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hi all ..i have been eyeing on the s2 ever since it was released ..the problem is the price is so steep back then ...RM2100 ..but about 6 months later it dropped to RM 1900 ...then just last week it dropped to RM 1648 ..and today it dropped to RM 1558! it dropped RM100 in a week!? thats insane!! ..just wondering does anyone know the cause of it ?
S3 due out, HTC One due out, Xperia S out, Xperia P due out, Droid Razr Maxx due out. And so on....
And the S2 is a year old now...
Not rocket science.
i am pretty new to smartphones ..but a drop of RM600 in a course of a year is pretty crazy in my eyes ..or is this very common? i also realized that my bro's Galaxy S used to cost nearly RM2000! when it came out ..now my bro bought it for a 2nd hand for RM620 ...wow ....are smartphone prices so unstable? will the s2 cost a mere RM1000 at the end of the year?
Not unstable, simply Market forces. This is how it works, pay top price as an early adopter.
oh...thanks! oh and is the s2 is good phone ? cause i am thinking of other alternatives like htc sensation , xperia s , and arc s ...s2 is great but it ..soooo common and it's design ain't that appealing ..
I have a personal preference for SE phones, they are very well engineered and have been utterly reliable when used all over the world for me. Never missed a beat. But, I also like the SGS2, it is light and fast. The screen resolution is poor compared with Xperia, but has a greater contrast ratio. I don't understand why Samsung omit the notification LED from their phones, so I use "NoLED" from the Market to act as a notification alert. It works well on an OLED screen - very Nokia C7!
Your choice, ultimately. If you don't like the looks of the SGS2 now, you may never do so. So you might not "love" it as an owner.
In the Netherlands the price is still over 400 euro`s , more thant 600 us dollars.
Dude we love S2 not coz of " cute". But its a beast in hardware capabilities and the awesome dev section in XDA
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
hooligan007 said:
Dude we love S2 not coz of " cute". But its a beast in hardware capabilities and the awesome dev section in XDA
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
believe me man...the dev section is not that awesome .... i see the same threads every day .... when it comes to the dev section look at the sony ericsson devices dev section......since i have been there quite a while.......
you have to take note that in recent years, smartphone technologies have progress in lighting speed. At the start of 2010, phone with 1Ghz processor was top of the leauge, in 2011, it's duo core who catch the show (Where Galaxy S2 shine), and now its 2012, where quad core and 720p HD screen host the show, specification of galaxy S2 as of today only worth as a medium class. How much you would expect people pay for a medium class phone?
Other than Apple product, where apple have control over their retail price, it's natural for their price to drop as technogies advance. Well, only idiot apple fan would pay for overprice piece of product near it's debut retail price when it's so obsolete.
vyis said:
you have to take note that in recent years, smartphone technologies have progress in lighting speed. At the start of 2010, phone with 1Ghz processor was top of the leauge, in 2011, it's duo core who catch the show (Where Galaxy S2 shine), and now its 2012, where quad core and 720p HD screen host the show, specification of galaxy S2 as of today only worth as a medium class. How much you would expect people pay for a medium class phone?
Other than Apple product, where apple have control over their retail price, it's natural for their price to drop as technogies advance. Well, only idiot apple fan would pay for overprice piece of product near it's debut retail price when it's so obsolete.
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Click to collapse
I don`t agree with you, had a galaxy note for 2 months and sold it again and went back to the s2. The s2 is way faster, more responsive and has imo a better screen. This is after a year still a top three device, but that`s just me
IMO even till now s2 is still pretty beastly ..at least quadrant , nenamark wise ..it still the highest in the business even after so long ...even higher than Xperia S , nexus ...
Tell me about it.
I bought my SG2 last month for 760$ (in Israel). Now it sells for 670$.
I don't think i will upgrade to s3 over note ill wait for note2 just saying.........
