Idea Blade Service Centers

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One of the most important criteria for anything you buy, well at least electronics devices, are  after market services and worry not it does exist for Idea Blade too. They should more closer than you think too.

Go to this page http://www.ideacellular.com/wps/wcm/connect/home/devices/idea-3g-smartfone/service-center and download the list. Its an excel document sorted by state. You will most likely see one near you too.

The cost of repair was bit high for my taste but if you want original replacement its your only bet. If you are open for not so original and cheaper replacement you should check out ebay.

4:56 AM by sonior · 1

Must have apps for your Idea Blade

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Having a cool android phone means you have access to lakhs of apps to install and use. Though choice is good it's difficult to find an app that works best on your device especially if your device is underpowered like Idea Blade.
So i present to you a list of apps that works great on Idea Blade and doesn't slow down your device.

Launcher

Nemus Launcher
A light weight launcher app to give your phone a new look
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nemustech.launcher&feature=search_result

Browser 

Opera Mini 
Best browser!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.opera.mini.android&hl=en

Dolphin Browser
A great choice if you want a full blown browser.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser&feature=related_apps

Twitter

Twicca
A great twitter client, though ui could be better.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.r246.twicca&feature=search_result

Gallery

QuickPic
A great replacement for the default and slow gallery app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alensw.PicFolder&feature=search_result

Video

Mx Player
A great video player
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mxtech.videoplayer.ad&feature=search_result

TubeMate
Neat app to download youtube videos
http://m.tubemate.net/

Music

Jango Radio
A great way to listen to your favourite artists for free
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jangomobile.android&feature=search_result

TuneIn Radio
Best way to listen to thousands of radio stations
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tunein.player&feature=search_result


So what do you think please share your opinions in comments and add what's your favourite app on idea blade.

11:33 PM by sonior · 2

Snow Stars Cool Christmas live wallpaper

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Liven up your android phone with a cool Christmas themed Live wallpaper. Snow Stars is one of those rare ones which is not only light on battery, but also doesn't slow down your idea blade.

The free version comes with two themes, we can select snow flakes speed and also an option to save battery. So try this one out and happy Christmas!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.maxelus.snowstarslivewallpaperfree&hl=en

6:31 PM by sonior · 1

Installing ICS or Jelly Bean on your Idea Blade

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Can You install Ice cream Sandwich or even Jelly Bean on your Idea Blade? 
You certainly can.

Will it Work?
Yes, but due to the limited memory of our Idea Blade, performance is not good.

What are the problems?
Even if you have swap(Enable Swap to get more free ram and better multitasking) enabled, the free memory is very limited and you can at most run one app. While your phone will look and feel becomes like a brand new one, its usability takes a hit.

Yes I understand which roms do you recommend?
I recommend you start with AOKP-CM9 Remix by Burstlam.

11:58 PM by sonior · 0

Run games faster on your Idea Blade using Chainfire3d

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Ever wanted to run a new game but it was just too slow or didn't run at all, now you have a better chance using a cool little app called Chainfire3D from one of the most well known Android developer Chainfire. The app works by trying to reduce memory usage and gpu load and hence making games run faster.

Note:You need to root your phone(How To Root Idea Blade) and also backup your phone if you haven't(Back Up using Clockworkmod recovery) 

Steps to install

• Install the app Chainfire3d
• Launch the app and install the driver(phone may restart).
• Go to OpenGL settings and try each settings one by one to know which one gives the best performance.
• Read a detailed decription by the developer here
• Enjoy.

Note:Please remember that you must use the app at your own risk

5:37 AM by sonior · 0

Extend phone memory using Darktremor Apps2SD

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One of the main problem of low cost android phones is the limited phone memory which gets full pretty quickly as you try new apps. This is because Android can't install all the apps to your mass storage.
This is where Darktremor Apps2SD comes in which effectively uses your mass storage for installing apps. For this i recommend a Class 4 or higher memory card with a size of 8gb or higher(Here is my post on some good memory cards Memory Cards for Idea Blade).
This method can be used for Stock Froyo rom and any Gingerbread custom roms.

Note:Backup your SDCard before this step
Note: You must root your phone How To Root Idea Blade

Step 1:The first step is to partition your sd card to create an EXT partition where the apps will be installed.

• Install ClockWorkMod recovery if you haven't here is my guide for that How to: Install ClockworkMod recovery .
• Now boot your phone into recovery by pressing volume key down and turning on the phone.
• Go to Advance partition SDCard and select ext3 size of 512MB or above. Put swap size as zero.

Step 2:This applies to those having froyo or custom roms without Darktremor Apps2SD support. Swedish Snow users can skip this.

• Download darktremor Apps2sd
• move to your sdcard.
• boot into recovery
• now press install zip form sd card and select the file
• reboot.

Step 3:Download Apps2sd gui from store and activate phone storage if not yet.

9:49 PM by sonior · 2

Update Idea Blade to Gingerbread [Unofficial]

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While Idea is yet to release the official Gingerbread update for Idea Blade, the European and Chinese models of the same phone has got the update for some time. To update your phone to gingerbread you must rely on custom roms.
Updating your phone to gingerbread not only keeps it upto date, but also some newer apps requires Gingerbread or above.
To update you must rely on custom roms. I have written a detailed guide to how to install custom roms and which one i recommend.


How To Install Custom Roms for Idea Blade

If you have any doubts just ask via comments.

6:19 AM by sonior · 0