, but don't think because it's made by someone other than Microsoft that it's automagically better.

      • Smartphone (with a capital S) is Microsoft's brandname for... smartphones (duh!). They've copyrighted the name, so that's what Howard means when he writes "first commercially available Smartphone".

        You make a good point, but taking Names (TM) that already has a meaning and copyright it is stealing from the commons.

        They steal the meaning that this name already have. There is nothng wrong with picking a name that helps you in the beginning you just need to undertand that what helps you now will hurt y

        • You make a good point, but taking Names (TM) that already has a meaning and copyright it is stealing from the commons.

          Yes, only M$ would be so evil to trademark common nouns. Well, I have to go connect to the Oracle(tm) server using my Apple(tm). I'll be using the web interface so I'll probably be using Safari(tm)
          • Maybe I didn't articulated so well what I meant.

            The name Apple has no connection to a computer so there is no meaning theft. Safari a little less clear cut, since it piggy backs on Explorer.

            It is not only MS that does this, Example Netscape Navigator. Navigator is a perfectly discriptive name, and you understand pretty much exactly what it does from the name alone.

            Navigator however is a good english word and should not be trademark protected. Put a Name in front like Netscape then it is ok, just as

    • "With Symbian you get a rock solid phone and software, far more than MS can possibly provide."

      Sure.

      "Symbian phones have far better security and their OS isn't bloated, as opposite to MS its in pathetic (toy) OSes."

      Sorry to disappoint you, but that's wrong. Windows Smartphone Edition is potentially a lot more secure than Symbian. Symbian got almost no security built in. It's just that everything is written correctly (and it can run Java). Windows SE, being a scaled down version of their main OS, has a lot

      • Re:Security (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Troed ( 102527 )
        I fail to see any references to your claim that Symbian has no security features, and that Windows SE has .. :) Care you elaborate?

        I'm quite positively sure that .sis-files (Symbian installationfiles) are signed, as an example.

  • Anyone else (Score:5, Funny)

    by Grelli ( 98061 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:38PM (#6111937) Homepage
    Is anyone else having flashbacks to Antitrust [imdb.com] and the SYNAPSE network that NURV was developing?

    That's just a little freaky in my books.

    • Re:Anyone else (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Geek of Tech ( 678002 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:02AM (#6112054) Homepage Journal
      I think you've actually got a point.

      First Microsoft went for the OS market
      Next came the browser wars
      This was followed by the battle of the servers and PDAs.
      Soon afterward came the battle for the gaming console.
      Now, I believe smart watches and smart cellphones.

      I'm havin trouble thinkin' of anything in my life Microsoft hasn't tried to take over. (All of which they've lost so far. I use Linux, Mozilla, No Server or PDA, Nintendo 64, Casio Watch and Motorola Cellphone)

      I don't cherish the thought of having one all-seeing, all-knowing presence touching every part of my daily life.

      Course maybe privacy is a wee-bit old fashioned.

      • All of which they've lost so far. I use Linux, Mozilla, No Server or PDA, Nintendo 64, Casio Watch and Motorola Cellphone

        Keep in mind that you are a minority. Most people use MS Windows, and most use MSIE, and any market penetration beyond that makes it worse. The more markets they capture, the more your bastion of freedom looks like a prison cell. It's not good enough to say "They haven't affected me" when they're all around you. More needs to be done. Of course, I use MSWin and MSIE, but I'm not bu
    • And in the end, after Milo discovers that Bill Gates had dozens of people killed, rather than Gates doing any jail time, Milo will distribute the source code.

      That'll teach him! Kill people, and your code will be GPL'd! Take _THAT_!

  • I'm surprised... (Score:5, Funny)

    by DJ_CCx ( 637783 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:39PM (#6111938)
    ...no one's gone ahead and tried to run Linux on it yet...where's my modchip?

    • Re:I'm surprised... (Score:2, Informative)

      by earthloop ( 449575 )
      ...no one's gone ahead and tried to run Linux on it yet...where's my modchip?

      Actually, somebody has. No mod chip required either.

