Gibbo Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 Being a skinflint I want a Smartphone on a budget. I'm currently with Orange and put on a tenner credit every two months or so. I've narrowed it down to these two (unless you can recommend a third) but can't decide which. The LG seems to have more features but is "crippled" with Android 1.6. There are rumours of 2.0 sometime soon but nothing is confirmed.
aerospacemango Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 Hi Gibbo.......... Just seen this, and thought I'd put my two-penneth in!!! I cannot tell you about the San Fran, but the GT540 is deffo in my sphere!!! I've had this phone for nearly a month, and I certainly don't look on it as "crippled" by 1.6. I actually LOVE my phone, and there is hardly a day goes by when I don't have my missus saying something along the lines of "Put that bleeding thing down, and do something constructive"!!! She doesn't take well to my answer that I AM doing something constructive!! Back to the OP....2.1 (Eclair) is supposed to be being released in the VERY near future for the 540, and apart from the improvements colour-wise, I cannot see how they can improve the OS. The phone runs quickly, battery life has settled down, and all in all I am very very happy with the LG. I would hope that a San Fran owner comes forward, in the interests of balance, but as a first smartphone, I think it's hard to beat the LG, on a budget! 1
aerospacemango Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 Mind you, I should also qualify this all by saying............ I have no idea what the Orange plans are like, but with O2 I have Text and Web..... As long as I top up £10 a month, I get 300 texts and unlimited web access..... Oh, and the Orange branding is supposed to be quite invasive on the LG and the San Fran.....But, you pays your money, you takes your choice!!
aerospacemango Posted September 28, 2010 Posted September 28, 2010 One last post, that may help........... The first one is a review of the San Fran....the second is the forum for GT540........... See what people are saying about BOTH before you make any decisions!!! I just picked up my San Francisco! Findings as I go in here... - Android @ MoDaCo LG GT540 Optimus - GT540.MoDaCo.com - Android @ MoDaCo 1
Gibbo Posted September 29, 2010 Author Posted September 29, 2010 (edited) Thanks for that! I'm liking the look of that forum - looks like lots of support there. My brother says that battery life improves if you upgrade from 1.6 to 2.0+ The Orange phone looks nicer - slimmer and larger for one. But if you look on their own website, they don't seem to big it up as much as the LG: San Francisco Specs: * 3-megapixel camera * 3G+ * Android v2.1 * WiFi * touch screen * MP3 player * email * music player * Bluetooth® * FM radio * tri band * USB compatible * SatNav * Video Messaging * external memory up to 32GB microSD * internal memory 150MB * IMAP4 * POP3 * camera LG Specs: * 3-inch touch screen * Android™ operating system * 3.15-megapixel camera * WiFi 802.11 b/g * Bluetooth® * FM radio RDS * A-GPS support * MP3 player * speakerphone * 3.5 mm audio jack * internal memory 130MB * external memory up to 32GB microSD * GPRS * EDGE * HSDPA * 3G * WiFi * USB compatible * vibrating alert * accelerometer * autofocus * geo-tagging * FM radio * built-in games * GPS * touch control * camera * music player * MMS * multimedia * Contacts Backup Edited September 29, 2010 by Gibbo
aerospacemango Posted September 29, 2010 Posted September 29, 2010 LG GT540 is NOW Android 2.1 !!!! I have just installed the new OS, and it runs like a dream! Buy LG....you won't be disappointed!!!
Gibbo Posted October 5, 2010 Author Posted October 5, 2010 I bought the Orange after all that. The reviews on that forum from former LG owners swayed me. It works like a dream, I can highly recommend it. Plus I got 20% off for working in the public sector.
aerospacemango Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 Gibbo, I think you should do a full review on it! After reading the reviews on the site, I wish it had come out a month earlier, and on O2!!! Wouldn't mind having it myself!!! Good choice, fella!
MYK-IT Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 If you've got a few mins, you could look here: HotUKDeals - Orange San Francisco - Android 2.1 WVGA OLED Capacitive FM SatNav £109 People are getting the Orange San Francisco for as little as £79.99 including £10 credit. ~$3 to unlock and get over to News for v3 of modified ROM.
aerospacemango Posted October 5, 2010 Posted October 5, 2010 I have to say..... I still LOVE my GT540....especially since I got the 2.1 upgrade. The San Fran looks a really decent piece of kit, and had I been looking NOW for a phone, I would deffo go for it. As it stands, I'm not gonna be swapping, but I'll look again in a year or so's time! As long as Gibbo is happy with it, then that is excellent news!
penfold Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 Gibbo, what plan did you go for? I'm in a similar position to you and when I saw the Orange San Francisco thought it might be what I wanted. I'm just not sure on the internet usage. I was looking at their £10 per month PAYG deals but capped 100MB of internet use I'm not sure how much that means. I've never had an internet phone (or not that was worth using anyway) so dont know how much useage this means in every day useage. At the moment, the only thing that is stopping me getting this is the deals that are offered.
