Best sub €300 Android device

ECookie13

ra0044 wrote: »

ECookie13 wrote: »

Just got my LG V20 from TobyDeals (seems to be a sister company of EGlobal for just the UK & Ireland market, as both offices right beside each other in HK going by google maps), and got it for £245 delivered.

Lovely phone so far, just gotta figure out how to root it, and didn't get the B&O headphones, just stock LG ones, but oh well. I have enough earphones as is.

£245 sterling delivered is very good. Did you have a code? The cheapest I can see it on there site now is £257 which I assume doesn't include delivery.

I have been keeping an eye on the v20 as I love the audio side of it. Can I ask if the cameras on it are any good in real life ? The wife wants a decent camera and I want really good audio.

loopymum wrote: »

ECookie13 wrote: »

Just got my LG V20 from TobyDeals (seems to be a sister company of EGlobal for just the UK & Ireland market, as both offices right beside each other in HK going by google maps), and got it for £245 delivered.

Lovely phone so far, just gotta figure out how to root it, and didn't get the B&O headphones, just stock LG ones, but oh well. I have enough earphones as is.

Have you got a link to that phone, I can't see it for that price

I saw the deal on the link below. My mistake, it was £248 delivered (postage is free to Ireland and it comes by DPD) but I got like £6 cashback using topcashback also so all round good deal!

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lg-v20-h990-dual-sim-64gb-sim-free-unlocked-titan-24799-toby-deals-2797009

£258 or whatever it is now is still a very good deal and we'll worth that.

Do-more

914 wrote: »

I'm the same as yourself although I'm considering the g5s plus v mi a1.

Think I'll wait for a few more reviews on the mi a1. It seems to have mixed camera reviews, one review saying it's brilliant and another saying its terrible.

It could be the negative reviews are by people comparing it flag ship models like iPhone 7, galaxy s8 etc....

I have looked at quite a few vids on YouTube comparing the cameras of the Moto G5S Plus vs Mi A1. All that I have seen recommend the Moto G5 over the A1, richer colours, video image stabilization, etc.

For the overall design I prefer the appearance of the A1 but I don't like the positioning of the fingerprint sensor, I leave my phone lying down during the day and having the sensor on the front as the Moto G does is a plus for me as it should make it a lot easier to quickly check something without having to pick the phone up to unlock it.

On the down side the Moto G doesn't have a compass so navigating with Google maps whilst walking around an unfamiliar city would be a pain.

Personally I don't see any clear winner between the two of them for me there are compromises with both.

I'm hoping that more manufacturers will launch Android One phones in the next few months so for the moment I'm going to sit on the fence.

914

Do-more wrote: »

I have looked at quite a few vids on YouTube comparing the cameras of the Moto G5S Plus vs Mi A1. All that I have seen recommend the Moto G5 over the A1, richer colours, video image stabilization, etc.

For the overall design I prefer the appearance of the A1 but I don't like the positioning of the fingerprint sensor, I leave my phone lying down during the day and having the sensor on the front as the Moto G does is a plus for me as it should make it a lot easier to quickly check something without having to pick the phone up to unlock it.

On the down side the Moto G doesn't have a compass so navigating with Google maps whilst walking around an unfamiliar city would be a pain.

Personally I don't see any clear winner between the two of them for me there are compromises with both.

I'm hoping that more manufacturers will launch Android One phones in the next few months so for the moment I'm going to sit on the fence.

Think your right, it looks like a flip of a coin between both of them. Think it just come down to personal preference with either phone.

Heroditas

Got my G5 plus today. Loving it so far. Very nice device!!

hoosh1

Hey all,

I'm torn between the LG V20 and the Xiaomi Mi5s. The V20 is very well reviewed here and ordering from eglobal seems reliable. My main problem is the size. My current HTC is similar size to the Mi5, my girlfriends phone is a couple of millimetres shorter than the V20 and I still find it quite big.

The Mi5s is a nice size, it has less RAM but I'm not a gamer so I'm not sure I'll notice and I think I can get it for around €50 cheaper on Gearbest. Its listed as the international version and the 4Gband for three in Ireland is listed in the specs. Does anyone know if this international version has Google Play or do I have to sort that myself and deal with all the Chinese apps too? Also how reliable are Gearbest?

Cheers.

tedpan

hoosh1 wrote:

The Mi5s is a nice size, it has less RAM but I'm not a gamer so I'm not sure I'll notice and I think I can get it for around €50 cheaper on Gearbest. Its listed as the international version and the 4Gband for three in Ireland is listed in the specs. Does anyone know if this international version has Google Play or do I have to sort that myself and deal with all the Chinese apps too? Also how reliable are Gearbest?

It will say in the specs, do you have a link to the mi5s?

hoosh1

https://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_471491.html?wid=83

ECookie13

hoosh1 wrote: »

Hey all,

I'm torn between the LG V20 and the Xiaomi Mi5s. The V20 is very well reviewed here and ordering from eglobal seems reliable. My main problem is the size. My current HTC is similar size to the Mi5, my girlfriends phone is a couple of millimetres shorter than the V20 and I still find it quite big.

The Mi5s is a nice size, it has less RAM but I'm not a gamer so I'm not sure I'll notice and I think I can get it for around €50 cheaper on Gearbest. Its listed as the international version and the 4Gband for three in Ireland is listed in the specs. Does anyone know if this international version has Google Play or do I have to sort that myself and deal with all the Chinese apps too? Also how reliable are Gearbest?