      See: http://xmob.co.uk/ll.php/9

  • Uhh... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:39PM (#6111940)
    That phone is silver, not orange.
  • ANTITRUST, where this guy looks kinda like this real life guy. And he is taking over the airways. But in real life the government is helping. Scary, I'm going to put it in the DVD, I love horror movies.

  • Semi offtopic - BlueTooth (Score:5, Interesting)

    by OmniVector ( 569062 ) <see my homepage> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:42PM (#6111960) Homepage
    <RANT>
    Why the hell is it taking PDA/Cell Phone/MP3 Player/Keyboard/Mouse manufacturers so DAMN long to get bluetooth implemented as a standard across the board for syncing devices, which is what it's particulary good at - close distance, high bandwidth traffic. It's beginning to really piss me off since it has the implications to be so useful.

    I urge for the day i can use my iPod as a clicker device to go to the next slide in a presentation, or when i can set my iPod next to my laptop and automatically sync it. I urge for the day i can walk into a room with a bluetooth keychain and have my pre-programmed computer automatically turn the lights on and start playing music ala Minority report. We *HAVE* the technology to do all this, why the hell are hardware manufacturers kicking their damn heals so much?

    ok i'm done ranting
    &lt/RANT>

    • Re:Semi offtopic - BlueTooth (Score:4, Funny)

      by ryanvm ( 247662 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:12AM (#6112107)
      We *HAVE* the technology to do all this, why the hell are hardware manufacturers kicking their damn heals so much?

      You keep using that phrase, I do not think it means what you think it means.
    • when i can set my iPod next to my laptop and automatically sync it.

      Riiiggghhttt. So you want an iPod with it's own perpetual power so you never have to plug it in.

      Hey, firewire is just on small cable... What's the problem?
      • What are you talking about? 10meter Bluetooth ( Class 2 ) pulls less than 40mA xmitting. We are not talking about WiFi( 802.11 ) here.

        Power drain would not be so excessive that it would require "perpetual power" to be useful. Less than 40mA for short periods is no big deal. IMHO.

        There seems to be alot of mis-information out there about Bluetooth. It's not just for short range wireless and it's not high power draining. FYI, there are 3 classes of devices related to 3 ranges:
        Class 1= 100 meters
        Class 2= 10
        • Power drain would not be so excessive that it would require "perpetual power" to be useful. Less than 40mA for short periods is no big deal. IMHO.

          You miss the point. The Firewire connection to the iPod is also how it recharges. What's the point of a wireless iPod? You still have to plug it in for power.
    • I urge for the day i can use my iPod as a clicker device to go to the next slide in a presentation, or when i can set my iPod next to my laptop and automatically sync it.

      I bet you're not urging for the kind of battery drain that would go hand in hand with your iPod's wireless sync capability. Or the length of time the sync would take if you were moving a reasonable number of songs onto it.

      And if you want a presentation clicker and a proximity sensor today, get a Mac and one of the phones supported by Sal [mac.com]
      • what are you talking about? 10meter Bluetooth ( Class 2 ) pulls less than 40mA xmitting. We are not talking about WiFi( 802.11 ) here.

        I've run a Zaurus with an internet connected Bluetooth module for over 6 hours of continuous network access. Twice that with the frontlight turned off( not very practical ). I'm lucky to get 2 hours with a WiFi connection.

        LoB
        • Don't forget that in addition to the power consumption of Bluetooth, there is the power consumption of the device. Bluetooth is only capable of a few megabits per second (Maybe sub-megabit? I need to check...) Either way, it's a tiny fraction of the speed of Firewire. You'll be consuming on average 100x more power when you sync because syncs will last 100x or more longer.

          Oh wait, you'll be consuming INFINITELY more power, because the iPod charges via Firewire! You've replaced a charging scheme with a
          • How do I propose it charges? Dilithium crystals of course. ;)

            I do agree that in some cases, a wired cradle is still needed and a good thing. Wouldn't it be cool though if the iPod had a Bluetooth interface such that when you jumped in your car to head to school, your car stereo started playing what was xmitting from your iPod. You get home and your home stereo does the same. Even when it's on the Firewire cradle(?) charging.

