42 replies to this topic

[reldavidson]

saw this at the weekend in the Orange Store in Canary Wharf. Was a bit cheaper than expected £99.99 for the handset excluding the £10 top-up.

going to get it in a few days time i think.

[Jekle]

reldavidson, on Jul 4 2011, 10:53, said:

saw this at the weekend in the Orange Store in Canary Wharf. Was a bit cheaper than expected £99.99 for the handset excluding the £10 top-up.

going to get it in a few days time i think.

Yeah, Just seen on the Orange Website it's Now Available It's a shame that it has an 528MHz Processor but the QVGA Resolution should level it out against to a 600MHz WVGA ZTE Blade as the lower res should make it easier on the CPU.

[hecatae]

Quote

Key highlights of the Huawei Boulder

    * Android 2.2 Froyo
    * Qualcomm MSM7225-1 528Mhz processor
    * 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM internal memory
    * Up to 32GB microSD (external)
    * Wi-Fi 801.11b/g/n
    * 2.6-inch TFT-LCD capacitive touchscreen / 320 x 240 pixels
    * 3.2-megapixel camera
    * Google Mobile Suite
    * A-GPS with Digital Compass
    * G-sensor
    * 1200mAh battery
    * 122g
    * 115 x 62.8 x 9.9mm

and

Quote

During the Media Q&A, the Huawei spokesperson misunderstood an earlier question about the upgrade of OS to Android 2.3. The Huawei Boulder is not upgradable to Android 2.3.

from here. http://www.hardwarez...ide/view/180293

Jekle, on Jul 4 2011, 18:17, said:

Yeah, Just seen on the Orange Website it's Now Available It's a shame that it has an 528MHz Processor but the QVGA Resolution should level it out against to a 600MHz WVGA ZTE Blade as the lower res should make it easier on the CPU.

it's not the cpu or screen that will slow it down, it's the 256mb ram that will bottle neck the device

Edited by hecatae, 05 July 2011 - 08:50 AM.

[Jekle]

hecatae, on Jul 5 2011, 09:50, said:

and
from here. http://www.hardwarez...ide/view/180293
it's not the cpu or screen that will slow it down, it's the 256mb ram that will bottle neck the device

I'm sure something can be done to optimize the RAM, A de-branded ROM Will go down nicely. I have a Galaxy Ace and it has 384MB of RAM 278MB of which useable and I sometimes get crashes. I Think it's down to the low RAM. I don't know how 256MB is gunna go down ewwww

Orange Stockholm is the Same specs 528MHz and 256mb RAM

Edited by Jekle, 05 July 2011 - 07:12 PM.

[pej02]

Had a play with one of these in an Orange store today and am thinking of getting one off the Orange website on PAYG with £12.50 Quidco cashback to cover the cost of the mandatory £10 top-up. Does anyone have any links to places which will supply a reliable unlocking code for this Huawei U8350?

Firmware for it appears to be here

[calza]

I assume this will come locked? Are there any reviews out yet?

[Jekle]

calza, on 10 July 2011 - 12:47 PM, said:

I assume this will come locked? Are there any reviews out yet?

Give it a couple of Weeks for a review, Yes It is Operator Locked, I'm sure Seb404 will find a workround the sim check with Phone.apk but The Vodafone Smart U8160 isn't as easy like the ZTE Blade to do the workaround but it CM7 gets a port for it. It will automatically has the Sim Lock Check on it

[ThermalDroid]

Its like the Cha Cha but worse and the cha cha is atrocious

[Sebastian404]

Has anyone dumped the rom yet?  

I've kind of got O2's Alcatel OT990  lined up as the next 'disposable' device im going to buy, but if someone has a rom dump and wants to help I'll give a go at adding it into my usual recovery image collection

UPDATE:

I had nothing better to do this afternoon and now I'm the 'proud' owner of a Barcelona..  expect to see the usual stuff from me soon

Edited by Sebastian404, 01 August 2011 - 09:04 PM.

[McSpoon]

I don't expect many devs will buy the Barcelona (or the Alcatel for that matter) so you might be the only one for those phones.  But here are some links for anybody hacking the Barcelona.

The wiki has U8350 firmware
http://wiki.modaco.c..._Firmware_U8350

There is a Perl script to unpack those 'updata.app' files.  It will extract the boot.img, system.img, recovery.img, etc.
Usage: perl split_updata.pl updata.app
The script can be downloaded from here: http://android.modac...attach_id=73224

I think the Barcelona uses the same kernel source code as the Vodafone Smart.  There are many references to the U8350 in that code.  This thread in the Vodafone Smart forum has a link to download the source code.

