# ZTE Skate/Orange Monte Carlo



## cliche guevara (Jul 22, 2011)

Following on from the colossal success of the ZTE Blade/Orange San Francisco, Orange are gearing up to release their new top line own branded Android handset, the Monte Carlo, which is a rebranded ZTE Skate.







The handset features a 4.3 inch TFT screen displaying 800x480 pixels, 800mhz Qualcomm processor, 512MB RAM, 5mp camera with flash, running Android 2.3.

If the price is right I can see this being a huge hit. Needs to be around the £130 point imo.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Aug 13, 2011)

I was just looking at this on the Orange site.

I've been wondering whether to get a SF for aaages now and just seen that they've gone *UP *in price on the Orange site (£105+£10)

The monte carlo is listed at £149.99+£10.  They have been raving about it on modaco (I think) for a while now.

The specs look good and are *listed in full over at GSM arena.*

Orange have a few own brand droids for sale now - how do the others compare, please?



I know they are a lot cheaper, so I am supposing that one gets what one pays for?


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Aug 13, 2011)

Some interesting stuff on the Monte Carlo over at modaco
http://android.modaco.com/forum/552-zte/

Seems there will be a 1ghz version released at some point, too.


----------



## cliche guevara (Aug 13, 2011)

Throbbing Angel said:


> I know they are a lot cheaper, so I am supposing that one gets what one pays for?


Anything lower spec than the San Francisco really isn't worth bothering with. Android is a brilliant OS, but one of the issues with it is that as it's open source anyone can put it on any hardware, within reason. This means that manufacturers stick it on piece of shit handsets, and the end user ends up with a sub par experience with laggin, incompatible apps etc. Users then decide that Android is useless, and avoid it, when actually it's the shitty hardware that's at fault.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Aug 13, 2011)

cheers cliche, good to know that's how it works


----------



## lobster (Aug 14, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> one of the issues with it is that as it's open source anyone can put it on any hardware, within reason.



That's a ridiculous argument against open source, I remember using Symbian when Symbian was closed source and the phone was slow. I have seen a ton of slow pc's running windows as well  .


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Aug 14, 2011)

Same here, I've had hardware that runs like crap because the software that has been put onto it is too new or too demanding, whatever.

I think it is more an argument against people expecting too much from the hardware they have, regardless of whether it is open source or not.

At least one has the option to try with open source stuff


----------



## Chz (Aug 17, 2011)

The Monte Carlo looks nice, but I'm not sure it's worth 50% extra over the SanFran.


----------



## ChrisFilter (Aug 17, 2011)

lobster said:


> That's a ridiculous argument against open source, I remember using Symbian when Symbian was closed source and the phone was slow. I have seen a ton of slow pc's running windows as well  .



It's not an argument against open source. It's an argument against people putting open source software on shit hardware.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Aug 17, 2011)

Chz said:


> The Monte Carlo looks nice, but I'm not sure it's worth 50% extra over the SanFran.


Just noticed that it is sold out on Orange's UK website

I keep logging on to see if the SF has fallen in price (not yet)


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Aug 17, 2011)

Blimey. This a company to watch, I read recently the days them being OEM may soon be over and they'll do an HTC. 

Kind of wish I'd waited on getting my Desire HD and got something similar without a lengthy contract.


----------



## cliche guevara (Aug 17, 2011)

To be honest the specs of the Monte Carlos don't really appeal to me. It's not that far ahead of the San Fran, which is almost a year old now.

It's a shame the Xiaomi Phone is probably Asia only, the specs to price ratio is insane!


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Aug 17, 2011)

cliche guevara said:


> To be honest the specs of the Monte Carlos don't really appeal to me. It's not that far ahead of the San Fran, which is almost a year old now.
> 
> It's a shame the Xiaomi Phone is probably Asia only, the specs to price ratio is insane!



It's more about screen size & quality for me...I wouldn't like to drop below the 4" mark now I'm used to using one.

I certainly wouldn't want a much slower phone then my current one (single core 1ghz), but am struggling to think of many apps that would benefit from a much faster one. Hopefully phones in the next few years will go the way of the desktop pc, in that unless you're a power user people tend to hang onto them for longer as you just don't need the power of modern CPU for most tasks.


----------



## lobster (Aug 17, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> but am struggling to think of many apps that would benefit from a much faster one.



