SPV hardware comments

[Guest Wizard]

The keyboard on the SPV is by far the worst phone keypad I have ever used. There seem to be two problems, first the keys are far too small but if that wasn't enough their shape makes them very hard to accurately hit. The speed at which I can type SMS for example is less than half what it was previously on my Nokia 6210 and even less than that for the 3310 I had prior to that (what a dream of a phone - great clicky keyboard and a very rapid, responsive user interface). I would actually prefer the phone to be larger and have a decent keyboard on it. Having said that the curved shape of the keys is probably a large part of the problem. I think I would pay money to be able to buy a replacement keyboard structure for this phone.

The joystick device on the handset is the most appallingly designed piece of navigation equipment I have had the misfortune to use (seriously) and to have combined this with the keyboard is incredible. Whoever designed it must have incredibly small fingers. I have pretty small fingers myself but about a quarter of the time I find when I try to press the central action button I inadvertently end up going left/right/up/down. I thought the Ericsson t68i was a bit fiddly, but it's a dream compared to the SPV. For example when I select items from a list it often takes me two attempts with me carefully lining up my thumb to get it in exactly the right place. *why do I need to do this* ?

My sense is that a solution would be to raise the central action key so it is a little higher up, that way when it is pressed it's much harder to hit the direction buttons. The current navigator fuction is a serious usage limitation. The actually key action is actually rather good in that it is fairly solid and has a binary 'click' where you know it's been pressed, but the buttons need to be much bigger.

Although the colour screen is a great addition, I do sorely miss having the ability to pick up the phone and see the date/time without pressing buttons. I assume this is why phones like the Sharps often have an LCD display on them as well.

The speaker on the phone is appalling quality. Even with WAV ring tones they sound like the output of a £2.99 casio organ being played through a kazoo.

The headphones that come with a phone are never going to be that great, but please please make it easier to make use our own headphones. If a phone is going to play MP3 files, it needs better quality headphones and the ones that come with it need to be replaced if someone is serious about using it as a music device. There's no point selling a phone as an MP3 music device if it's crippled like this - it's like selling someone a BMW and welding bicycle wheels onto it.

Wizard

[Guest studiosonic]

Funny that, cause I find the SPV keyboard a joy to use and my texting speed is much faster than my last phone - an Erricson T65. I admit the joystick is a bit of an arse, but I'm getting used to it. I thought the speaker was quite good too. I admit it's not hi-fi quality, but then I wouldn't expect it to be. It's loud and I can happily listen to steamed radio using it or use it as a speaker phone.

[Guest The Futures Bright]

Do you have custard or cream with your Steamed Radio? :mrgreen:

[Guest LiquidFX]

u can get the date and time on the screen! i think the spv rocks the only complaint i have is the slowness of the darn thing! which i hope orange will imprive in the update!

yes its not perfect but feature wise its the best handset out there.

[Guest Wizard]

I have the clock and date displayed on the phone's screen, but when the backlight goes off you can't read it. My point is that when you want to know what date/time it is you have to press buttons on the phone to do it, which isn't necessary with an LCD-based device which displays information all the time.

Wizard

[Guest xanadu]

My point is that when you want to know what date/time it is you have to press buttons on the phone to do it, which isn't necessary with an LCD-based device which displays information all the time.

Wizard

Hey Wizard,

Why don't you just buy a wrist watch ? LOL

:D :( :( :P :lol: :lol: : :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Guest barncourt]

I have the clock and date displayed on the phone's screen, but when the backlight goes off you can't read it. My point is that when you want to know what date/time it is you have to press buttons on the phone to do it, which isn't necessary with an LCD-based device which displays information all the time.

Wizard

Are you getting confused about the screen saver which blanks the entire screen after a couple of minutes? I have turned my screensaver off and even when the backlight extinguishes, you can still clearly read the LCD in daylight. Not sure if turning the screensaver off affects battery life though. Certainly haven't noticed any obvious degradation....

[Guest Wizard]

My phone doesn't have an LCD, it only has the colour display. This goes completely blank if I leave the phone unused for a few minutes. What have I missed?

Wizard

[Guest Bazz]

Programs->Settings->More->Power Management->Screensaver mode.

Set it to Never and the backlight won't go off. Yup this WILL have a pretty drastic effect on battery life.

That's the problem with a gorgeous screen - looks nice, but with current technology you can't have it on unless you want it plugged in all the time :-(

Barry

[Guest Bazz]

BTW it still goes to that semi-dark screen if you set this to never.

[Guest Trancemaster]

Yeah, but setting the backlight time-out to never is a bad idea.

[Guest Wizard]

The battery life is fairly low anyway (I have to charge it every day, as opposed to once or twice a week with my last phone) so it would be counterproductive for me to leave the backlight on all the time.

Wizard

[Guest NXNM]

Im expecting my phone tommorow, but what startles me is the amount of bitching you guys are giving it over trivial things. The battery only lasts a day, that is fantastic, when you consider its a PC and a phone, i cant comment on the keypad, but hey you have got one of the neatest devices around, who cares if the keys are auckward at first, ur m8s will be druling over it.

I completely agree with the Cirtification Issue, however i understand where orange are comming from on this. They want to ensure that users are getting the best out of thier SPV, to protect from virus which could cause servere network disription (Imagine a virus that made all phones call or SMS in bulk at one given time, the result is Oranges network would become serveraly disrrupted, billing systems would crash, and the 486 they use for GPRS connectivity would hang. On the other hand they are holding back the technologies potential and in doing so loosing out in customers and both software and hardware manufacturers wishing to made addons for the device.

