Orange SPV M5000 PDA Launches in Europe
If you're a frequent Digital Tech News reader, you know how much excitement the HTC Universal has caused in the past few months. Orange has ended the long wait for this feature packed Pocket PC and follows mobile network competitors T-Mobile (T-Mobile MDA Pro) and O2 by launching its own branded Orange SPV M5000 3G PDA (HTC Universal) in Europe.
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.
Philippe Bernard, Executive Vice President, Orange Business Solutions comments, “Mobility is unlocking the potential of the IT infrastructure by giving business people access to data when and where they need it. As mobile devices are increasingly aligned with personal computers, they must operate within that same environment. The SPV M5000 does exactly that by providing a powerful Microsoft Windows based connected PDA that has outstanding compatibility with IT software, hardware and powerful connectivity.”
“The SPV M5000 and the launch today of the Signature devices for business range, is another example of Orange providing its business customers with the widest selection of choice, whilst ensuring a consistent, and positive user experience that is easy to manage and deploy across a range of user types,” concludes Philippe Bernard.
Tony Cripps, Wireless Software analyst from Ovum says, "Orange's Signature range is notable for its breadth of form factor and mobile OS choices, which covers a wide range of usage scenarios and price points while delivering a common experience.
“Devices like the SPV M5000 give a good indication of how far business mobile devices have come and how far they can go. Its high-speed connectivity options and convertible form factor are enabled through the use of Windows Mobile 5.0, which also offers improved compatibility with Microsoft Office and will soon be capable of out of the box push email via Exchange."
Suzan DelBene, Corporate Vice President, Mobile & Embedded Devices Division Microsoft Corp. concluded, “we are thrilled to see the SPV M5000 as the flagship device that is launching Orange's optimised portfolio of Signature devices for business. This announcement follows a hugely successful collaboration between Microsoft and Orange in Europe and is another great example of the innovation possible on the Windows Mobile software platform.”
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