Best sub €300 Android device

professore

beauf wrote: »

Be interesting to know how the camera compares. The specs don't tell you that.

The camera on the G5 is significantly worse than the G3.

beauf

professore wrote: »

The camera on the G5 is significantly worse than the G3.

I'd be surprised. we have a Moto G3 and I find it worse than the G4. Especially in low light. I thought the G5 has the same camera as the G5. The Plus models have better camera again.

Then again they all seem to struggle in poor light. I preferred the cameras on my old Lumia's.

Falcon L

tedpan wrote: »

Hmmmm, hope not! I'll order one anyway and let you know the experience

I'm not sure I'd be that brave.

https://ie.trustpilot.com/review/onedigitals.co.uk

Ryath

Been mulling this over all day and been around around a few shops. Tempting to save money and go with a sim free phone and tariff but the tesco deal for the Galaxy S7 or Xperia XZ are to tempting. Won't work out to much dearer in long run. Two phones are going to be better, most in €300 bracket are a compromise in one way or other and really wouldn't be much better than my Z3. LG V20 looks good but it is pushing the price a bit

So which to go for Galaxy S7 for €149 upfront or Xperia XZ €199 on a €30 euro a month contract 500 minutes and texts 15gb data? At the price I can live with lack 4G. O2 and three 3g signal are pretty ok in my area and always seems good when I'm in built up areas. Hopefully it come soon though.

Nearly all reviews would say the Samsung S7 is better. Nicer phone to hold marginally better screen. I think I prefer the fingerprint scanner on the front. No USB type C and I'm not mad about Samsung UI. Looks a tiny bit cartoony and I don't find it as intuitive sure I'd get used to it though. Is useful 50 quid cheaper too.

Xperia XZ I am a fan of Sony phones! Used to the UI closer to stock android. TypeC is plus in the long run. Doesn't fall majorly short any where spec wise to the S7 except maybe on screen. Little bit unsure on the fingerprint scanner being on the power button on side but most reviews say it works very well. Bonus of comes with a set of free headphones that look pretty decent they're £40 on amazon.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

grogi

beauf wrote: »

I'd be surprised. we have a Moto G3 and I find it worse than the G4. Especially in low light. I thought the G5 has the same camera as the G5. The Plus models have better camera again.

Then again they all seem to struggle in poor light. I preferred the cameras on my old Lumia's.

Motk G5 Has slightly upgraded sensor from G4, mainly around autofocus. G4+ and G5+ have completely different sensors, much better.

jp101

Eglobal have the Sony X for e260. Very big price drop from original cost

beauf

Anyone used eglobal never heard of them

RossieMan

yea they're known to sell phones destined for the Asian market, dont have the worst reviews to be fair.

They're based in Hong Kong, so take from that what you will. Customs is a possibility people should look at, and returns if its broken.

fixXxer

beauf wrote: »

Anyone used eglobal never heard of them

Used them Twice. One order was smooth has butter, one the ideal got lost in the post for 6 months. They were no help trying to get a refund out of them.

Alanstrainor

The Xiaomi Mi5s is looking like the best option for me at the moment.

https://www.honorbuy.com/971-xiaomi-mi-5s-64gb-smartphone-gold.html

I'm not quite in a position to buy just yet, but I should in the next month or two. I'll decide then if I want to go for this lesser model, or the better one with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage.

Trond

Alanstrainor wrote: »

The Xiaomi Mi5s is looking like the best option for me at the moment.

https://www.honorbuy.com/971-xiaomi-mi-5s-64gb-smartphone-gold.html

I'm not quite in a position to buy just yet, but I should in the next month or two. I'll decide then if I want to go for this lesser model, or the better one with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage.

I get mine later on today. I went with the 3gb 64gb model. Im sure it'll do me fine.

MIUI 8 seems to be getting decent reviews as well. Don't think I'll be rooting anyway...

Lots of ROMS out there as well. Only downside Ive read about is the camera software isn't up to speed with the spec of the camera which by all accounts is excellent.

tedpan

beauf wrote:

Anyone used eglobal never heard of them

Yep, as I said a few pages back. I've used them 3 times and friends/colleagues 10 times. The only issues were slow delivery, up to 4 weeks. Most of the time though we're delivered within 7 working days. Never had an issue with customs

loyatemu

loyatemu wrote: »

that Lenovo looks a great buy - bigger screen, (much) bigger battery and more RAM than the G5+ for ~ same price. Has anyone actually seen/used one yet?

I see 3 in the UK are selling it for £209 and apparently unlocked (though that might be the 3GB model, doesn't specify).

found a big thread on this on HotUKDeals

• it is the 4GB model
• it is unlocked
• there is a Nougat update available for it.

I'm going to be in the UK shortly, very tempted to pop into a 3 store and get one - it's better spec than the G5+ (which I was considering) for less money and the extra large battery could be very handy. I assume you could also order one via Parcel Motel.

adam240610

Trond wrote: »

I got the Mi5s with the official case delivered for €304. Its available on Ali for around €250 if you can wait on the slow boat.

Did you pay any import taxes on that?

grogi

adam240610 wrote: »

Did you pay any import taxes on that?

You should, but sometimes it sneaks through the customs...

Trond

adam240610 wrote: »

Did you pay any import taxes on that?

I didn't pay any on the €304. It came from Italy...

T-Bird

beauf wrote: »

Anyone used eglobal never heard of them

Eglobal handle both delivery and customs. The prices shown are the total price you pay. The customs charge is included and their prices are a bit higher as a result.


