T-Mobile Vivacity AKA ZTE Blade 2 [Preview]

Today I picked up a T-Mobile Vivacity. Uncertain what type of Gingerbready goodness I was going to find in the magenta box, I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was a ZTE Blade 2 in T-Mobile dress.

The T-Mobile Vivacity is an inexpensive Android smartphone, currently priced at £99 in the UK from T-Mobile. It features a 5MP camera with LED flash at the back, a 3.5" capacitive multitouch display at the front with four capacitive buttons (Menu, Home, Back, Search) beneath and a front facing camera above.

Right side with volume rocker.

Left side with Micro-USB connector.

3.5mm audio jack and on/off button on the top side.

There is a volume rocker on the right hand side of the device, an on/off button on the top next to a 3.5mm audio jack and a micro-USB data/power socket on the left side. The casing of the device is quite plasticky, much the same as the one found on the Orange Monte Carlo / ZTE Skate. Just like the OMC/Skate it is a fingerprint magnet.

The Android version on the T-Mobile Vivacity is a pretty much stock version of Gingerbread (2.3) with a few extra T-Mo apps and wallpapers but nothing too intrusive (unlike the Orange bloatware on the OSF/OMC/OSF II).

Here are some comparison photos with other devices I had lying around on my desk:

T-Mobile Vivacity with HTC Wildfire

T-Mobile Vivacity with ZTE Skate [BAP]

T-Mobile Vivacity with Samsung E1080i

T-Mobile Vivacity with Orange Mont Carlo (with case) [BAP]

T-Mobile Vivacity with Nokia 1100

T-Mobile Vivacity with Samsung Galaxy Pro

T-Mobile Vivacity with HP Palm Pre 2

I hope these pictures give you an idea of the size of the T-Mobile Vivacity.

The device has been pleasant to use so far. After logging in at the first start up the device took all my usual settings (including homescreen background) and ported them onto the Vivacity. Great stuff!

I ran quadrant and got the results I posted here. Essentially the T-Mobile Vivacity is a T-mobile Version of the ZTE Crescent aka Blade 2. That makes it the magenta sibling of the Orange San Francisco II, which is trickling out in stores at the moment.

I'll eventually get round to a full review of the device, only once I get the tricky Orange Monte Carlo/ZTE Skate one out though. As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below or at the ZTE Crescent forum Crescent.MoDaCo.com .

Orange Monte Carlo - BAP [Pre Review]

I've had an Orange Monte Carlo for a couple of weeks now. The ZTE made follow up to the Orange San Francisco (ZTE Blade) is a ZTE Skate under its glossy fingerprint magnet finish. My affectionate name for the Orange Monte Carlo is BAP. BAP is an acronym which stands for Big Ass Phone.

The Orange Monte Carlo. BAP.

To give people an idea of what a BAP (Big Ass Phone) the Orange Monte Carlo is, with its 4.3" capacitive display, I took some photos of it with other devices. A full review of the BAP will be on todoleo.com soon. Here are the photos:

Orange Monte Carlo next to HTC Desire.

The Orange Monte Carlo next to a Nokia 1100.

Orange Monte Carlo next to an HTC Wildfire S.

Orange Monte Carlo next to Samsung Galaxy Pro.

Orange Monte Carlo next to a Royal Wedding Phone.

Orange Monte Carlo next to a HP Palm Pre 2.

Orange Monte Carlo next to a Nokia E71.

This post is a follow up to my original thread in MoDaCo Forums. As often happens, the excellent community at MoDaCo Forums is working hard on getting the most out of the Orange Monte Carlo (ZTE Skate) and a method for rooting the device as well as an early custom ROM kitchen are already available. Thanks to Paul and everyone involved in the MoDaCo community!

As usual, feel free to leave comments and/or questions below or on the MoDaCo Forums. I'm already bracing myself for intense criticism of my photography, lighting and @fatoldgingercat fluff in the photos. Just to let you know, I took the pictures, wrote and published this blog post while in and before getting out of bed this morning.

Oh, and if you liked this article, please also Google +1 it as well.