57 replies to this topic

[ThermalDroid]

Changed my vote -__-

[aidanj]

the blade's been a brilliant phone for me, but i've recently purchased a htc hd2, and replacing it with the skate would be a slight step back.

[Roph]

Changed vote to No (originally Yes, Switching from the Blade). Reason? 800Mhz.

[tillaz]

hey people im new here just thought i would let you no it is using MSM8255 ARMv 7 zte say so in this video go to  2.18

Edited by tillaz, 23 July 2011 - 01:08 AM.

[Pelemane]

tillaz, on 23 July 2011 - 12:56 AM, said:

hey people im new here just thought i would let you no it is using MSM8255 ARMv 7 zte say so in this video go to  2.18

Awesome! Desire HD has that processor and it's pretty awesome

[sane?]

tillaz, on 23 July 2011 - 12:56 AM, said:

hey people im new here just thought i would let you no it is using MSM8255 ARMv 7 zte say so in this video go to  2.18

Their PR rep is saying 800Mhz and ARM6, here, in another thread. He's also saying that flibblesan got the wrong end of the stick, but that it didn't come from ZTE. Hmmm, the caption on that vid says otherwise.

Either way, it doesn't really matter. 800Mhz/ARM7 really isn't going to cut it in today's market unless the price is within spitting distance of the Blade. If they really try for a price that starts at £200+ and then gets discounted, the sales figures should do the rest. The Huawei X5 is too much competition.

[flibblesan]

sane?, on 23 July 2011 - 08:22 AM, said:

Their PR rep is saying 800Mhz and ARM6, here, in another thread. He's also saying that flibblesan got the wrong end of the stick, but that it didn't come from ZTE. Hmmm, the caption on that vid says otherwise.

Either way, it doesn't really matter. 800Mhz/ARM7 really isn't going to cut it in today's market unless the price is within spitting distance of the Blade. If they really try for a price that starts at £200+ and then gets discounted, the sales figures should do the rest. The Huawei X5 is too much competition.

he didn't say I got the wrong end of the stick. The distributor told everyone the CPU is a 1GHz unit.

The Huawei U8800/Ideos X5 has an 800MHz ARM7 CPU BTW and it cuts it just fine

BTW Sean, our ZTE contact on the forum, is away for a week so I'm unable to get any clarification regarding that video. Sources inside Orange have confirmed that the Monte Carlo has an 800MHz CPU so if ZTE HAVE increased the CPU in the Skate it could very well mean that they have two versions on the market.

The brightpoint distributor informed us that the ZTE Skate coming towards the end of the year will have a 1GHz CPU. This is the information that confused people and which Sean from ZTE said was incorrect. However I'm now personally wondering if ZTE meant the Monte Carlo version is 800MHz.

It's strange to see a video from June this year with a chief engineer from ZTE stating the CPU is an 8255 (1GHz 2nd generation snapdragon). It fits with the information given by Brightpoint too.

I think the best thing is to assume the Monte Carlo is 800MHz and less than £150, then wait for the unbranded ZTE Skate to be available later in the year and see the specs of that.

[appolus]

well i am not changing to skate unfortunately even if its 1ghz armv7, the price is not right. for the exact same price here in sweden i can get samsung galaxy s which i will after a while when am bored of my blade

[Atomix86]

appolus, on 23 July 2011 - 05:13 PM, said:

well i am not changing to skate unfortunately even if its 1ghz armv7, the price is not right. for the exact same price here in sweden i can get samsung galaxy s which i will after a while when am bored of my blade

Good choice it is too, I love my Galaxy S

[sane?]

flibblesan, on 23 July 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

Sources inside Orange have confirmed that the Monte Carlo has an 800MHz CPU so if ZTE HAVE increased the CPU in the Skate it could very well mean that they have two versions on the market.

The brightpoint distributor informed us that the ZTE Skate coming towards the end of the year will have a 1GHz CPU. This is the information that confused people and which Sean from ZTE said was incorrect. However I'm now personally wondering if ZTE meant the Monte Carlo version is 800MHz.

It's strange to see a video from June this year with a chief engineer from ZTE stating the CPU is an 8255 (1GHz 2nd generation snapdragon). It fits with the information given by Brightpoint too.

