Alternative to Orange and SPV?
 

I'm currently with Orange and have an SPV C500 which is fine, especially the integration with Outlook.

I may be moving office where I won't be able to get Orange reception, so I want to look at other options.

Ideally I'd like to switch to Vodafone, but I don't know which phones they have that have good Outlook integration. Any recommendations?

What other phones similar to the SPVs are available on the other networks?

Thanks
Andy

hmm. I got the SPVC550 with TomTom 5 installed :) oh yea baby, full sat nav and so much more. Ask orange to sort your reception out and upgrade ;) hehe.

Not a very useful coment i know

Just buy the iMate version...the SP3 iirc

http://www.imate.com/DETAILS_SP3.htm

Only thing is you'll have to pay outright rather than get it subsidised :(

My mate bought an iMate Jam outright becuase o2 were too arsey with the upgrade crap :rolleyes:


did a google and they are listed here:
http://www.ekmpowershop.com/ekmps/sh...obal/index.asp

(cant say if they are bonafine though...I can ask my mate where he got his if your interested :) )

You can unlock the Orange SPV to use any network. Just do a search on the net, loads of sites explain how to do it yourself and its easy.

Doh! Now why didn't I think of that? :brickwall

Apprarently with the C500 there isn't a free way, unlike the older E100/200 phones.

It's only £20 to unlock it to all networks, so it won't break the bank.

I like the phone, but I do prefer getting new phones! ;) Any other options on handsets with good Outlook integration?

check out these...

http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=125564

http://www.expansys.com/product.asp?code=125518

I've had SPV 100/200/500, fancied a change and brought a Nokia 6680.

With Nokia PC Suite (comes with phone) installed it syncs with Outlook and your contacts, calendar, notes etc all work happily.

You can unlock the C500 for free, you dont need to pay.

Great phones IMO, Ive got tomtom5 installed also which came in very handy on a recent roadtrip around Europe, and is great with the speed camera database installed - who needs a road angel! ;)

Got a C550 - suberb phone. Can get TomTom software installed & GPS receiver for £95 - full sat nav on ya phone. Quality.

G00ner, how are you getting on with the Nokia. I've had a quick look and the features look impressive, but does it have the usual hardware bugs as Nokia have rushed to release the phone?

Peter, can you let me know where to get it unlocked for free? PM me if needed :)

Rik, where can I get the software and GPS receiver for £95. Again PM if needed :)

http://www.modaco.com/HTC_Typhoon_an...Cocom-f61.html

Thats a great forum, and Ive seen threads on there before about unlocking. The C500 is a variation HTV Typhoon btw!

For tomtom you simply need to buy a bluetooth GPS receiver (50-60quid off ebay), and get hold of the tomtom5 mobile software (from somewhere like expansys, or can be downloaded off a filesharing site but this would be illegal)

My C500 runs on Vodafone

Thanks Pete, the SIM unlock worked a treat! :)

I'll have a hunt around for a cheap GPS receiver now!

6680 is a good phone, nice screen, 2 cameras, good menus etc. The battery is average, about 2 days at most and the keys are a bit small.

The C500 is smaller and neater, but I fancied a change from SPV's hence the 6680, but Nokia have a couple of newer/better phones than this out now, worth a trip into town to see them before you commit.

AFAIK all recent Nokias work with PC Suite, so syncing with Outlook should be easy.

Ebay is a good source for sim free phones, just watch out for the sharks.

Edit, no real bugs, but it does need rebooting every few days, might be fixed with a free firmware update.

Hi,
I like the sound of Sat Nav on your phone. Which phones can gain this feature as my contract is up for re-newal on three, but might jump boat.
Kam. PS does the sat nav work ok?

The sat nav works fine - tomtom mobile is virtually identical to the software on the tomtom dedicated sat nav units you buy in halfords or whatever.

You can get tomtom mobile for any phones running Windows Smartphone (ie C500, C550 etc) and also for phones running Symbian OS (P900 etc), so quite a choice.

I've just got a load of Qtek 9090s to play with, not too bad so far (basically an XDA2s I think).