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I had been converted by SPV phones for a long time, right after i saw the original SPV, then after lusting for a while, i ended up getting the SPV e200 when it first came out.
This was followed by the C500, and then finally the daddy! M5000!
I have never done a conclusive review of one of my phones before, but consider myself an experienced SPV user now, and qualified to comment on the features and improvments with some authority.
Lets start with the basics, its not a small phone (12cm/8cm/2.5cm) and is billed as a PDA/laptop replacement with phone features. Its a flip phone, with a rotating screen. The weight is considerable but not inconvenient, i happily fit mine in the back of my jeans without hassel or looking silly. This is a bit different from my two previous SPVs which were very much phones with pda features, and phone sized.
Here are the two phones side by side..
First thing you notice on opening the phone is the large bright screen, its very nice to look at, its easy on the eye, clear and bright with an even colour tone. The phone has cleartype as a standard feature, but i prefer it off. I use the smallest text setting and find browsing the net and reading from BBC mobile site very easy.
It plays full screen video direct from my PC with no conversion. (10 points to the first person to guess what music video that is, more clues to follow later in the review) The video is crisp and not jerky at all, using pocketTV. Media player works well too.
The touchscreen is very accurate, and works well with fingers or the neat little stylus that hides away well in the back of the phone. Pretty much anything than be used to select things really.
When closed the phone is quite tough, and i have dropped it a couple of times already, and its working fine, hit concrete today from waist height, with no problems, just a couple of minor scratches. What the hey, phones get scratched, just look at my C500 in the first photo!
In the above picture you can see the buttons that allow you to answer calls when the phone is shut, however, you cant see who it is, slight design error there. I think a small screen on the outside would have been a good idea. However, its not a real difficulty flipping the phone open to see who it is. Im quite used to it now, and have done it many times without ever missing a call. (there is also a small recessed reset button in-between the jack and the usb plug)
There buttons on the other side launch functions like the phone, voice dialling, and backlight, and the speakers are visable too.
The flip is neat, and often gets funny looks from nearby commuters, as you switch from a closed phone to a mini laptop to a PDA in two swift movements! Laptop users look over eagerly and i have been asked on more than one occaison about the features which im more than happy to show off
couple of shots - mid flip..
The image on the screen rotates automatically mid flip, and you can easily change it with a quick tap on the screen icon in the bottom right if you fancy a change of orientation!
The decent quality 1.3megapixel camera is great for both video and pictures and handles low light much better than previous SPVs.
The phone also has another camera mounted with the screen, for 3g video calling! this is also available for taking pictures of youself with a preview of the pic on the screen, if you so wish!
The preview mode is full screen on the main camera, and works really well and has a fast refresh.
The keyboard is more than adequate for typing on, your never going to touch type with this, but i was happily taking notes in a meeting with four finger typing, and with few mistakes. The backlit keys are nice, they have a comforting red glow when its dark. Makes it easy to type even in the dark. When the phone is in PDA mode, the typing it taken care of with a small but very usuable on-screen keypad. However you always have the option to choose your preffered method when the phone is in laptop mode.
General usage
The phone seems a lot faster than my previous SPVs, probably down to the 500Mhz processor working away in there, the applications will come as windows mobile 5 becomes more common, and more stuff is written for it.
It has mobile versions of word/excel and powerpoint. Its got the usual MSN, IE, explorer, java with a few other random things lobbed in.
The wifi is good, i have used it a lot at home, and continually pick up networks when walking about! There are lots of unsecured networks around, which means free net more often than not. The wifi manager is simple enough to pick up, and works well switching between networks and seeing whats available.
GPRS seems quicker than on my old phones, and browsing just seems a lot easier with the large screen, the stylus and decent connection. I have not used the 3g option much, but it seemed as quick as my wifi at home, but then i was using mobile websites with very small page filesizes.
The standard SPV sd card is working well, i use mini SDs with an adaptor, it seems quicker than on the old SPVs. The storage space is welcome as i can encode films down to 200meg and 25 min tv episodes down to 20-30 meg! Its soon easy to load the cards up! (I use a 256 and a 512)
The phone feature utilises the touchscreen mostly, and in PDA mode.Its a bit difficult to use it as a phone with the keypad out. Handsfree works well, and the speaker and mic work well, no crackly noises like on my old E200!
The battery is lasting me over a day with heavy usage, but its always a good idea to have a mini usb plug at work, and one at home, then keep the mains charger for travelling. Also, dont keep the screen on and open if the phone is not being used, its just a waste of battery. Its not let me down yet, and im more than happy with the performance considering the features and heavy usage.
In short, i love this phone!
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Originally Posted by smtkr
