Orange San Diego review: Intel does phones, finally

Posted on 14/06/2012 by Mat Smith

The first generation of Intel-powered Android phones has arrived, and while the chip maker doesn't appear to be claiming that its initial efforts are world-beaters, we've been promised a chipset that prioritizes what people want most: capable web browsing, strong camera performance and robust battery life. Although we've sampled plenty of incremental versions of this Medfield tech, Orange UK's San Diego is the first finished device to land for review. Priced at £200 ($308) it joins a large spread of wallet-friendly, entry-level smartphones in Orange's lineup. With a (1024 x 600) 4-inch LCD, 8-megapixel camera with flash, micro-HDMI port and 1GB of RAM, it looks to be a respectable, if middle-of-the-road, Android device. But the focus here lays with the 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460 CPU and whether it delivers on those performance and battery life promises. Does Intel have a handle on mobile processors? Is the San Diego, near-identical to Intel's own reference model, going to be attractive enough for buyers? You'll find our verdict after the break.

Gallery: Orange San Diego review

Continue reading Orange San Diego review: Intel does phones, finally

Orange San Diego review: Intel does phones, finally originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jun 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orange San Diego Medfield phone: a closer look at Computex 2012 (update: video)

Posted on 06/06/2012 by Myriam Joire

Well what do we have here? Yes, it's the Orange San Diego we first saw at Mobile World Congress and it's going on sale in the UK today for £200. This isn't just yet another Android smartphone, but one of the first Medfield-based handsets on the market. We caught this pre-production unit chilling out at the Intel booth here at Computex 2012 and decided to go up close and personal. First impressions? It's thin, light and feels great in the hand thanks to a pleasant soft-touch back. The Gigabyte-made device packs a 4-inch glass-capacitive 1024x600-pixel LCD (that's 300dpi), an 8-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460 CPU, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of built-in storage.

While the screen looks decent enough, it falls somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of viewing angles. The phone features Android 2.3.7 (Gingerbread) and runs most apps from the Google Play store directly via an emulation layer. Performance matched prior benchmarks and was on-par with current mid-range ARM-based Android handsets -- the experience was mostly smooth, but we noticed some lag when scrolling and zooming pages in the web browser. Battery life remains the major outstanding question when it comes to Medfield handsets, so expect more details once we have our very own review unit. In the meantime, check out the gallery below and hit the break for our hands-on video.

Gallery: Orange San Diego hands-on

Continue reading Orange San Diego Medfield phone: a closer look at Computex 2012 (update: video)

Orange San Diego Medfield phone: a closer look at Computex 2012 (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 03:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orange San Diego: Intel’s Medfield phone gets benchmarked

Posted on 31/05/2012 by Mat Smith

While we've been pleasantly surprised by some favorable browser scores, we couldn't help sneaking another peek at the phone's (second) launch -- this time right in the center of London. We took the Orange ~~Santa Clara~~ San Diego for a spin on our latest benchmarks. See how Intel's new mobile processor fares against much pricier competition right after the break.

Continue reading Orange San Diego: Intel's Medfield phone gets benchmarked

Orange San Diego: Intel's Medfield phone gets benchmarked originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 06:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Orange San Diego revealed: Intel-powered phone to reach UK on June 6th for £200

Posted on 31/05/2012 by Mat Smith

Orange took its time to decide, but now it's settled. The first European Intel-equipped smartphone is the San Diego, replacing the Santa Clara codename assigned to it since February's Mobile World Congress. It will launch on pay-as-you-go at £200, including £10 of credit -- although Orange tell us this will be an introductory price. On contract, prices will start at £15.50 per month for two years and Brits will be able to pick one up from June 6th. We're getting the full run-through from Orange UK and Intel, but we're itching to run our new benchmarks on the Medfield phone as soon as they let us at it. And that pesky Gingerbread OS? We've been told to expect Ice Cream Sandwich closer to the end of Q3. But with just the single carrier, we're hoping testing time could be shaved off significantly.

Gallery: Orange Santa Clara hands-on at MWC 2012