17.1 here
https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/terms-and-conditions-eu.html#/cmsPage/181

Trond

Very pleased with my Mi5s so far. Lovely phone with a cracking screen and camera. Finger print reader is excellent (id read a couple of negative reviews)

Couple of issues Ive had so far were v minor. Global ROM doesn't have Ireland listed as a location. Not a big deal. 2nd issue was having to switch to the stock launcher to update background pic. It wouldn't work using Nova Launcher, again not a big deal.

Other than that I've linked all my various accounts, downloaded about 30 apps and its flying along nicely.

magicmoves

Trond wrote: »

Very pleased with my Mi5s so far. Lovely phone with a cracking screen and camera. Finger print reader is excellent (id read a couple of negative reviews)

Couple of issues Ive had so far were v minor. Global ROM doesn't have Ireland listed as a location. Not a big deal. 2nd issue was having to switch to the stock launcher to update background pic. It wouldn't work using Nova Launcher, again not a big deal.

Other than that I've linked all my various accounts, downloaded about 30 apps and its flying along nicely.

Did you get the Prime edition? and where did you buy it from?

Suckit

Mi5s on flash sale all over Europe now, and has been for the past couple of weeks (obviously on different sites, 2-3 day sale) excellent phone, if you can spare the time, i will post a couple of the links when i get home. Roughly around 7pm and then time to make and eat my dinner
I have not mentioned it in this thread before, because i guess they were looking at higher end phones (The Mi5 is much more than many priced at the other prices, i guess i was just not thinking).

The Black Oil

Considering something new too. Bought a Nexus 4 in Sept 2013. It’s currently on its second battery. The original started to act up, I replaced it in Jan 2016. Had a few shut downs at the weekend. That and few iffy performance issues which I’m a little weary of at this stage.

Like Ryath, I've seen family members with Samsungs, they don't really appeal to me.

Camera - I only use Viber and Whatsapp, not Twitter or Facebook, etc. Camera doesn't have to be best, anything will be a jump up from 5MP. I have a 16MP compact Sony camera which I use for holidays, etc. It might gather dust in the event of a new phone.

Maybe I should wait for more about the Nokia 6 (over budget, perhaps). Time to do some reading on the models mentioned here. Good to hear some options.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

The Black Oil

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

No doubt. Saying that, I took a few decent holiday pics with the 4 last week, though at the same time, it does struggle in more dreary conditions.

It's not that I'm a big user of those apps. They're more so go to ones for communicating with family as I don't use Facebook, etc.

I'm leaning towards the Lenovo P2 or LG V20 at the moment, but need to do more research. Other than the odd bit of Youtube I don't consume much in terms of visual media and I don't need a phone for music. I'm not fussed about having the perfect device, 'best' is subjective. A larger screen will take a little getting used to.

I used Komplett a good few years back for computer parts and had no issues.

tedpan

The Black Oil wrote:

I'm leaning towards the Lenovo P2 or LG V20 at the moment, but need to do more research. Other than the odd bit of Youtube I don't consume much in terms of visual media and I don't need a phone for music. I'm not fussed about having the perfect device, 'best' is subjective. A larger screen will take a little getting used to.

The v20 is down to 349e on eglobal, you get 10e off using code "easy" when ordering from a mobile.

Superb for that price

Glen_Quagmire

Oat23 wrote:

Already tried and mentioned these in an earlier post

Ordered a Moto G5 Plus the other day, got an email earlier from Parcel Motel to say it's in their depot so just waiting on the text to say it's ready for collection.

It ended up being a toss up between the G5 Plus and the Lenovo P2 but opted for the G5 as its newer and has Nougat.

I will give a quick update in the next day or two for anyone considering getting one

The Black Oil

tedpan wrote: »

The v20 is down to 349e on eglobal, you get 10e off using code "easy" when ordering from a mobile.

Superb for that price

Where do they ship from? China? Customs? 359? https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/lg-v20-h990-dual-sim-64gb-sim-free-unlocked-titan.html Silver is slightly less at 351.

tedpan

The Black Oil wrote:

Where do they ship from? China? Customs? 359?

Yep Hong Kong. No customs though. They ship to European hubs so the tax is included. Does take 2 weeks for delivery though

Barr

The Black Oil wrote: »

Where do they ship from? China? Customs? 359? https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/lg-v20-h990-dual-sim-64gb-sim-free-unlocked-titan.html Silver is slightly less at 351.

I used them to my my Samsung S5 dual sim (nearly 3 years ago at this stage)


They were a lot less in price than anything at the time. Delivery was very quick and they guarantee no customs.

Deffo would use them again.

Glen_Quagmire

Bit of an update after my first day's use of the Moto G5 Plus for anyone considering one.

Appearance:

Not entirely happy in this department, it's not the prettiest phone on the market, it kinda feels like an older style phone but looks are very subjective I suppose.


Performance:

Very happy with this. Everything I've thrown at it so far it handles with ease with zero lag. Very snappy indeed. It's a lot snappier than my old Sony Z3 but that was two years old in fairness. I've never used a Snapdragon 820 or 821 but the speed this is going is plenty enough for me.


Camera:

Not great. Have only tried a few photos but not impressed so far. My Sony Z3 had a 20MP camera which was excellent, the 12MP on the G5 is nowhere near as good. It does seem to take good shots in the right light conditions though. On the plus side the front 5MP camera is decent and a lot better than my Sony Z3.


Overall:

I'm happy with it so far. Setting up straight out of the box was very simple and the Android 7.0 Nougat is very good. I was strongly​ considering buying a Chinese phone but didn't fancy the messing around with ROMs etc although usually I'm into that kinda thing. I just facied a phone that would just work out of the box and handle everything I throw at it and the G5 does that with ease so far anyway..

The Black Oil

LG V20 ordered. :eek: