ZTE Blade V Quad Core Phone - £89.99

ZTE main webpage for the Blade V: http://www.ztedevices.com/product/smart_phone/eb2a3a16-f409-4599-923f-b23d810a2ff8.html

Apparently has a compass :-D Cool, defo an improvement over the Y300 (Although not something essential).

Basic Information
Dimensions 126mm x 64mm x 10.9mm
Weight 130g
Battery capacity 1800 mAh, Li-ion
Screen Size 4.0 inch
Camera 5 MP AF / Flash, 0.3 MP Front
Dispaly 4.” WVGA (800 x 480) 16M TFT, IPS
Talk Time 240 min Talk Time
Standby Time 250 hours Standby

System Information
Network HSPA+
Band Edge: 900/1800 / 1900, HSPA: 900/2100 7.2Mbps DL, 5.76 UL
OS Android 4.1
CPU quad-core
Chipset Qualcomm MSM8225Q
CPU Frequency Quad core 1.2 GHz
Memory 4GB ROM, 1GB RAM, Micro SD up to 32GB

Advanced Features
Audio AMR-NB, AAC, AAC+
Video H.263, H.264, MPEG4 30 fps, – recording at 15 fps
Wi-fi 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi Direct
Sensors Accelerometer, Gyro, Compass, Proximity, Light
Preloaded Apps Facebook, Twitter, Google Suite (Maps, Talk, Mail, etc), View: Office & PDF
Others FOTA Version 1.2, GPS
 
Quad core doesn't necessarily mean fast. However with 1GB RAM and a quad core it should certainly perform well enough to not be annoying. They use the cheapest quad/dual core's they can in Chinese phones just to say they have one.
 
Yup, "quad" core = pffffffft!

A good dual core chip (S4 krait) can outperform quad core chipsets "overall" (especially compared to this one). Only area where quad generally beats a good dual core CPU is in the epeen benchmarks :p

Android and the majority of apps don't even utilise 1 core fully half the time, let alone 4 plus the apps etc. just aren't optimised to utilise the true potential of multiple cores (only recently have the tools been released for app developers to properly code their apps for quad etc. and iirc it is still a beta version? Plus given how slow android developers are with updating apps to the newest UI, I doubt they will be even quicker with the more complicated stuff at the "core" of the app.......

And same for screen type, just because it is IPS doesn't mean it will look great :p Loads of phone screens out there that use IPS, however, still have washed out screens, poor viewing angles etc.


Pretty much agree with kona's points. Phone looks great "for the price" and if you only intend on using it for the very basic stuff but the best bargain is still without a doubt the nexus 4 and if you don't mind windows, the lumia 520.

I would rather get a second hand one S S4 version and if you aren't keen on that then a second hand galaxy nexus or GS 2.
 
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I don't care about Dual core, I care about the RAM, which should make a big difference to the performance. As said, the same chipset, but slightly slower on the Y300 is just fine, I doubt many people 'need' an S4 Krait.

Tell me where you can get a NEW phone with better spec that is a UK model (i.e. not a chinese import) for this kind of money? Nexus 4, screwed on internal memory for the 8GB version, and twice the price.

Tt's all about the price bracket and whilst a lot of you wouldn't buy this phone because there are better phones, that's totally missing the point. I would rather have a £500 all singing, all dancing phone, but for me and many others that just isn't an option.

What the heck has this 'quad core means nothing' line come from? We know that, it's a tech forum, not all chips are equal. I'm surprised people have to keep repeating it like they are trying to make out they are clever (or maybe didn't read past the OP's first post?)
 
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Well clearly the way some people are posting about a "quad core phone for £90?!" implies that they don't know very much....... also, it isn't necessarily just this thread but loads of other threads on here and not to mention everywhere else.

And not everyone on this forum are that knowledgeable about tech. stuff etc. otherwise we wouldn't have threads asking what cpu, gpu, mobile etc. to get.....


Yes you probably won't get a better brand new phone for that price but imho it is worth saving another £100 even if it means waiting another 2 months to get what is a superior handset "overall" or as said, even the lumia 520, if you don't mind windows that is.


You will only get about 3GB of internal storage with this phone and therefore won't have very much left for apps, especially if you want to install a few games and even more so the big games like dead trigger etc.

And whilst you can root and add the apps2sd option, again that is pointless as it only moves the apk over, not the app data, which is what consumes the most space and plus you can't move across too many apps otherwise you encounter the well known problems:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1446961

https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=25563


As I said above, if you want a basic phone that will do the basic jobs then it is great but if you want a long lasting phone for a bit more than just texting, phone calls then waiting that bit longer to save up £100 will get you a much better "package"

Also, if you intend on rooting etc. you always have USB OTG so could plug in a tiny USB drive.
 
