Chinese Android Phones

cavan4sam · 06-11-2013 4:24pm

ok i'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to this crack . i'm looking to buy my oh a decent phone something like the i phone 4-5 or samsung s4 mini , but i want one that doesnt require a doctrate in cantonese to set up . i'm looking for all the usual stuff like playstore and a decent camera

efahey · 06-11-2013 4:35pm

efahey wrote: »

I have got the same notice since Friday and haven't heard anything yet

loyatemu wrote: »

mine has finally arrived in Ireland and has been "sent to customs" according to AnPost - anyone know will I hear from them or do I have to chase it myself?

Update on it just got letter from customs looking for receipt of purchase details so you will probably be the same

cocoman · 06-11-2013 5:24pm

I'm looking for a cheap smartphone for my OH. Currently she has an old dumb nokia. Not looking for anything fancy - something with a decent camera, checking e-mails, bit of FB. Any thoughts on this as a starter

http://www.mixeshop.com/s9920-mtk6577-dual-core-40-inch-screen-android-41-120mp-camera-smartphone_p2595.html

I presume all the chinese phones are unlocked.

ZeitgeistGlee · 06-11-2013 7:23pm

Got my W200 today, will be playing around with it like a child at Christmas for the next few hours before I report back.

Word of warning for other people: never use DHL for delivery if you can avoid it. Got quoted €43 for VAT which I was later able to confirm was wrong because whoever did the valuation hadn't read my email showing I paid separately for delivery so they'd "added in extra for delivery". Thankfully the courier forget the VAT receipt form so I didn't have to pay when I got the phone and stated to DHL I would not be paying VAT until the correct figure was identified. I don't mind having to pay it, but I refuse to be screwed over for it.

Also thanks to the very sound shipping team we have inside I found out that mobile phones from outside the EU don't qualify for Customs charges so if you have been charged specifically for Customs (as opposed to VAT) get back onto whoever charged you. TARIC code: 8517120090

Kaisr Sose · 06-11-2013 8:35pm

Not only does the product being imported matter for customs, crucially the country of origin matters, so a phone from china (for example) may have an anti dumping charge on it that would not apply to a phone from Korea (for example). Therefore it not just as simple as quoting a taric code-which should be on any shipment anyway. I believe the phones are zero rated for duty with vat being due at 23% on the invoice price of the goods and the shipping charge.

efahey · 06-11-2013 8:42pm

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

Not only does the product being imported matter for customs, crucially the country of origin matters, so a phone from china (for example) may have an anti dumping charge on it that would not apply to a phone from Korea (for example). Therefore it not just as simple as quoting a taric code-which should be on any shipment anyway. I believe the phones are zero rated for duty with vat being due at 23% on the invoice price of the goods and the shipping charge.

Just got quoted for amount due from customs. There was nothing on duty and 23% VAT even though it was above the €150 mark that is shown on line as the threshold for duty.

Kaisr Sose · 06-11-2013 8:47pm

ZeitgeistGlee wrote: »

If Gizchina are to be believed Xiaomi will be releasing a WCDMA version of the Red Rice at some point. :eek:

The WCDMA Xiaomi Hongmi Red Rice is here!

http://www.ibuygou.com/p-pre_order_original_xiaomi_hongmi_w_g_smart_phone_android_4_2_miui_v5_1_5ghz_mtk6589t_dual_sim_card_dual_standby_4_7_inch_ips_capacitive_touchscreen-5392-usd.html

Seriously tempted! I was thinking of the Mi2s up to then! Available from Nov 10.

ZeitgeistGlee · 06-11-2013 8:55pm

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

The WCDMA Xiaomi Hongmi Red Rice is here!

http://www.ibuygou.com/p-pre_order_original_xiaomi_hongmi_w_g_smart_phone_android_4_2_miui_v5_1_5ghz_mtk6589t_dual_sim_card_dual_standby_4_7_inch_ips_capacitive_touchscreen-5392-usd.html

Seriously tempted! I was thinking of the Mi2s up to then! Available from Nov 10.

...Anyone interested in a THL W200?

daytob · 06-11-2013 9:05pm

ZeitgeistGlee wrote: »

...Anyone interested in a THL W200?

how much?;) pm me

Kaisr Sose · 06-11-2013 9:09pm

efahey wrote: »

Just got quoted for amount due from customs. There was nothing on duty and 23% VAT even though it was above the €150 mark that is shown on line as the threshold for duty.