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using XDA
i have a month with my note and nothing out there tickles my fancy.
when you get used to the large screen, there is no going back, from my experience.
my friend bought the s3 and im like meh its cool and all but that difference
on screen real estate has me hooked. i didnt get the buzz until i had 2 days with
the note.
i thought viewing excel documents on the s2 was a huuuuuge difference coming from the torch.
i thought viewing excel documents coming from the bold to the torch was a huuuge leap.
WTF the NOTE blows everything out of the water, all other phones are not worthy
Found another reason today to love our Notes over the SIII....
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-melts/
Haven't heard a report of Notes melting yet!
SilverStone641 said:
Found another reason today to love our Notes over the SIII....
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/20/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-melts/
Haven't heard a report of Notes melting yet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow that's crazy.
Sent from my Objection Note
I just recently switched from the Iphone4 to the Galaxy Note....I was really planning on getting the S3 when it came out (I bought Note outright no contract from Craigslist) and the more I play with the Note...the less I want to switch. I mean they have the same specs except for the Note a bigger screen. Plus with the custom roms you can have almost everything a S3 has as far as features...why spend the extra cash for less screen and a few other features?
Oh and there is NO WAY IN HELL I will ever go back to Apple!
Tremulant1 said:
I just recently switched from the Iphone4 to the Galaxy Note....I was really planning on getting the S3 when it came out (I bought Note outright no contract from Craigslist) and the more I play with the Note...the less I want to switch. I mean they have the same specs except for the Note a bigger screen. Plus with the custom roms you can have almost everything a S3 has as far as features...why spend the extra cash for less screen and a few other features?
Oh and there is NO WAY IN HELL I will ever go back to Apple!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They don't have the same specs.
i717 Note: Qualcomm S3 1.5ghz processor Adreno 220 GPU, 1gb RAM
i747 GSIII: Qualcomm S4 1.5ghz processor Adrena 225 GPU, 2gb RAM, Better cameras (Burst and HDR shot, 720p front facing), Gorilla Glass 2.
Although the features on the SIII are nice, they aren't enough for me to upgrade just yet.
Perhaps once 1080p screens become standard I will upgrade.
I would wait for note 2. I really like my note (i717) despite problem with custom radio for T-Mobile.
I agree I think the note is gonna be on top for a while... for a long while.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
I'll stick with my note fo sure .....don't care for the one x nor the s3 ..."Quad core"....... i don't need a quad core phone......my DUAL CORE note runs every single game I have perfect ...like mass effect ...nova... mc3 ...and everything's else ...
NUFF said DUECE's
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
zer0nine said:
They don't have the same specs.
i717 Note: Qualcomm S3 1.5ghz processor Adreno 220 GPU, 1gb RAM
i747 GSIII: Qualcomm S4 1.5ghz processor Adrena 225 GPU, 2gb RAM, Better cameras (Burst and HDR shot, 720p front facing), Gorilla Glass 2.
Although the features on the SIII are nice, they aren't enough for me to upgrade just yet.
Perhaps once 1080p screens become standard I will upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea I meant to say similar specs, but yea you're right...not enough to make me switch over to the S3...
Two words jelly bean
"Since God created man, and man created the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Note are like a gift from God, Randal!"
S III IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NOT!
zer0nine said:
They don't have the same specs.
i717 Note: Qualcomm S3 1.5ghz processor Adreno 220 GPU, 1gb RAM
i747 GSIII: Qualcomm S4 1.5ghz processor Adrena 225 GPU, 2gb RAM, Better cameras (Burst and HDR shot, 720p front facing), Gorilla Glass 2.
Although the features on the SIII are nice, they aren't enough for me to upgrade just yet.
Perhaps once 1080p screens become standard I will upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In actual tests on You Tube the Note's camera actually outperformed most others, including the S3, in picture quality.
Definitely gonna stick with the Note. I like to turn heads when using it in public. And nobody I know has it which makes it that much cooler. I can live without the slight upgrade in processing and ram.
When I had S2, I got my wife S2,
As now I have Note , I will get her get S3.
