Chinese Android Phones

corwill

alwald wrote: »

quick question, all branded phones receive a notification for system updates, it happens only if the company that produced the phone is willing to update the OS.
For these phones how does it work? can you just update the OS as you wish or is it the same system? thanks.

Varies greatly from maker to maker, AFAIK.

alwald

corwill wrote: »

Varies greatly from maker to maker, AFAIK.

Can you please mention 2 or 3 good brands that allow the user to choose the update they want rather than force them to use the update that the phone maker wants?

Simi

Simi wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=92116769&postcount=6611

Just an update on this. I tried out the GPS on the way home from work the other day. It took 1 to 2mins to lock on to the moving car, as in when I drove off, it stay in the car park before eventually catching up. After it locked on it stayed with me the whole way home. GPS is heavy on battery life.

Speaking of battery life, it's pretty damn good IF you turn off the lock screen gestures, which were causing the phone to wake up in my pocket. I don't know how often this was happening, but battery life increased when I turned them off. They're kinda a gimmick anyway as you can unlock and navigate to the app you want as quickly as you can draw, wait for the phone to interpret the symbol & open the app. Standby works great so long as you disable the gestures, there doesn't seem to be any wake lock or other battery draining issues going on.

The battery stats... are completely broken. The battery will freeze at certain percentages for a time before falling, so the battery stats resemble a staircase. It was stuck at 60% for an hour at one point, this was when I was testing 3g browsing at full brightness in direct sunlight, so I was more than a little suspicious! Total battery life for the day I tested was about 17hours, this included small bouts of testing the GPS, Wifi streaming performance, 3G browsing, sunlight legibility, gaming etc. with about 4.5hrs of screen on time.

I've read a few comments about certain phones not working with Three sim cards? I tested extensively with mine & didn't encounter any problems. The person I gave the phone to is on 48 & it also works fine after he disabled roaming notifications in settings. I didn't get a chance to try out call quality myself, but I'm told it's fine and there are no problems hearing the person on the other end & vice versa.

So to wrap up, a great phone for €80 with the exception of the camera quality, it really is irredeemably bad, which is a real shame as were it not for that, this would make the perfect phone for a teenager. The poor camera is of no consequence to the person I gave it to (a 20 something male), but I suspect it will be a deal breaker for many.

Just a quick word about where I purchased the phone, as choosing where to buy from can be as big a minefield as choosing a phone. I bought the phone from focalprice using the free delivery option & it was delivered 9 days later. It was sent using swiss post & wasn't intercepted by customs. The package was marked with a value of $12. I didn't ask them to do this.

Discodog

spix wrote: »

Well the mi3 is back in its box as it has a faulty speaker. Redmi is fine, but nowhere near as snappy as the zenfone. It is a midrange phone though so to be expected. Don't know if its due to the ram, but I'd say you will notice some negative affects of the low ram if you don't clear the apps every now and then.

There must be something to this speaker issue. Etotalk are now showing a speaker as a Mi3 accessory


http://www.etotalk.com/speaker-for-xiaomi-mi3_p5745.html

Barr

Looks like the IUNI U3 will come with an English ROM

I will be first in the queue to buy it at that price.

Unbelievable spec for the money

http://www.gizchina.com/2014/09/14/iuni-u3-finally-goes-sale-china-2k-3gb-801-320/

corwill

alwald wrote: »

Can you please mention 2 or 3 good brands that allow the user to choose the update they want rather than force them to use the update that the phone maker wants?

Well, I'm not sure anyone outright makes you update your phone's firmware. Do you mean that you're looking for a phone where you'll have a choice of ROMs?

k123456

Barr wrote: »

Looks like the IUNI U3 will come with an English ROM

I will be first in the queue to buy it at that price.

Unbelievable spec for the money

http://www.gizchina.com/2014/09/14/iuni-u3-finally-goes-sale-china-2k-3gb-801-320/

from the above link ;

Current versions of the U3 are only designed for China Mobile 4G LTE.

eamonnq

Simi wrote: »

The battery stats... are completely broken. The battery will freeze at certain percentages for a time before falling, so the battery stats resemble a staircase. It was stuck at 60% for an hour at one point, this was when I was testing 3g browsing at full brightness in direct sunlight, so I was more than a little suspicious! Total battery life for the day I tested was about 17hours, this included small bouts of testing the GPS, Wifi streaming performance, 3G browsing, sunlight legibility, gaming etc. with about 4.5hrs of screen on time.

This would be a concern as IME the battery will give problems, had this with the 80usd Star S4 from Pandawill and now the phone will not even start up, was planning on flashing the phone, but can't even do that now.

Barr

k123456 wrote: »

from the above link ;

Current versions of the U3 are only designed for China Mobile 4G LTE.

I'm sure they would modify it to cater for the international market

AlanS181824

Where would ye get the XiaoMi Mi4 in Ireland?

Is it's 4G compatible here?

Very interested in it but I'll probably wait and see.

Peace

Lad...i dropped my Samsung S4 and the screen broke. Now i face the 150 euro for a fix or buy this for 200.
http://www.etotalk.com/jiayu-s2-116g_p6302.html

Anyone bought the Jiayu S2 and have any thoughts on it? I'm a 3 customer and stuck in contract for another while.

The Antutu benchmarks looked the same so was thinking it would be an ok replacement.