Gibbo Posted October 7, 2010 Author Posted October 7, 2010 I'm already an Orange customer on Dolphin (I put on a tenner every couple of months). The only thing to worry about is whether any apps start downloading content when you're off the wireless and on the 3G signal. I downloaded the BBC News app Saturday night and found three news items in it's "inbox" Sunday morning. I can't recommend this site enough for help and advice: ZTE Blade - Blade.MoDaCo.com - Android @ MoDaCo I've just got mine unlocked today through Ebay by seller imei_unlock. The whole process was done in less than ten minutes for just 99p. So now I'll probably move providers and take my number with me. I'd take a chance. If you don't like it you can easily get over £120 by listing it on Ebay - the phone is currently UK only and Europeans are crying out for it. I'm thinking of buying a few myself, unlocking them for 99p and selling them on!
aerospacemango Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 Gibbo, what plan did you go for? I'm in a similar position to you and when I saw the Orange San Francisco thought it might be what I wanted. I'm just not sure on the internet usage. I was looking at their £10 per month PAYG deals but capped 100MB of internet use I'm not sure how much that means. I've never had an internet phone (or not that was worth using anyway) so dont know how much useage this means in every day useage. At the moment, the only thing that is stopping me getting this is the deals that are offered. You could buy the San Fran....get it unlocked....and then join O2 text and web PAYG! That is unlimited web + 300 texts. That's good for me, as I hardly use the actual phone bit, but like surfing the net...and I don't get the shock of watching my credit disappear!
aerospacemango Posted October 7, 2010 Posted October 7, 2010 Or you could buy the GT540 on O2 and do the same!!! (Can you tell i have the 540???) LOL!!!
penfold Posted October 8, 2010 Posted October 8, 2010 I was tempted with this from Tesco (500 mins, 3000 text & 500MB) as it is a rolling monthly contract for £10 a month, but as I was looking for a new phone I saw the san fran, but need to get it unlocked. Thanks for the feedback.
penfold Posted October 8, 2010 Posted October 8, 2010 One more thing, whats the actual call quality like? And how is it for texting? I tend to prefer the numberpad with predictive text, how is that on the San Fran? I can find quite abit of info saying how good the screen is and functions, but not on the actual calls and texts.
Gibbo Posted October 8, 2010 Author Posted October 8, 2010 Call quality - first rate. I was a bit worried about how texting would be, I'm also used to the numeric keypad and "real" keys but this one is a doddle. It helps if you rotate the phone 90' to get the keyboard the full length (if you have fat fingers!) You can customise it to suit as well. Orange released this ad today, albeit a little late - most stores are running out of stocks! http://content.modaco.net/littlesnapper/orangeadvertemetro.png
aerospacemango Posted October 8, 2010 Posted October 8, 2010 For texting, you could get the swipeIT keyboard.... My favourite way of writing texts! You swipe your fingers across the on-screen keyboard, a line follows, and when you take your finger off the screen, it gives you a choice of words. Get it free from Android Market!
penfold Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 OK, just got this phone and I'm looking to unlock it. I dont have an ebay account as I dont use it, but I have looked at buying an unlocking code using a guest accound but it says postal delivery on the item. How do I change it to email, or do I need to create an ebay account for me? I'm guessing it's pretty obvious, but as I've never used it before I dont want to make a mistake.
Gibbo Posted October 20, 2010 Author Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) OK, just got this phone and I'm looking to unlock it. I dont have an ebay account as I dont use it, but I have looked at buying an unlocking code using a guest accound but it says postal delivery on the item. How do I change it to email, or do I need to create an ebay account for me? I'm guessing it's pretty obvious, but as I've never used it before I dont want to make a mistake. Check out the Wiki for recommended unlockers: ZTE Blade - MoDaCo Even though it says "postal delivery" it isn't, you get the code by Ebay message 5 mins later. Edited October 20, 2010 by Gibbo
Gibbo Posted October 20, 2010 Author Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) I'm tempted. Quick question - is the SanFran chock full of Orangeware? Can you de-brand it, and if so do you lose anything nice? Great news about being able to unlock for peanuts. Edit: Found out you can choose a regular Android startup screen, so you don't have to keep it Orangey. So the only question is unlocking it, and if that that be done for 99p over t'web, then it's earmarked for my Christmas stocking. It's not too bad, there's about half a dozen apps. You only lose Orange Wednesdays, Orange Store, a mapping prog (Google maps or OS lite is better anyway), web browser (again, go with Dolphin or Opera) and a text messaging app (Handcent is a great replacement). There are three options, you can use Sebastian404's de-orangeated ROM. Or the Modaco custom ROM. Or simply "root" the phone, mount it in Linux and then remove the apps manually. You can actually re-install the Orange apps if you like. The Modaco custom ROM now includes Apps2SD, which allows you to install apps to the SD card rather than the phone's memory. Get a class 4 or higher card though. (About £20 for a 16Gb Kingston card). Again, check out the Wiki for links and advice: ZTE Blade - MoDaCo I used imei_unlock on Ebay on my three SF's and got the code within 5 minutes each time. Edited October 20, 2010 by Gibbo
Gibbo Posted October 21, 2010 Author Posted October 21, 2010 I got around to removing my Orange apps today. Was quite simple: 1) Download and install the Android SDK. (You'll do this anyway for the USB drivers) 2) Go to a command prompt 3) Navigate to the TOOLS folder in the Android SDK install 4) Type ADB REMOUNT (Enables write access to the phone) 5) Type ADB SHELL (You'll now be in a Linux shell on your phone) 6) Type SU (to give root access) 7) Type CD system 8) Type CD apps 9) Type LS (this will give you a listing of all apps installed) 9) Type RM 10) Type REBOOT
Gibbo Posted October 22, 2010 Author Posted October 22, 2010 At first I wasn't getting a full day, but that was while I had everything turned on and was on it constantly. Now the fad is wearing off and I'm not on it all the time about 3-4 days.
penfold Posted November 1, 2010 Posted November 1, 2010 OK, so I've got it unlocked...now what....What are the essential apps that I must have? I must say, I've found texting a lot easier than I expected
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