ZTE Blade
Encyclopedia
The ZTE Blade is a phone manufactured by China
's ZTE
Corporation for the Android platform. Unveiled by Orange UK
, it went on sale on 21 September 2010, with a white variant released later.
A detailed overview can be found on the linked google document.
, have created a very large modifications scene around the Blade. Offering various custom ROMs (such as de-branded ROMs, for the re-branded devices) which remove all software that phone companies put on the device like applications and games, etc., or upgraded software versions (like Froyo* or Gingerbread) which do not come on the device in its stock configuration. Users who flash custom ROMs void their warranty and take risks in doing so, however it is possible to restore the original stock ROM.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
's ZTE
ZTE
ZTE Corporation formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation is a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen, China...
Corporation for the Android platform. Unveiled by Orange UK
Orange UK
Orange is a mobile network operator and internet service provider in the United Kingdom, which launched in 1994. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was purchased by France Télécom in 2000, which then adopted the Orange brand for all its other mobile communications activities...
, it went on sale on 21 September 2010, with a white variant released later.
Variants
In other countries, the ZTE Blade is available in customized versions with different cameras and touchscreen displays:- Belarus: Velcom offers ZTE Blade unlocked with TFT display, 3.2 MPX camera and 512mb (256mb ram before october 2011) ram. It runs Android 2.2 Froyo.
- Belgium: MobistarMobistarMobistar is the second largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Proximus, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
offers the ZTE Blade unlocked with a 3.2 megapixel camera, 512mb ram, and TFT capacitive touchscreen display under the name 'San Francisco' with no brand or manufacturer.
- Bulgaria: GlobulGloBulGLOBUL is the second-largest Bulgarian GSM/UMTS operator. The company was founded in 2001 and is 100% owned by Greek telecommunications corporation Cosmote, which is active in four Balkan countries: Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania...
offers a branded Globul Z3 phone with Android 2.2 and a 3.2 mp camera.
- Great Britain: White and grey versions are sold with TFT or OLED screens. The only way to check which screen the phone has is to look in Settings > About Phone > BUILD.
- Greece: Wind offers the ZTE Blade, with a 3.2 megapixel camera and TFT capacitive touchscreen display, running Android 2.1 Eclair. Update to Android 2.2 FroYo is available. Officially, it comes with 256MB RAM. However, there is a patch that reveals 256MB extra RAM that seems to be locked. So despite the fact that customers buy it from Wind with 256MB RAM, they have the ability to patch it and unlock the RAM in order to have the amount of 512MB.
- Finland: SaunalahtiSaunalahtiSaunalahti is a Finnish mobile phone operator and an internet service provider. The company was founded 1998 when three middle-sized internet operators merged. The company is now owned by Elisa....
(ElisaElisa OyjElisa Oyj is a Finnish telecommunications company founded in 1882 that was known until July 2000 as HPY. Elisa Oyj employs about 3000 people and in 2007 had revenue of about €1.57 billion...
) offers ZTE Blade with a 5.0 megapixel camera and TFT capacitive touchscreen display. TeliaSoneraTeliaSoneraTeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
offers ZTE Blade II with a 5.0 megapixel camera and TFT capacitive touchscreen display, running Android 2.2 Froyo.
- France: Orange and BouyguesBouyguesBouygues S.A. is a French industrial group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip in the CAC 40 stock market index. The company was founded in 1952 by Francis Bouygues and since 1989 has been led by his son Martin...
offers the ZTE Blade with a capacitive touchscreenTouchscreenA touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
display (LCD for Orange and AMOLED for Bouygues), 512 MBMegabyteThe megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
RAM and a 3.2 MP camera. It runs on Android 2.1 Eclair. SFRSFRSFR is a French mobile phone company. It has over 20 million customers, and provides over 4.6 million households with high-speed internet access...
also distributes the ZTE Blade but under the rebranded "Android Edition by SFR STARADDICT" .
