Orange launches OLED-donning San Francisco, doesn't break the Android piggy bank
Oh snap! This is exactly what Nokia needs right now -- another cheap Android handset to gobble up its wallet-friendly stronghold. What we're looking at here is Orange's oddly named San Francisco, a £99 ($154) pay-as-you-go Eclair handset crafted by ZTE. Much like its humble sibling Racer, Orange's 4.6-ounce offering is loaded with a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset, 3.2 megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, FM radio, and MicroSD expansion. Yet for the same price, the San Francisco somehow comes with a larger 3.5-inch 480 x 800 OLED capacitive touchscreen. This sure sounds like a tempting deal, but don't whip out your credit card just yet -- we'll give you a yay or nay once we've seen how the phone fares in real life. For now, check out the official promo video after the break.
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ORANGE BRINGS ANDROID TO THE MASSES WITH THE LAUNCH OF SAN FRANCISCO
·The San Francisco is the first in a series of Orange-branded affordable Android devices
·At just £99, the San Francisco provides customers with access to great Android technology whilst also offering excellent value for money
·Combined with Orange's pay as you go Dolphin tariff - the San Francisco is perfect for users wanting access to thousands of apps on the go
21st September 2010, London: Orange today unveiled the San Francisco, a super sleek and stylish touchscreen Android mobile phone, priced at only £99 on Orange pay as you go. Offering Orange customers access to thousands of apps, the San Francisco handset is the first in a series of new affordable Android devices to be ranged from Orange in the UK.
Available fully loaded with the easy-to-use Android 2.1 operating platform, the handset allows users to access thousands of great apps at their finger tips including those specifically designed to offer customers a great Orange experience including Orange Wednesdays, Orange Maps – which uses the device's built in sat-nav. Keen music fans are also catered for with the San Francisco featuring an MP3 player and built-in FM radio to listen to music when you want, where you want. Available in a stylish slate grey the handset also offers users a high quality 3 megapixel camera to share photos with friends on the go, and with wifi, bluetooth as well as a 3G+ connection - uploading images will be a synch.
Offering fantastic value with all the functionality and style that you'd expect at a higher price, the San Francisco is perfect for keeping in touch with friends and family. And with the Orange pay as you go Dolphin plan, it's also great for staying in touch on the go through social networking sites like Bebo, Facebook or Twitter. Finally, when you top up by £10 on pay as you go Dolphin, you not only receive inclusive internet, you also get 300 free texts and £10 credit to spend however you want.
Phil Roberson, Director of Devices, said: "The San Francisco is the first in a series of affordable Android devices we have planned for Orange. Combining its great functionality with our pay as you go price plans, really does offer users tremendous value for money".
The San Francisco supports a data capacity of up to 32GB, and comes with a 2GB microSD card inbox and in-built memory of 150MB. Available for only £99 on Orange pay as you go, the San Francisco is available this week from Orange shops, Orange telesales and www.orange.co.uk.