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I'll have to concede on that about some people assuming just because it's a quad it must be good.

£180 to £200 is indeed going to get you a better phone (even a dual core one of an older generation). Personally, if I had the choice between I would get the pricier option if I could afford it, but I can only recommend to others based on the phones in it's price bracket, or near it.

Honestly, I've never seen that rebooting issue when too many apps on the SD Card. Thanks for the heads up! Interestingly, I did see that Spotify has removed the option about where to store data, and apparently it's all going to the internal memory (which is a really odd choice for them to make). Just to mention, that I had an EVO 3D with 1GB internal storage (after the ROM etc), and I never had a problem with ANY games or applications on that, or storage space issues that I ever noticed (I had an SD Card in that).

We should start finding out today if the phone is dross or reasonable, and importantly, unlockable.
 
Nexus18 said:
You will only get about 3GB of internal storage with this phone and therefore won't have very much left for apps, especially if you want to install a few games and even more so the big games like dead trigger etc.

And whilst you can root and add the apps2sd option, again that is pointless as it only moves the apk over, not the app data, which is what consumes the most space and plus you can't move across too many apps otherwise you encounter the well known problems:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1446961

https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=25563
Click to expand...

Just set your default storage location to the SD card, then you're only limited by the size of the SD card :confused:
 
people are missing the point that <£100 phones hold their value so well they don't even depreciate if you upgrade often enough.

therefore if your smart the phones cost you nothing.

whereas the nexus 4 is going to depreciate, albeit a small amount, it's still going to cost you in the long run.

for people on a budget, which is what a lot of people are on judging by a lot of the threads that pop up on here that only have £100 to spend on a phone and cannot stretch to £160 (when you include shipping), then this is surely the best option?

i hope these phones prosper as these will help to bring down the cost of all other handsets over time.

budget phones are full of win, plus the whole fun of upgrading your phone every 6 months is very addictive.

but i stopped doing it when i got the nexus 4, because it was so good for the money, but a part of me wished that i didn't so i could have played around with the Y300 and now this and kept the £300 for something else that went on the nexus 4 which is now lost 50% of it's value.
 
^^^ See that makes no sense to me, I'd rather enjoy a good phone for a longer period than put up with budget phones that saves me ~ £5/m over 2 years.

That's based on current N4 prices.
 
In my case, I'm moving to the states, and likely going onto Virgin Mobile over there, and can only use the phones they supply, so getting an expensive phone now would just be daft (in my case). Also.. trying to justify the cost of £160+ for a phone when my child needs things, is another factor (amongst many). Not everyone has disposable income, and even if you safe it up, then using that money on what would be a luxury, just is not really acceptable to those on a budget. If my phone was part of my job, or I was a heavy user, then it would be justifiable. As it is, even the slower Y300 is good enough for watching movies; playing games; browsing the net; Strava; Facebook and many other things (Listening to music is 'OK' but it is one of the weaker sides of a budget phone).

Gonna start looking for proper reviews for this phone now :-)

EDIT: Something I did think about and start looking for is Blade V accessories (cases, screen protectors etc) and I can't find any yet. At minimum I need a screen protector especially on plastic screens! For me, it's a no go until those are out.
 
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Yes, it's happening for everybody. (I don't think it's actually taking you to the Blade III page btw, it's just that happens to be the advert at the top (it then scrolls to another advert)).
 
From people that have this phone already, it's getting rated quite well. GPS is quick, it does have a compass, and screen is good. No reportable lag, and quick responses (prob due to 1GB memory that was desperately needed on budget phones).

The only remaining thing is to find out if it can be unlocked (no one has yet :-( )

Also, the ZTE Blade V page from ZTE uk is now up, and the Blade V tariff page is up on Virgin, but you can't buy it online yet, you still have to go in-store.
 
Found out today, that you can phone Virgin and they unlock the phone for £15.20 (apparently). You can use the original £10 credit towards doing this. take 3 to 5 days... but someone got the code the next day.
 
I just don't have the time to go and pick one up in Plymouth... so annoying :-(

Really want one now, especially as they are unlockable via Virgin. Blade III screen protectors fit almost perfectly as well.

EDIT: Apparently ZTE have also just released the stock rom for this phone :-D Sounds like this phone may get some good support at this rate :-)
 
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Rusty! said:
The GPU in this thing is from the stone age :o
Click to expand...

It is more than enough for the resolution. If you want really good game performance then you won't be buying this anyway. Dead Trigger played just fine on my Y300, and that's slower!

EDIT: Will hopefully be picking up one of these next Monday/Tuesday. Looking forward to it :-D My current phone is actually perfectly fine, just I'm a RAM whore... lol.
 
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