Jb hifi is selling the Telstra Urbane smartphone for $60, less than half price. The way you get it for that price is to enter on a one-month contract and terminate it before it rolls into the second month. The JB rep at Chadstone says that is perfectly OK. The contract gives you $600 calls and 2GB during that month.
It's an Android 4 ICS 4inch 800x480 touch screen phone with 1ghz processor and 4GB storage. It appears to be the same as a ZTE Acqua (ZTE-U V880E) reviewed at: http://www.clevermunkey.com/2012/12/zte-acqua-zte-u-v880e-sm… with similarities to the ZTE Blade III: http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_blade_iii-4983.php . Specs as per http://www.zte.com.au/telstra/T22.htm
- 1GHz Qualcomm MSM7227A Cortex-A5 CPU, 512MB RAM, Adreno 200 GPU
- 4" capacitive screen with 480×800 (WVGA) resolution
- 1600 mAh battery
- FM radio
- 3MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera
- Running Android 4.0.4 ICS
- 4GB Flash with 2.5GB user space, plus up to 32GB microSD external storage
- 3G UMTS: 850, 2100 MHz with 7.2Mbps data
- GSM: 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
Next cheapest competitor
With nearly identical specs but better 5MP rear camera, no front camera, smaller 1500mA battery, older Android 2.3 but upgradable to ICS, supports 900Mhz 3G for Optus, better IPS LCD with Gorilla Glass rather than TFT LCD, would be a Vodafone Huawei G300+ available for $99 at DSE reduced from $129: http://dicksmith.com.au/product/EM5187/vodafone-huawei-ascen…
Unlocking: found three ways of going about it:
- $19 from vgphones: http://vgphones.com.au/zte-telstra-android-unlocking.html . Advised needs the physical unit to attempt to unlock. Located at Victoria Gardens Richmond, site of IKEA.
- unlock with Telstra: "$100 to unlock in first 6 months, $27.50 after that", though JB rep said it was $27.50
- free, at risk of bricking the phone by downgrading to to Ginger Bread. Google-translated from Russian:
http://translate.google.com.au/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&…
Things you need to know with Telstra No Lock-In Contract
as per http://www.jbhifi.com.au/terms-conditions/#phones (thanks ccwayne)
You can cancel your plan at any time but if you cancel you will be charged the minimum monthly spend for that >month. You will also need to pay any additional charges up to the point of cancellation. Only available to >new customers and those with a 13 digit account number. Included allowance and Unlimited Text excludes some >usage; such as calls/text/MMS to premium numbers (e.g. 19xx numbers), 1234, 12455, 12456 numbers and to some >satellite numbers, content charges and use while overseas. Unused allowances expire monthly. Bonus 1G data >offer is available to customers that connect by 1 July 2013. These plans require you to bring your own (BYO) >Next G® compatible handset. Handsets that operate on 2100 MHz networks are not compatible with our Next G® >network. To find out more, visit telstra.com.au/2100-devices. The spectrum device and ™ are trademarks and ® >are registered trademarks of Telstra Corporation Limited ABN 33 051 775 556.
Jelly Bean (Android 4.2) upgrade
CM 10.1 (Jelly Bean 4.2) confirmed to work on Telecom R22, the NZ rebrand of this Telstra Urbane/T22: http://www.modaco.com/topic/360987-devrom184-cyanogenmod-101…
Useful links
- Whirlpool page: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1966701
- Previous OzB page: http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/89309
- modaco.com page (ZTE Acqua): http://www.modaco.com/forum/619-zte-skate-acqua-acquamodacoc…
- modaco.com page (ZTE Blade III): http://www.modaco.com/forum/685-zte-blade-3/
great research!