            Freeing yourself from wires does have an advantage IN SOME CASES. Point taken rega

    • Re:Semi offtopic - BlueTooth (Score:4, Informative)

      by stickyc ( 38756 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:28PM (#6115973) Homepage
      I urge for the day i can walk into a room with a bluetooth keychain and have my pre-programmed computer automatically turn the lights on and start playing music ala Minority report. We *HAVE* the technology to do all this, why the hell are hardware manufacturers kicking their damn heals so much?

      I'd disagree, the solution's already there with very popular off-the-shelf hardware. All you need is:

      And your dream has come true...

  • It seems strange to me that there is no Bluetooth support... especially since it's from Microsoft. If they intigrate Bluetooth, they could definitely do a lot of cool things between it and a computer (or several devices for that matter). Maybe it's because Bluetooth isn't widely accepted yet but without the devices, how is it goint to become widely accepted?

    • If you want a smartphone with Bluetooth, get a Symbian based phone.

      You'll be doing yourself a favour - also it can still manage Word, excel for all you windows freaks.
    • because it's from Microsoft is why there's not Bluetooth. They don't want device to device communications because there's not a desktop OS involved. Frankly, I'm surprised HP has pulled it off with not only supporting Bluetooth on the ipaq but also with their Linux website( handhelds.org ).

      Even though Bluetooth is pretty low power it's not a technology Microsoft wants. IMHO.

      LoB

  • Is it just me or... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dr Caleb ( 121505 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @11:50PM (#6111998) Homepage Journal
    He gave the phone 2.5 out of 5 for poor sound quality. So it makes poor phone calls. Therefore it fails as a phone. So why would I buy this as opposed to a gameboy?

    If I'm going to buy a phone, make sure it makes phone calls!

  • Hi, The Orange one isn't the first commercially available Smartphone. It has been for sale from SMART (operator) in the Philippines for the last few months. I do not think it is selling as expected seeing that most people do not care about Powoerpoint, etc on their phones... CEO's tend to make decisions based on their own reference framework and not that of the market which they do not represent.

    • Re:Obscure UI? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by zulux ( 112259 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:20AM (#6112140) Homepage Journal
      What a joke - he coulden't make an emergency call.

      Most Ericsson phones will let you dial 911 or 112 (or whaterver it is in Europe) at any time - even during the PIN unlock stage, before you've entered a correct PIN.

      Just like a typical Microsoft product - like their fileservers that come with builtin 3DPinball, Wordpad and Solitaire - but don't actually do a decent job of serving files.

    • What's the point? That the guy didn't know how to operate his own phone? That's what I got out of it. That's not the phone's fault...

  • useless junk (Score:2, Insightful)

    by ravinfinite ( 675117 )
    I believe we have here another classic case of "integrating a shit-load of features into something small and utterly useless".

    I guess they'll make a portable all-in-one X-BOX, DVD Player, cell phone, laptop with Windows XPee, tape recorder, CD burner, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, ass-wiper and "port-a-potty" device next.

    This is completely useless and shows no innovation or creativity. I guess they're trying to take bloated software to the next level: bloated hardware.

  • Big deal. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by almaw ( 444279 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:12AM (#6112108) Homepage
    I want someone to realise that I always carry around my wallet, my keys and my phone.

    Why is it, therefore, that we don't see a combination smartphone/pda/wallet? An average wallet is large enough to put a decent-sized LCD screen and a keypad in (after all, many wallets are quite similar in design to a clamshell-type 'phone).

    This would be a kick-ass device because it'd have a big screen *and* reduce the amount of space everything takes up in my pockets. Surely it's the obvious thing to do?

    Hang on - given it's obvious, I'll just off and patent it...
    • So you want companies to design electronics to be sat on? Either that, or you want to clip you wallet on your belt. Neither is a good idea.
      • I keep mine in my front pocket, so the wallet would do fine there... plus wallets (the bulky sort) can have a little bit of padding and/or metal to protect the screen.

        It seems like a pretty good idea to me, although wallets do take a lot of abuse... but fitting the contents of an older Palm V in one should be easy by now. I'm just not sure where it would work to mount ports. Also, I'm not sure how nice it would be to hold a wallet to use as a PDA - I'll bet that wouldn't feel good for long.