I find the Revenue site confusing on exemption limits. They speak of limits of €22, €45 and consignments with an intrinsic value less than €150 as all being exempt in the same paragraph.!!

So you paid or are charged nothing?

efahey · 06-11-2013 9:18pm

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

I find the Revenue site confusing on exemption limits. They speak of limits of €22, €45 and consignments with an intrinsic value less than €150 as all being exempt in the same paragraph.!!

So you paid or are charged nothing?

I got letter asking for paypal receipt or screenshot of from website purchased from. Once i sent this to them within an hour got the following back

Total Value of Goods - 171.85

Customs Duty - 0.00
VAT @ 23% - 39.52
An Post Fee - 6.00
Total for Collection - 45.52

Kaisr Sose · 06-11-2013 9:20pm

ZeitgeistGlee wrote: »

...Anyone interested in a THL W200?

I was wondering how you would take the news....:-)

I remembered someone had posted about it before so I went back...I wonder do we have a contender to rival the popularity of the Jiayu 3?

The MIUI source code has also been released so modding is now possible (this was one of the criticisms of Xiaomi by the techies up to now)

It can be got for $194.99 on spemall.com

spix · 06-11-2013 9:41pm

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

I find the Revenue site confusing on exemption limits. They speak of limits of €22, €45 and consignments with an intrinsic value less than €150 as all being exempt in the same paragraph.!!

So you paid or are charged nothing?

When you buy things overseas you have 2 things to worry about... VAT + Duty.

No duty is charged on items under 150 euro. Phones are exempt from duty anyway so its irrelevant.

Vat is charged on any item over 22 euro although it won't be collected if under 6 euro (which is stupid) so you can get charged vat on anything over 26 euro.

They also add on a 6 euro handling fee. DHL is much cheaper with the handling fees.

ZeitgeistGlee · 06-11-2013 9:45pm

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

I was wondering how you would take the news....

I remembered someone had posted about it before so I went back...I wonder do we have a contender to rival the popularity of the Jiayu 3?

The MIUI source code has also been released so modding is now possible (this was one of the criticisms of Xiaomi by the techies up to now)

It can be got for $194.99 on spemall.com

Possibly, it was a very well specced phone from what I remember of the details. Will probably hold on to the W200 for a while longer, it seems solid in everything I want of it for the moment and it's likely with Cyanogen becoming a proper entity we may see a proper version of CyanogenMod makes its way over. Must actually do a bit of investigating on the ROM front.

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

I find the Revenue site confusing on exemption limits. They speak of limits of €22, €45 and consignments with an intrinsic value less than €150 as all being exempt in the same paragraph.!!

So you paid or are charged nothing?

As far as I know it's VAT on anything above €22 (not sure about €45) and Customs charges after €150. So basically under €22 you pay nothing, above €22 but below €150 you pay only VAT and above €150 you pay VAT and Customs. Also worth noting is that the €150 includes the delivery cost (it used not) and if you haven't a delivery charge included one will be assigned (this may be DHL only, would have to check.)

eamonnq · 06-11-2013 11:15pm

ZeitgeistGlee wrote: »

Possibly, it was a very well specced phone from what I remember of the details. Will probably hold on to the W200 for a while longer, it seems solid in everything I want of it for the moment and it's likely with Cyanogen becoming a proper entity we may see a proper version of CyanogenMod makes its way over. Must actually do a bit of investigating on the ROM front.

I had a MIUI Rom on my one (before it met the floor in a screen smashing moment!)

Barr · 07-11-2013 10:56am

Kaisr Sose wrote: »

The WCDMA Xiaomi Hongmi Red Rice is here!

http://www.ibuygou.com/p-pre_order_original_xiaomi_hongmi_w_g_smart_phone_android_4_2_miui_v5_1_5ghz_mtk6589t_dual_sim_card_dual_standby_4_7_inch_ips_capacitive_touchscreen-5392-usd.html

Seriously tempted! I was thinking of the Mi2s up to then! Available from Nov 10.