And I personally will wait for Note 2, bcoz am still enjoying Note.
Sent from my SGH-I717R using XDA
If I hadn't picked up the Note, er, if the Note had never been produced, I would for sure be all over the GSIII, but I couldn't be happier with my Note. The GSIII is a great looking phone imho, but the screen size of the Note plus the SPen make it a winner for me. My first Android was the Captivate, followed by the Infuse, and now my Note. Needless to say, Samsung has my loyalty and it will take a huge offering to displace them. My next phone will definitely be the Note 2. I just don't see another phone topping the Note 2 based purely on my current Note.
I like the hardware style of HTC phones, but they need to make a 5.3+" AMOLED screened phone with a stylus to displace Samsung and the Note for me. Not to mention, bootloader unlocking is just something I'd rather not have to ever deal with, and I can't pull myself to stay on stock software anymore. I know it's simple enough, but it's still a nuisance to deal with bootloader unlocking. I haven't played with the newer versions of Sense either, but my phones always end up losing manufacturer overlays anyways, and so far, Touchwiz has been the most appealing for me as well.
Same goes for Motorola, I like the direction they've gone with hardware on the RAZR line, but I need this big, beautiful screen and pen, not to mention a removable back. I also have hated Motorola overlays all along, as it is just ugly and laggy on every Motorola I've played with. They also have the stupid bootloader issues that keep me at bay.
I really wish Nokia wouldn't have been so dumb and had adopted both Android and WP7, because again, I like their hardware. Maybe they'll open up to Android in the future, but that won't happen before the Note 2 is here.
All that being said, I have no complaints with Samsung hardware, as every phone I have had from them has been rock solid and sexy despite people always bashing their use of plastic. I suppose the only qualm I have is how the back of the GSIII is glossy and the Note 2 will likely follow in it's design footsteps, though I don't mind the back of my white Note at all...I just prefer the textured back of my Infuse or metal on my Captivate. I really wish the general public would stop bashing Samsung for using plastic though, I don't see it as detrimental to build quality at all, and no matter what people say, metal still scratches, scuffs and dents, and plastic still holds up great in drops.
If Samsung wanted to annihilate the market and forever hold my loyalty, they can feel free to read this post and make my ideal Note 2 =] :
*5.5-6" Super AMOLED Plus HD 1080p display
-if they could find a way, make it matte glass while keeping HD clarity...which would be tough, but possible in the future probably.
*GNex styling with textured back, matte plastic instead of glossy.
-or go a different route with something exotic...carbon fiber, ceramic, magnesium, etc. I would pay a premium price for premium materials. =]
*Full Wacom pen functionality/increased pen software integration.
*Even though MHL is getting better, mini hdmi out would be nice like Motorola has on some phones
*Bigger battery obviously, or even next gen battery technology when it comes to consumer devices.
*Next gen Exynos with LTE capability and an increase in RAM, which RAM increase is inevitable.
*Multiple internal storage options like the GSIII, I would pounce all over 64 GB internal with up to 128 GB with expandable.
*Padfone and/or Atrix style docking options. Not necessary, but would be awesome. I would like to see something like that Ubuntu docking setup, as it would make phones of the future truly all in one devices. Imagine having only one device with only peripherals to expand functionality...yes, the future will be awesome.
All of that is really unnecessary with how awesome I think my current Note is, but if they include any of that you can bet I will be throwing my money at them.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Android The Greek said:
Two words jelly bean
"Since God created man, and man created the Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Note are like a gift from God, Randal!"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Four words, you might be wrong. With lots of proof pointing to the ASUS Nexus Tegra 3 Tablet getting Jelly Bean first there is speculation Jelly Bean will be for tablets only just like Honeycomb. It actually makes sense cause they had tablets running Gingerbread and to set tablets apart they gave us Honeycomb now theres ICS which is very similar to Honeycomb and I think Google is smart enough to know they need something else to keep people interested in Android tablets. Who knows but if you go back and read old post about Honeycomb before it was announced by Google everyone thought they would get they update on their devices but when it was anounced it was a let down cause it was only for tablets and I am willing to bet the next Android OS will also be a tablet only OS. I would also bet that every other new Android OS will be Tablet only from now on. But hey maybe I am wrong.
