Disappointed

[Guest netdudeuk]

You go from a £300+ iphone to a £99 phone? What the hell were you expecting? A miracle?

Sorry but, LOL!

Most ridiculous comparison of the year award goes to....

You should keep your unpleasant comments to yourself.

Regardless of price, some basic things should still be perfectly usable. My own observations include, for example, a puny keyboard, something that wouldn't have cost money to make more usable. It seems that the plethora of 'after market' keyboard apps supports my view that the stock one is pants. I didn't even go near the camera because I've heard that it's not too good. For me, that's a nice to have but, as in my example, a keyboard out of the box ought to work with a man's hands. As I mentioned, the device didn't rotate the screen so all I've seen is something that I find unusable.

[Guest malooga]

Iphone has a lower screen resolution thats why the keayboard looks bigger.

Also i was looking at buying a iphone 1st gen thats all i can afford but then i seen the blade its much better than the iphone 2g less then half the price and thats for a preowned iphone 2g lol

The keyboard doesn't just look bigger, it is bigger. I know the iphone has a crappy resolution but the extra physical width helps loads for typing.

[Guest spences10]

if you want a bigger phone get a dell streak or a galaxy tab

If you want a really good speced phone which will have loads of support I'd get the desire hd you will be able to get a super modded rom on that days after release

Bit all these phones are in the ~£400 range the zte blade is £100 for the money it's unbelievable :rolleyes:

[Guest netdudeuk]

Bit all these phones are in the ~£400 range the zte blade is £100 for the money it's unbelievable :rolleyes:

I couldn't agree more but if I can't type a message out of the box though I think that I'm entitled to be a bit put out :huh: I've even looked at some of the new budget Android models and they always seem to fail on key things such as the screen.

[Guest Spooke]

I couldn't agree more but if I can't type a message out of the box though I think that I'm entitled to be a bit put out :rolleyes: I've even looked at some of the new budget Android models and they always seem to fail on key things such as the screen.

Get HTC's ime, its the best keyboard for Android :huh:

http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blad...-for-the-blade/

Edited November 8, 2010 by Spooke

[Guest spences10]

I couldn't agree more but if I can't type a message out of the box though I think that I'm entitled to be a bit put out :huh: I've even looked at some of the new budget Android models and they always seem to fail on key things such as the screen.

THeres few options, I have started to use Swype on the blade which is awesome on my DELL Streak not totally convinced yet on the blade as like you I have have big hands and have found typing a bit hit and miss. Ultra Keyboard has tons of options one of them being a 9 key pad like using a phone which is quite good on such a small csreen, there is also an app called 8pen which i have also purchaed on the market which is mental check it out here http://www.the8pen.com/ this is a really smart solution as you only need to use one finger [like swype :rolleyes: ]

[Guest mr_bridger]

Just a thought....

For keyboard, why not try holding your finger down in the text entry box, and select "input method" and swap between "android keyboard" and "touchpal".

Touchpal, (Out of the box...) you can swipe the keyboard side to side to get different layouts.

just another thought. I used the STD orange rom, and found it ok. installed Sebastien404 de-orangated one, and it did seem smoother.

Anyways.... Apple have very deep pockets, and can spend millions on research and UI polishing. but hey... can you polish a turd? lol... maybe... but back to the point.. thats what YOU are paying for whan you buy a 400 quid phone.. ZTE dont quite have the same resources. i think what they have done is a miracle for 100 notes... its just being polished by the devs on here.. and they are doing a marvelous job so far... and its not costing YOU the 300 quid extra is it?... and bigger things are still to come im sure..

each to their own tho...

Edited November 8, 2010 by mr_bridger

[Guest McGinn81]

I couldn't agree more but if I can't type a message out of the box though I think that I'm entitled to be a bit put out :rolleyes: I've even looked at some of the new budget Android models and they always seem to fail on key things such as the screen.

Hey netdudeuk - firstly congratulations on buying yourself a SF! I am sorry to hear of your problems and can only hope we as a forum can help you out. First things first - i am a n00b and im not scared to admit but from reading through everything that is on this forum i can only say was a tremendous help. From reading through the 2 pages on this topic ive not read that you have rooted your phone or removed all the clutter ( Orange Stuff ) ? I currently have Paul's R4 installed and it runs like a dream. Secondly i highly suggest like everyone else Launcher Pro and VM Heap Tool (Set the VM to 38) - you will require to have rooted your phone to use this. In addition to the above, if your orientation still doesnt work try FROYO 2.2 ALPHA - search the thread but with this alpha release your phone will now be able to rotate left and right. It could just be software ? i dont know - im just a n00b....

Edit** For keyboard try Swift Key (trial or full) as it is brilliant - you also have a speech tool. perhaps saying things would be easier. let us know how you get on!!!!!!!

Edited November 8, 2010 by McGinn81

[Guest mr_bridger]

Oh, and just turn it sideways when typing... you get a huge keyboard! lol

[Guest dj9928]

THeres few options, I have started to use Swype on the blade which is awesome on my DELL Streak not totally convinced yet on the blade as like you I have have big hands and have found typing a bit hit and miss. Ultra Keyboard has tons of options one of them being a 9 key pad like using a phone which is quite good on such a small csreen, there is also an app called 8pen which i have also purchaed on the market which is mental check it out here http://www.the8pen.com/ this is a really smart solution as you only need to use one finger [like swype :rolleyes: ]

Another former iPhone user here, and yes I also have trouble typing, in fact its a disaster, The keys aren't wide enough, I could knock out an email on the iPhone in no time but this is a disaster, Swype does help alot but its still not perfect, I also had the same issue on the HTC Desire aswell to be honest.

