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Orange SPV E600 review

Our rating

3.5 stars out of 5

User rating

3.5 stars out of 5

See all user reviews

What do you think?

Verdict

The Orange SPV E600 tries to be a mobile email device and document management handset, and up to a point it succeeds. The screen and keyboard are good enough, but without the ability to create documents you can't produce anything from scratch

Good

  • Wide screen is good for reading texts
  • Wi-Fi
  • Easy-to-access flash memory slot

Bad

  • Can't create documents
  • Average battery life

In this review

The Orange SPV E600 is only available to Orange business customers and is a rebranded version of the HTC S620, which we have a full review of here. There are a few differences, however, that we will point out in this review.


On the back of the Orange SPV E600 there's a 1.3-megapixel camera

For starters, this device comes with an Orange logo on the top-right corner, just in case you forget which network you're with, and accordingly includes an Orange themed user interface. Other than that, it looks identical to the HTC S620.


The Orange SPV E600 features a full Qwerty keypad, which is useful if you need to type out long emails

In terms of features, Orange gives you access to conference calls and supports an extra line for incoming and outgoing calls, so that you can give out a separate number to family or friends and business acquaintances.


The Orange SPV E600 is quite wide but it's thinner than most smart phones

You also have WAP access to Orange World, which is Orange's mobile Web portal that lets you do things like buy cinema tickets, watch video clips, download ringtones and find train times, among other things.


The Orange SPV E600's screen is wide, making it good for reading emails on

One of the most important features, though, is BlackBerry Connect that lets you receive work emails instantly over your office's BlackBerry server. The E600 also supports email access over an office network running Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

Conclusion
In terms of design, Orange hasn't made any significant changes. It has, however, added some useful features, including support for a second line, conference calling and pre-installing BlackBerry's Connect software. While we're disappointed that there's no 3G connectivity or Microsoft Office editing software, the screen and the keyboard are good for composing and reading emails on.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Kate Macefield

User reviews1

Add your review

Matt Costelloe's avatar
3.5 stars out of 5

Matt Costelloe 9 August 2007

Good: Size & weight, look & feel

Bad: JOGGR, slow OS, bugs

Comment: I am on my second e600 and both have suffered from the same key issues, namely:

(1) internet explorer fails to make a connection about 70% of the time, so the excellent high-def screen is of limited use for web browsing

(2) it frequently hangs or delays in processing actions, either jamming completely or refusing to connect calls while doing everything else.

I haven't ever got used to using the JOGGR - for me it's just fundamentally not a great feature - and it is very hard not to accidentally activate it.

Otherwise, it looks great, the screen is good for emails and SMS and it is flatter and lighter than most similar products. For pure functionality BlackBerry still seems to have the edge, though.

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