Orange San Francisco - Not at all a budget Android phone for £ 99

    image     Not so long ago I was asked to pick up a new phone, since I have some experience communicating with the Android platform and phones on this platform are available in a wide price range, my eyes were shifted specifically to the so-called androidphones.

        Having studied the Russian retail market for not expensive Android-based smartphones, I began to take a closer look at LG Optimus One , but by a lucky chance surfing the Internet I came across a review hero - Orange San Francisco , at a price of only £ 99 in England (about 4,500 rubles) and in terms of technical specifications, it’s almost twice as much as all smartphones provided in our market worth up to 10,000 rubles.

    It is about him that will be discussed in today's review, welcome to habrakat.

    image     After a deeper study of the available information on the smartphone, it became known that the smartphone is actually a Chinese product called ZTE Blade . Orange, like many other operators, simply orders devices branded under its trademark from the Chinese company ZTE , redoing the firmware for itself and adding its own software.

        Orange San Francisco is available in two colors - Black & White. Many stores call the black model Gray, although they actually sell it black, because of this, we can mistakenly conclude that the smartphone has three color options.

        The device is sold locked to a European operatorOrange , it seems that this is where its low price lies, the operator apparently plans to profit from contracts and not from selling the device, although this is also doubtful, since you can purchase a unlock code for £ 4 on the official Orange website ( about 180 rubles), or else use a bunch of sites with an unlock code generator from craftsmen, I give an example of such a generator, that is, unlock can be obtained for free.

    Specifications:


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        As you can see from the table of technical specifications, the device is equipped with enough dignity, the only thing that can be criticized is the battery of the device, with a capacity of 1250mAh you can’t hope for long-term operation, but in fact with not very active use the smartphone works up to two days, which in general it’s not bad at all. If you listen to music, surf the net a bit and play toys, then the battery charge will reach zero at night, that is, you will have to recharge the device from the outlet every night.

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        If you paid attention to the type of screen, you probably noticed that the device’s screen is of two types - AMOLED and TFT , unfortunately AMOLED was supplied only in the early lots until 2011, today you can buy a device with an AMOLED screen only on ebay in used condition, and the prices for them are breaking higher than the cost of a new smartphone with a TFT screen.

        The device has three hard buttons, at first glance it might seem that they are touch-sensitive, for example, like Acer Liquid , but in fact the buttons are all hard keys. There is no search button, which, in general, I do not consider as a drawback, I find the usefulness of the search button almost zero.

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        The camera of the device has only 3.2 megapixels with autofocus, but this does not stop it from taking quite good pictures, I would put it in one row in quality with iPhone 3Gs . Of course, to print pictures, the quality of the camera is not enough, but it will be able to capture some important points, if there is no camera at hand. Unfortunately, there is no hardware button for the “camera”.

    Examples of photos taken with a smartphone camera:

    imageimageimage

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        The smartphone’s delivery cannot boast of a wide range of equipment, but there is almost everything you need - a 2GB microSD memory card (inserted directly into the phone), a quick start guide in English, a microUSB to USB sync cable, 1250mAh battery, a mediocre headset 3.5mm, charging with a plug UK (you need to buy an adapter or charge from USB), an Orange SIM card with a prepaid card for £ 10 (it is useless in Russia, but I saw these sell on ebay for £ 7 ), as well as a colorful advertising booklet describing the capabilities of a smartphone.

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    I would say that only two useful things are missing - a screen protector and a cover, but all this can be bought separately.

        The assembly of the device was done excellently, it doesn’t play or creak anything, the only thing that causes some excitement is the fastening of the back cover, if you take it off often, then it will probably get a little loose.

    Soft part

        The standard firmware for the domestic user has many problems and a lot of unnecessary software, firstly there is no Android Market , Orange App Shop is in its place , as well as cards from Orange and applications for using various services provided by the operator. There is a Russian language in the settings, but when you select it in Russian, only the main Android menu becomes, USSD requests in Russian are also not processed . In short, it is practically impossible to use the phone normally with native firmware, but this problem can be solved if you have direct hands and a bit of free time.

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        I recommend flashing JOHN77_V5 firmware (based on Jellyfish RLS9) immediately after the purchase , there is nothing complicated in flashing, everything is done with thoughtful reading of the step-by-step instruction for a maximum of 30 minutes. After all the manipulations, you will have Android 2.2 Froyo as the OS .

    Total, the pros and cons of the smartphone:


    imageThe biggest and boldest plus is the price of the device.
    imageExcellent appearance and dimensions.
    imageGood technical characteristics.
    imageExcellent build quality.
    imageUniqueness of the phone, it is impossible to buy it in Russia.
    imageWeak battery.
    imageSmall difficulties with ordering the phone in England.
    imageAfter the purchase, a flashing is required.
    imageNo warranty obligations in Russia.

    Buying Orange San Francisco

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        The phone can be purchased at the Orange salon, but you need to be a UK resident, unfortunately all stores in England that sell these devices for £ 99 do not send purchases directly to Russia, they will have to use an intermediary to buy from them, or ask them to buy a friend’s phone, which is in england.
    www.very.co.uk ( £ 99 ) and www.play.co.uk ( £ 99 ) are examples of such stores.

        Only one store sends directly to any country - www.handtec.co.uk , but this device already costs £ 125.99 + £ 23 shipping, totaling about 7,000rubles for everything. If you buy through an intermediary, you can meet a little more than 5 500 rubles, but you will have to study the intermediary market and wait longer until your phone reaches the intermediary and the intermediary sends it to you.

        There is a third option - the good old www.ebay.co.uk , buying on ebay can fit in amounts from 6,000 to 7,000 rubles with delivery by mail. Also on ebay they often sell already unlocked and flashed Android 2.2 phones, if you do not want to mess with the flashing, ebay is a good place to buy.

        The author of this review bought two phones at www.handtec.co.uk , and two more through www.ebay.co.uk, in all four cases, the phones arrived from England to my address in Moscow in about 2 weeks.
    PS I bought all 4 of course not myself, at the sight of this phone and after getting acquainted with the price - friends ask me to buy them the same.
    PSS Since I do not have a high-quality camera, some photos from w3bsit3-dns.com and android.modaco.com were used in the review.

    If you have any questions, ask them in the comments, I will try to answer any of your questions about the android phone.

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