Chinese Android Phones 2 - Read First Post!

Thecageyone

Missymoohaa wrote: »

After reading reviews I've decided not to go with the Lenovo vibe P1 for my daugh terms and I'm looking at the Xiaomi RedmI Note 4 pro

http://www.tinydeal.com/xiaomi-redmi-note-4-pro-3gb-ram-mtk6797-deca-core-android-60-4g-phone-p-162154.html

Anyone got one of these? Would love to hear your thoughts, I'm definitely buying end of this month.

Interested in this one myself. Was eyeing the Redmi note 3 pro, but since this is now available I'll go the extra for that if buying abroad. How reliable is that site?

Kenny Powers

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Do-more wrote: »

Looking for some recommendations please.

My 10 year olds hand me down Nexus 4 is on its last legs and I was considering a Moto G3 as a replacement but it looks like a sideways step at best performance wise so I thought a Chinese phone may be a better buy.

Looking for a 5" screen, (screen res doesn't matter so much).

Vanilla Android or at least the ability to flash a similar ROM is a must.

Decent GPS for Pok mon go purposes and decent battery life would also be important.

Budget of around 200 max.

I just bought the phone linked in this post above http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=101147113&postcount=4684 for 150 or so for my daughter. Super specs and a 5" screen which was an important factor for me too as a 5.5" screen would be too big for her. Hasn't arrived yet but it does look a serious phone for the money.

How did you find the Gigaset mate looking at getting one myself, seems like a good deal lost my phone at the weekend so want to keep costs down.

Thecageyone

noob question here, but why is Gearbest so bad? I've ordered vape gear from them in the past and had no issues. Are they just really bad for phones? Because they seem to have some really good deals. looking at the redmi note 3 pro for example, they have the 16GB one for €125

RossieMan

It's their customer service. If you need something, they are absolutely a waste of time. Theyll ignore you, make excuses, basically fob you off until you give up.

Any review you see of one of their products that mentions to buy from them, is paid for by them. You can't trust anything with gearbest in the name.

MrDiyFan

I got a redmi note 2 from gearbest EU, thankfully haven't had to contact them since.

Which of the EU warehouses now repair phones in Europe? Has anyone taken note?

Thecageyone

RossieMan wrote: »

It's their customer service. If you need something, they are absolutely a waste of time. Theyll ignore you, make excuses, basically fob you off until you give up.

Any review you see of one of their products that mentions to buy from them, is paid for by them. You can't trust anything with gearbest in the name.

Aw, well that sucks I'll have a peek at some of the recommended sites then. Suppose there's as much chance of customs stopping them no matter where they come from

RossieMan

Yea unless you pick one of the EU express shipping options.

I'd go with aliexpress myself. Usually the cheapest. Don't ship with dhl or any of the courier's.

fergiesfolly

Missymoohaa wrote: »

After reading reviews I've decided not to go with the Lenovo vibe P1 for my daugh terms and I'm looking at the Xiaomi RedmI Note 4 pro

http://www.tinydeal.com/xiaomi-redmi-note-4-pro-3gb-ram-mtk6797-deca-core-android-60-4g-phone-p-162154.html

Anyone got one of these? Would love to hear your thoughts, I'm definitely buying end of this month.

Bought one about three weeks ago from Top One on aliexpress and paid for DHL delivery and had it less than a week.
The phone one itself is incredible for the price and I'm very happy with it.
The only worries I had before buying were about GPS and phone signal. The GPS has never failed and even though the phone supposedly hasn't all the bands for 4g in Ireland, I'm rarely in 3g and even then, its very speedy.
The phone itself is very fast( be sure and get the 3GB ram version) and opens/ switches between apps very quickly.
The camera is a lot better than anticipated, although not brilliant in darker conditions.
It comes with what I believe its own stock launcher and I downloaded Nova as a replacement, but I've gone back to the original as I just prefer its look and feel.
Battery life is great. Rarely has less the 25% at the end of the day and I've been using it a fair bit, just messing around with it.
Overall, its a great phone for the money and a lot of people I've shown it to were very impressed.
Lastly, invest in a decent case(got one on Amazon). Its a big phone and I dropped it a few times early on getting used to it.
Incidently, I dropped this from the top of a 4 foot counter top onto a tile floor and not a bother on it.

Thecageyone

I watched a vid yesterday that left me a bit confused. It showed comparison between the Redmi note 3 Pro and the new Redmi note 4 [non-pro, if there even is a pro for 4?] - strangely, the Pro 3 was faster in most of the tests! I'm guessing the 4 will be better for multi-tasking though? the camera is also different, a drop in MP but a different lens I believe?