- Germany: BaseBASE (mobile)BASE is a telephony services and broadband internet brand operated by KPN Group Belgium/KPN in Belgium and Germany.-Belgium:BASE is a brand of KPN Group Belgium....
, a E-PlusE-PlusE-Plus is a mobile telecommunications operator in Germany. With 19.0 million subscribers, E-Plus is the third largest mobile operator in Germany, after T-Mobile and Vodafone ....
brand, offers the ZTE Blade under a different name. The device is called Base Lutea and has a 5.0 megapixel camera and TFT capacitive touchscreen display.
- Hungary: Magyar Telekom Nyrt, Mobil Szolgáltatások ÜzletágT-MobileT-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
offers the ZTE Blade with a capacitive touchscreenTouchscreenA touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
LCD display, 512 MBMegabyteThe megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
RAM and a 3.2 MP camera. It runs on Android 2.1. Due to a faulty OS image, devices with only 256 MB of available RAM were distributed until middle December 2010, but an updated OS was later released to fix such devices. TelenorTelenorTelenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
will also offer the ZTE Blade.
- India: DellDellDell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
offers the ZTE Blade under the name Dell XCD35, with a 3.2 megapixel camera and a TFT capacitive touchscreen display.
- Indonesia: SmartFren offers the ZTE Blade under the name SmartFren Wide, with a 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera and a TFT capacitive touchscreen display. It runs Android 2.2 Froyo, And 2 Gb memory card.
- Japan: SoftBankSoftBankis a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....
offers the ZTE Blade under the name SoftBank 003Z, with a 5.0 megapixel camera, running Android 2.2 Froyo.
- Lithuania: OmnitelOmnitelOmnitel is one of the largest telecommunication companies in the Baltics, member of TeliaSonera group. It provides services of carrying and packaging of voice, images, data, information, transactions and entertainment....
offers the ZTE Blade, with a 5 megapixel camera and TFT capacitive touchscreen display, running Android 2.2 Froyo.
- Moldova: Orange MoldovaOrange MoldovaThe Orange company operates in Moldova since April 1998, a 94.45% share of Orange Moldova belongs to France Télécom. The company is also an internet service provider and fixed voice services provider for business....
offers the ZTE Blade with an LCD display and a 3.2 MP camera. It runs Android 2.1 Eclair.
- Netherlands, the: KPNKPNKPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
offers the ZTE Blade with an LCD display and a 5.0 MP camera. It runs Android 2.2 Froyo.
- Philippines: Smart CommunicationsSmart CommunicationsSmart Communications is a wholly owned mobile phone and Internet service subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company .On June 30, 2010 the company reported that it had over 45 million cellular subscribers.-Brands:...
began to offer the ZTE Blade as the Smart Netphone 701 on September 1, 2011 as a platform to launch its "Smartnet" social network. It has a TFT capacitive touchscreen, 512 mb of ram, and runs on Android 2.2 Froyo.
- Poland: PLAYPlay MobilePlay, P4 is a brand name of the fourth Polish cellular telecommunications provider.Icelandic-led Novator acquired a large stake in the company.- Network :...
offer a version with 3.2 megapixel camera. Also offered by Orange PolskaOrange PolskaOrange is the brand name of Polish mobile phone network operator, PTK Centertel.The company was founded in December 1991 to operate an analog network under the Centertel brand. It launched Idea, Poland's third GSM network, in 1998, operating on both the 900 and 1800-MHz bands from the beginning...
as Orange San Francisco.
- Portugal: OptimusOptimus Telecomunicações, S.A.Optimus Telecomunicações, S.A. is a Portuguese GSM/UMTS mobile operator. The company was incorporated at the end of 1997 after winning the bid for Portugal's third GSM license...
offers the ZTE Blade under the name Optimus San Francisco, with a 3.2 megapixel camera and a OLED capacitive touchscreen display. TMN offers a customized version with a 5.0 megapixel camera and a TFT screen, under the name SAPO a5. The exterior design of the device was also changed.