I think the best thing is to assume the Monte Carlo is 800MHz and less than £150, then wait for the unbranded ZTE Skate to be available later in the year and see the specs of that.

That was the possibility that I suggested a few weeks back, and would explain why the ZTE rep is so reticent about talking about processors/speeds. Nothing like pre-announcing better product to kill the lesser one. Problem is, from the hints I'm getting it suggests neither really makes sense.

From you 'less than £150' statements, it sounds like not much less than £150 is the Orange idea - and that's too high for a bump.

Over £200 for a possible 1Ghz ARM7 is also too high, compared to the rest on the market, and how much further down the line we'll be by Q4. Hell, there is still talk of a cheap iPhone (although I'll believe that when I see it). I could go and buy an unlocked Huawei X5 for £180 tomorrow - although I did like the look of the x6, whatever happened to that? Also Huawei Honour looks good with its big battery and memory. And that's before you start looking at top tier manufacturers...

I assume Orange are finally going to launch in a week or so, and unless they have a spectacular opening price, it gets relegated to 'also ran'.

[Roph]

Hopefully once Orange clear out their 800Mhz stock, maybe they'll get in 1Ghz parts. Similar to how they moved on to selling TFT blades after the OLED ones

[ididmytime]

I think this may be correct, and there may be two different types of Skate. Orange selling a much cheaper one to latch onto the current budget market, but at the price of a weaker phone. However, if that is the case, then you can never expect an update to the firmware, and would you really want that one?

Trouble being at the price of a 'normal' Skate being £230 odd, you are dangerously close to vastly better handsets, like the Galaxy S. The price of that device is rapidly falling, and I can't see anyone who would choose a Skate over it.

[Modifoid]

This story has got more plot twists than a soap opera.

I think I would be more inclined to take an Engineers word overa  PR Rep.  I'm sure that the ZTE Skate will have the 1Ghz processor.  As for the Monte Carlo,  who knows?

I read on a blog written by other people who attended the ZTE event in London that the ZTE Skate was getting a processor upgrade "in the UK".  Perhaps this means that in other markets as well as Monte Carlo they won't be getting it. http://www.tracyandm...-phones-fondled

I feel the same as most people about the price at £150 - it's just too much for ARM v6.  I'd rather pay the extra £20 and get an X5 or second hand SGS.

Edited by Modifoid, 24 July 2011 - 11:10 AM.

[flibblesan]

Even if there are two versions of the phone, Monte Carlo users won't be left out. There will be custom roms for that phone for sure.

[ididmytime]

flibblesan, on 24 July 2011 - 11:33 AM, said:

Even if there are two versions of the phone, Monte Carlo users won't be left out. There will be custom roms for that phone for sure.

Without question, but (again, allegedly) if there are 2 versions then the armv7 will be the one shipped everywhere no doubt, and with possible ZTE updates and other custom Roms for armv7 only.

Just like the 2 variants of the HTC hero, one is much better supported by the community and HTC.

Edited by ididmytime, 24 July 2011 - 12:33 PM.

[XiaoKai]

2 versions would be bad news. I have been holding off to get the ZTE Skate as the ZTE Racer was my first android, and i was only able to get into the smartphone market because of ZTE and wanted to keep my loyalty to ZTE however i cant hold off any longer to wait for a 1ghz processer, so most likely i might get the X5

[ThermalDroid]

XiaoKai, on 24 July 2011 - 01:57 PM, said:

2 versions would be bad news. I have been holding off to get the ZTE Skate as the ZTE Racer was my first android, and i was only able to get into the smartphone market because of ZTE and wanted to keep my loyalty to ZTE however i cant hold off any longer to wait for a 1ghz processer, so most likely i might get the X5

If your willing to go WP7 then the HTC Pro 7 is 1GHz...But thats purely on specs the X5 is a bit flimsy shall we say.

[sej7278]

appolus, on 23 July 2011 - 05:13 PM, said:

well i am not changing to skate unfortunately even if its 1ghz armv7, the price is not right. for the exact same price here in sweden i can get samsung galaxy s which i will after a while when am bored of my blade

new and off contract? linky please, i'll buy a couple.