Huawei Ascend Y201 Preview

I've been playing around with a Huawei Ascend Y201 on Tesco Mobile recently. Here are some snaps of the device, the accessories that come with it and the device beside some of my other devices.

Huawei Y201 Homescreen

The Huawei Y201 has a 3.5" HVGA (320x480) screen, 800 MHz Cortex-A5 processor, 256 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM (with 146MB available to the user) and a MicroSD slot. I've tested the device with a 32GB MicroSD card and it works fine. Out of the box, the Huawei Y201 is bundled with a 4 GB MicroSD card. On the back there is a 3.15 MP camera with no flash

Huawei Y201 Homescreen

Huawei Y201 customised Android app drawer

Huawei Y201 back

Huawei Y201 top with on/off button and 3.5mm headphone jack

Huawei Y201 bottom with microUSB port

Huawei Y201 clean side

Huawei Y201 with Galaxy NExus

Huawei Y201 with Nokia Lumia 710

Huawei Y201 with HP/Palm Pre 2

Huawei Y201 with Huawei G300

Huawei Y201 with Huawei G300 (backs)

Huawei Y201 customised Android lockscreen

Huawei Y201 weather widget

Huawei Y201 "About Device"

The Tesco Mobile Huawei Y201 runs on Android 2.3.6 and has a designated model number of U8666-1. I believe this to be a rebranded Huawei Ascend Y200 for Tesco Mobile.

Huawei Y201 dialer

Huawei Y201 bundled headphones

Huawei Y201 bundled mains/microUSB charger

Huawei Y201 packaging

Huawei Y201 back removed

I'll be writing a full review soon, so check back on www.todoleo.com before the weekend.

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.