Updated 17/11: Paul's E200 Review

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

As many of you will know, I was recently lucky enough to receive an SPV E200 from Orange. I've used it for a while now pretty extensively, so I figured it would be a good time to pen my thoughts, so here they are ;-)

If you have any questions, post them at the end of this thread, or save them until our next MoDaCo IRC Q&A.

Packaging

For those who already own an SPV, the packaging will be familiar. The smart looking box, with a picture of the E200 on the outside, opens to reveal once again an excellent set of standard equipment. Inside the box you will find the handset itself, the battery, a wired personal handsfree kit, a charger unit with UK and European adaptors, a docking cradle, a quick start guide, an SD card and the user manual.

No 'leatherette pouch' is included with this model, you will probably be glad to hear (except Will) ;-)

First glance at the box contents reveals no huge surprises. It is good to see that the cradle is identical to that of the E100, so existing E100 accessories should work fine... excellent... and yes, that includes the Orange branded Eleksen keyboard.

No camera included in the box of course, as it's now integrated into the phone! :lol:

Hardware

The key to E200 is evolution, not revolution. The E200 design is basically that of the E100 with subtle changes.

If you are currently an original SPV user, and haven't used the E100, the brightness of the screen and the overall build quality should immediately impress - there's no paint flaking here ;-)

The front of the phone is mostly silver, with a smart looking speaker, a LED in the top left (with E200 written in a small font below), and an Orange logo on the right hand side. The LED behaviour is identical to that on previous SPVs, with the addition of a periodic blue flash when bluetooth is active.

Working down the front of the phone, below the screen, there is the now familiar SPV logo above the soft keys. The soft keys are smooth to the touch and have a rounded top, in contrast to those on the E100 that were pointed and quite uncomfortable to use... A definite improvement. Below the soft keys comes the joystick. The joystick on the E200 is much improved over the E100. Smoother and easier to use, it exudes a far superious feeling of quality, and will hopefully resolve joystick reliability issues that some members experienced on the previous model. I could most closely compare the E200 joystick to the mouse control on many laptops.

Finally for the front, we have the keypad. The keypad is illuminated by bright blue LEDs, giving a very distinct appearance in low light / darkness. The keys themselves are the same as on the previous phone, but with a shinier silver appearance as opposed to the matt finish seen previously.

The back of the phone is once again quite plain, but of course now sports the 640 x 480 resolution camera, used for still and video imaging. Below the camera is a small mirror, used for self portraits! The camera has been cleverly recessed in a silver frame, to ensure it is not scratched when the phone is placed flat on a surface.

The battery on this phone is a slightly different shape to that on the E100 (and so is not directly compatible). Both the battery and the plastic below it are textured slightly, a welcome addition to help prevent the phone slipping from your hand.

Our first bit of bad news - the battery is a 1000mAh Lithium Ion number - HTC, manufacturers of the E200 (known internally as the HTC Voyager), haven't taken the opportunity to provide an upgraded capacity Lithium Polymer battery... a BAD move in our opinion :(

Software

The sides of the device are an identical design to previous handsets, so a quick press of the top left button switches on the phone. Power on is instant, no messing around with pressing-holding the button or any of those problems that dogged early SPVs. As the device is powered on, a smart (but different) Orange logo screen is displayed, before being replaced by a 'Windows Mobile' screen (no Smartphone 200x screen now!). After a slight delay (which is longer on first ever startup), the home screen arrives.

The e200 features 'Windows Mobile 2003 for Smartphone' (or whatever it's branded this week), so we would expect to see some changes in it's operation, and we're not disappointed ;-)

The default home screen is familiar, but different. Orange and Microsoft have come in for some criticism with regards to the user interface on the Smartphone, and the E200 features a new Orange-created plugin that brings some of the core functions to the homescreen. From the top icon bar, that replaces the MRU (Most Recently Used) bar, you can - with one click - visit one of 4 pre-defined web sites, write a new message, send a picture, create a new appointment, view your alarm status, change your ringtone or change your profile. Below the new icon bar is a slightly modified email / sms / mms message count plugin, and at the bottom of the screen (seperated by a dynamic spacer plugin), a mini-icon MRU bar.

Coupled with a typically-Orange selection of arty backgrounds, the default home screen exudes an air of simplicity, usability and yet powerful functionality. Good job Orange ;)

Keen readers will notice that the 'Programs' button has been replaced by a 'Start' button, a logical step by Microsoft to promote consistency with a desktop Windows experience.