porkenhimer said:
Four words, you might be wrong. With lots of proof pointing to the ASUS Nexus Tegra 3 Tablet getting Jelly Bean first there is speculation Jelly Bean will be for tablets only just like Honeycomb. It actually makes sense cause they had tablets running Gingerbread and to set tablets apart they gave us Honeycomb now theres ICS which is very similar to Honeycomb and I think Google is smart enough to know they need something else to keep people interested in Android tablets. Who knows but if you go back and read old post about Honeycomb before it was announced by Google everyone thought they would get they update on their devices but when it was anounced it was a let down cause it was only for tablets and I am willing to bet the next Android OS will also be a tablet only OS. I would also bet that every other new Android OS will be Tablet only from now on. But hey maybe I am wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Three words, you are wrong. ICS was designed to make it simple for developing for both phones and tablets, hence why tablet mode is activated by a simple dpi change. ICS was made so Google doesn't have to deal with two different versions of software for tablets and phones, and both modes are built right in to one software version.
Plus, in the online Google play store, they just changed the galaxy nexus for sale to show hints at jelly bean, like the screen shown with a new stock wallpaper and different looking search bar, even right in the text description. It will be for both phones and tablets.
Edit: Here, needed to look this up: http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/0...ean-will-be-coming-to-the-galaxy-nexus-first/
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Hi my girlfriend has birthday next month and she was talking latelly thank she'd like to have a smartphone because she'd love to surf internet on the go, listen to music ( she's using some old mp3 player atm ), check e-mail etc.
She's been using a classic candy bar phones for years and I was thinink that as her bday is comming I could get smartphone for her as a gift.
But I'm not really sure which model would suit a total newbie in the smartphone world ? She's never used a touch screen phone, she only played littlebit with mine Nexus 7.
I use HTC HD7 personally and it comes with Windows Phone 7 but i thought Android would be better for her because of more apps, etc.
Is there anything you could recommend ?
Battery life longer than 20h would be great ( mine HD7 last like 26-28h )
Thanks !
White Galaxy s II or III depends on your budget .
the smooth interface and lightweight design make these some of the best performing phones right out of the box to date battery life depends on usage but you can ussually get bout 16+ hours of normal use which is very good for android+ the large display. If it were me definetly the galaxy s III
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
How about something smaller ?
I think 4+ inch will be too big for her hands.
Mine HD7 is sometimes too big for me and my hands are bigger.
Galaxy Ace 2 white, 3.8 inch, 2 cams, ics upgrade coming in, good price and also a good entry phone.
Sent from my GT-S5830 using Tapatalk 2
Xperia u or galaxy mini 2 or htc one v..., it really depends on how much you want to spend on it and you should know her better than i do (lol), so if she doesn't like suprises you should ask her to pick one for herself
Sent from my GT-I9001
That Galaxy Ace 2 looks interesting I'll look into it. Thank you.
Any more models you could think of ? I'd like to have a bigger spectrum of choices.
Samsung Captivate (4', a lot of support from community), Motorola Atrix 4G or Atrix 2 (4', Tegra II or OMAP dual core), SE Mini ST15 (3')
http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/st...10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666470191
The Sony Xperia U. Great features, great price, should be getting a JB update soon and very soon.
rootpl1165 said:
Hi my girlfriend has birthday next month and she was talking latelly thank she'd like to have a smartphone because she'd love to surf internet on the go, listen to music ( she's using some old mp3 player atm ), check e-mail etc.
She's been using a classic candy bar phones for years and I was thinink that as her bday is comming I could get smartphone for her as a gift.
But I'm not really sure which model would suit a total newbie in the smartphone world ? She's never used a touch screen phone, she only played littlebit with mine Nexus 7.