    • Re:Big deal. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by phillymjs ( 234426 ) <slashdot@stanTWAINgo.org minus author> on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:52AM (#6112276) Homepage Journal
      Why is it, therefore, that we don't see a combination smartphone/pda/wallet?

      Because identity theft is enough of a problem already, without some pickpocket being able to get your wallet, keys, and phone with one deft move.

      ~Philly
      • Last weekend my wallet got nicked, from inside my trousers, while I was at the pub. I don't know how; I'm fairly paranoid, and that hasn't happened for years. But at least my travelcard, work id and house keys were in the other pocket, and the phone was in my bag, so the damage was limited to cash and calls to cancel cards.

  • First one, huh? (Score:3, Funny)

    by caouchouc ( 652238 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:13AM (#6112115)
    Microsoft's new Orange SPV which is the first commercially available Smartphone

    All this time, I must have been imagining commercially available smartphones like the Handspring Treo [handspring.com] and the Kyocera Smartphone. [kyocera.com]
    • I have a Treo. It is awesome. I have an SSH client, an IMAP client, a web browser and it plays all those stupid popcap games. It doesn't play MP3s, but I think the sony Clie version does. I'm extremely happy with it. I need nothing else.

  • if the phone sucks (Score:3, Insightful)

    by BigBir3d ( 454486 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @12:40AM (#6112235) Journal
    That is because of Orange. They are the cell phone manufacturer after all. Microsoft is just providing all the add on cr@p that a cell phone doesn't really need (mp3 and video).

    Button size, signal receiver, lack of RF, lack of BT (keeps size and price a bit smaller), those were choices made by Orange. No J2E is Microsoft. Although I am not sure why no J2E is bad, but that might just be me.

    • Re:if the phone sucks (Score:5, Informative)

      by AdamInParadise ( 257888 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @02:12AM (#6112585) Homepage
      Bollocks!

      First Orange is a network operator, not a cell phone manufacturer. Second, the phone is made by HTC and resold in a few countries by different operators. Orange had no say in the design. Now it seems that they neuteured the phone by preventing the user from installing unsigned software while not working with developers to provide them with a easy way to sign their apps.
    • For the record, MS is providing everything on the phone, software-wise, from the hardware abstraction layer up. Beneath the HAL, in code not owned by MS, is the drivers and the radio stack.

      The SPV suffers from 2 major software flaws that are outside MS control - IPSM (Intel Persistent Storage Manager) flash filesystem, which eliminates the need for a backup battery but introduces enormous performance problems, and a dodgy radio stack that is less than 100% reliable.

      The SPV also suffers from several hardwa

  • first available "Smartphone" (Score:3, Informative)

    by 73939133 ( 676561 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @01:00AM (#6112316)
    as the first commercially available Smartphone

    Smartphones have been around for several years, based on Symbian and PalmOS. And the term has been around for a number of years as well. Microsoft should really not be able to take out trademarks on generic terms like "Windows" and "Smartphone".

  • Orange? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Victor Liu ( 645343 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @01:03AM (#6112328) Homepage
    Looks more like a lemon to me.

  • Call Me Crazy But... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by aerojad ( 594561 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @01:17AM (#6112377) Homepage Journal
    I really don't see any decent reason for packing cell-phones with so many features. How about making the cell phone have better reception so call-drops are less frequent, instead of being able to download mp3s to play them on the cellphone speakers. It's extra features like that which turn it into more of a novelty item than something that could have pratical use. I would like my phone to dial numbers, call people, and sound clear... I really don't see the use in downloading quake or Microsoft patches for security so no one can run illegal scripts off my cellphone if I happen to be using it for a server or something.
    • I really don't see any decent reason for packing cell-phones with so many features

      Many people carry around a phone and a PDA, and maybe some other stuff like MP3 players. The point is to put all this functionality into one box so your pockets/belt aren't stuffed with gadgets. It's more like a PDA with a built in phone than a phone with a built in PDA. If you don't see the need for this, it's because this kind of product is not developed for people like you - stick to a regular cell phone. That being sa

    • Re:Call Me Crazy But... (Score:3, Insightful)

      by kris ( 824 )
      How about making the cell phone have better reception so call-drops are less frequent, instead of being able to download mp3s to play them on the cellphone speakers.

