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400 reviews
Jul, 2025
alaTest has collected and analyzed 400 reviews of Orange San Francisco II / ZTE Crescent / ZTE Blade S. The average rating for this product is 4.0/5, compared to an average rating of 4.1/5 for other Cell phones for all reviews. Reviewers are impressed by the camera and portability. The screen and price are also appreciated, but there are mixed views on the reliability and reception. Some have doubts about the battery.
usability, price, screen, portability, camera
battery
We analyzed user and expert ratings, product age and more factors. Compared to other Cell phones the Orange San Francisco II / ZTE Crescent / ZTE Blade S is awarded an overall alaScore™ of 84/100 = Very good quality.
Consumer review (amazon.co.uk)
alaTest has collected and analyzed 8 user reviews of Orange San Francisco II / ZTE Crescent / ZTE Blade S from Amazon.co.uk. The average user rating for this product is 3.6/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.1/5 for other Cell phones on Amazon.co.uk.
75% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.
Expert review by : Edward Chester (trustedreviews.com)
Faster and leaner, the San Francisco II takes over from its predecessor as the de facto ultra budget smartphone of choice.
Large high res screen is great for web, email, etc ; LED flash makes camera more useful ; Provides proper smartphone experience for very little money ; Runs latest Android 2.3.5 OS
Processor is slow ; Camera still quite poor ; Build is still very budget
Having both the San francisco II and the Nokia Lumia 800 to hand, what's quite striking is the difference in the screen quality... and the San Fran comes out on top. Okay, maybe it's not quite as clear cut as that but where the Lumia 800 has a...
Expert review by : Sandra Vogel (techradar.com)
Can Orange replicate the success of its budget San Francisco?
Great screen ; Pocket friendly ; Good battery life ; Some nice Orange widgets ; 2GB microSD card included
No Twitter or Facebook integration ; Unresponsive screen ; No Flash support ; Poor quality earphones ; Overall not a massive leap forward
When we reviewed the original Orange San Francisco, little did we know that the handset that wowed us for its great capabilities at a low cost would become the benchmark for other low-cost smartphones to emulate throughout 2011.
Expert review by : Ian Morris (pocket-lint.com)
Those of us with expensive smartphones sometimes forget that not everyone needs, or wants, a device in their pocket that costs £500. So for those who either don't see the point of super-expensive phones, or just simply can't justify the expense,...
Cheap, nice display, lots of cool Orange features, compact and light, HD Voice
A bit laggy, not as exciting as some smartphones, Orange customisations
There's nothing at all to dislike here. The SF II is a lovely little device with loads to offer. Orange makes it a good deal by throwing in some great features, like Orange Wednesdays and Signal Boost. It makes it the ideal phone for people who want to...
Expert review by : Ian Morris (pocket-lint.com)
Something people forget - especially tech journalists - is that not everyone can afford, or wants, a £500 mobile telephone. But, even people with limited
Expert review by : Thomas Newton (recombu.com)
The original Orange San Francisco was one of the biggest selling phones of last year. Since then we've seen a number of city-named from Orange following in its footsteps, but the San Francisco II, as…
Super low price point ; High resolution screen ; Good value for money
No Flash Player support ; Slow user experience ; Some of the Orange apps feel superfluous
Expert review by : Dave Oliver (wired.co.uk)
Orange's series of own-brand city-themed phones continues withthis update on the original San Francisco from 2010.
Sharp screen, 5 megapixel camera, Decent performance for theprice, Front-facing camera for video calls
Poor battery life, screen could be more sensitive, Orangeinterface won't appeal to everyone
For the price, the Orange San Francisco II offers a decent list ofsmartphone specs and a reasonable upgrade on its predecessor. Witha new look, improved processor, updated operating system and bettercamera, it's a worthwhile upgrade if you liked the...
Expert review by : Alun Taylor (reghardware.co.uk)
Review The Orange San Francisco was the smartphone bargain of 2011. For £99 you got a solid little handset with a 3.5in 480 x 800 screen, Android 2.1 and a 3.2Mp camera. The fact it was falling-off-a-wet-log easy to root and change ROMs – even I...
All in all the SF2 is not a bad reheat of a deservedly popular phone. The faster chip, more modern version of Android, better camera(s) and a body that looks and feels more expensive than the original but which costs the same are all welcome. On the...
Expert review by : Simon Thomas (3g.co.uk)
A fantastic price for PAYG. The first San Francisco won awards aplenty and the San Francisco II may well do the same. It offers high build quality and a good list of specs. You're getting an awful lot for your 100 quid.
: Quality chassis; A Gingerbread Android handset for less than a hundred quid
Onboard storage is only 512MB, but you can add a microSD card
We have to remember that the Orange San Francisco II is a budget phone. It is not always easy to remember that because the award-winning original has been improved upon. Okay, you don’t get a dual-core processor and there’s no Retina display, but at...
Expert review by (somobile.co.uk)
The Orange San Francisco II, exclusively uncovered by SoMobile, is the sequel to Orange's debut San Francisco smartphone.
The long-awaited successor - also made by ZTE - arrives upgraded to Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, compared to the original's dated Android 2.1 software. This will equip the phone with a redesigned interface, a more intuitive onscreen keypad, one-touch...
Expert review by (knowyourmobile.com)
We liked the original . It offered good value for money and was particularly enlivened by a high quality screen, but it has been more than a year since we saw that phone. Luckily, the makers of the original San Francisco, ZTE, have come up with a...
Amazing price, Great screen, Adequate camera
No Flash support, Minimal internal memory, Slightly slow screen responses at times
Orange’s follow up to the original ground-breaking San Francisco doesn’t quite live up to the high expectations we had of it
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