Apparently Orange has no plans to drop the SPV brand in favor of the HTC brand in any of their markets - as reported in the post below.

Orange will continue to launch SPV devices, as part of the Signature Series, some of which will be from HTC. As HTC are increasing the number of devices they launch Orange has decided that not all of them will be Signature Series and therefore not always SPV:

For this reason we are launching the HTC Touch under the HTC brand. The Orange mark will still appear on the HTC Touch, as it does on lots of other devices", said an to an Orange spokesperson on Thursday.

Longer term, Orange plans to only use the Orange mark on Signature devices:

Our aim is for the Orange mark to stand for an assured quality level plus value added features and for the Signature Series - which comprises devices from many manufacturers - to be a higher level of quality still", the Orange spokesperson added.

Good to know that Orange continues with the SPV brand but the information above also hints, that Orange might work with other ODMs in future.

[via the::unwired]

Posted by Doug at 08:46 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post  

With the announcement of the Orange HTC Touch, Orange have confirmed that the SPV line of devices, that was conceived to encompass our beloved Smartphones, is no more.

Future SPV type devices will be marketed under the HTC name, with HTC's retail brand now taking the same status enjoyed by other manufacturers such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson etc.

R.I.P. SPV, welcome HTC! Shouldn't it have been like this from the start?

[via MoDaCo]

Posted by Doug at 01:20 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post  

I don't really talk about other phones as this blog is dedicated to the E650, but the Touch is made by HTC so you can forgive me this time.

HTC announces "...the world’s first phone to feature intuitive touch screen technology." HTC calls the technology TouchFLO™ - and it looks as though the info is being released now to remind potential iPhone buyers that there may be a better, cheaper alternative just around the corner.

The phone, for all the hype, is not any better than the current offering S70 or E650. It doesn't have 3G (which will be the first thing that gets noted in the critical press) and it only has a 2 mega-pixel camera, but it does have WM6 pro.

Not quite a one-button phone: it has 3 on the front, a camera button on one side and volume control on the other side.

Not only for fingers: it also has a stylus too - just in case you fingers are too thick I suppose or you don't like getting greasy streaks on the nice big screen. Perhaps some pocket pc guys just can't get away from their little writing and tapping tools.

So perhaps it isn't the iPhone killer after all, but it does look nice all the same.





Highlights

• Feel the difference with intuitive TouchFLO™ screen technology for finger and stylus input.
• Simple user interface for quick dialing, navigation and launching applications.
• Surf the web with ease on the large 2.8” touch screen with Internet Explorer®.
• Enjoy music and movie clips with HTC’s Audio Manager and Windows Media® Player.
• Chat on Messenger, send and receive Hotmail® and send photos to Windows Live™ Spaces.

Key Features

• TouchFLO™ screen technology
• Windows Mobile® 6 Professional
• Direct Push Outlook® email
• Compact at H: 99.9mm, W: 58mm, D: 13.9mm and lightweight at only 112g
• Tri-band GSM with GPRS/EDGE
• 2.0 mega-pixel camera
• Stereo Bluetooth® 2.0 and Wi-Fi®
• HTC ExtUSB™ cable for PC

Check out the HTC Touch minisite here

Download the product sheet for further insight into key features and specifications here

Labels: HTC Touch, TouchFLO

Posted by Doug at 15:26 | Permalink | Comments | links to this post