London, September 21, 2005: Orange SA today launches the
SPV M5000, a new laptop-style 3G phone and connected PDA for
business users.
The SPV M5000 is designed to provide quick, easy and high speed
access to remote office applications and the internet, as well as
offering full voice capability. It provides mobile business workers
with a genuine alternative to carrying a laptop, PDA and phone by
combining them in a sleek, pocket-sized device running on Microsoft
Windows Mobile 5.0.
The SPV M5000 features a customised Orange Homescreen and an
icon that provides shortcuts to the key applications required by
business users. The laptop-style device has a pivoting screen and a
user-friendly QWERTY keyboard. It also operates as a stylus-driven
connected PDA with a screen display that automatically switches
between portrait and landscape, depending on its orientation.
The first 3G connected PDA from Orange, the SPV M5000 underlines
the company’s commitment to provide its business customers with the
widest range of mobile devices available today. The SPV M5000 is
being launched simultaneously in France, Switzerland and the UK and
will be made available across other Orange territories by the end
of 2005.
The SPV M5000 is also one of the first business devices to take
advantage of Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0, giving business users
the type of functionality and applications they use on their
desktop PC such as email, personal information management and
Microsoft Office. The SPV M5000 comes with Microsoft applications
such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel so that users can continue to
work within their familiar Microsoft Office environment while away
from their desktop computer.
Orange, Microsoft and HTC worked together closely to design the
SPV M5000 which is optimised for data-centric business use. It has
a built-in modem and fax capability and the user can read emails
and access their calendar whilst making calls using their handsfree
kit.
A 128MB flash memory gives the SPV M5000 ample storage for the
majority of short business trips. The device also features an
integrated camera and supports video playbacks. An in-built loud
speaker and sensitive microphone also makes the SPV M5000 suitable
for conference calls. Its sleek form factor is complemented by a
selection of screensavers, wallpapers and ringtones suited to
business use.
The flagship product in Orange’s newly-created Signature devices
for business range, the SPV M5000 features an Orange Homescreen
which provides one-click access to key business functions and
applications such as ActiveSync, Notes, File Explorer and
Calculator.
Philippe Bernard, Executive Vice President, Orange Business
Solutions comments, “Mobility is unlocking the potential of the IT
infrastructure by giving business people access to data when and
where they need it. As mobile devices are increasingly aligned with
personal computers, they must operate within that same
environment.
"The SPV M5000 does exactly that by providing a powerful
Microsoft Windows based connected PDA that has outstanding
compatibility with IT software, hardware and powerful
connectivity.”
“The SPV M5000 and the launch today of the Signature devices for
business range, is another example of Orange providing its business
customers with the widest selection of choice, whilst ensuring a
consistent, and positive user experience that is easy to manage and
deploy across a range of user types,” concludes Philippe
Bernard.
Tony Cripps, Wireless Software analyst from Ovum says, "Orange's
Signature range is notable for its breadth of form factor and
mobile OS choices, which covers a wide range of usage scenarios and
price points while delivering a common experience.
“Devices like the SPV M5000 give a good indication of how far
business mobile devices have come and how far they can go. Its
high-speed connectivity options and convertible form factor are
enabled through the use of Windows Mobile 5.0, which also offers
improved compatibility with Microsoft Office and will soon be
capable of out of the box push email via Exchange."
Suzan DelBene, Corporate Vice President, Mobile & Embedded
Devices Division Microsoft Corp. concluded, “we are thrilled to see
the SPV M5000 as the flagship device that is launching Orange's
optimised portfolio of Signature devices for business. This
announcement follows a hugely successful collaboration between
Microsoft and Orange in Europe and is another great example of the
innovation possible on the Windows Mobile software platform.”
Further information can be found on the Orange website
Click
here