Also can someone tell me the difference betweem MUI 7 and 8?

danko82

I am looking for a phone to replace my redmi note 2 prime (that I am going to sell in someone is interested in).
I would like to have:
- big battery like 4-5 hours of display
- screen >= 5
- very good gps
- decent speed
- price <= 200euro

Missymoohaa

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Bought one about three weeks ago from Top One on aliexpress and paid for DHL delivery and had it less than a week.
The phone one itself is incredible for the price and I'm very happy with it.
The only worries I had before buying were about GPS and phone signal. The GPS has never failed and even though the phone supposedly hasn't all the bands for 4g in Ireland, I'm rarely in 3g and even then, its very speedy.
The phone itself is very fast( be sure and get the 3GB ram version) and opens/ switches between apps very quickly.
The camera is a lot better than anticipated, although not brilliant in darker conditions.
It comes with what I believe its own stock launcher and I downloaded Nova as a replacement, but I've gone back to the original as I just prefer its look and feel.
Battery life is great. Rarely has less the 25% at the end of the day and I've been using it a fair bit, just messing around with it.
Overall, its a great phone for the money and a lot of people I've shown it to were very impressed.
Lastly, invest in a decent case(got one on Amazon). Its a big phone and I dropped it a few times early on getting used to it.
Incidently, I dropped this from the top of a 4 foot counter top onto a tile floor and not a bother on it.

Thanks a million Fergiesfolly for that review, it really helped me. I am looking at cases but don't know which ones. I seen this one on Aliexpress, don't know if it's be good enough. Now bare in mind I have a 12yr old very fussy young lady, she wants a gold phone and gold cover, nothing less will do. She also wants one of them things that stick out of the back of the phone like a knob, I don't even know what they are called, and I've no idea where to even look for them.

But yes I'm definitely going for the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Pro, I've seen it here on Aliexpress I'll have a look around other sites to see if I can get it sent by EU Warehouse so I don't have to worry about customs.

GBX

I'm liking the specs on the Redmi Note 4. Good price bracket too. Could be the device I replace my Jiayu S3 with.

Bahanaman

Hi!
My daughter is looking for a phone for Christmas. It's her first post Santa pressie so I'd like to do my best for her. I have a budget of around €150. Looking back at this thread there seems to be a lot of options in the chinese phone area. Advice would be greatly appreciated.

CantGetNoSleep

I've been out of this thread for a while. I've currently got a OnePlus One and a Redmi Note 2 - both similar but the OS on the OnePlus just works so much better for notifications, more simple etc.

Is there anything I should be looking at instead if a OnePlus 3? How is Xiaomi's software these days on Redmi Note 4 etc?

gerard2210

Missymoohaa wrote:

, don't know if it's be good enough. Now bare in mind I have a 12yr old very fussy young lady, she wants a gold phone and gold cover, nothing less will do. She also wants one of them things that stick out of the back of the phone like a knob, I don't even know what they are called, and I've no idea where to even look for them.

The knob thing is called a pop socket, can be bought on Amazon.

BobbyPropane

Bahanaman wrote: »

Hi!
My daughter is looking for a phone for Christmas. It's her first post Santa pressie so I'd like to do my best for her. I have a budget of around €150. Looking back at this thread there seems to be a lot of options in the chinese phone area. Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Xiaomi Redmi 3 (5 inch). Solid battery life and good performance with decent cameras for the price range.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Redmi-3S-Snapdragon-430-Mobile-Phone-4100mAh-Battery-Fingerprint-ID-2GB-RAM-16GB-ROM/32683599224.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10065_10056_10068_10055_10054_10069_10059_10078_10079_10073_10017_10080_10070_10082_10081_421_420_10060_10061_10052_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_7&btsid=028570d1-772a-48e3-ae3b-dba647d6684d

Xiaomi Mi4 (5 inch). Xiaomis old flagship, still a solid phone but software is a little outdated now. Above average battery with solid cameras.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_368084.html?wid=4


UMi Super (5.5 inch). Great battery life, bit heavy but solid looking. Excellent stock android experience.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_361292.html?wid=21

The extremely relaible Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (5.5 inch). Great battery and relatively up to date software experience (MiUi). Excellent community support for ROMs