      I have had a cellphone now since 1996 or so, starting with a Siemens S4 and I am currently the Siemens ME45 and I can count the number of calls that have terminated due to bad reception or network failures on a single hand. I really do not understand how you can view cellphone connection stability as an issue?

      Kristian

  • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • I own one of these... (Score:4, Informative)

    by CountBrass ( 590228 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @03:20AM (#6112822)

    Been using it for the last few months and it is AWFUL !

    Sure it sounds great, colour screen, plays mp3s, core PDA functionality, web browsing and email using GPRS (I signed up for 7 megs a month because I thought this would be useful).

    But it is terrible !

    So what's the problem ? Well it hangs. All the time. I get busy cursors when all I'm doing is navigating the menus. It hangs when I'm trying to make a call (it seems to get its knickers in a twist if an incoming call arrives whilst your starting an outgoing call.

    Personally I'm really pissed off at having skipped the Ericsson (which I thought was too big) for this pile of shit. Been very happy with every Orange 'phone I've ever owned (been an Orange customer since they opened up here in the UK) but the SPV stinks. Edward

    • My brother owns one of these. We found it very sluggish at the beginning before we figured out that when we thought we closed an app, it was just minimized... I just used it five minutes myself, and what really got on my nerves was all the microsoft-ish things like having to register to use the file explorer, then realizing that the registration server is down... (took two days before my brother could reach it). Then you can't install the apps because they're not signed, wonder why, and figure that developp
      • The file explorer application is third party and nothing to do with Microsoft. It's a time-limited demo of a commercial application, hence the registration.

        There is a free explorer application that is actually better and faster. You need to unlock your phone from the Orange website.

  • Check out some of the articles on The Register [theregister.co.uk]. The general opinion, in Beavis and Butt-Head speak, seems to be that it sucks more than anything has ever sucked before. But what did you seriously expect from MS?

  • What? This is news? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Realistic_Dragon ( 655151 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @04:08AM (#6112954) Homepage
    These things have been out in the UK for so long that version 2 is being released!

    Granted, this is because version 1 was so poor that no one brought one - less than 100k units were shipped (which considering that there are about 10m sales/yr of high end phones in the UK is terrible). And that number was _after_ they started giving them away for free with a £25/mnth contract.

    Microsoft fucked up by making a bad phone - not really a surprise - and the only people who brought them were the XBox-modder wannabe-techie types who wouldn't know the different between C and Cobol.

    The most amusing part is that the only reason these phones sold _at all_ was because the DRM functions (you can only run executables signed by Orange and Microsoft) were broken by hackers very quickly - in fact for the French version it only required a reboot to execute. Now thats great security!

    Annoying never fixed bugs include numbers stored in a different way from Outlook/OE so that when you sync your phonebook you can't dial the numbers it downloaded, text messaging that randomly doesn't work, out-of-memory errors, and a phone so large and butt ugly it belongs in 1980.

    Another stunning victory then - Nokia must be quaking in their boots.
  • Anyone notice that this thing has been out for months already? What happened to NEWs being NEW?
  • This is NOT a PocketPC. This is a pale shadow of a full fledged PDA. Smaller? yeah sure....but this thing sucks for doing anything beyond kepping contacts and making calls. If that's all you need then get another phone. These things are weak.
  • Weren't these phones the ones that Microsoft stole from a British company, by making them a partner, and then turning around and killing their company?

  • Virus! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Snaller ( 147050 ) on Wednesday June 04, 2003 @05:23PM (#6118889) Journal
    Just imagine when the vira start spreading on this. When you are not using it, the phone is busy phoning outer mongola and sending obscene messages to the president!

    (Why this review now? It's an oooold phone around here...)
  • It's the Sendo lawsuit against Orange over IP theft. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/59/31059.html The really interesting aspect is that Sendo is suing the little guy, Orange, for something that they previously said was the work of Microsoft (stealing their technology). The court case will be very interesting if the would-be DRM kingpin is made out to be an IP thief.

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Close