I think its  some games and 1080p video playback  that require a dual-core phone,


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Aug 17, 2011)

lobster said:


> I think its some games and 1080p video playback that require a dual-core phone,



Same as PC's then 

Why on earth would you want 1080p on a phone with a resolution that doesn't even do 720?


----------



## lobster (Aug 18, 2011)

Global Stoner said:


> Why on earth would you want 1080p on a phone with a resolution that doesn't even do 720?



Playing back 1080p video recorded with the inbuilt camera otherwise there is no reason,


----------



## Macabre (Aug 18, 2011)

Has anyone spotted any online deals for this phone like the San Fran had?  I've been doing some trawling but haven't spotted anything yet.  I _really_ need to upgrade my HTC Magic as all the new apps kill it.


----------



## Greebozz (Aug 22, 2011)

Only one question for me does it have full flash player?


----------



## Yata (Sep 20, 2011)

anyone know how to unlock the monte carlo? just got one and orange are shit


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Sep 20, 2011)

I don't think it has been done yet
couple of thread over at modaco that I was looking at yesterday referred to people still waiting for an unlock breakthrough
have a look over at http://android.modaco.com/forum/542-zte-skate-skatemodacocom/


----------



## r0bb0 (Dec 31, 2011)

Orange Monte Carlo Mobile Phone. 518/7595 @ ARGOS £89.99 + £10 top up

this deal has recently gone hot on HDUK and there seem to be plenty of unlock tutorial, seems to be a debate whether the CM7 or the Atom ROM is better
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ora...-phone-518-7595-argos-89-99-10-top-up-1101200


----------



## gentlegreen (Dec 31, 2011)

Is this what I should buy ?

I don't care much about relying on Orange. Mostly I want to log my cycle journeys  and get maps and stuff ...


----------



## gentlegreen (Dec 31, 2011)

Oh well, I've reserved one - I suppose ARGOS is open tomorrow ?


----------



## r0bb0 (Dec 31, 2011)

unlock tutorials at
http://android.modaco.com/topic/348403-want-to-unlock-your-omc-skate-tutorial-here/
good luck


----------



## r0bb0 (Dec 31, 2011)

yeh i reserved 1 , got till the 2nd to collect


----------



## r0bb0 (Dec 31, 2011)

there is also a rather good tutorial here from toiletdropguy


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 1, 2012)

I haz phone - charging now.

I hope I find it useful - at least the screen is big enough for me to read without a magnifying glass.


----------



## r0bb0 (Jan 1, 2012)

cool let us know how you get on, i'm gonna collect mine tomorrow


----------



## DieselBar (Jan 1, 2012)

is this much faster than san fran and will it take 4.0?

I have san fran and used my friends iphone 4 last night, it almost made me cry how much better it worked!


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 1, 2012)

Probably slower - it has a bigger screen.
I just spent 20 minutes trying to log onto urbanz 

I hate it already.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 1, 2012)

Bloody Orange.

All I did was play with a few bits and bobs and it ate £10 worth of credits.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 1, 2012)

I thought I would phone to complain and was then told it costs 25p per minute and all I have is 2p


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 1, 2012)

I've emailed a complaint - so hopefully I'll find out what the hell I did ..
I doubt I put £50 worth of credit on my old phone in nearly 5 years ...

Does GPS cost money ?


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 1, 2012)




----------



## ViolentPanda (Jan 1, 2012)

Looks like you're being charged for data.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 1, 2012)

I had this added a little while ago ..

01/01/12 18:03 £10 airtime credit - no expiry BPACSPETL01012018871  - cost 0.00

It's letting me do what I like on the net, but I can't make calls ... - only 2p available.


----------



## London_Calling (Jan 2, 2012)

GG - unlock it and get on giffgaff.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

Hacking phones is well outside my comfort zone - but so is paying £10 for downloading a couple of megs of data which I can't pin down - the biggest charge was when I first fired the phone up.

All I want the phone for is for maps and GPS ride-logging, with the odd bit of web-surfing on camping trips - and possibly as an MP3 player and even less likely as an emergency camera.

My barely usable (as web access) PAYG T-mobile phone offers web access with a cap of £1 a day - or at least it used to..

At the moment I'm afraid to switch the thing on with any credit on the PAYG account.


----------



## London_Calling (Jan 2, 2012)

You don't actually 'hack' anything. You press a few buttons, like you were making a phone call.

If you don't fancy that, a bloke in an independent phone shop will do it for a score.


