How about getting a copycat cell phone?

T

ttlotus

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How about China mobile phones? Are these android smartphones so-called copycat cell phones, which are descibed to be knockoffs, no brands or inferior brands, cheap but fully functional? I wonder how about the property quality?
 
I've heard of these, but honestly, there are enough problems with first party phones... of all varieties. Do you really want to deal with some no-name brand with absolutely zero support?

I've had dud phones before, exchanged them 3 times through Verizon (thank you God for extended warranties,) something that would be impossible with those phones.

You also know they can't be using the best screens, best buttons, or any other internal electronics. Everything will be 3rd or 4th string at best. The stuff the likes of Samsung, Sony, HTC, and Apple reject.
 
Wouldn't seem so bad if there were some sort of warranty, but from the looks of it there is none. Wouldn't buy.
 
You can get used smartphones on craigslist for so cheap. Why would you want to buy crap like that?
 
I haven't looked at them in a long time and I didn't follow your link but I used to be interested in that type of thing when I was broke and in grad school. the short answer is they sucked. the screens weren't capacitive and the OS was all screwy and outdated and they came with antennas because apparently people use their phones as TV's over there? I don't know but that's what it was a few years ago.


anyway, I clicked the link before I hit post just to make sure I wasn't talking out my butt and a lot of those phones are listed with 2.2 and for all practical matters that means you'll be stuck on froyo for good. there are some listing gingerbread and ICS but at the price they're selling for you can get comparable devices from the used market. also, be careful to match the bands with US carriers. And be mindful that the specs listed on the page may not match the physical device that comes out of the box.
 
mope54 said:
I haven't looked at them in a long time and I didn't follow your link but I used to be interested in that type of thing when I was broke and in grad school. the short answer is they sucked. the screens weren't capacitive and the OS was all screwy and outdated and they came with antennas because apparently people use their phones as TV's over there? I don't know but that's what it was a few years ago.


anyway, I clicked the link before I hit post just to make sure I wasn't talking out my butt and a lot of those phones are listed with 2.2 and for all practical matters that means you'll be stuck on froyo for good. there are some listing gingerbread and ICS but at the price they're selling for you can get comparable devices from the used market. also, be careful to match the bands with US carriers. And be mindful that the specs listed on the page may not match the physical device that comes out of the box.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for your heads up. I even didn't consider matching the bands with US carriers. oh, God. Thanks to your words, I notice it now. Or I will regret for my negligence.
 
Yes you can buy used smartphones on craigslist, but the chinese knockoffs have their place. Just make sure you know what cell band you're using and make sure to get them from a semi reputable dealer.
 
Cheap but fully functional... see if you can find an HP Veer 4G... I purchased a brand new example for about $90 and it's better than any Android device IMO.
 
There's no warranty, so if it breaks, you're sorta screwed...

Last-gen Android phones go on sale every once in a while.
 
I am back in the US now for a couple months, but I am going back to China at the end of September until next April. I spend a lot of time there for work. The phones are okay... if you are in the asian market. Keep in mind that they are international phones... they may not work in the US so well depending on the carrier (I think AT&T is the only safe bet).

One Chinese brand I can suggest (actually, I think it is South Korean, but cheap) is the Appo. I purchased one for my sichuan girlfriend. She loves it, but she only runs Chinese apps, so its not a real issue. The problem with most of the "android" phones over there is that they are not true android. They are a knock-off processor or something. I can also say that the photo quality sucks on her Appo. Its all hazy. If you try to load the Play Store on them, it won't work. She loves it, and its the most expensive phone she has ever had (2000RMB, which is like $2000 to us considering how little the average Chinese person makes, but really about $250US), so that is all that matters for now. I would not get one for myself unless I was a native Chinese speaker/reader.

I was looking at "western brand" Androids over there for myself, most are fakes. We were shopping at a store in Guangzhou that was selling Galaxy S2's. I can tell you this: they cost more than just getting one in the US (the lowest I ended up seeing one for was 4000RMB) because they are all international models. I was thinking "what the hell, buy it" at the time, but she stopped me (all 4'11" 90lbs. of her vs. my 6'5" 240lbs, lol, it was funny to watch her "take command") because she said they were all fakes. And this was at a major retailer there (RT-Mart, sort of a Wal-Mart copy). I mean, I am used to seeing 8 "Apple stores" in one mall (yeah, I'm sure they are all legit...lol), but for a major retailer to be selling fakes... says alot about what to expect out of China.

