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Orange SPV M3100 Review

The HTC Hermes is easily the most talked about Windows Mobile device at the moment, of that there can be no doubt. Its release under numerous brands has been received, on the whole, with open arms, so what of Orange's version, the SPV M3100? Read on for MSMobileNews.com's review.

The SPV M3100 is based upon the HTC Hermes design and is also known as the HTC Hermes, HTC TyTn, Vodafone VPA Compact III, Vodafone 1605, T-Mobile MDA Vario II, the Cingular 8525 and no doubt many more names! In the box of the SPV M3100 you get the usual array of goodies with one major exception – there’s no memory card! I guess then we should focus on what you do get:
- A Windows Mobile user manual
- ‘Getting started with your SPV M3100’ Orange guide
- A CD containing ActiveSync 4 and Outlook 2002
- A spare stylus
- Stereo headphones/hands free
- Leather case
- Mains charger
- USB cable

The SPV M3100 is an attractive device; Orange's choice of colours probably represents the most attractive option when lined up against the other variants of the same core HTC Hermes design. The dark greys contrasted by the light grey and silver insert surrounding three of the four sides of the screen works well and will make you want to keep the phone out of your pocket. The device is made mostly of plastics with the aforementioned metal insert accenting the plastic and portraying a build quality that is matched by feel when you hold the device for the first time.

The top of the device, surprisingly houses absolutely nothing, not a button, infrared port or anything, an attribute quite rare on such a device.

The left side of the M3100 houses the MicroSD slot, voice dial/notes button, OK button and most interestingly, a scroll wheel - the first to appear on any device manufactured by HTC and therefore in the SPV range. The wheel is an instant success the second you use it, scrolling in two directions it makes navigating websites, emails, and everything else that requires a lot of vertical scrolling, effortless. The wheel also depresses acting as an action key for the selected item. The movement is tactile and offers just the right amount of feel to make it a joy to use.

The right side of the M3100 houses the camera button which, when holding the device in landscape orientation, becomes the perfect placement for taking photographs. There are two other buttons on this side, the Comm Manager shortcut key (see the software section for a description of this application) and the power button. The stylus silo is also present at the base of this side, housing a telescopic stylus I was at first a little bothered by this positioning with the potential for loss however the stylus is held securely when inserted and would have to loosen considerably with age for this to become an issue, something that I cannot see happening.

The bottom of the device houses the infrared port, reset hole, battery cover release switch, lanyard loop and the mini USB port. The mini USB port is specifically worthy of mention as it is not the standard shape but will, thankfully accept a standard connection. The reason for this becomes clear when you unwrap the bundled headphones from their wrapper, they have a propriety connection that makes use of the mini USB port, gone is the 2.5mm or 3.5mm headphone jack. This will no doubt frustrate some people as it will mean purchasing yet another adapter should they wish to use their own headphones with the device, pair that with the fact that at the time of writing such an adapter is hardly an easy find and those bundled headphones will become a more attractive proposition with their integrated hands free microphone and volume control - more on them later.

The front of the M3100 is obviously the most interesting side with the 240x320 pixel screen that changes orientation based on whether you have the keyboard open or not. The screen is clear and bright and slightly more useable than that of the SPV M600 with less yellow representation of whites and a richer colour representation. There is also a host of buttons, you get the standard green and red call and hang-up buttons, an OK and Windows Key, two soft keys that interact with Windows Mobile 5 and the corresponding onscreen buttons, an oval 5 way joypad with an action key set in its centre and two keys at the top of the front too, shortcuts to messaging and Pocket Internet Explorer. However there are two clear items on the front of the M3100 that have been positioned to represent their importance. There is a dedicated video call button and a forward facing "video cam" set into the chrome insert, great news if you have a connection that supports 3G and video calls and you like the idea of seeing the person you're talking too. The M3100 has a party piece too which adds a whole other level to the front of the device - quite literally. Apply some pressure to the right side of the device at the back and you'll discover a full QWERTY slide out keyboard which is more than useable. The keys offer a nice click when depressed which makes two thumbed typing quick and reliable. There is a function key which provides a second function to nearly every key to include the most common of symbols, a numeric keypad and various shortcuts to the Comm Manager, additional symbols screen and file explorer. On a device that is clearly smaller than the more traditional Pocket PC this keyboard utilises its space well, only users with the biggest of fingers will have a real problem.

The back of the device houses everything you would expect from a camera phone except for a lens cover. You'll find a 2 Mega Pixel camera with LED flash, self-portrait mirror and macro switch to alter the lens for close up photographs. There is also the ever-present rubber grommet that conceals the external antennae connection (for connection to a car aerial for example) and a speaker.