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_308841.html?wid=21

For Music and Entertainment focus with a decent battery, the Ulefone Vienna (5.5 inch) is a great buy with excellent sound quality. Also runs stock Android.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_335454.html?wid=4

Finally for a big screen device, you have the Xiaomi Mi Max (6.4 inch). Exceptional battery life and a well reviewed device all round. Phone is huge though which probably isn't what a girl wants.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_391604.html

eamonnq

BobbyPropane wrote: »

Xiaomi Redmi 3 (5 inch). Solid battery life and good performance with decent cameras for the price range.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-Xiaomi-Redmi-3S-Snapdragon-430-Mobile-Phone-4100mAh-Battery-Fingerprint-ID-2GB-RAM-16GB-ROM/32683599224.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10065_10056_10068_10055_10054_10069_10059_10078_10079_10073_10017_10080_10070_10082_10081_421_420_10060_10061_10052_10062_10053_10050_10051,searchweb201603_7&btsid=028570d1-772a-48e3-ae3b-dba647d6684d

Xiaomi Mi4 (5 inch). Xiaomis old flagship, still a solid phone but software is a little outdated now. Above average battery with solid cameras.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_368084.html?wid=4


UMi Super (5.5 inch). Great battery life, bit heavy but solid looking. Excellent stock android experience.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_361292.html?wid=21

The extremely relaible Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (5.5 inch). Great battery and relatively up to date software experience (MiUi). Excellent community support for ROMs

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_308841.html?wid=21

For Music and Entertainment focus with a decent battery, the Ulefone Vienna (5.5 inch) is a great buy with excellent sound quality. Also runs stock Android.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_335454.html?wid=4

Finally for a big screen device, you have the Xiaomi Mi Max (6.4 inch). Exceptional battery life and a well reviewed device all round. Phone is huge though which probably isn't what a girl wants.

http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_391604.html

Wow, somebody likes GB. Hope they are looking after you.

wozza

Bahanaman wrote: »

Hi!
My daughter is looking for a phone for Christmas. It's her first post Santa pressie so I'd like to do my best for her. I have a budget of around €150. Looking back at this thread there seems to be a lot of options in the chinese phone area. Advice would be greatly appreciated.

You gonna get all sorts of recommendations and you can only go with your gut after reading all the reviews

I done the research for my needs of a new mobile and went for this, 116 euro I paid but they a little more now

http://bluboo.hk/product/maya-max

http://www.banggood.com/Bluboo-Maya-Max-6_0-inch-Fingerprint-3GB-RAM-32GB-ROM-MTK6750-Octa-core-4G-Smartphone-p-1077945.html

6.0 inch screen, (poor eyesight), 4200 mah battery with fast charge, android 6 O/S, reasonable camera, fast processor for games & apps, and operate on all irish networks if I need to swap around.

comes in shiny Gold or Grey

I'll let you know if I was right when customs/mail centre release it

Thecageyone

I don't get the anti-GB thing still, people link other Chinese sites more and never get pulled up. I've used GB a few times for camera and vape gear, and so far so good. Did get pulled up by customs once, but that can be the case for any of these sites. Last order was for a $50 mod, and managed to get it through without fuss. Was here in 10 days too. I think they have improved a lot. And I have zero bias I can assure you, I just go where the bargains are

eamonnq

Thecageyone wrote: »

I don't get the anti-GB thing still, people link other Chinese sites more and never get pulled up. I've used GB a few times for camera and vape gear, and so far so good. Did get pulled up by customs once, but that can be the case for any of these sites. Last order was for a $50 mod, and managed to get it through without fuss. Was here in 10 days too. I think they have improved a lot. And I have zero bias I can assure you, I just go where the bargains are

Gearbest were shilling on this forum and getting user to shill for them, they were completely banned for even being mentioned on this forum until they started paying for their own sub-forum in Bargain Alerts.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin//showthread.php?p=99252680

bit of discussion about it there, can't find the other thread at the moment.

Bahanaman

Thanks for all the recommendations lads! I suppose as was said it's down to a bit of research now and going with the gut! I'd be a bit worried about the the whole process and possibility of getting a dud with little or no customer support but I suppose that's a part of the process! Anyway Thx again.

alanhiggyno1

Bahanaman wrote: »

Thanks for all the recommendations lads! I suppose as was said it's down to a bit of research now and going with the gut! I'd be a bit worried about the the whole process and possibility of getting a dud with little or no customer support but I suppose that's a part of the process! Anyway Thx again.

