In operation, the SPV M3100 doesn't differ that much from the SPV M600, although it does feel slightly more responsive, which would make sense as its processor is twice as fast. An interesting feature that Orange has added is the wireless modem application, which allows you to set the M3100 to work as a dial-up modem. This can be done over a USB cable, Bluetooth or infra-red. It's just a shame that Orange doesn't have support for HSDPA as yet, but you can still use the M3100 instead of a 3G data card.
Using the M3100 as an always-connected device works very well, although I had problems connecting to Orange's 3G and GPRS services at times. Wi-Fi worked very well, and you can adjust the transmission power of the integrated Wi-Fi adaptor to extend the battery life or to give you the best reception and range.
Voice calls also sounded a lot better than they did on the M600, with less noise and a clearer ear piece. As I mentioned earlier, the new headset is also much better and it's quite comfortable to wear even for longer periods of time. It's just a shame that you can't use a different headset if you want to listen to music on the M3100. Even so, the supplied ones aren't terrible for music.
You can get Microsoft push email straight to the M3100 and you can, of course, use normal POP3 email with it. It's much easier to write lengthy emails on the M3100 than just about any other smart phone except possibly a Blackberry device or a Treo, but the M3100 has so much more on offer than these devices.
Battery life is good for about two days of not-too-heavy usage - start connecting to 3G or Wi-Fi and you're down to about a day. You can manually disable 3G if you mainly use it for voice calls and this would make for a much better battery life.
Cost-wise the M3100 is quite expensive. Unless you spend more than £40 a month on your mobile phone tariff, it will set you back £150, but if you're a heavy user you can get away with paying £50 for it. Still, this isn't a bad price considering the features you get. However, you would really need to add a data package to get the most out of the M3100, and Orange sadly doesn't offer any great data packages yet.
Verdict
The Orange SPV M3100 is a first-rate Windows Mobile 5 smart phone with a wide range of excellent features on offer. It's not perfect, but it shows how good the Windows Mobile 5 platform can be with the right hardware. It easily out-manoeuvres its competitors in terms of both ease of use and of features, which goes to show that the traditional mobile phone manufacturers will have a hard time keeping up in higher end of the smart phone market. ®
Orange SPV M3100 3G handset
COMMENTS
skype on M600 ?
can i use older/slower version of skype on the M600 ? any one tried it ? does it work ?
M3100 Comments
Nice phone, nice PDA, much better build quality than the previous small factor HTC PDA phones (vario/MDA). Good quality camera, excellent use of buttons and scroll wheel. Even the voice dialling seems to work without a hitch. Looks good, feels solid (haven't dropped it yet tho!).
Gripes ?
Explorer through 3G seem to take ages "Locating" - moving between cells can leave you with a frustrating "Locating" message - problem with explorer or Orange 3G ?
Twice now (in three days) my phone has dropped off the network and getting back on has been either by hard reset or into and out of flight mode.
Finally - ORANGE!! - spend less money on silly inflatable animals and let me have a resonably priced 3G data access package! - if you don't I'll start using wi-fi n skype !
Hardware Problems
Many HTC TyTNs have been returned by owners because of screen alignment and keyboard problems. Most machines with serial numbers starting HT626, HT628 & HT630 are affected. I know as have returned two myself.
As for the SPV M3100, I have had my one for a day. The main issue is that to make a call you need to press the 'on' switch before you can press the key for the keyboard - how can you call this a 'phone'? Call quality is not as good as the SE P990, SE M600 or Nokia 9500. Will add more comments as I have more experience of this device.
Cant agree with the opinion about WM phones
'They "run" Windows, which perpetually crashes and is really slow'
Ummm.... my MDA compact last crashed about 7-8 months ago (nothing major, quick soft reset sorted it) and its fast enough to play Doom, listen to music and watch full length films.
I wont bother trying to counter the other points but will say that as an ex-Palm user ( 4 different models), Im happy with my MDA (no I dont like MS but pragmatism kicks in every now and then)
This new model looks interesting but I will wait and see, doesnt seem a huge step up from what I already have.
Orange SPV Phones
I have tried and returned EVERY Orange SPV phone they've released. They are all utterly useless:
They "run" Windows, which perpetually crashes and is really slow, they have VERY poor receive sensitivity, low transmit power, poor bluetooth (both range and quality are awful), and poor battery life. In short, they're USELESS.
I'm now happily using a Treo without problems.
