I have some questions about the ZTE/SF if you don't mind answering?

[Guest punkmilitia]

Heya guys, this is my 1st Android phone I have had and I have been browsing this forum for quite a few days now.

I get my phone on Tuesday but have Some questions already that need to be answered!

Q1:

In THIS topic, people were mentioning how much internet rescources the SF "soaks" up on Orange

(who I will be with), But I'm sure I read in the specs that the SF has WIFI too? if so, surely that would cost nothing, right?

*hopes not* because if I am limited to 3G only/Having to pay for internet then IDK where to go from there.

Q2:

I have been noticing in alot of threads people talking about screen locks, does it happen to unmodded SF's or just modded

and if so how do we minimise on it?

Q3:

Is it WORTH rooting and unlocking your Android? I know there's 2.2 Froyo and everything but past that, are there any other benefits?

and is it worth mucking around with your phone quite a bit just to get Froyo?

Q4:

Last one now, I am worried that I will buy something from the market store thing that will be slow on my phone or

not work, is there any way to prevent that from happening?

Thank you TONS in advance and bye :unsure:

[Guest rayraven]

Q1: Dont know about Orange, but yeah the SF has Wifi, so you can use internet via wifi.

Q2: Screen locks are known to happen on the custom froyo roms we have now, but not on the stock rom the phone comes with.

Q3: Matter of opinion, if you ask me, froyo's worth the mucking around. Really makes this phone completely smooth.

Q4: Uninstall it i guess, the new market refund time is 15 mins only, for all phones, so better test it quick, if you want your money back :unsure:

[Guest Gryphonic]

Q1: WiFi is free :unsure: If your worried about the low internet allowance on orange, its easy (and free) to unlock the phone, and GiffGaff is a good alternative network. 4p texts, 8p/min calls and free internet until 28 feb, otherwise £10/month gets you totally unlimited texts and internet, and 250mins. You can get a free sin with £5 credit here B)

Q2: The issues with the screen lock is with some of the 2.2 roms, the stock 2.1 works fine

Q3: YES! 2.2 is much faster and more responsive than 2.1. It also plays pretty much all games smoothly, which 2.1 doesnt.

Q4: Almost every app on the market will work, although more graphically intensive games don't run smoothly on the 2.1 stock rom. If it doesn't work, its easy to uninstall, and if it was paid, you have 15min to change your mind and get a refund.

Damn, got beaten to it :angry:

Edited January 2, 2011 by Gryphonic

[Guest punkmilitia]

Wow, I think the refund thing is a GREAT option!

Does anyone know if the wifi works on Orange? :"(

also I heard that if you buy stuff from the market you get charged an extra £1.50 ontop of the app price for some reason, is that true? thanks.

[Guest gusthy]

Heya guys, this is my 1st Android phone I have had and I have been browsing this forum for quite a few days now.

I get my phone on Tuesday but have Some questions already that need to be answered!

Q1:

In THIS topic, people were mentioning how much internet rescources the SF "soaks" up on Orange

(who I will be with), But I'm sure I read in the specs that the SF has WIFI too? if so, surely that would cost nothing, right?

*hopes not* because if I am limited to 3G only/Having to pay for internet then IDK where to go from there.

Q2:

I have been noticing in alot of threads people talking about screen locks, does it happen to unmodded SF's or just modded

and if so how do we minimise on it?

Q3:

Is it WORTH rooting and unlocking your Android? I know there's 2.2 Froyo and everything but past that, are there any other benefits?

and is it worth mucking around with your phone quite a bit just to get Froyo?

Q4:

Last one now, I am worried that I will buy something from the market store thing that will be slow on my phone or

not work, is there any way to prevent that from happening?

Thank you TONS in advance and bye :unsure:

Q1: you can disable data traffic for an Android phone (for example with APNDroid), but this way you lose most of its benefits. A data package >=100MB will be enough for the first times if you use it well, and it cannot be so expensive.

Q2: it is an issue for some Blade Froyo ROMs, not a general Android or Blade issue.

Q3: It is a typical newbie question about Android, look around the internet to get answer. My opinion is that it depends on your needs. If you are satisfied with your phone's abilities without rooting, don't do that. Look around Market to see what kind of apps require root, and you will see.

Q4: most of the apps have trial versions, use them. On the other hand, Market itself tries to prevent you from downloading stuff that is incompatible with your phone (for example, you cannot see Flash, since it doesn't support phones based on ARM6 CPU, like Blade.)

[Guest jt_mcg]

+1 to rayraven, and froyo w/o mucking around available here

New method, but probably revolutionary, keep an eye on that thread for more feedback if it concerns you.

I've done the process that's based on, as have many others as mentioned in the Hungarian 256 to 528MB unlock thread and the partitioning thread.