These screenshots show the 'Mountain' background, and my slightly tweaked Orange homescreen (i've added my own links, and made them transparent - the new plugin is highly customisable!)

OK, so let's get to work ;-) A quick tap of the left hand soft key sparks up the familiar start menu - no changes here - and reveals some new applications that weren't present on previous devices. The speed with which the menu appears also gives us a hint as to the greatly improved performance that both the new operating system (based on Windows CE 4.2 as opposed to 3.0) and the doubling of the RAM to 32MB achieves.

Inbox

The inbox application appears looks very similar to the previous version, but there are some important changes 'under-the-hood'.

The application can now support 8 different email accounts.

There is now an integrated MMS client provided by Microsoft (and it's very slick), and support for multiple email accounts. The email application supports Microsoft Exchange Server Activesync, IMAP and POP3, but still doesn't support HTTP mail (e.g. HoTMaiL). SSL is supported for IMAP, POP3, and SMTP email.

Microsoft are apparently planning their own 'Mobile MSN' initiative that will include HoTMaiL access, but what form exactly this will take, is yet to be announced.

An addition to the inbox is the ability to set up a signatures on a per account basis.

For those who use Exchange 2003, the phone can be configured to synchronize emails as they arrive on the server, keeping you up to date with your email. These settings can be configured either on the device or on the desktop.

You can now move messages from one folder to another on the phone.

Of course, the SMS counter now works correctly :(

Contacts and Call History

The Contacts and Call History applications do not appear to have undergone any significant changes. The Contacts application however does seem to have the ability to beam contacts via Bluetooth now as well as InfraRed, but still no SMS or EMail sending options.

Settings

The settings application is also familiar, but with a few additional categories to support the new OS features.

The 'Sounds' section LOOKS the same, but when you start playing, you'll soon realise that WMA ringtones are supported, and FULL MIDI SUPPORT is also included :) - i've attached my current ringtone, and it sounds GREAT!

The 'Beam' section indicates that is now possible to set your E200 to automatically receive incoming Beams... no more manually activating every time you want to receive an InfraRed item!

The 'BlueTooth' section, funnily enough, includes all of the settings related to the new BlueTooth hardware included in the E200 - a first for a Smartphone. The BlueTooth UI is very simple. The main dialogue allows you to set Off, On or Discoverable, and a secondary dialogue allows you to add delete device pairings. My Jabra BT headset works fine on the device (when you bond with a headset it asks you if you want to set it as your headset device), and the device itself exposes the DUN BlueTooth profile, allowing you to connect to the internet from other devices via the phone. BlueTooth ActiveSync is of course supported.

There are no other major changes in the 'Settings' application, although a quick peek in the 'Regional Settings' section shows an impressive array of standard languages on my device, UK English, Italian, Spanish, French, Dutch, Danish, German and US English.

Camera

Picture Manager is no more, the standard picture taking application, for use with the intregrated camera of course, is this 'Camera' application. This application can also be launched by pressing what was previously the 'Voice Recorder' button on the left hand side of the device.

A snoop around the application reveals that it IS in fact IA Album 2.0 by IA Style, coincidentally a recent HTC acquisition ;-) This is interesting as IA Album 2.0 is not yet available as a seperate application... so you're seeing it here first!

The integrated camera has a maximum resolution of 640x480 - pictures can be taken at this full resolution, at 320x240 or at 160x120. Switching to a lower resolution allows you to use a 'digital zoom' feature.

Pictures can be taken direct to internal memory, or direct to SD card. I currently have a partially used 256MB SD card in my E200, and the Camera application is indicating I have space for 6595 pictures in JPEG SuperFine mode (Fine, Normal and Basic are also available). The application also has automatic 50/60hz flicker correction.

A common criticism of the original SPV camera is that they are very poor in anything but bright conditions. IA Album attempts to address this criticism by providing different 'Ambience' modes - Auto, Daylight, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Dim and Effects. Effects mode provides Sepia, Grayscale and Cool options. I've found these options variable in their success, but it's nice to have the control. If you're a serial tweaker, Brightness, Saturation, Hue and Gamma options are also available :)

Multimedia Album

The same IA Album application provides picture management functions in the form of 'Multimedia Album'.

