Orange officially acknowledges San Francisco II's existence, set to debut late November (video)
A few days ago, Orange UK technically let the cat out of the bag with its upcoming sequel to last year's penny-pinching San Francisco, and it's finally ready to give us more than just the Help & Support page. Available on both Pay Monthly and PAYG plans near the end of the month (no specific date was given), the device -- also known as the ZTE Crescent -- offers a 3.5-inch WVGA TFT display, an 800MHz ARM11 processor, Android 2.3.5, a 5 megapixel camera and 512MB of RAM. Cost? £99 ($155) on PAYG and free on Pay Monthly with a 24-month term of at least £10.50. Incidentally, you probably won't find too many of these in the city it's named after. Press release below.
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Orange Announces Availability of Next Generation San Francisco II Smartphone
-Orange to exclusively offer the Orange San Francisco II, the successor to the award winning San Francisco, across all its direct retail channels
-The San Francisco II will continue to offer an innovative smartphone experience at an affordable price point
-The San Francisco II will be available on pay as you go and pay monthly plans, making it the ideal present for all budgets this Christmas
London, UK: 17th November, 2011 – Orange today announced it will launch the Orange San Francisco II, the successor to the award-winning San Francisco smartphone, through Orange shops, Orange telesales and the Orange online shop in late November.
Offering outstanding value innovation, the 3G+ Orange San Francisco II offers everything customers expect from a high-end smartphone.
Building on the success of the Orange San Francisco, the San Francisco II adds a number of innovative features, including HD Voice for clear, crisp call quality, Signal Boost allowing users to benefit from enhanced indoor coverage and Orange Mobile Mail. The handset also features the latest Android gingerbread 2.3 operating system, providing users access to Android Market Place, so they can access thousands of the latest new apps.
The new San Francisco II also includes an improved 800 MHz processor and a 5MP camera - for snapping and sharing quality shots on the move. It also contains a bright, clear 3.5" WVGA capacitive TFT touch screen, 512 MB of internal memory and a slimmer and more lightweight body - set to build upon the fan base of its popular predecessor.
In addition, several key apps are pre-loaded onto the handset, including: Orange Wednesdays; offering 2-4-1 cinema tickets; Your Orange, allowing you to keep up to date and manage your account, and Orange Contacts Back-up.
The handset also features AGPS, an MP3 player and an inbuilt FM radio to complete the line-up of essentials.
Paul Jevons, Director of Products and Devices, Orange UK said: "The Orange San Francisco II is a fitting successor to the award-winning first model, and offers the latest developments in data, voice and design. We are delighted to be following up on the success of the award winning original with such a full-featured product we expect it to be really popular with consumers in the run up to Christmas"
The San Francisco II will be available exclusively from Orange shops, Orange telesales and orange.co.uk/shop from late November and will be £99 on Orange pay as you go with a £10 top-up and free on 24 month plans of £10.50 per month.
Full specification list:
• Talk Time: 4.5 hours
• Standby Time: 10 days
• Weight: 120g
• Dimensions: 117 x 58.5 x 10.6
• Camera Features: 5 megapixel
• Connectivity: WiFi / Signal Boost / Bluetooth / USB / SatNav
• Music: MP3 / FM Radio
• Network Band: Tri band
• Video: Calling
• Memory: 512 MB / 16Gb Micro SD card supported
• Email: POP3 / IMAP4 / Mobile Mail
• Data Speed: 3G + (HDSPA)
• Operating System: Android
• Version: Gingerbread 2.3
• Other: HD Voice, MobileMail, Orange WiFi, Your Account
• Applications and Features: Orange Maps, Your Orange, Contact Back Up, Mobile Mail, Orange App Store