I use HTC HD7 personally and it comes with Windows Phone 7 but i thought Android would be better for her because of more apps, etc.
Is there anything you could recommend ?
Battery life longer than 20h would be great ( mine HD7 last like 26-28h )
Thanks !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I gave mine an HTC One S (blue), after having used the iphone 3gs for 2 year, she's very satisfied with the One S, great battery life too up to 5 days. Sense really is a great addition to android, especially for non-techies but if you get the one S be sure to get the snapdragon 4 variant not the the s3 variant.
From my experience , ladies that are generally not geeky prefer something that fits their hands, like some 3.7-4" htc. And on top of that if its pink... well, lets just say she'll be more than glad
I recently suggested htc wildfire to a friend of mine who never had android before. Shes now a successful convert to our beloved OS :angel:
Yup I've decided to go for Samsung Galaxy Mini 2.
Unfortunatelly resolution isn't the greatest but it's is a really nice little device. She had old nokia anyway so for her that resolution is going to be a huge step forward anyway.
Perfect size, nice and round edges and it's really good looking and it wasn's super expensive either. She'll be happy with it I'm sure.
Thank you guys for all sugestions !
I gave to my girlfriend an HTC Cha Cha. And she is not really happy...
My wife got as a present a white wildfire S.
She was really happy using it
Until our son broke the (gorilla) screen
Sent from Motorola Atrix using Tapatalk2
Just gave my girlfriend a Nexus 7. She was using an iPad 2 before it broke. I was nervous about her moving from iOS to JB, but she's adapted nicely. She prefers it significantly to the iPad (which she was crazy about).
Sent from d2spr running CM10 (8/1)
My girlfriend has a Galaxy S (the original one) and she loves it. The fact that it's running Android meant she was able to turn the home screen and app drawer into a hideous mess of pink and sparkles...
I'd recommend skipping that for the S2 though. Absolutely AMAZING smartphone, near perfection, and you get ICS on it now so it's faster and more functional. I'd skip the Galaxy 'Ace' range as most people I know who have one struggle with it due to it being a little bit too underpowered for what it's trying to run.
sbeddoesdesign said:
My girlfriend has a Galaxy S (the original one) and she loves it. The fact that it's running Android meant she was able to turn the home screen and app drawer into a hideous mess of pink and sparkles...
I'd recommend skipping that for the S2 though. Absolutely AMAZING smartphone, near perfection, and you get ICS on it now so it's faster and more functional. I'd skip the Galaxy 'Ace' range as most people I know who have one struggle with it due to it being a little bit too underpowered for what it's trying to run.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha that happened to my girlfriends Iphone after i jailbroke it and taught her how to theme it. The next day she shows me her phone and its all baby blue and pink all over the place. I keep telling her all the theming stuff is easier on android but girls tend to like the iphone because it is more of a fashion accessory and dont tend to care too much about what their phone can do.
Well in some ways iPhone can do more though, there's way more on the app store, you just have less control over the fundamentals.
She bought an Xperia U today. Pink on the inside AND outside, even got the light to go pink,lol
Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk 2
Try HTC Rhyme, it little bit outdated but very feminist look.
Sent from my MT27i using xda app-developers app
People the OP has already bought a device, the Samsung Galaxy Mini II
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My phone provider has a very limited selection of Android phones (one to be specific) and I simply cannot afford to buy a brand new name brand phone outright. Was wondering if anyone here has a no name phone or if I get one what the difficulties would be on the rooting/development side. I'm what you'd call a geek I guess and pretty tech savvy but this is my phone, not just a tablet or something that I can work on later if it fails. I'd still have my X10 for a backup, just don't want to pay for a dud. Here are the ones I was looking at.
http://dx.com//p/137028
http://dx.com//p/143969
http://dx.com//p/149206
http://dx.com//p/148048
The last one has me intrigued. Says no name but box says Galaxy S III and batteries and sticker under battery say Samsung and it's super identical but not exact. Maybe even close enough for development and cases?
they are all from China. And i have used one of china phone before and it's pretty bad if you ask me about the quality.