The application provides the functionality to send your picture via MMS or E-Mail, and a wealth of other options. These include slide show (with a number of options for transitions, timing etc.), rotate, delete and rename. It can view any directory on the device, and will thumbnail your images.

Multimedia album is also used for managing your sounds, replacing 'Sound Manager' on previous SPVs.

MSN Messenger

MSN Messenger on E200 is identical to that on the 1.6 build on Smartphone 2002. Functionality is quite basic, but it does have a particularly nice touch in that when you connect to Messenger, people on your contact list see that you are on a mobile device. Your icon in their list is a little guy with a mobile phone, and chat windows on their machine are suffixed with (mobile). I like it! SOCKS proxy support seems to be included, if that sort of thing is of use to you! :(

Games -> Solitaire

Same old, same old ;-)

Games -> Jawbreaker

Jawbreaker is a new game for the Windows Mobile 2003 Operating Systems, and also features on Pocket PC 2003. I must confess to not having played it very much, but you can read more about it here at the Microsoft site!

Video Recorder

Video Recorder is another component of IA Album 2.0.

Video can be captured at 352x288 or 176x144 (both with sound), with a reduced frame rate at the higher resolution. I will post some sample videos shortly!

As with still images, recording can be either to Internal Memory or direct to SD - my partially used 256MB SD indicates there is 38:08 (minutes:seconds) available for recording. Also in common with still images, up to 3x zoom is available when running at the lower resolution.

Ambience functionality is also available for video.

Calendar

Calendar does not appear to have undergone any changes for 2003.

Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer LOOKS similar, but is much improved! Pocket Internet Explorer now supports XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets, javascript 5.5, Windows Markup Language 2.0, IPv6, WTLS, and animated images. There is still no frames support.

The application runs MUCH faster, it is pretty impressive! :D

Voice Notes / Tasks

Voice Notes however can no longer be launched with the button on the left hand side of the phone, as this now launches the Camera application.

The Tasks application allows you to view your tasks, mark them as complete, but not edit them - Developer One Power Tasks is still my application of choice for Task Management.

ActiveSync

Activesync now includes 'ActiveSync via Bluetooth' functionality.

Also, there is now a checkbox that allows you to enable / disable SSL when syncing with Exchange Server ActiveSync.

You can now configure separate synchronisation schedules for peak and non-peak hours, as well as while roaming. ActiveSync can also synchronize in the background, without turning on the screen or backlight, which saves power.

While connected to the desktop, Windows devices can synchronise in mixed IPv6 and v4 environments.

Exchange ActiveSync can support authentication in conjunction with RSA SecureID.

Windows Media

Aside from a new skin, Windows Media is virtually unchanged, with the exception that version 9 codecs are now included (and usable for ringtones).

Photo Caller ID

Yes, you heard right! The E200 includes Photo Caller ID. Upon closer inspection, it is revealed that this is not operating system level support, but IA Caller ID 1.1 in ROM.

This is my favourite Caller ID software, and definitely a worth addition :D

Information

This application is unchanged, except you can now press 'Back' to get out of it!

Orange Backup

Orange Backup powered by Action Engine is included on the E200. You can backup / restore Contacts, Calendar, your 'My Documents' folder, SIM Data on demand, or you can schedule backups /restores daily, weekly or monthly at a predefined time.

Orange Help

Orange Help is a new application for E200. Strangely hidden away, it contains 9 different sections that give a user details on how to user their SmartPhone - talk and text, photos, video, email, internet, backup and update, music, download and top tips.

Orange Update

Orange Update is unchanged.

Calculator

Calculator is unchanged, remaining with only basic functionality.

Modem Link

Modem Link is unchanged, additional Modem functionality is of course provided by the inclusion of the DUN profile for BlueTooth access.

Space Maker

IA Space Maker 1.2 (rebranded simply Space Maker) is included in the E200 ROM.

It allows you to Erase folders within EMail in one shot, the same for SMS, Call History, Speed Dials, Voice Notes or you can 'Erase All'.

Speed Dial

The Speed Dial application is unchanged.

Task Manager

The Task Manager included with the E200 is, suprise suprise, IA Task Manager :(

Although not as fully featured as the experts favourite, Binarys Task Manager, IA Task Manager provides 'Stop Selected', 'Stop All' and 'Stop All But Selected' functionality, and an interesting System Information applet.

Definitely a worthwhile addition!

