If you’ve been keeping an eye on Intel’s supposed leap into the world of mobile communication, you may have been a bit confused. The hyped-up LG handset we were supposed to see way back in 2010 simply vanished into thin air, supposedly due to radical battery-drain issues. While recent Intel powered handsets have popped up in India and China, the UK has remained, until now, woefully Intel-free.

Orange San Diego

Enter the Orange San Diego. This Intel powered handset tucks the long-anticipated Intel processor into a very familiar-looking Android device.

Orange San Diego Specs

First, lets get the basics out of the way. This is your basic upscale Android handset. Nothing on the outside hints at the Intel powered innovation within, but that’s not such a bad thing. Androids are generally quite attractive phones, and the Orange San Diego is no exception, with a very average yet pleasant appearance.

The Orange San Diego also features all the goodies you expect from an upscale Android, with a surprisingly low price tag. Priced to compete with devices with far lower performance, the San Diego is a great way to try out some new technology without leaving your favorite features behind or dropping an entire paycheck on a single handset.

At 123-x-63-x-10mm, the Orange San Diego is a nicely sleek device. The high-res four inch touchscreen is extremely responsive and delivers crisp, clear pictures and wonderfully vivid graphics. With an 8mp camera featuring LED flash and handy action-capturing rapid-shot features, a rear-facing camera for video chatting and full 1080p HD video capture capabilities, the Orange San Diego has enough visual treats for any shutterbug or video-phile.

The only (minor) drawbacks we’ve found with the San Diego are its platform and storage. With 16GB, most users will never fill up this Intel powered handset’s capacity, but it’s a bit discouraging to see that if you do like to carry around a huge amount of music and video, there is no microSD slot to accommodate you. Additionally, the Orange San Diego comes with Gingerbread. Considering the much-anticipated Intel processor, we were expecting the handset to come with Ice Cream Sandwich loaded and ready to go. A bit confusing, but, since an upgrade is supposedly coming soon, we’re not complaining.

Orange San Diego – What You Really Want to Know

Given that the handset is a great phone but one we feel we’ve seen multiple times before, the main attraction is, of course, the Intel Atom Processor. While it’s just a single-core, don’t worry. We see no lag whatsoever when compared to dual-core counterparts.

That battery drain that supposedly stopped the LG version dead in its tracks? No sign of it here – battery life was quite sufficient, regardless of which features are used. Nothing too spectacular, but certainly nothing discouraging either.

San Diego unboxed – exclusive

We can’t find a single major thing wrong with the Orange San Diego. Since the Intel powered handset has been talked, blogged and gossiped about for so long, it’s well worth the price for anybody who wants to see this much-anticipated processor in action first-hand. In our opinion, the processor lives up to its hype, delivering everything you need in a smooth, quick fashion.

Is the Orange San Diego the absolute best phone on the market, with every extra goodie you could possibly ask for? No. Do you need all those extra goodies? Probably not. In short, this is an excellent mid-to-high range phone that will likely satisfy all your needs, and most of yours wants as well. Check it out for yourself – while you might not be blown away, you definitely won’t be disappointed.