Cheers.

From what I can see, that Mi5s is shipping from Hong Kong warehouse so you'll likely get stung with a decent bit for customs.

tedpan

Unfortunately it has no Google play, so you'll have to load it on yourself, which is not difficult, but not great either.

It also doesn't have the B20 LTE 4G band so won't pick up 4G in rural areas.

tedpan

That goes for both on Gearbest and eglobal..

This could be your winner
https://m.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_757530.html
200euro, quick little phone with B20 and Google play.

Just to warn you, there's a delay in shipping from Asia from what I've been reading on boards and shipping can take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks

Alanstrainor

Just a FYI for customs. I had three separate packages in the last month arrive from Gearbest. All of them had been held up and opened in Portlaoise. All were valued at under 20eur, so I would think there is a high probability of getting stung.

ECookie13

tedpan wrote: »

That goes for both on Gearbest and eglobal..

This could be your winner
https://m.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_757530.html
200euro, quick little phone with B20 and Google play.

Just to warn you, there's a delay in shipping from Asia from what I've been reading on boards and shipping can take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks

There is no customs charge on the v20 from eglobal.

tedpan

Alanstrainor wrote:

Just a FYI for customs. I had three separate packages in the last month arrive from Gearbest. All of them had been held up and opened in Portlaoise. All were valued at under 20eur, so I would think there is a high probability of getting stung.

Good to know, haven't been hit with customs when buying gearbest in the past few months. Only with banggood. But maybe anpost are getting wiser..

Alanstrainor

tedpan wrote: »

Good to know, haven't been hit with customs when buying gearbest in the past few months. Only with banggood. But maybe anpost are getting wiser..

I think there's a chance that I was just unlucky, (or blacklisted :pac::p). Once the Christmas rush starts I'd expect more packages to get through, but for now I'd be careful, or at least do your sums to see if it's still worth it plus tax.

hoosh1

Thanks for all the advice, looks like the V20 is the safe option. I'll have to get bigger hands

tedpan

ECookie13 wrote:

There is no customs charge on the v20 from eglobal.

That's true, maybe buy from eglobal to ensure peace of mind

Bawnmore

Just in case it factors in, Honorbuy have the MA1 shipping from EU Warehouse for $255. No customs on that I'd imagine as within EU.

Liam O

hoosh1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice, looks like the V20 is the safe option. I'll have to get bigger hands

I was wary before about moving up in size when I had the HTC One M7 but once you do there's no looking back imo. Wouldn't go below 5.5" screen now.

tedpan

hoosh1 wrote:

Thanks for all the advice, looks like the V20 is the safe option. I'll have to get bigger hands

Haha! It's down to 303.99euro on eglobal again so with the 8euro discount code (BUYBE4LEAVE) it's the same price as I paid a month or so ago.

Delboy5

air wrote: »

Funnily enough it's almost your username, it's a CAT S60. It's a beast but I use it for work and the durability is great, replaced the screen on my previous phone numerous times.

Hi air,
Whats your thoughts on the CAT S60? Was thinking of getting one, mainly for its durability...

dinorebel

So having read this thread ordered the LG V20 from eglobal on Sunday hope it's as good as people here are saying.

tedpan

dinorebel wrote:

So having read this thread ordered the LG V20 from eglobal on Sunday hope it's as good as people here are saying.

It's one of the best phones you can buy for 300euro, super camera, unreal sound and great performance.

manual_man

Picked up an Xperia XA1 for €229 on Three network a couple of weeks ago. Very happy with it

hoosh1

I ordered my V20 on the saturday of the bank holiday and it arrived the following Friday, delighted how quickly it arrived. Have loved it so far, display is really nice, audio is excellent and its really fast. Havent really tried the camera yet.

Has anyone bought any covers for it? I have a screen protector on it but would like something for the back. Any recommendations?
I'm thinking either the Pleson Crystal Clear or the Sparin tough armour case on the following list:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-lg-v20-cases/2/

tedpan

manual_man wrote:

Picked up an Xperia XA1 for €229 on Three network a couple of weeks ago. Very happy with it

Decent camera, although the screen is pretty low res, small battery and it's powered with a mediatek chip. You can get a lot better for your money from other manufacturers.

manual_man

tedpan wrote: »

Decent camera, although the screen is pretty low res, small battery and it's powered with a mediatek chip. You can get a lot better for your money from other manufacturers.

The screen is good. Performance is good. Battery life is fine. Build quality is fine. Phone looks very nice with near edge to edge display on the sides. There's no fingerprint scanner and it's not waterproof which might matter to some, but for what I paid I'm delighted with it. My only real gripe is the loudspeaker which is a tad on the low side (though placing it on a flat surface helps a bit). As far as I know it's due an update to Android Oreo too

tedpan

My V20 is currently downloading a software update, extremely slowly..! I'll let you know the result later

dinorebel

So my V20 arrived yesterday opened the box made sure it turned on then handed it back to my wife to be opened again Christmas morning:(

tedpan

dinorebel wrote:

So my V20 arrived yesterday opened the box made sure it turned on then handed it back to my wife to be opened again Christmas morning

Nice one! It's a bit of a wait til Christmas!!

T-Bird

tedpan wrote: »

My V20 is currently downloading a software update, extremely slowly..! I'll let you know the result later

Same. Cant find update online Grrr. I think its just a September security patch, all the other variants apart from the 990ds (our one) have the update already.

8 hours and @ 20%.........