So that brings us to the end of our roundup of the software installed on the E200 out of the box.

Worthy of note is that the performance of the Start Menu compared to the previous handsets is vastly improved. I personally still use SpaceMonkey's SurrealStart (available to Plus Members free, and shortly to everyone as a commercial application) as it provides the great T9 like Start Menu functionality, but there is much less slowdown in the standard Start Menu now.

What else is new in 2003?

A LOT of the 2003 improvements are under the skin and gained by moving to a new version of Windows CE (4.2). This means a more stable base, and hopefully also means that future releases will add new features rather than having to re-do the groundwork that we have seen in 2002-2003. There are however still some very important improvements!

Below are a few pulled from the Microsoft documentation:

.NET Compact Framework in ROM

Application developers who write applications for Smartphone 2002 are restricted to using the rather nasty Embedded Visual C++ 3 tools.

This new release of the OS includes .NET Compact Framework in ROM. What this means, is that developers can develop applications in VB.net. C# or a whole host of other .NET languages, and use the advanced Visual Studio 2003 tools to deploy their applications to the device.

Don't underestimate how important this is :D

IPv6 Support

Support is included for the IPv6 protocol, which will likely become important in the very near future.

IPSec/L2TP

IPSec/L2TP Virtual Private Network protocol are now supported, which offers users a more secure way to access their remote information.

Improved Certificate Management

Users can now manage their own client and root certificates, and common certificates are now included (although still a subset of what is included in desktop IE for example)

Suspend/Resume

Windows Mobile 2003 builds on Smartphone 2002 by adding GPRS Suspend/Resume support, which maintains a data connection even when the user is on the phone, or the phone is off.

What else?

In general use of the phone, the dreaded 'busy indicator' very rarely appears, a definite improvement. Taking into account the fact that the E200 has the same speed processor as the E100, this must be due to the improved OS and doubled RAM. The phone is definitely snappier.

It's great that existing accessories work - this is something HTC have ensured in their IPaq range, and if they keep this up, it really will win them a lot of friends.

The E200 marks a very important change in Orange's policy with regards to application locking, partly made possible by the improved granularity of locking options in the 2003 OS. Retail devices will ship almost COMPLETELY unlocked, with the only exception being applications that require access to privileged functions such as the ability to make calls - you can understand Orange wanting to protect this! Unsigned apps will put up a prompt before running indicating the application is untrusted, and the user can then choose whether or not to continue.

As mentioned previously, the fact that the battery is not improved in this device is a real shame. Battery life is equal to or maybe slightly better than the later 1.6 update on SPV, but if you turn on BlueTooth, it sucks the battery dry in no time at all, a real shame. I hope that a third part produces extended (yet no bigger) batteries real soon!

In addition, the BlueTooth setup does NOT support an 'Automatic' option - an option that would turn on BlueTooth only when a call comes in (allowing headsets to function), so if you want to use a BT headset, make sure you have a charger to hand!

A popular question has been 'Do Smartphone 2002 applications work on the E200'? The overwhelming evidence has been YES, they do work. I have had the occasional issue, but when this has been the case, the software developers have been keen to get the application running, and have provided a fix ;-)

For those non-Orange customers who are eager to get their hands on an E200, it is worthy of note that current SIM unlocking methods will not work on this device - HTC and Orange have gone to considerable lengths to make this device harder to unlock. It's fair to assume it's only a matter of time though... ;-)

Conclusion

OK, so the bottom line...

I like this phone, I like it a lot, and it will certainly be my device of choice. With a better battery and a few tweaks (like the BlueTooth automatic mode) this phone could be nearly perfect!

The .net support is the clincher for me (as a software developer), and the integrated camera / bluetooth are great bonuses. I loved the e100, and this phone is the logical progression. Well done Orange / HTC!

I hope this review has been informative to you, and keep an eye out for more reviews coming soon ;-)

Update 17/11

Voice record can still be activated by pressing and holding the Camera button.

A solution for 'Automatic' bluetooth mode will be coming very soon!

The phone charges in the cradle without the power suppy plugged in (this is a PHONE change, it even works in e100 cradles!)

GreenHill.zip

[Guest sabio_proeliat]

Mitac Mio 8380 kiss goodbye E200 welcome to my home :lol:

*Must get my hands on a "SIM-unlocker" but anyway*

[Guest pierre]

Wow! That sounds like a great new start, and for me it'll be exactly a year after my very first SPV!