Good luck and enjoy your blade!

edit, wifi works wherever there is wifi available just like it would on a laptop. wifi service has nothing to do with orange. Also, Orange has nothing to do with the Market (NOT the app store on your homescreen, that is Orange's and I've never used that or would!!)

Edited January 2, 2011 by jt_mcg

[Guest Gryphonic]

Does anyone know if the wifi works on Orange? :"(

also I heard that if you buy stuff from the market you get charged an extra £1.50 ontop of the app price for some reason, is that true? thanks.

I don't know what you mean by wifi working on orange. WiFi relies on local networks, and is completely independent of what carrier the phone is on. ie. Wifi will always work, assuming there is a network in range.

The extra £1.50 is a bank charge for and overseas transaction... For me on lloyds its £1.00. It only occurs on some apps, but i've no idea how to check in advance. It is quite annoying, yeh. Personally I've only had it on one app, but then i don't buy much.

You'll probably find that most of the apps you want are free anyway :unsure:

New method, but probably revolutionary, keep an eye on that thread for more feedback if it concerns you.

Not sure what you mean by new method - almost every Froyo rom is installed via clockwork. (or am i missing something?)

Edited January 2, 2011 by Gryphonic

[Guest punkmilitia]

I don't know what you mean by wifi working on orange. WiFi relies on local networks, and is completely independent of what carrier the phone is on. ie. Wifi will always work, assuming there is a network in range.

The extra £1.50 is a bank charge for and overseas transaction... For me on lloyds its £1.00. It only occurs on some apps, but i've no idea how to check in advance. It is quite annoying, yeh. Personally I've only had it on one app, but then i don't buy much.

You'll probably find that most of the apps you want are free anyway :unsure:

Thanks for the reply

so just say I had a Sky Router in my house and want to download TONS of stuff (think:1-8gb's worth) without being MEGA-Charged by Orange I just connect to the SSID? B)

also that APNDroid app, does that just disable your Orange internet traffic or ALL your internet traffic (IE: Wifi) too?

Edited January 2, 2011 by punkmilitia

[Guest Gryphonic]

Thanks for the reply

so just say I had a Sky Router in my house and want to download TONS of stuff (think:1-8gb's worth) without being MEGA-Charged by Orange I just connect to the SSID? B)

Yeh, just connect it to your WiFi network as you would any laptop. When the phone is connected to a wifi network, it disables the mobile data connection, so no charges from orange. On a side note, you'll need a big SD card for that much data!

ps, the SSID is just the name of your network, it's the network that you're connecting the phone to :unsure:

Edited January 2, 2011 by Gryphonic

[Guest jt_mcg]

I don't know what you mean by wifi working on orange. WiFi relies on local networks, and is completely independent of what carrier the phone is on. ie. Wifi will always work, assuming there is a network in range.

The extra £1.50 is a bank charge for and overseas transaction... For me on lloyds its £1.00. It only occurs on some apps, but i've no idea how to check in advance. It is quite annoying, yeh. Personally I've only had it on one app, but then i don't buy much.

You'll probably find that most of the apps you want are free anyway :unsure:

Not sure what you mean by new method - almost every Froyo rom is installed via clockwork. (or am i missing something?)

No clockwork involved there, fastboot or anything else (although clockwork is installed during the process).

Read it again!

[Guest Gryphonic]

No clockwork involved there, fastboot or anything else (although clockwork is installed during the process).

Read it again!

oooh... oops B) I took a look at the youtube video and saw clockwork :/ my bad. That looks nice :unsure:

Edited January 2, 2011 by Gryphonic

[Guest jt_mcg]

Thanks for the reply

so just say I had a Sky Router in my house and want to download TONS of stuff (think:1-8gb's worth) without being MEGA-Charged by Orange I just connect to the SSID? :unsure:

also that APNDroid app, does that just disable your Orange internet traffic or ALL your internet traffic (IE: Wifi) too?

APNdroid only cancels orange data. Connect to your ssid and basically work away.

[Guest punkmilitia]

APNdroid only cancels orange data. Connect to your ssid and basically work away.

Thanks everyone.

I almost almost in tears at how awesome Android seems to be. blows my old iPhone 3g out of the water.

[Guest jt_mcg]

Thanks everyone.

I almost almost in tears at how awesome Android seems to be. blows my old iPhone 3g out of the water.

Me too, with froyo it's closer to 3gs/iPhone4!

[Guest Gryphonic]

The iphone is still smoother and slightly more intuitive... but that's just because every single one is exactly the same :unsure:

There is no way i'd sacrifice androids functionality for an iphone. Also, iphone = ££££££££££££

Edited January 2, 2011 by Gryphonic

[Guest StevenHarperUK]

I have added a section on the new Total Phone Transfer method of updating : http://android.modaco.com/content/zte-blad...and-other-roms/ it may interest you