Orange to delay Smartphone SPV e100

ORANGE IS HOLDING back the launch of an improved version of the Windows SPV Smartphone which was announced at 3GSM Cannes in February 2003, according to Mobile magazine.

While the original model was aimed at early adopters and business users who 'synced' the SPV with their PCs, the new SPV e100 (codenamed SPVx) is intended to provide consumers with easier access to games, music and entertainment services.

Specific features to be offered by the SPV e100 include a larger keyboard layout plus a 'joystick' for gaming and menu navigation.

It will also feature an improved colour screen for better Internet surfing and a more consumer orientated menu system. Other consumer focussed accessories will include memory cards pre-loaded with games, video clips and MP3 files plus a cable for camera attachment - designed to encourage greater use of MMS/fototext.

The SPV was, of course, heavily co-sponsored by Microsoft, and Orange appears to be suffering from the scourge of the IT world - namely pre-announced products killing off demand for the old model while consumers wait for the Next Big Thing.

Hence the SPV has dropped to as little as £70 online compared to its theoretical retail price of £220. According to Mobile some 40,000 out of the original 70,000 SPVs earmarked for the UK are still unsold. So although the promised availability of six to eight weeks after the announcement has now passed, the SPV e100 mysteriously hasn't made its way into stores in the UK, France, Denmark and Switzerland yet. µ