Nokias are for mindless people, like Ford's, they are utterly shite, but people buy them because everyone else has them.

You on the other had have a device which has superior capability, is running an Operating system which will be contantly upgrades, which manufactures are familiar with and will be willing to create more programs and hardware for.

[/rant]

[Guest Wizard]

You are free to read my comments as bitching, but that is not my intention. There are aspects of the phone I really like and some that I'm not so keen on. I see great value in openly discussing these aspects with a view to moving the SmartPhone platform forward.

If we all sit here commenting on how everything is great with the SPV and it can't be improved, would that really be helpful? I don't think it would and I think it's important to consider both the good and the bad of this device and its operating system.

I agree with you that this device is a more advanced product than most other phones on the market, but that doesn't remove the fact that it is competing with them. Even if someone finds IM or the Tube app or the PC synchronisation or whatever really useful, the downsides of low battery life, fiddly keyboard and lack of bluetooth may not be enough to convince them to buy one. In many ways the SPV is excellent at doing many things no phone has done before, but sadly it doesn't do very well in replicating features in existing competing products (battery life, skipping MP3, unresponsive user interface, etc).

FWIW, I work with Microsoft Internet technologies for a living and I have a great deal of respect for what has been achieved in the SmartPhone product. I very much hope my comments on it will be taken with the constructive motivation with which they are intended to be taken.

Wizard

[Guest NXNM]

I agree with the above, if everyone keeps quiet nothing will be done. The keyboard unfortunatly will not change, its somthing were gonna hava to live with until there is a new phone out, having not recieved mine i cant comment really, although from pics i understand the problems.

Another great point to this phone is of course the Value, it would of been nice to have 2 SPVs one which is the current and one which contains Bluetooth, although i reakon we will see bluetooth addons in the very near future.

BTW i was trying to turn this thread into a Nokia Bitch Zone, so please continue by slagging off nokias, it makes for interesting reading....

[Guest DJHope]

Funny that because the worst phone ive ever had is the 8210 didnt anyone get a f**ked screen after about 8-12mnths of use? and they never really fixed it one of my girlfirends has an 8210 quite a recent one and its still screwed. Ive seen other nokias with the same problem.

DJ Hope

[Guest Danlance]

Theres some very good, and some very bad nokias been produced

My previous (now my wifes) phone is a 6210 - great phone - worked perfectly for nearly 2 years - does everything that it does better than the SPV.

The SPV however does much much more...

Previous to that I had a couple of 7110's - my wife had to have hers replaced on insurance 6 times in 12 months :D - mainly due to the slide mouthpiece sticking, althought the battery used to fall off quite a lot aswell.

The TNT driver resposible for collections and deliveries for orange insurance said that the 7210 was one of the worst phones for needing replacing - and that he had only ones delivered a replacement 6210 (the owner dropped it down the toilet...)

One of my m8s gets 33xx's - and on average they seem to last her bout 6 months before they need replacing (normally the screen goes)

But even the worst nokia I have ever seen is far superior to the heap of rubbish known as a Sony T5e - worst phone I have ever owned - makes the SPV seem reliable...

In my experience with nokias:

Software Ease of use: 9/10

Software Features: 4/10

Hardware: 2-9/10

Stability: 9.9/10

Sony T5:

Software Ease of use: 0/10

Software Features: 7/10 (if they were usable)

Hardware: 2/10

Stability: 4/10

SPV:

Software Ease of use: 6/10

Software Features: 9/10

Hardware: 6/10 (tho to early to say really about reliability etc)

Stability: 2/10

[Guest barncourt]

Programs->Settings->More->Power Management->Screensaver mode.

Set it to Never and the backlight won't go off. Yup this WILL have a pretty drastic effect on battery life.

That's the problem with a gorgeous screen - looks nice, but with current technology you can't have it on unless you want it plugged in all the time :-(

Barry

Bit of confusion arising here folks. The backlight is nothing to do with the screensaver. The screensaver usually cuts in a few moments after the backlight is extinguished. I agree leaving the backlight on will drain the battery, but setting the screensaver to never should not have such a dramatic effect. It simply means the display is not being refreshed and at least you can still read the screen in daylight.

I have my screensaver switched off permantently and the backlight comes on/off when keys are pressed like a normal phone.

People are also getting confused with terminology. LCD is Liquid Crystal Display and is irrespective of whether the screen is coloured or not.

[Guest Bazz]

Bit of confusion arising here folks.   The backlight is nothing to do with the screensaver.  The screensaver usually cuts in a few moments after the backlight is extinguished.  I agree leaving the backlight on will drain the battery, but setting the screensaver to never should not have such a dramatic effect.  It simply means the display is not being refreshed and at least you can still read the screen in daylight.

Not meaning to pick a fight, but if the screen saver turns the screen off surely it will save battery power? And if the screen is not being refreshed at all then what use is it being on? It must be being refreshed to update time/Unread SMS indicator/Answerphone icon... etc.

[Guest Wizard]

Well I don't know about anyone elses' confusion, but I can only speak for my own... I had misunderstood the difference between None and Never on the screensaver setting (pretty reasonably I think) and I must have inadvertently set it to Never. If that setting is chosen it appears the whole screen blanks completely after a period of inactivity. I've now set it back to None and with this setting the phone just loses the backlight after a period of time, leaving it readable in decent lighting conditions without the backlight.

Wizard