ZTE Blade still recommended?

[Guest iNoobz2Droid]

Hello, im looking for some not to expensive Android Smartphone...is the ZTE Blade still recommended (armv6 -> no flash, no hardware QUERTY, multi touch problems) or are there better choices available now?

im not sure if i should buy the ZTE Blade or for same price the motorola flipout (or maybe an other one?)

the flipout has cortex A8 (which is probably much faster than a arm11/armV6 of ZTE blade) and understands armV7 instructions -> flash and has a hardware querty but a smaller screen with a very very low resolution

Edited April 24, 2011 by iNoobz2Droid

[Guest Michealtbh]

Blade is still the best budget Android phone by a mile.

[Guest targetbsp]

You sound to have a good grasp of the pro's and cons yourself so really it comes down to which closer fits your needs! To get the best of both you'd obviously have to spend a lot more.

The Blades screen is fantastic and I prefer a high res screen and swype over low res and a tiny physical keyboard myself. The loss of flash is no great problem. Anything written in flash generally isn't worth crap. :) CPU speed isn't a problem in CM - every game I've got runs perfectly fine. Of all the points you've made, the only one I really see as a con in the Blade is the same instructions that prevent flash running also prevent a few games running. Very, very few - and nothing I've been bothered about yet but I'm sure one day one will come along I'm annoyed I can't play!

The Blade is down to £75 inc credit if you have (or know someone that has) an orange PAYG too!

[Guest John Truman]

I said several days ago that my Blade (ex Orange SF) would download apps from the market, install them (it said all the right things on the screen, I'm not totally mad,nor totally green), but that they then disappeared. I wondered if anyone knew how I could find them. I'm still wondering.

The apps I put on before making the switch described here to (a) unlock and then (B) add froyo to the phone work perfectly well, as does the gingerbread keyboard, but since I did what it says here, it's zilch, as far as apps are concerned. I really would like some help.

Or maybe a warning ought perhaps to be given to anyone else thinking of changing a San Francisco into a Blade.

Edited April 24, 2011 by John Truman

[Guest targetbsp]

@John Truman: No warning is needed. Apps don't just disappear. :) Someone did reply to you in your topic? You should maybe reply to them if you need further help or the assumption would be that you are now fine. :) If you're talking widgets - then they do that if you put them on the SD card. That's an android limitation - not a SF/Blade Problem.

Edited April 24, 2011 by targetbsp

[Guest Foordy]

the blade was my first android phone and honest to god i love it:)! its works great and think its alot better than the rival the HTC wildfire.

The blades build quality isn't great and as im sure your aware the camera isn't either but for what £100? its still great.

Buy it now friend :)

[Guest John Truman]

Somebody else said I meant widgets when I meant apps. It's easy to think someone's a fool. I mean 'parkdroid' and the Sky + app. I simply turned on my gmail account, then went to the market and selected the two apps I've named. They both showed (one at a time, obviously) as downloading. Then they showed as installing. Then they disappeared - in the sense, obviously, that I can't find them anywhere on the phone. I went through this process three times, then thought I'd better ask the experts (who told me how to change my phone to begin with) what I or the Blade was doing wrong. I really would appreciate some help here.

Thanks.

[Guest Foordy]

Somebody else said I meant widgets when I meant apps. It's easy to think someone's a fool. I mean 'parkdroid' and the Sky + app. I simply turned on my gmail account, then went to the market and selected the two apps I've named. They both showed (one at a time, obviously) as downloading. Then they showed as installing. Then they disappeared - in the sense, obviously, that I can't find them anywhere on the phone. I went through this process three times, then thought I'd better ask the experts (who told me how to change my phone to begin with) what I or the Blade was doing wrong. I really would appreciate some help here.

Thanks.

May i suggest you start a new tread/post to find the relevant information sir?

[Guest Denzo]

If you have to import it, I wouldn't suggest it.

[Guest WuLiao]

You sound to have a good grasp of the pro's and cons yourself so really it comes down to which closer fits your needs! To get the best of both you'd obviously have to spend a lot more.

The Blades screen is fantastic and I prefer a high res screen and swype over low res and a tiny physical keyboard myself. The loss of flash is no great problem. Anything written in flash generally isn't worth crap. :) CPU speed isn't a problem in CM - every game I've got runs perfectly fine. Of all the points you've made, the only one I really see as a con in the Blade is the same instructions that prevent flash running also prevent a few games running. Very, very few - and nothing I've been bothered about yet but I'm sure one day one will come along I'm annoyed I can't play!

The Blade is down to £75 inc credit if you have (or know someone that has) an orange PAYG too!

I owned a Blade, but would like to get another one for my GF, so, how to you get the £75 inc credit offer for blade? mind to share?

[Guest Liesse]

how to you get the £75 inc credit offer for blade? mind to share?

I think you need to be an existing Orange P&G customer. I am, called Orange and got it straight away when I asked how much the phone was. You may need to dial a few times.

[Guest WuLiao]

I think you need to be an existing Orange P&G customer. I am, called Orange and got it straight away when I asked how much the phone was. You may need to dial a few times.

yea, I am, I still have my orange sim card with me! can I just walk in store to get it?

[Guest HMZX]

yea, I am, I still have my orange sim card with me! can I just walk in store to get it?

no, for that discount, its only over the phone.