The headphones bundled with the M3100 are black and double as a hands free headset with inline microphone and volume control. They are more than capable of performing this task but, as with all bundled headphones, will leave some of you wanting more when it comes to audio playback. Until mini USB to 3.5mm headphone adaptors become widely available though, you may well find yourself stuck with these headphones. It’s not to say that they’re rubbish, far from it. They do a job well, but they won’t replace any after market headphones that you may own in terms of comfort and sound quality, in short they are an average set of headphones that also double quite usefully as a hands free headset.

There is no doubting the fact that the general build quality of the SPV M3100 is of a high standard, when holding the device you get a sense of quality, buttons are firm and offer a good level of tactility when depressed and the keyboard's slide mechanism is smooth and firm. The only questionable part would, in my opinion, be the macro switch on the back of the device which is somewhat loose, a fact that is no doubt a result of the fact that it has a mechanical action physically sliding a macro lens over its regular counterpart, as such this movement can be excused, especially when you consider that it in no way affects the use of the camera in that your selected lens will stay in place until such time as you should choose to change it - a point barely worthy of mention then.

Aesthetically you’ve probably guessed by now that we like the design of the M3100, the colour scheme is tasteful and suggestive of a quality that is equal to that of its list of specifications.
Ergonomically the M3100 has been well designed with rounded edges on the major contact points between the user's hand and the device itself and the placement of all of the buttons has been well thought out - see the previous comment regarding the camera button as a good example of this.

The slide out keyboard is a feature that will sell this device and deservedly so. It provides the user with a real alternative to stylus data entry, as well as providing the wow factor that you associate with all great devices. Its much more than just a gimmick though, it has become my primary method of data entry on the M3100 and I’m happier for it. The keys have a satisfying click to them that results in a quality user experience. The PhonePad software that you associate with HTC devices is missing from the M3100, rumours suggest a high licensing fee is to blame, I really don't miss it though and I am its number one fan when it comes to stylus based data entry. Thumbs up for the keyboard then.

The rear camera on the M3100 is used to take photographs and capture videos with the forward facing camera making video calls possible. I'm not the biggest user of video calling but can confirm that it works well, 3G signal permitting. The rear camera is probably of more interest to more people as the use of mobile devices for photo and video capture is ever-increasing. The camera offers 2.0 Mega Pixels and a flash and more importantly takes photographs of a sufficient quality that you'll be tempted to leave your digital camera at home when heading out and pocket space is at a premium. Don't get me wrong, there's no replacing a real digital camera for proper photography but, should you want a device that takes nice shots that you could potentially print, you'll be happy with the M3100 at your disposal. It’s ideal for that occasion when you feel the urge to capture what's in front of you and haven't brought your digital camera with you. Judge for yourselves by looking at the photographs taken using the M3100's camera, click the thumbnails to view the originals.

WiFi is normally a power-hungry addition to mobile devices that rarely delivers on its promise, however I’ve found myself reaching for the M3100 as opposed to my laptop when wanting to look up cinema listings or quickly chat on MSN Messenger (which I achieve using Agile Messenger - see below). This says a lot for the improved strength and therefore range of the WiFi in the M3100 as well as the improved browsing experience provided by the keyboard and scroll wheel.

3G connectivity comes as part of the M3100 enabling faster web browsing than GPRS and also making video calling a possibility, hardware permitting. Thankfully the M3100 has a forward facing camera to capture your facial expressions and send them over the airwaves to the person you are calling, should you hit the video call button as opposed to the voice call button. During a video call you are faced with the details of the current call as well as a window displaying the result of the video capture from the other person's phone and a smaller window that shows your face (assuming that's where you point the camera!). Personally I'm not a huge fan of video calling, I can appreciate the technology but have never felt the need to video call someone, however for those of you that like to utilise this function you won't be disappointed. One thing I will mention is that during my testing I made a video call to a phone that is making a big name for itself at the moment, the Sony Ericsson K800i. With a 3.2 Mega Pixel camera it takes a very nice photograph, however the video calling seemed to show that the video feed from the M3100 that was displayed on the K800i was clearer where as the feed received on the M3100 from the K800i was rather pixelated. It’s quite possible that this was related to signal quality but that raises another point as the call took place between two phones in the same room so perhaps the M3100 displays stronger signal strength than the K800i? I've had no problems in this area and would normally only raise signal strength if it became evident that there was a problem, it’s an interesting point though.