A co-worker of mine picked up a real Motorola Defy for 1700RMB on sale... international version with dual sim cards and all. If you do the exchange rate though, that is more than he would pay in the US for one though.
 
UnknownSouljer said:
I've heard of these, but honestly, there are enough problems with first party phones... of all varieties. Do you really want to deal with some no-name brand with absolutely zero support?

I've had dud phones before, exchanged them 3 times through Verizon (thank you God for extended warranties,) something that would be impossible with those phones.

You also know they can't be using the best screens, best buttons, or any other internal electronics. Everything will be 3rd or 4th string at best. The stuff the likes of Samsung, Sony, HTC, and Apple reject.
Click to expand...

What is so great about support? Most of us never get to use it, we sit around and HOPE they release an update that fixes something for months and sometimes we never get it.
 
My god... just looked through all those... why would you even consider any of these before even looking at Craigslist or Ebay. Pass.
 
I see them everyday (I can go out now and take a picture of the stalls selling them if you want). Add a few more and get yourself a low end Samsung Phone. Less functional, but atleast it's better built than these.

Functionality wise, they follow the same design pattern as pre-iphone phones. That's why they say that Asian phones are ahead of western ones back then. They're designed to be like swiss army knives. They had video calling the moment 3G came out, video streamings service to phones via telco, etc. Wanna bet some of them already had NFC like functionality back when RFID was just on shopping stores and credit cards? They're so varied that a cheap dumbphone can have the same basic functionality and apps as a smartphone. The downside is that the non-standard nature meant that many of them are just cobbled together to fit the popularity of the time. They're not built for long term use and very specific to local carriers.

Of course, the side effect is that with so many phones outside the carriers control. The carriers needed to agree to a standard that all the phones will work on. If a carrier were to use a unique tech to differentiate themselves from their competition like the US carriers do, they'll alienate almost all cellphone users and put themselves out of business.

The reason Samsung and the other manufacturers release ultra cheap sort-of-proper smartphones like the Galaxy Ace is to compete with this segment.
 
The fake phones ahve terrible build quality and as others stated they are not built for long term use...
they break really easily
 
I have only had 1 fake cell phone it was an iphone copy, worked fine, still works. Mostly we get phones on contracts and in fact the US ebay listings pretty much run at the on contract pricing. So it actually cheaper to buy real ones. But anyhow it wasnt nearly as bad as people here make them out to be.
 
undertheradar said:
I am back in the US now for a couple months, but I am going back to China at the end of September until next April. I spend a lot of time there for work. The phones are okay... if you are in the asian market. Keep in mind that they are international phones... they may not work in the US so well depending on the carrier (I think AT&T is the only safe bet).

One Chinese brand I can suggest (actually, I think it is South Korean, but cheap) is the Appo. I purchased one for my sichuan girlfriend. She loves it, but she only runs Chinese apps, so its not a real issue. The problem with most of the "android" phones over there is that they are not true android. They are a knock-off processor or something. I can also say that the photo quality sucks on her Appo. Its all hazy. If you try to load the Play Store on them, it won't work. She loves it, and its the most expensive phone she has ever had (2000RMB, which is like $2000 to us considering how little the average Chinese person makes, but really about $250US), so that is all that matters for now. I would not get one for myself unless I was a native Chinese speaker/reader.

I was looking at "western brand" Androids over there for myself, most are fakes. We were shopping at a store in Guangzhou that was selling Galaxy S2's. I can tell you this: they cost more than just getting one in the US (the lowest I ended up seeing one for was 4000RMB) because they are all international models. I was thinking "what the hell, buy it" at the time, but she stopped me (all 4'11" 90lbs. of her vs. my 6'5" 240lbs, lol, it was funny to watch her "take command") because she said they were all fakes. And this was at a major retailer there (RT-Mart, sort of a Wal-Mart copy). I mean, I am used to seeing 8 "Apple stores" in one mall (yeah, I'm sure they are all legit...lol), but for a major retailer to be selling fakes... says alot about what to expect out of China.

A co-worker of mine picked up a real Motorola Defy for 1700RMB on sale... international version with dual sim cards and all. If you do the exchange rate though, that is more than he would pay in the US for one though.
Click to expand...

It seems that you have lived in China for a long time or often go there. Thanks for your experience which gives me the best advice. Best wishes for you and your sichuan girlfriend :cool:
 
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