Digital Solitude

AlanS181824 wrote: »

Where would ye get the XiaoMi Mi4 in Ireland?

Is it's 4G compatible here?

Very interested in it but I'll probably wait and see.

www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=xiaomi+mi4&catId=&initiative_id=SB_20140914081310

www.xiaomishop.com/130-xiaomi-mi4-quad-core-16gb-64gb-smartphone.html

AlanS181824

Digital Solitude wrote: »

www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=xiaomi+mi4&catId=&initiative_id=SB_20140914081310

www.xiaomishop.com/130-xiaomi-mi4-quad-core-16gb-64gb-smartphone.html

Thanking you!

Simi

eamonnq wrote: »

This would be a concern as IME the battery will give problems, had this with the 80usd Star S4 from Pandawill and now the phone will not even start up, was planning on flashing the phone, but can't even do that now.

Hmm. Thanks for the warning, I'll check on it periodically & see if it smooths out.

mayogal2014

Bobby_D wrote: »

Which doogee? If you have no joy with it on 3 I may take it off your hands if you decide to sell it, my neo n003 is on the blink so just expressing interest if you have no joy but hope it works out for you, goodluck

lol it works perfectly with three very happy

MidlandsM

Peace wrote: »

Lad...i dropped my Samsung S4 and the screen broke. Now i face the 150 euro for a fix or buy this for 200.
http://www.etotalk.com/jiayu-s2-116g_p6302.html

Anyone bought the Jiayu S2 and have any thoughts on it? I'm a 3 customer and stuck in contract for another while.

The Antutu benchmarks looked the same so was thinking it would be an ok replacement.

I have a elephone p8 brand new and unused you can have immediately for 170e. Great phablet. Nice leather case too free in the deal. Only selling as it will not work with my 3 sim.

corwill

Peace wrote: »

Lad...i dropped my Samsung S4 and the screen broke. Now i face the 150 euro for a fix or buy this for 200.
http://www.etotalk.com/jiayu-s2-116g_p6302.html

Anyone bought the Jiayu S2 and have any thoughts on it? I'm a 3 customer and stuck in contract for another while.

The Antutu benchmarks looked the same so was thinking it would be an ok replacement.

Only 1gb of RAM and a small battery. For that price, maybe consider one of the Xiaomi Mi3, THL 5000, Voto V5, ZOPO ZP980+, or save a few quid with one of Asus Zenfone 5 (the 2gb/32gb version) or K-Touch nibiru H1. Throw a few more quid on to the price of that Jiayu, and you could get a ZTE Nubia Z7 Mini, with 4g to boot.

corwill

AlanS181824 wrote: »

Thanking you!

Just bear in mind that the 4g enabled Mi4 isn't out yet.

alwald

corwill wrote: »

Well, I'm not sure anyone outright makes you update your phone's firmware. Do you mean that you're looking for a phone where you'll have a choice of ROMs?

What I mean is that the android OS is constantly changing, most phone makers will stop releasing new OS after few years, is there anyway to bypass that and install the OS that I want just to keep using the most up to date version of the OS.

fixXxer

alwald wrote: »

What I mean is that the android OS is constantly changing, most phone makers will stop releasing new OS after few years, is there anyway to bypass that and install the OS that I want just to keep using the most up to date version of the OS.

Check if the phone you want to buy is supported by Cyanogen Mod. That's the easiest way to keep a legacy device up to date.

eamonnq

alwald wrote: »

What I mean is that the android OS is constantly changing, most phone makers will stop releasing new OS after few years, is there anyway to bypass that and install the OS that I want just to keep using the most up to date version of the OS.

After a few years, you will want a new phone anyway.

rickyjb

My package from mixeshop is currently sitting in customs

Anyone know what I'm meant to do now, or who I contact? Searched this thread but couldn't find any info, it was shipped with Netherlands Post. Thanks.

RossieMan

rickyjb wrote: »

My package from mixeshop is currently sitting in customs

Anyone know what I'm meant to do now, or who I contact? Searched this thread but couldn't find any info, it was shipped with Netherlands Post. Thanks.

Just wait and see what happens after a few days. They'll get in contact if they want you to pay anything.

spix

For now, I recommend you all to avoid Eternal Team on aliexpress

eamonnq

spix wrote: »

For now, I recommend you all to avoid Eternal Team on aliexpress

Any particular reason (or even better EVIDENCE ??!!)

RossieMan

You having problems returning your Mi3?

spix

eamonnq wrote: »

Any particular reason (or even better EVIDENCE ??!!)

Sent me a mi3 with faulty speaker. The most partial refund they will offer is $10

My other option is to pay to send it back for 'testing' then they will tell me my options.

Also its like talking to a robot.. no matter what I say its 'pls send it back' ' sorry for your order'

rickyjb

RossieMan wrote: »

Just wait and see what happens after a few days. They'll get in contact if they want you to pay anything.

Assuming they will want me to pay something (it was 2 phones so more than €300) would I not be better off contacting them to speed things up?

So much for no customs from mixeshop!!

RossieMan

of you contact them, you'll definitely pay customs on top of your order. it might slip through if you don't contact them. you'd be talking at least 80-90 euro if customs pick it up and they ask for purchase details.

Barr

Anyone ever sent a phone back to China ? What is the cost in doing this. Surely the postage costs outweight being stuck with a faulty phone.