[Sebastian404]

McSpoon, on 02 August 2011 - 12:25 AM, said:

I don't expect many devs will buy the Barcelona (or the Alcatel for that matter) so you might be the only one for those phones.  But here are some links for anybody hacking the Barcelona.

The wiki has U8350 firmware
http://wiki.modaco.c..._Firmware_U8350

There is a Perl script to unpack those 'updata.app' files.  It will extract the boot.img, system.img, recovery.img, etc.
Usage: perl split_updata.pl updata.app
The script can be downloaded from here: http://android.modac...attach_id=73224

I think the Barcelona uses the same kernel source code as the Vodafone Smart.  There are many references to the U8350 in that code.  This thread in the Vodafone Smart forum has a link to download the source code.

good thinking, I managed to build a custom kernel using the same .config from the Smart, only with 1 line changed

I'll put out my build of clockwork mod later on, Im just doing some testing on my de-branded rom.......

I think your right about these cheap devices tho.. its a shame because they are all really decent for what you pay...  but the expensive flashy devices seem to get all the attention....

Edited by Sebastian404, 03 August 2011 - 04:48 PM.

[Sebastian404]

Just as an update, I posted my build of clockwork mod on another thread here..

I've got a very nice unbranded rom running, a lot better than the horrible crap Orange have added..  and I'm fairly close (I think) to getting the SIM unlock working... so i'm going to hold off on putting that out till I've managed to get that working....

It also means I'll of found a way to s/w unlock the Vodafone smart... lets hope so..

I don't think its THAT bad a device.. if it had been £60 I'd of been more impressed, it is a little over priced.. but if you want an android device in a blackberry form factor.. its not bad.

Edited by Sebastian404, 03 August 2011 - 10:23 PM.

[pej02]

Just to answer my own question further up this thread for those people who have searched on Huawei U8350 Boulder Orange Barcelona unlock: it can successfully be unlocked remotely via the unlock-tmobilepulse.com website here for US$20 using PayPal which works out at UKP12.50 at the present exchange rate on my card.

I entered my IMEI on the website, paid using PayPal, got the 16 digit unlock code back in an email inside of 24 hours, entered the code with a non-Orange SIM in the phone when it asked for an unlock key after booting and it all worked first-time fine with no issues.

Now I have it unlocked I'm going to try debranding it.

[Max Bhai]

Is there no program on the net can unlock it without paying the $20 charge

[BlueTurtle]

My 15yo daughter wants a phone with a qwerty keyboard, and cheap enough to drop every day. Would anyone recommend this or something else? I don't see any sign of bluetooth in the spec - surely that's on oversight and it *has* bluetooth?

Cheers

[andyfletcher]

Hi,



It does have bluetooth.



For the money its ok... but is a bit sluggish.



andy

BlueTurtle, on 17 December 2011 - 04:16 PM, said:

My 15yo daughter wants a phone with a qwerty keyboard, and cheap enough to drop every day. Would anyone recommend this or something else? I don't see any sign of bluetooth in the spec - surely that's on oversight and it *has* bluetooth?

Cheers

[BlueTurtle]

andyfletcher, on 17 December 2011 - 06:15 PM, said:

Hi,

It does have bluetooth.
For the money its ok... but is a bit sluggish.

andy

Thanks for that. I've found it for £80 and will pick it up tomorrow - for that price it should be good value. All she really wants is text and phone, oddly enough she's got past Farcebook and suchlike on her phone, so I'll just unlock it and add some useful apps and she'll be fine with it.

Cheers and a merry Christmas

[Max Bhai]

Has any one successfully unlocked it

[ayziaa]

Hi guys,

I have an Orange San francisco but I wanted for a long time a device with full hard keyboard. I came across this device that can be found in france for 60 euros.
I would like to know what you think about it. Is it a huge step down from a blade ?
I having a hard time deciding because it's running froyo and now ICS is out so...

[ew1981]

Sebastian404, on 31 July 2011 - 02:18 PM, said:

Has anyone dumped the rom yet?  

I've kind of got O2's Alcatel OT990  lined up as the next 'disposable' device im going to buy, but if someone has a rom dump and wants to help I'll give a go at adding it into my usual recovery image collection

UPDATE:

I had nothing better to do this afternoon and now I'm the 'proud' owner of a Barcelona..  expect to see the usual stuff from me soon

hi mate, did you manage to unlock the Barcelona? do you have any advise for me on how to do it?, also did you ever manage to change the stock rom?
kind regards