What did u go for

Kintarō Hattori

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping you may be able to help me help my neighbour in his search for an Android phone. He's looking to take up kayaking next year and wants a phone which has the following features:

waterproof, rugged, dual sim, GPS and which of course runs Android. He had been looking at the below:

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Huadoo-V3-IP68-MTK6582-Quad-Core-1-3GHz-Smartphone-4-0-Inch-Android-4-4-1GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-8-0MP-3G-GPS---Orange-333329.html

I'll go back and read the first few pages of this thread but what are the issues with getting a phone from China in relation to bands here. Is it that they typically don't have some of the bands that our operators use over here?

Many thanks.

GBX

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping you may be able to help me help my neighbour in his search for an Android phone. He's looking to take up kayaking next year and wants a phone which has the following features:

waterproof, rugged, dual sim, GPS and which of course runs Android. He had been looking at the below:

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Huadoo-V3-IP68-MTK6582-Quad-Core-1-3GHz-Smartphone-4-0-Inch-Android-4-4-1GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-8-0MP-3G-GPS---Orange-333329.html

I'll go back and read the first few pages of this thread but what are the issues with getting a phone from China in relation to bands here. Is it that they typically don't have some of the bands that our operators use over here?

Many thanks.

Yes, certain phones have some 3g/4g bands only meaning limited coverage here. Check on http://willmyphonework.net/ to see if that phone will have the bands needed. Its only a 3g phone so if he is happy with just that it should be grand for what he wants.

eamonnq

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping you may be able to help me help my neighbour in his search for an Android phone. He's looking to take up kayaking next year and wants a phone which has the following features:

waterproof, rugged, dual sim, GPS and which of course runs Android. He had been looking at the below:

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Huadoo-V3-IP68-MTK6582-Quad-Core-1-3GHz-Smartphone-4-0-Inch-Android-4-4-1GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-8-0MP-3G-GPS---Orange-333329.html

I'll go back and read the first few pages of this thread but what are the issues with getting a phone from China in relation to bands here. Is it that they typically don't have some of the bands that our operators use over here?

Many thanks.

If you need decent GPS, you might be better avoiding any Mediatek powered devices.

A few reviews of that phone on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Huadoo-V3-IP68-Smartphone-Waterproof/product-reviews/B01EMMARF4/ref=cm_cr_dp_see_all_btm?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=recent

Bahanaman

alanhiggyno1 wrote:

What did u go for

Nothing yet! Only just seen all the recommendations. A good bit of research to do still!

Raoul

gerard2210 wrote: »

The knob thing is called a pop socket, can be bought on Amazon.

Or directly on their site.

http://www.popsockets.com/
They are great and help with "text neck". I would definitely encourage ppl to get them and for their children.
https://www.facebook.com/popsocketsph/videos/412442655625733/

BobbyPropane

eamonnq wrote: »

Wow, somebody likes GB. Hope they are looking after you.

I couldnt give two ****s about gearbest to be honest. I personally use GeekBuying and aliexpress more. The reason I posted the gearbest links was to show the correct models and specs. I obviously expect the person to shop around. It was convenient at the time to use the site I was on

Thecageyone

What would you say is the most reliable, or maybe a couple of 'the' most reliable sites to use? I guess they are all as likely to be hit once the package reaches here, but in terms of quality of service and best delivery times?

GBX

Thecageyone wrote: »

What would you say is the most reliable, or maybe a couple of 'the' most reliable sites to use? I guess they are all as likely to be hit once the package reaches here, but in terms of quality of service and best delivery times?

Different people have had good and bad experiences from the majority. You can search the thread by store name to give you an idea. But below are where people generally go ( From the opening post of this thread)
Traditional Retailers

Banggood - http://www.banggood.com/
Pandawill – http://www.pandawill.com/
Dealextreme – http://www.dx.com/
BuySKU – http://www.buysku.com/
Merimobiles - http://www.merimobiles.com/
Honorbuy - http://www.honorbuy.com/
Coolicool - http://www.coolicool.com/
Chinavaison - http://www.chinavasion.com/
Etotalk - http://www.etotalk.com/
Mixeshop - http://www.mixeshop.com
Antelife - http://antelife.com
Minideal - http://minideal.com
IBuyGou - http://ibuygou.com


A number of these sellers have EU warehouses, allowing you to get your items delivered faster, and without any extra customs charges
Sellers with EU warehouses:
DX
Merimobiles
Honorbuy
Coolicool
Antelife
AliExpress Seller
Another