The new Orange Android phone (San Francisco) £99...but a Question??

UOcUK Poopscoop · 24 Sep 2010 at 00:25

So £109.99 for an Android 480x800 OLED phone (compulsory £10 topup)!!.... its already getting a lot off attention on the net but as a total noob to Android a question please?

Would I only be able to download apps that the Orange store support.... as they dont seem to do many for any phone really!

I glean that there will be ways of "opening" this phone up, its already been rooted etc. and no doubt it will be unlockable soon....

But in the meantime, would I be limited to only the meagre the apps Orange sell??

Thanks guys!

randal24 said:
Disclaimer - All information lifted from the Modaco ZTE Subforum, kudos and thanks to the original contributors in the linked threads. All I've done is collate their findings, insights and useful information in this post. Everything links to Modaco threads as files are updated often, so deep linking is pointless.

:: Orange San Francisco Android Smartphone ::

First stop for anyone wanting to know more beyond the below is the Modaco ZTE Blade subforum.

Spec

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 (lol - agreed!)

9 days standby (lol - agreed!)

Full review here.

Unlocking

Everything you need in the link below, didn't want to cross link on this site as I'm not sure if it breaks the rules or not.

Full details found here.

Process:

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!

Superboot/root

Rooting is the process to gain full control over the phone, and allows you to install applications that require root access and those not signed or approved by Google. This is similar to the iPhone jailbreak in a way. Other things you can do once rooted include Apps2SD, tethering, backups, custom ROMS... blah blah.

More information here explaining why you should root, and here.

How to full details here.

Download r3 Superboot for ZTE Blade - DOWNLOAD (ROMraid Load Balancing) - MD5: 03105bbbf5120535c8921075822a1b67

Download fastboot if you do not have it already.

Turn off your phone and take out the battery. Unplug the phone from the PC / charger.

Replace the battery and turn the phone back on with 'volume up' held. The device will stay at the 'green android' screen.

Plug the phone into the PC.

Extract the fastboot zip file.

From a command prompt (at the directory containing these new files!) run 'fastboot-windows flash boot boot.blade.superboot.mcri.r3.img' (subsituting 'fastboot-mac' or 'sudo fastboot-linux' as required)

When this finishes, from the command prompt run 'fastboot-windows reboot' (again substituting 'fastboot-mac' or 'sudo fastboot-linux' as required)

Done!

Clockwork Mod Howto

Clockwork Mod is a means to backup and restore your phone to/from SD. It's also a very good mechanism for apply ROMs, updates and patches. It is heavily used in deployment of custom ROMs on Modaco.

Full details and guide here.

Custom ROMS and Installation

Master thread of custom ROMS and Guides - Great thread!

Direct links to ROM threads, highly recommend reading the above thread through as it links to them all. The choice of what you go for is entirely up to you, so people have more luck with some ROMs than others. The Modaco ROMs seem to be most popular, but development appears to have slowed a little (until the 2.2 release yesterday 01/12/10).

Direct links to ROM threads.

2.2
Modaco 2.2 Alpha r2 (warning, alpha!)
FLB's 2.2 Beta
Frankish 2.2

2.1
r4 Modaco 2.1 ROM
BladeVillain ROM
Hungarian Hedgehog 2.1 ROM
Stock ROMS

Other Stuff

USB Drivers
Cases + Screen Protectors
HTC IME Keyboard Repack

UOcUK Poopscoop · 24 Sep 2010 at 00:34

So your not compelled to go via an Orange "pruned" version of Market or anything?

Im wary due to a couple of comments ive read that infer you are limited to the Orange Marketplace.... and wary of Orange full stop really!!

UOcUK Poopscoop · 24 Sep 2010 at 00:57

Yep, thats where ive been reading about it, over at Modaco.... but can anyone confirm that Orange cant restrict it to only being able to get apps from their own marketplace?

I dont trust Orange, and being an Android noob.... im a little paranoid!

UOcUK Poopscoop · 24 Sep 2010 at 01:13

thanks for help there, much appreciated!

So will an app designed for an Android phone work on them all, or will some be specific to types of phone, if only due to the res of the screen, say?

May well pick one up tomorrow. I'll try a smartsim in it, as it *seems* it works on the phone.

UOcUK Poopscoop · 24 Sep 2010 at 02:51

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions guys, as always, ocuk comes up trumps.

Thanks again!

Well, ive ordered a smartsim (very cheap) but will hold off getting the phone until someone confirms this method of unlocking works with it I think.

If it can be unlocked (heck, someone'll figure that one out), it looks like I have finally found a phone I want, and can afford to upgrade to!

Almost considered getting a secondhand iphone but even then, the prices really put me off. I'm just not an Apple man either, no offence to those that are.

UOcUK Poopscoop · 24 Sep 2010 at 20:56

mburn_83 said:
Will this get phone get the 2.2 update?

Anyone know what the battery is like?

I am not an expert.... but on another forum there is talk of the kernal being available meaning 2.2 is "possible"..... or something.

UOcUK Poopscoop · 26 Sep 2010 at 21:47

Ive a smartsim on the way (well, 2 actually) anyone want to try it out and see if it unlocks ok?

Deal is, if you honestly try it out and give me (and the others on here) a proper account of the unlock..... then you can keep the smartsim.

Any taker?

UOcUK Poopscoop · 28 Sep 2010 at 00:23

I hung around the Orange shop for ages today procrastinating about buying one and in the end didnt.... thinking it prudent to wait till they can be unlocked. Now I read this! lol

I'll be off down there again tomorrow!

UOcUK Poopscoop · 8 Oct 2010 at 00:58

Question for SF owners, can your phone be put into sleep mode at any point, or only when thenscreen is locked?

I can only put mine into sleep mode when the screen lock is on, that cant be right surely?

Ive tried r2, r3 and standard Orange ROM..... starting to think an app might be stopping it..... thats if (as I would have thought!) that you should be able to put it into sleep mode at any point, not just when the screen locks???