Orange San Francisco Android Phone

I've always shied away from buying a smartphone as generally they either involved signing up for a long-term contract or paying a few hundred quid for PAYG. And sitting on a train, prodding away at a piece of greasy glass with a vacant face illuminated by the eerie glow of a backlight, has always struck me as not a particularly good look.  I've also never been a fan of Apple (the spiritual home of overpriced brushed-aluminium), since their closed, properietry model and restrictive practices go against the grain of everything the InterWeb should stand for. Plus  I hate fuckin' iTunes with a vegeance and would rather eat my own liver than sully my PC with its insidious software tentacles.

But then Google launched the Android platform, an "open-source software stack for mobile devices" that looked to change everything. Non-restrictive, open, easy to develop for and supported across a wide range of devices and price-bands. Unlike the closed Apple model, Google encouraged a wide range of manufacturers to come onboard, and that meant lots of devices that could be customised to suit every need and pocket. The only trouble was that the early Android releases were still a bit rough and the price of the actual phones was still a bit high. They picqued my interest, sure, but not enough to take the plunge.

But then a friend mentioned that Orange (a UK mobile network) had an Android phone you could buy on PAYG, with no contract, that cost under £100 and was getting rave-reviews. Enter the Orange San Francisco - a re-branded ZTE Blade with some impressive specs for the price (Android 2.1, 512MB RAM, 480x800 multi-touch screen, 600Mhz Qualcomm CPU, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, FM Radio, compass etc.) But even better than that, you can unlock it for free and replace the stock Orange ROM with a custom Android 2.2 ROM, thanks to the amazing chaps at MoDaCo.com.

So I took the plunge and picked up the white version from Play.com for £99, which included £10 credit. And even though I'd never used Android before, I was able to root-it, install a custom boot launcher which in turn enabled me to install a custom Android Froyo 2.2 ROM in around 15 mins, thanks to this great guide at MoDaCo. So far, very impressed with it - smooth, fast and very easy to customise. Best of all, though, I can install what I like without the need for the Steve Jobs Thought Police to OK it first! And if I fancy developing apps for it I don't need to buy a Mac, pay Apple 30% or jump through hoops to release it. No wonder Android has become  the most popular mobile OS in the world....

The Phone Itself

Before you strip away all the Orange crud...

And After

With a custom Froyo 2.2 build by flibblesan I installed