HSDPA technology is present on the M3100, it seems that Orange don’t currently support this though. Essentially it is a faster data transfer mechanism for mobile web browsing etc that makes use of UMTS networks to offer speeds of up to 1.8 megabit/sec. Having been unable to test this I cannot comment really however it does potentially make the M3100 future proof should Orange roll out an HSDPA service…

As previously mentioned, the M3100 makes use of the Micro SD format for its expandable memory, there's no doubting the fact that this will result in more expense for the user migrating from a previous SPV/Windows Mobile device as they more commonly used SD and mini SD, it has to be said though that the size of the MicroSD format is truly amazing, how a card of such a small size can boast a capacity of up to 2 GB (at the time of writing) is unbelievable! With a reported reduction in power consumption and the ability to plug a MicroSD into an SD adaptor, great for use with high speed card readers, MicroSD could well be here to stay, I can't see a reason as to why memory cards would need to get any smaller physically, if they were any smaller you'd have real difficulty holding them! On test during this review was the 1 GB version of SanDisk's MicroSD (http://www.SanDisk.com/), bundled with an SD adaptor the SanDisk version offers a 5 year limited warranty and performed very well, enabling me to store my music, photographs, videos, games, applications and run TomTom satellite navigation all from my M3100, it just goes to show that a good memory card is a must for all Windows Mobile devices. The MicroSD in the M3100 is hot-swappable too so that you can happily remove it (make sure your phone isn't reading it or writing to it when you do so or you may lose data) without having to turn off the M3100 so as to add content or use it in another device and then return it too, without a problem.

Battery life is normally one of the trade offs on a feature rich-device such as the M3100, having said that I am still yet to let battery run dry, a testament to its ability to last until its next charge. As previously mentioned, the WiFi appears to be less power hungry than, for example the SPV M600 and I am happy to state that I am getting days of battery life from the M3100 when used as a regular phone and over a day when utilising features such as WiFi and audio/video playback, figures that are more than acceptable considering the majority of potential M3100 users would no doubt synchronise their phone on a regular basis, topping up the battery in the process.

The Orange SPV M3100 comes pre-installed with Windows Mobile 5 and the latest AKU 2.3 update, this includes the following applications:

Programs
ActiveSync: Synchronise your PIM data (contacts/calendar/tasks/inbox/favourites etc) with your PC via USB, WiFi or Infrared
Calculator: A basic calculator
ClearVue PDF: View PDF documents on your Pocket PC
Excel Mobile: Create/modify Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
File Explorer: Manage your M3100’s files
Java: Run Java MIDlets
Notes: Note taking tool
PowerPoint Mobile: View Microsoft PowerPoint presentations
PV Player: Video player
Search: Search the files on your Pocket PC
Tasks: Add/view tasks potentially synchronised from your PC
Voice Speed Dial: Make calls by saying a keyword that your M3100 will recognise
Windows Media: Play Music and videos
Word Mobile: Create/modify Microsoft Word documents
ZIP: Create/modify/view compressed ZIP files

Accessories
Download Agent: Never used this, I doubt you will either!
Help: Standard help document on Pocket PCs
Orange Plus: Links and information regarding the Orange network
SIM Manager: A small tool that allows you to import/export contacts from/to the SIM card
Terminal Services Client: Connect to remote terminal servers via your Pocket PC
Wireless Modem: Use your M3100 as a modem for your laptop

Games
Bubble Breaker: Bubble popping puzzle game
Solitaire: Better known as Patience in the UK, you all know and love it!

Tied to a hardware button by default, the M3100 comes with the usual Comm Manager on board offering quick access to the common tasks of toggling the phone's radio (access to the network, not FM), Bluetooth, WiFi, email, data connection (e.g. 3G), ringtone volume (audible or just vibrate and ActiveSync. It's a very useful application that you will find yourself using on a regular basis and is justified in its tie to a hardware button.

The M3100 has the usual Orange customisation, the standard Pocket PC today screen plugin, theme and Orange style icons in the program menu. I’m not too keen on the today screen plugin as I feel the screen can be better utilised by using the standard today screen with a range of other plugins. The icons serve purely to customise the device towards Orange, they look fine – I’m not too bothered either way to be honest!

When opening the sliding keyboard the screen is automatically rotated to landscape which is very useful and occurs with minimal lag, a testament to the 400MHz Samsung processor that ticks along very nicely indeed. This is yet another improvement over the SPV M600 which had a 200MHz processor that some found slightly underpowered.

Conclusion
The Orange SPV M3100 is packed full of features, you’ll struggle to find another phone on the market that offers so much. You would therefore expect the M3100 to be a large device physically; this is not the case however. Granted, it is heavier and larger than your average mobile telephone but when compared to the SPV M5000, a device with a similar list of specifications, you’ll really appreciate the drastic reduction in size. This device is usable as a day to day mobile phone whilst also performing well as a PDA. The requirements of a mobile device are specific to each user, one thing is for certain though, you’ll not find yourself wanting more should you choose the SPV M3100. It has pushed its way to the front of the queue in terms of being my everyday phone and it will take something special to dislodge it, well until the next new Windows Mobile device is released anyway!

Izvor: MSMobileNews.com