If they are from a brand like Oppo Finder or something then it's all good but when they have 2 sim slots and no clear brand then you shouldn't buy it
SumCanadianGuy said:
My phone provider has a very limited selection of Android phones (one to be specific) and I simply cannot afford to buy a brand new name brand phone outright. Was wondering if anyone here has a no name phone or if I get one what the difficulties would be on the rooting/development side. I'm what you'd call a geek I guess and pretty tech savvy but this is my phone, not just a tablet or something that I can work on later if it fails. I'd still have my X10 for a backup, just don't want to pay for a dud. Here are the ones I was looking at.
http://dx.com//p/137028
http://dx.com//p/143969
http://dx.com//p/149206
http://dx.com//p/148048
The last one has me intrigued. Says no name but box says Galaxy S III and batteries and sticker under battery say Samsung and it's super identical but not exact. Maybe even close enough for development and cases?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, non brand names can actually be pretty good. You have to look at the specs however. MTK 6575 is a 1ghz single core and MTK 6577 is 1ghz dual core. Screen resolution is important, Chinese manufacturers like to have low resolutions on big displays (that last one, the S3 clone, has a WVGA, 800x480 4.8 inch screen! Blegh!). Also be sure to check out the Android version number, they even lie to you sometimes! I once heard about this one phone that was marketed as with ICS but was in reality a themed GB.
EDIT: took a look and found the first 3 are all WVGA on 5 inch screens which will look even more like crap and the second to last one has a MTK 6573 CPU at only 650 mhz which is very slow
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
SumCanadianGuy said:
My phone provider has a very limited selection of Android phones (one to be specific) and I simply cannot afford to buy a brand new name brand phone outright. Was wondering if anyone here has a no name phone or if I get one what the difficulties would be on the rooting/development side. I'm what you'd call a geek I guess and pretty tech savvy but this is my phone, not just a tablet or something that I can work on later if it fails. I'd still have my X10 for a backup, just don't want to pay for a dud. Here are the ones I was looking at.
The last one has me intrigued. Says no name but box says Galaxy S III and batteries and sticker under battery say Samsung and it's super identical but not exact. Maybe even close enough for development and cases?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That last one is interesting, I wonder if you could flash other stock roms onto it?
patrickjaden said:
That last one is interesting, I wonder if you could flash other stock roms onto it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No way, just because it looks like an s3 on the outside does not mean you can do Samsung galaxy s3 hacks onto it.
Completely different internals!
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium
The last one is running Android 2.3. I would expect you have 0% chance of getting anything newer running on it.
It's an obvious thing to say, but you get what you pay for. They all look sort of okay, but you'll regret not shelling out the extra for the real thing, especially with all the future development and upgrades you'll miss out on.
No problem with it but don't expect to get any Android Updates from the manufacturer or custom recovery, ROM etc from the community the best you will be able to do is Root your phone but that's about it.
Thanks for a all the replies, I think I'm leaning more towards a goophone Y5 now.
Sent from my Xperia X10 Running Xperia GX ICS Cyanogenmod 9.1 On Amin Kernel
SumCanadianGuy said:
Thanks for a all the replies, I think I'm leaning more towards a goophone Y5 now.
Sent from my Xperia X10 Running Xperia GX ICS Cyanogenmod 9.1 On Amin Kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a no name but one of the better ones (if you don't mind it looking like an iphone). The original ROM is crap with too much chinese but I found a review on youtube about a custom ROM someone made with major modifications that you can buy for $3 or something. Based on the review, the $3 is worth it
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I've been visiting dealextreme.com and found some pretty good-looking Android phones for cheap. The problem is, well, these are chinese no-name phones.
Their specs seem to be pretty good. I won't lie. But to be honest, they seem too good to be true.
What I'd like to know is: Are they any good?