- Russia: Beeline Beeline (telecommunications)Beeline is the trademark of the third largest Russian telecommunication operator, VimpelCom . Its headquarters are located in Moscow. Beeline's brand was designed by Wolff Olins as a re-brand for their old corporate identity, assisted by Marina Willerr.-Activity:...
offers Beeline E400 with TFT display, 3.2 MPX camera. It runs Android 2.2.
- Spain: Yoigo (76.6% belonging to TeliaSoneraTeliaSoneraTeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
) offers the ZTE Blade with a 3.2 megapixel camera and TFT capacitive touchscreen display running Android 2.2 Froyo for 0€ with any contract.
- Sweden: Tele2 ComviqTele2Tele2 AB is a major European telecommunications operator, with about 34 million customers in 11 countries. It serves as a fixed-line telephone operator, cable television provider, mobile phone operator and Internet service provider.- Overview :...
offers the ZTE Blade with a capacitive touchscreenTouchscreenA touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
LCD display, 512 MBMegabyteThe megabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information storage or transmission with two different values depending on context: bytes generally for computer memory; and one million bytes generally for computer storage. The IEEE Standards Board has decided that "Mega will mean 1 000...
RAM and a 3.2 MP camera. It runs on Android 2.2 Froyo and was previously offered with Eclair 2.1. An update to Android 2.2 FroYo is available for Telia and Comviq customers who purchased the device with 2.1. TeliaTeliaSoneraTeliaSonera AB is the dominant telephone company and mobile network operator in Sweden and Finland. The company has operations in other countries in Northern, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Spain, with a total of 150 million mobile customers...
is again offering the phone. A version running Android 2.1 is available in stores from ZTE Sweden without affiliation to any network.
- Switzerland: Orange and ValoraValoraValora is a Swiss retail holding company.-History:Valora goes back to the Schweizer Chocoladen & Colonialhaus, which was founded in Olten, Switzerland in 1905, which later became known as Merkur AG...
offer a version with a 3.2 megapixel camera and TFT capacitive touchscreen display.
A detailed overview can be found on the linked google document.
Reviews
Reviews of the ZTE Blade have been very positive due to the amount of features offered while maintaining a low price. The screen in particular received praise, while the camera/camcorder quality was identified as one of the few downsides to the device.Community reception
Various websites, mainly MoDaCo and xda-developersXda-developers
xda-developers is a community of over 4 million users worldwide, started in 2003. The site's main purpose is discussion of Windows Phone, Android, and WebOS phones. They are also one of the first places that Windows Mobile and Android users come for general information of the device, ROM upgrades...
, have created a very large modifications scene around the Blade. Offering various custom ROMs (such as de-branded ROMs, for the re-branded devices) which remove all software that phone companies put on the device like applications and games, etc., or upgraded software versions (like Froyo* or Gingerbread) which do not come on the device in its stock configuration. Users who flash custom ROMs void their warranty and take risks in doing so, however it is possible to restore the original stock ROM.
- Froyo is appearing on the Blade but with only certain carriers/re-branded devices. It is also available through custom ROM's such as Swedish Spring and a improved version, Portuguese Spring.
- Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) has also been released on the Blade through CyanogenModCyanogenModCyanogenMod is an after-market replacement for the firmware of over sixty cell phones and Internet tablets. Based on the Android mobile computer operating system, it offers features and options not found in the official firmware distributed by vendors of these devices.Features supported by...
7, Complete Android Experiance and custom ROM Ginger Stir Fry which are based on a leaked Gingerbread update.
Common issues
Some users reported dust under the screen due to bad quality control tests. This problem does not affect all phones. The dust can easily be removed by disassembling the screen. Also the blade has issues with keeping a strong wifi connection with it dropping the signal after turning the screen off although these issues have been resolved on ROMs that use the 2.6.35 Linux Kernel.External links
- ZTE Blade, MoDaCo Wiki
- http://sanfranciscoandroid.co.uk/, Tutorials, guides and articles on Rooting and Custom ROM-ing the Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade.