Orange San Francisco 2.1 Android £99 !!

[miffed]

http://mobile.engadget.com/2010/09/21/orange-launches-oled-donning-san-francisco-doesnt-break-the-an/

Looks like Orange are following T-mobile with the budget mediocre spec bandwagon , this time with the help of ZTE

TBF I think it looks quite nice, better than the pulse , and with an OLED screen too

As with the Pulse , I am amazed by quite how much phone you get for your £100 lately ! of course you are not going to get the perfomance of the "bigger boys", but then of course you shouldn't , otherwise how coul you justify £400 for a top notch handset ! ?
I think these budget handsets are pretty great as second phones , pretty cool that you could have a GN1 , or Desire , but then if you are going out to do a bit of manual work or something where you wouldn't want to risk you "crown jewels" ,you a pop your sim in one of these , and have "almost" the same functionality , familiar UI etc.

[Hands0n]

I picked one up today - destined for some significant "adjustment" once the battery is fully charged. There is no way that the Orange branded OS is going to persist for any longer than strictly necessary. But more on that in a moment. Lets have a quick peek at the thing.

For £110, including the mandatory £10 initial top-up, the Orange San Francisco nee ZTE Blade is a bit of an exciting proposition. It is one, however, that a lot of people might consider mediocre - as miffed has suggested. But they would be somewhat mistaken in such a prejudice. To the contrary, the Orange San Francisco is quite a bit of handset, not at all shy on spec or even build quality. At a bargain basement price this is certainly not reflected in what you end up with in your hand.

So lets start off with a review by Paul over at Modaco - http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blade-blade-modaco-com/318802/paul-reviews-the-orange-san-francisco/

The specifications for the San Francisco are as follows:-

Android 2.1 Eclair
Qualcomm MSM7227 600MHz processor
512MB RAM
UMTS 900/2100 MHz
GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz
HSDPA (3G+)
3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus
3.5" WVGA (800x480) OLED capacative touchscreen
WiFi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth
FM radio
GPS
Accelerometer
Digital compass
Light sensor
Proximity sensor
116mm / 56.5 mm / 11.8mm
130g
4 hours talktime
9 days standby


Now that is not a shabby spec - perhaps not up there with the Nexus One and the latest and greatest Android devices. But even with the lower resolution that AMOLED screen is a delight to behold. And everything else that you might expect in a 2010 model of Android is there.

Surely corners must have been cut? Well, if they have I cannot find any. I won't get into a repetition of the Modaco review. Suffice to say that the handset feels very positive and solid in the hand. There are no wobbly bits, the case is airtight (getting it open to pop the SIM in was a challenge) and requires a decent thumb or finger nail. With a matt surface that has a rubberised feel to it, although it is not coated at all, the handset is unlikely to slip out of your hand, even on a cold day.

Unlocking the Handset
I used NCK Codes (http://www.nckcodes.co.uk) to obtain an unlock code for the San Francisco (a) because they had received good compliments from happy users and (b) they are incredibly cheap at $3 for the unlock. Yes, that is USD 3 - and they take Pay Pal payments so everything is nice and secure for both of you.

The service from NCK Codes is lightning fast. The only thing you need to remember is to include your handset's IMEI in the comments section of your Pay Pal payment. If you forget then just go back to NCK Codes website, go to your Account and open up the order where you can then enter the IMEI as a comment there. NCK Codes will, almost by return, send you an email with the device's unlock code therein.

The actual unlock is a piece of cake ... You will need a non-Orange SIM installed in the handset, then ...

How To Enter Unlock Code:

1. Power on the with a Sim card That the phone will not accept.

2. Enter unlock code at the prompt, then restart phone.

PS. Please take 2 minutes of your time to add your comment regarding our services.

Happy Unlocking


NCK Codes.


Custom ROM - De-branding
Let me say at the outset that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the stock Android OS as developed and issued by Google's labs. There, I've said it.

Where it all goes pear shaped, I believe, is when the various manufacturers and operators get their sticky paws on the source code and implement their branding and other additions. Orange are, in my opinion, probably the worst in the UK.

Possibly the biggest crime against humanity is that Orange remove GTalk from Android. Now, whether you use GTalk or not is not particularly significant in this context. But it is a fundamental part of the OS and, as such, rightfully belongs there. But Orange would rather you use their own IM service which is a complete lock-out from the world at large.

Then there are Orange's versions of all of the standard Android apps such as Dialler, Contacts and the rest. Why on Earth Orange think I want all of that nonsense is beyond me.

Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available out there to solve the problem, and the Modaco forum is one, XDA is another. I chose Modaco in this instance as it is probably the most 'together' set of documentation and links to the various custom ROM images that you may need.

In less than 20 minutes I have got the San Francisco running Android Eclair 2.1-update1 (the latest Eclair) with the Modaco additions. If you want completely bog standard Android Eclair then there is a version of that also available on Modaco, without their additions.

Next?
Froyo, of course. There is a beta of vanilla Android 2.2 Froyo for the San Francisco and I will be partaking of that as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I will take the rest of the evening out to get the feel of the little handset.

Conclusions
Whether you are new to Android or an old hack the Orange San Francisco is a marvelous device that has attracted the attention of the Developer community, most likely because of its combination of price, performance and quality. Of the budget range, this handset is top of the heap right now.

The Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade demonstrate that cheap is not to be equated with rubbish. I give this handset the thumbs up and a very strong Buy recommendation.

[miffed]

Nice one mate ! I have heard a few similar reactions from people that have bought these - and it is only for the fact that I have not been near an Orange shop lately that I haven't bought one myself !
Does seem to be a great handset at a magic price point - and the cheap unlock is the icing on the cake !

[Hands0n]

I found the following on the Modaco site in the forum section on the Orange San Francisco (ZTE Blade). In testing it against my San Francisco it gives out the same unlock code as did NCK Codes - only its a free unlock code generator. Very nice.

Usual caveats apply - use this at your own risk.



This site works FOR FREE!!!!

http://www.nextgenserver.com/calculator/

Put your IMEI in, select ZTE, leave the default model as ZTE BLUEBELT, pop in the not-a-robot code. In the box above the IMEI you'll receive your code. Gave me the same code as Nckcodes sent me.

Edit: some further instructions so you don't have to look elsewhere:
Use the dialler and enter this to see your IMEI: *#06# (don't press Call!).
Get your unlock code from the site above.
Double-check you used the correct IMEI number -- it's free to retry!
Turn off your phone.
Open the back.
Remove the battery.
Remove the (Orange?) SIM card.
Insert a SIM card from a different operator.
Replace battery.
Replace back.
Turn on phone.
(If prompted, enter any PIN number that you may have set on the new SIM.)
Now you should be prompted to enter the unlock code. Do it carefully!


Source: http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blade-blade-modaco-com/322848/free-unlock-codes/

[hecatae]

debranded my zte blade using androot method