I also agree about the overall smoothness of the device, its very laggy, it is a £99 phone but my HTC Desire wasn't that smooth either to be honest compared to the iPhone,

I've had mine for a few weeks now and for me personally the cons out weigh the pros and I think I might get rid unless 2.2 makes an appearance soon, I tried the Alpha and now that does sort out the lag issue

[Guest Zefan]

Are you the Zefan? (from ocuk)

The very same!

[Guest finbaar]

netdudeuk - root it, flash it and enjoy it. There are lots of keyboard options to try so why stick with stock? The Orange SF is OK but really the beauty of Android is that with the help of the wonderful folks here you can make the MoDaCo SF.

[Guest spences10]

This is a great example of how awesome the android community is :rolleyes:

[Guest finbaar]

Just had a play with mine - it is running a baked version of Paul's R4 with hardware acceleration enabled, launcher pro and the VM pumped up to 32mb. Really, just how smooth do you want it? I am looking forward to Froyo (beta) but this is pretty good as of now. As for typing, I have the HTC keyboard and agree that in portrait it is pretty dire - but hey just turn it round 90 degrees and hey presto even the most ham fisted can mash away to their heart's content. A little work can really pay dividends with this phone!

[Guest netdudeuk]

Just had a play with mine - it is running a baked version of Paul's R4 with hardware acceleration enabled, launcher pro and the VM pumped up to 32mb. Really, just how smooth do you want it? I am looking forward to Froyo (beta) but this is pretty good as of now. As for typing, I have the HTC keyboard and agree that in portrait it is pretty dire - but hey just turn it round 90 degrees and hey presto even the most ham fisted can mash away to their heart's content. A little work can really pay dividends with this phone!

Thanks. I turned mine around and it doesn't rotate the display. I've also checked the menu options and I have the option selected.

[Guest netdudeuk]

This is a great example of how awesome the android community is :rolleyes:

Yes, it's good thanks. I've been called a troll for making negative comments but we all know that not all fans of geek stuff have decent inter-personal skills :huh: Most of the replies have been constructive and that's what we need. If I wanted to troll I'd not need to be needing to buy the phone to do it.

Edited November 8, 2010 by netdudeuk

[Guest mr_bridger]

Thanks. I turned mine around and it doesn't rotate the display. I've also checked the menu options and I have the option selected.

Maybe you have a faulty one... does nothing rotate?

i just looked at Gmail, Messages, Browser, twitter, settings, Music all rotate when i turn it anti-clockwise... Dialer, Filer, contacts, call log etc however doesnt...

[Guest ezablade]

Thanks. I turned mine around and it doesn't rotate the display. I've also checked the menu options and I have the option selected.

Could be faulty then. Try a web page, see if that rotates.

[Guest JolyonS]

If I wanted to troll I'd not need to be needing to buy the phone to do it.

No one has called you a troll in this thread, have they?

But you have denied being one twice . . .

How have you found the suggestions we've made here?

[Guest rayraven]

Just had a play with mine - it is running a baked version of Paul's R4 with hardware acceleration enabled, launcher pro and the VM pumped up to 32mb. Really, just how smooth do you want it? I am looking forward to Froyo (beta) but this is pretty good as of now. As for typing, I have the HTC keyboard and agree that in portrait it is pretty dire - but hey just turn it round 90 degrees and hey presto even the most ham fisted can mash away to their heart's content. A little work can really pay dividends with this phone!

+1. After pumping the VM heap to 32MB and switching to launcher pro, i dont see any lag anywhere at all.

[Guest Kthulhu]

I’ve got an iPhone 3G .....

Sell it and buy four SF...you'll be happy then XD

[Guest amd3000]

Dumped my iphone in favour of SF and never looked back.

Still running Orange Rom.

No lag, decent battery life, free and really quite good Google Sat Nav.

Lots of options for customisation.

Keyboard option for sausage thumbs/reduced eyesight solved with Smart Keyboard Pro in T9 mode.

Excellent screen etc etc and all for £99

[Guest netdudeuk]

I'm trying to install the USB drivers as per here -

http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blad...rivers-and-adb/

However, there are two devices and it's not clear of the three drivers should be used for each of them. They both show up as ZTE HSUSB Device.

I assigned the first device to Android ADB Interface and the second to Android Composite ADB Interface but the blocks editor cannot find the device even though Device Manager is showing both devices as working under the Android Phone heading. Any advice please ?

Thanks

[Guest UncleFista]

What version of windows are you using ?

Here's how I got the usb drivers installed on vista..

[Guest netdudeuk]

What version of windows are you using ?

Here's how I got the usb drivers installed on vista..

Thanks for the reply. I ended up deleting the drivers linked to from here and using Eclipse to download them from Google, followed by another installation using those. I've managed to download a test app now thanks.

WRT the live wallpapers, it seems that the SF needs a few minutes to boot up as after a while, they're actually very smooth. The same applies to the settings menu.