[Guest iNoobz2Droid]

Thanks for the replies when there are people out who got one and want to order an other for their gf/wife it can't be bad :mellow:

So a ZTE Blade is on the way to me now.

Can't be wait to play around with it :o

[Guest irishpancake]

Thanks for the replies when there are people out who got one and want to order an other for their gf/wife it can't be bad :D

So a ZTE Blade is on the way to me now.

Can't be wait to play around with it :D

Hi iNoobz2Droid.... :o

As a first-time Android user, can I just reiterate the views here about the Blade.. :D

I am a 57-year oldie wrinkly person, have a background in IT, Windoze/M$oft MS-DOS etc....as far back as the Spectrum ZX :mellow:

This device has given me a buzzzzzz like nothing else.

I have taken all the stuff on these forums on board, rooted and put the Swedish Spring Froyo 2.2 on the device, highly recommended!!!!

It is so enjoyable, have fun.

[Guest laggy]

Hi iNoobz2Droid.... :o

As a first-time Android user, can I just reiterate the views here about the Blade.. :D

I am a 57-year oldie wrinkly person, have a background in IT, Windoze/M$oft MS-DOS etc....as far back as the Spectrum ZX :mellow:

This device has given me a buzzzzzz like nothing else.

I have taken all the stuff on these forums on board, rooted and put the Swedish Spring Froyo 2.2 on the device, highly recommended!!!!

It is so enjoyable, have fun.

If you into Sinclair ZX Spectrum then get the Marvin spectrum emulator its awesome.

[Guest irishpancake]

If you into Sinclair ZX Spectrum then get the Marvin spectrum emulator its awesome.

Thanx Man, will do!!!!

BTW, I also had Amstrad 6128, with a massive 128K of memory and the latest CP/M operating system :o

Every time I see "Lord" Sugar I think

"Did I start him on the road towards his first Million Squids....." :mellow:

[Guest simonsays1]

For £75 or even £100 nothing beats the Blade.

You have to spend a lot more to get even a slightly better spec.

[Guest frenchy77]

May i suggest you start a new tread/post to find the relevant information sir?

John,

i am also very very new to all this and needed a compromise of mr harpers instructions and orangesanfransisco.com in order to get a custom rom on to my phone [i have Swedish Spring RLS5] as some of the links are old. guess that is waht happens in the world of software - in 10 minutes something becomes old hat.

In doing so all the apps i had disappeared from my phone and i had to go back into the app store and download them again. if i find out how to stop this happening again if i go on to another rom i will post in here... finding the information i need in these forums takes a lot of time as there is soooo much info on here.

as it is a GREAT SITE..!! :mellow:

[Guest Nognir]

Hate to spoil the party, but the Huawei Ideos X5 seems like a better deal for a purchase of a new device. Here in Greece it costs 200E while Blade does 150E and it comes with the Desire Z's cpu and Froyo.

[Guest Mushroom_Lord]

Hate to spoil the party, but the Huawei Ideos X5 seems like a better deal for a purchase of a new device. Here in Greece it costs 200E while Blade does 150E and it comes with the Desire Z's cpu and Froyo.

Meeeeeehhhh

Blade in the Uk is around £80 (ish)

Huawei Ideos X5 is about £220 (ish)

Almost 3x the cost.

And - okay - larger screen - better camera - and faster processor.

But the blade is cheaper - possibly faster avec CM7, more customizable via themes and designs and more functional (Looking at CM7 - again)

[Guest Kuteguy]

For £75 or even £100 nothing beats the Blade.

You have to spend a lot more to get even a slightly better spec.

Yep totally agree with this - my perfect condition 6 month old San Francisco is the best phone I have had so far. Its worth atleast 250 quid.

But got a cracking deal on the Sony Arc (200 quid new out-right in UK ebay) - so its goodbye San Fran, two batteries, 16gb card. Its AMOLED screen is unbeatable but after a while I needed more ROM/RAM so I can install tons of apps. And a great camera / flash on the Arc is a bonus.

Thanks for everyone else's help. Modaco single handedly is the reason I reckon most people got this phone!

[Guest targetbsp]

Hate to spoil the party, but the Huawei Ideos X5 seems like a better deal for a purchase of a new device. Here in Greece it costs 200E while Blade does 150E and it comes with the Desire Z's cpu and Froyo.

The thing is though, the Blade is ridiculously cheap in the UK. 200 euros is more than twice what the blade would cost you here.

[Guest Darkrose1987]

Honestly for 100 quid, 800 by 480 screen, expandable memory to 32gb (Havnt tested that however) with 600 mhz processor thats capable of overclocking to aroung 710mhz, you find me a phone that beats that for under 200 squids? honestly ive checked, evan the Samsung Galaxcy ace, out a couple of months ago, availiable for about 240, screen res of 480 by 320.......... need i say more, EPIC PHONE, EPIC PRICE, EPIC CAPABILITIES.

P.S Im waiting for the Skate!!!!!-Bad ass!

P.P.S My phone benchmarks beter then my friends sony ericsson xperia x1, and the galaxcy s (Just) and thats thanks to the custom roms, and to the guys that work on them. Its also thanks to sony's bad support, still no 2.2 upgrade! :-)

Thanks for all the hard work Guys!!!

DarkRose