Look at the N6300 MTK6589 and the JIAYU JY-G3 MTK6589T in dx.com, for example. Their price tag is pretty low, and the phone looks great. But the thing is: Will they last, or fail quickly?
Also, I found a good deal on a used Sony Xperia Go on Latin America's eBay equivalent (MercadoLibre). For about $160USD.
Which phone should I pick and why? What opinion do you have about chinese Android phones? Would you trust these phones for your daily use? Would YOU buy one of those? Or should I just buy the used Xperia Go?
I live in Mexico, so getting a smartphone for $199 + contract is pretty much impossible here. They still cost an arm and a leg even under plan.
To be honest I've gotten knockoff Chinese phones before...some can be really good but keep in mind there's really no rooting or development for em and you'll stay pretty much stock on it...hence a big reason they stay cheap...blu is a good decent brand..id go with a more name brand phone if you want that and there is places like eBay you can get a good phone pretty cheap
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REV3NT3CH said:
To be honest I've gotten knockoff Chinese phones before...some can be really good but keep in mind there's really no rooting or development for em and you'll stay pretty much stock on it...hence a big reason they stay cheap...blu is a good decent brand..id go with a more name brand phone if you want that and there is places like eBay you can get a good phone pretty cheap
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'd be better off buying the used Xperia Go? A safer bet, I guess.
I Own the Cubot GT 99 , 140 USD for 4.5 inch 720p , quad core 1.2 ghz, 12,6mp camera and performs like galaxy s 3 in numbers. The problem with Chinese phones is that they have a cpu brand called mediatek and everything is closed source. So no roms, you can find miui and/or lewa rom, but you have to search. For example my phone, Cubot, is a rebranded xyz x1, and roms like miui are available (I can install 2 day old miui). BUT , unless things change, you are v stuck with the same android version it shipped with, 4.2.1 for me... closed source sucks... and of course no cyanogenmod , also gps is the worst thing in those chips, lock time about half day !
Ya go with the xperia
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I have a G3S Jiayu, ono commented mate up the big problem is that the code is not released, so no chance of modificafo kernel or custom roms
REV3NT3CH said:
Ya go with the xperia
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can the Xperia Go be upgraded to 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3? I don't mind if it needs CyanogenMod.
Lol, I remember the first time a friend gave me a plum mobile phone for free, three words piece of ****. The god dam phone had only 300 mb ram and 1.0 GHz along with its disgusting screen material and display, not only that but the phone lagged so hard every time I clicked on a app, some process had to end. You can visit the site by googling plum mobile.
Most Chinese android phones aren't reliable/good but there are a handful of companies that make high quality devices like Asus and more.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Icyice said:
Can the Xperia Go be upgraded to 4.1, 4.2 or 4.3? I don't mind if it needs CyanogenMod.
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Youd have to check the thread for it...im very sure there is custom roms for it
You may see on XiaoMi HongMI, quad core, samsung camera, dual sim and latest MIUI only cost 799 yuan.
http://www.xiaomi.com/hongmi
or
oppo.
Icyice said:
about $160USD.
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You can buy THL W100
Icyice said:
getting a smartphone for $199
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You can buy THL W200, Here: http://www.thlmobilestore.com/
It really does depend on the brand, I haven't ever used one myself but friends of mine have tried some out. The bigger brands like Huawei or Xioami are totally legit but the lower ends are pretty much guaranteed to be broken garbage. Still, it's certainly viable to go Chinese.
Grand Guignol said:
It really does depend on the brand, I haven't ever used one myself but friends of mine have tried some out. The bigger brands like Huawei or Xioami are totally legit but the lower ends are pretty much guaranteed to be broken garbage. Stil, it's certainly viable to go Chinese.
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China has some small brands of mobile phones is also doing well.
Lindsay02 said:
China has some small brands of mobile phones is also doing well.