Cool thing the deal with IA...

[Guest spark-x]

One quick question.

I leave home at 8:30 am every day and get home at 1am (long day i know) will the battery last this period? Roughly 16 hours. I only make about 10mins of calls per day, send about 20 texts and use the phone for about 30mins for non radio stuff.

thanks for any help,

tom

[Guest spacecowboy6982]

Wow - very informative! Like "pierre" said, the deal HTC struck with IA was brilliant - all those programs just make the E-200 a must have phone ! i also like the idea of the "orange help" which you said is hidden away somewhere, maybe they should have just provided a link to MoDaCo lol ;)

All in all this review has clinched it for me and I am "chapping at the bit" to get my E-200. Inbuilt camera, bluetooth and an improved OS is just what the SPV needed, and now we have it :lol:

Cheers again for the review Paul,

SpaceCowboy

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

I leave home at 8:30 am every day and get home at 1am (long day i know) will the battery last this period? Roughly 16 hours. I only make about 10mins of calls per day, send about 20 texts and use the phone for about 30mins for non radio stuff.

I would have thoughts so, if 1.6 lasts that period!

P

[Guest yoos]

Nice... Thanks Paul... I can't wait until it is easily SIM unlockable so I can get one for over here in the US!!

[Guest spark-x]

I'm waiting to see if they really will release it on pay as you go for £280. That would be quite sweet. Anyone know if you can get Orange care £5/month) on a pay as you go handset?

sx

[Guest jtsaint]

thanks for this, I would like to know if the camera's refresh rate (or whatever it is called when you are using the viewfinder) any better since it was shocking on the original spv.

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

It's silky smooth ;-)

P

thanks for this, I would like to know if the camera's refresh rate (or whatever it is called when you are using the viewfinder)  any better since it was shocking on the original spv.

[Guest ranzz]

You guys don't need to wait for a Sim-unlocker that might never exist... just buy a Qtek 8080 when it comes out (soon I guess, right?).

[Guest SeaneyC]

I want to hear your cheesy midi ringtone! :lol:

[Guest spark-x]

But the Qtek will probably cost arround £400 vs. SPV £280 on pay as you go.. I think thats right anyway... + an unlock will be found :-) -- i'm sure!!

sx

[Guest Pondrew]

Thanks again Paul. Sounds great and confirms my decision :lol:

Already ordered my new E200 from onestopphoneshop.com last week even though my Original SPV + contract is only 11months old. Couldn't wait!

I'm paying £35 for the handset + £30 a month for 200 cross network minutes. Unfortunately though this means a new contract with a new mobile number ;)

Does anyone know when the internet supplier's are gonna start shipping? The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned!

[Guest martin]

Hi Paul

Great review :lol:

With Caller ID built in does this allow for custom ringtones on SD by default ? Also do you know if there is still a problem with the contact search (with large database) during an incoming call and the resulting non use of the caller name and ringtone ?

[Guest kyrkesmith]

Anyone know if you can get Orange care £5/month) on a pay as you go handset?

I believe it is still at £50 per year (which is cheaper than £5 per month).

If existing accessories work with the E200, then what happens if you plug in an SPV camera?

[Guest Dumdidum]

Nothing - because there is no driver in it...!

[Guest Pagemakers]

Paul - I take it we can use standard 2002 home screens if we wish? Not too keen on the new version.

[Guest kevlar]

I'm dissapointed media player hasn't had an overhaul, with no fast forward/rewind. God knows we all complained enough about this. Oh well, the divx player will be getting installed again.

Kevlar

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

Old homescreens work fine.

If you plug the old camera in, nothing happens, I tried it, lol ;-)

P

[Guest sabio_proeliat]

Can the new Media player play divx, xvid and other codecs?

What about fullscreen?

[Guest Dumdidum]

No divx, svid, no fullscreen, no playlist! only new thing is support for windows media 9!

[Guest stu_lowe2003]

Can the new Media player play divx, xvid and other codecs?

What about fullscreen?

No it won't play divx and xvid.

No full screen option either.

Although a few other players are available for the phone that will do these.

Stu

[Guest kevlar]

Paul, have you tried the Divx player on the E200? if so, does it play any better?

cheers

Kevlar

[Guest Paul [MVP]]

I haven't tried it.

P