Thieves made off with 1,400 Orange SPV (Sounds Picture Video) smartphones after raiding a warehouse in Heathrow last Friday.

The theft has led to rumbles of discontent on Internet bulletin boards from small retailers who were due to take delivery of long-awaited Orange SPV phone, which is based on Microsoft's Stinger (Windows Smartphone 2002) platform.

A spokeswoman for Orange told us the theft would not have a significant effect on the supply on the smartphone. It is continuing to receive shipment of the phone from Taiwan, she told us. Meanwhile the stolen smartphones have been blacklisted by Orange.

Metropolitan Police are investigating the theft.

Last February, thieves have made off with 26,000 Samsung mobile phones after an audacious raid on a warehouse on the outskirts of London.

The A300 phones, worth an estimated £4.2 million, were stolen from a freight forwarding warehouse in Hayes, Middlesex. Following the theft, the phones (which were marked with Orange or One2One logos) were blocked from connection based on a list of International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) codes of the stolen handsets. ®

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External Links

Orange SPV
Rumbles of discontent from small resellers over the theft (registration required)