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Yeah, like Jiayu is good and Star is pretty good now too. I think chinese really (like under 50$ or MTK6589 for 100$) are garbage. For example big comapny - ZTE has a model V967S which costs on alie 130-135$ with shipping. It's very cheap for that kind of phone.
muf18 said:
Yeah, like Jiayu is good and Star is pretty good now too. I think chinese really (like under 50$ or MTK6589 for 100$) are garbage. For example big comapny - ZTE has a model V967S which costs on alie 130-135$ with shipping. It's very cheap for that kind of phone.
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100 $ or less Chinese mobile phone, you'd better not buy, there is big quality problem.
depends
Huawei, ZTE and most of other big brands works very good, but unknown brand will usually means problems all the time.
I have Zte v967 and is very good for. 150$. Huge battery as well.
Sent from my ZTE V967S using Tapatalk
just thought I would add in that the Cubot gt99 is great.. really solid build, great screen etc. but as someone said, you are currently stuck with the version of android delivered - 4.2.1. to which I don't see a problem with for a phone with such great specs for such a cheap amount.
there do seem to be a lot of 'copy' phones , eg the cubot one.. these, from my reading don't seem to far so well.
I've stuck with cubot and alongside the gt99 for the wife, which I have seen for less than £100 (- potential import taxes) I've ordered a cubot t9. have to see how it goes.
I am hoping that they will release the source in due course, they are supposedly thinking about it as per the cubot forums.
one thing that really impressed us was the built in to the design replaceable screen protector. when you get it, there is one in place that you can hardly tell, much nicer idea than the after thought stick on top. It is nice and thick too.
Using a Jiayu G3 phone for more than a year. First, there are MANY Chinese companies with hundreds of different models so it's hard to say something common about all of them, some are better than other. I have no complains about my Jiayu after one year quality is good, design is good screen is good. It was $200 when I bought it you can still buy a variant now probably $50 cheaper now.
What is common:
Most use Mediatek SoCs. They are not on the same class as Qualcomm or Exynos but they have for some time Quad core A9 and A7 based and the Octacore A7 just start appearing in some phones (gets about 30000 Antutu scores so not bad for the price).
Mediatek supports dual SIM so all Mediatek based phones have dual SIM (very popular in China).
Now, be careful. All phones have Quad band GSM (2G) so they will work in any GSM based network, but the 3G will most likely not work (may be some small networks in Europe which works). They do not have yet LTE and when they will have may work just in China. So if you need data , forget the Chinese phone. If you use it for voice only, just make sure (in US and Canada) that your provider supports GSM for 2G (it's not one of CDMA ones).
also most phones will hardly get any updates, so expect that what you get is all. Some bigger companies will offer updates and you will find a number of custom ROMs (MIU, Lewa) but if you don't speak Chines you will need to spend a lot of time using Google translate). Rooting is not a problem however, I did not hear about any Chinese phone which could not be rooted, and if you stay with more common brands and models you will find custom recovery besed on TWRP for them.
You can get a quite decent phone either 720p or 1080p with good screen and very decent performance in the $200 range, if you are good with the limitations above.
You can get higher end models with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (or Tegra 4) but you will be in $500+ range which gets you in the big brands range.
In conclusion:
Buy one only if you use it for GSM (2G) voice. Forget if you need 3G or 4G.
Don't buy the very cheap no name ones, I would stay with $150+ for a decent phone. For most, in this price range or higher quality is not a problem, but higher you go in price more features newer SoC, more memory, better screen more recent OS you get.
You can get models which will be at least as good (or better) than brand names if you go to $500+ range (but you will still not have 3G and 4G, and will have less community support, at least if you don't speak Chinese so think twice).If you only use the phone for voice and WiFi for data, however this models could even be one step ahead of brand names ( it looks like VIVO will be the first phone with 1440p LCD).
A good tip I can give is spend as much time as possible to check out reviews about the phones.
At least, that is what I did for my Inew.
When I saw the phone was almost everytime in the top 5 list of the "most sold" or "most popular" phones, I thought those people can't be wrong.
Also, check some reviews for the brands, although there are a lot of brands, it is easy to see which brands are preferred.