Oh why did I have to see this. This is a serious contender to the Jiayu G4 I was thinking of buying. Not sure which to get now

tallaghtmick · 07-11-2013 10:57am

So DHL hasnt updated since Monday now, I think its starting all over again, heads wrecked with this!

Thargor · 07-11-2013 11:13am

Barr wrote: »

Oh why did I have to see this. This is a serious contender to the Jiayu G4 I was thinking of buying. Not sure which to get now

That is a seriously good looking phone alright, very tempted.

eamonnq · 07-11-2013 11:23am

Thargor wrote: »

That is a seriously good looking phone alright, very tempted.

I would think they would be snapped up, might be hard to get your hands on one anytime soon.

Thargor · 07-11-2013 11:32am

Planning on getting another year out of my G3 at least anyway, still havent touched the second battery either, the first battery still giving me 36 hours or more easily, best value gadget I ever bought, looking forward to the Jiayu G6/G7 by the time Im finished with it. Just wish they'd sort that GPS issue out though.

Barr · 07-11-2013 11:39am

Thargor wrote: »

Planning on getting another year out of my G3 at least anyway, still havent touched the second battery either, the first battery still giving me 36 hours or more easily, best value gadget I ever bought, looking forward to the Jiayu G6/G7 by the time Im finished with it. Just wish they'd sort that GPS issue out though.

What kind of problems does the GPS have ?

Thargor · 07-11-2013 11:57am

A lot of the MTK processor devices have weak GPS reception bordering on unusable, its the main drawback of these types of phone.

cocoman · 07-11-2013 1:09pm

cocoman wrote: »

I'm looking for a cheap smartphone for my OH. Currently she has an old dumb nokia. Not looking for anything fancy - something with a decent camera, checking e-mails, bit of FB. Any thoughts on this as a starter

http://www.mixeshop.com/s9920-mtk6577-dual-core-40-inch-screen-android-41-120mp-camera-smartphone_p2595.html

I presume all the chinese phones are unlocked.

Any opinions on the above?

Also what do people think of this?
http://www.mixeshop.com/s9920-mtk6577-dual-core-40-inch-screen-android-41-120mp-camera-smartphone_p2595.html

It looks very like my S4 mini? Will that pose any problems with customs etc? What is that site like to buy from?
If I go DHL or equivalent would I have it by Christmas?
Apologies for all the Q's.

tallaghtmick · 07-11-2013 1:17pm

Rang DHL phone should be with me on Tuesday.....

yayyyyyyyyyyy

About time.

T-Bird · 07-11-2013 1:19pm

Thargor wrote: »

A lot of the MTK processor devices have weak GPS reception bordering on unusable, its the main drawback of these types of phone.

Do the ones that end with a "T" not fix this (thought I read it but not sure)?

tallaghtmick · 07-11-2013 1:26pm

T-Bird wrote: »

Do the ones that end with a "T" not fix this (thought I read it but not sure)?

Yeh they have, I bought the Jiayu just for that.....and the faster processor.....and screen.....:p

Thargor · 07-11-2013 1:29pm

I didnt know that, thanks.

Barr · 07-11-2013 2:29pm

Thargor wrote: »

I didnt know that, thanks.

Reading more on this the MTK6589T version seems to fixed the GPS issue as said above. I assume you have the non "T" version.

How do you find the camera on the Jiayu ? I've read somewhere that it is made by sony so hoping its decent enough.

Thargor · 07-11-2013 2:42pm

Functional is how Id describe it, no major pluses compared to others and no major drawbacks either, a bit dark maybe in anything other than bright sunshine. I only take a picture about once a month or less even so Im perfectly happy with it, I think theres definitely a better one on the G4 than my G3 though.

Heres a quick G3 test I did after I first got it ages ago:

http://imgur.com/a/LdY0j

tallaghtmick · 07-11-2013 3:34pm

Thargor wrote: »

Functional is how Id describe it, no major pluses compared to others and no major drawbacks either, a bit dark maybe in anything other than bright sunshine. I only take a picture about once a month or less even so Im perfectly happy with it, I think theres definitely a better one on the G4 than my G3 though.

Heres a quick G3 test I did after I first got it ages ago:

http://imgur.com/a/LdY0j

Where's the pics of the Wimminz? Thats all us dirty feckers want :pac:

Chinese Android Phones

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