----------



## uk benzo (Jan 2, 2012)

gentlegreen said:


> Hacking phones is well outside my comfort zone - but so is paying £10 for downloading a couple of megs of data which I can't pin down - the biggest charge was when I first fired the phone up.
> 
> All I want the phone for is for maps and GPS ride-logging, with the odd bit of web-surfing on camping trips - and possibly as an MP3 player and even less likely as an emergency camera.
> 
> ...


 
I used to use on my windows phone a program called sportypal that would log my ride. I then had the option of synchronising the journey there and then, which would use network data, or wait until I had a wifi connection. I am sure you could do the same with your program.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

uk benzo said:


> I used to use on my windows phone a program called sportypal that would log my ride. I then had the option of synchronising the journey there and then, which would use network data, or wait until I had a wifi connection. I am sure you could do the same with your program.


That sounds just the ticket.  I can see I'll need to get myself a wifi dongle for home.

Now I have to work out how to actually get "apps" ...

I once soldered things onto a ZX81, but all this stuff is alien to me.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

Well it is at least a decent MP3 player with the advantage of having a display I can read so I'll find myself a fancier "app". I can see I'll actually need to start taking MP3 tags seriously ...
The only question is whether I carry one or both Creative players as backup ...


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

"Runkeeper" downloading now - gawd it's taking a long time - WIFI dongle will be ordered this week ...


----------



## London_Calling (Jan 2, 2012)

Before ordering a dongle do have a look at 'tethering'.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

Is that for in case my home internet connection breaks ?

Or does it let me fix the stuff on my phone with a proper keyboard and stuff ?

(I still haven't managed to log on to Urbanz  )


----------



## London_Calling (Jan 2, 2012)

Tethering allows your phone to act as a wifi connection, allowing you to access the internet on your home computer/laptop anywhere via your phone account (you might want that to be unlimited data -  that starts at £10 a month on pay-as-you-go with Giffgaff (£5 limited data)).


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

OIC.

I have 10 meg cable at home which is almost bullet-proof and don't own a laptop ... and oodles of free bandwidth at work ..

I've ordred a gifgaff SIM, but I'm keeping my options open.

Touch wood no nasty Orange surprises so far today -I'll have to see where the trigger threshold is with Orange re. web useage - I don't expect to use it that much ...


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

Another fiver gone.
Installed a couple of apps, synced my gmail, played with GPS / navigation a bit.


----------



## butchersapron (Jan 2, 2012)

You've got to buy an internet package with the top up - it's not automatic!


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 2, 2012)

gentlegreen said:


> Well it is at least a decent MP3 player with the advantage of having a display I can read so I'll find myself a fancier "app". I can see I'll actually need to start taking MP3 tags seriously ...
> The only question is whether I carry one or both Creative players as backup ...



Winamp is available for android and if you use it on your desktop, it makes very easy to copy files across, you can even do it over wifi.


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

butchersapron said:


> You've got to buy an internet package with the top up - it's not automatic!


so I could do a PAYG with the emphasis on web useage ?


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

OIC so I choose "dolphin" ?


----------



## UnderAnOpenSky (Jan 2, 2012)

Looks good 

Of course when your at home you may as well use your wifi.


----------



## butchersapron (Jan 2, 2012)

gentlegreen said:


> OIC so I choose "dolphin" ?


 Yep that sounds like the one you need.


----------



## London_Calling (Jan 2, 2012)

Giffgaff: PAYG unlimited web usage: £10.00 a month.

eta: no idea what Dolphin is....


----------



## gentlegreen (Jan 2, 2012)

Thanks all 

I'll have to see how long it takes to use 100 megs of data just using maps and stuff ...

Sounds like Orange may be giving me my free internet retrospectively.

I suppose 30p per day isn't too bad, but it still isn't the sort of tarrif that suits me with my very sporadic use. Maybe I'll start finding it useful enough - in which case I will have to think about hacking it.

At least Google maps caches very effectively.

I just walked to the supermarket with "runkeeper" running and internet off - I was somewhat embarassed to have a verbal report every 5 minutes !

Now I need to buy a backup power supply for weekend camping trips.


----------



## gentlegreen (Oct 24, 2022)

Almost exactly 10 years since I bought it ....
Oh noes !
None of that stuff has worked for years in any case .


----------



## steveseagull (Oct 26, 2022)

gentlegreen said:


> Almost exactly 10 years since I bought it ....
> Oh noes !
> None of that stuff has worked for years in any case .
> 
> View attachment 348655


Sounds like they are turning 3G off but retaining 2G which is how you will be able to make calls and send texts


----------

