Your thoughts on Chinese Android Phones?

Trimlock said:
@Joe - some of the older modems (3g only) used in phones had issues reconnecting after being woken up and even if you selected it to stay connected the modem would still disconnect.
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I don't know what the problem is. Phone is getting progressively worse. Will be returning it and have already opened a dispute on PayPal.

Definitely not discouraged though! Will be picking another one up until I get it right. Might see about going with a 5-inch 1080p the 2nd time around though. We'll see...I do love the 5.7 inch display though...
 
Well it would seem like the company I bought this from (Antelife) doesn't want to respond to the emails I've sent them. Before getting the phone my emails were answered within a few hours...I've got nothing from them so far.

Opened a dispute on PayPal and they seem to have no problem talking and responding to PayPal...seems like they don't want to give customer support after the buyer gets the item and instead would rather keep my money and leave me with a paper weight.

Will definitely be going with a different company with my next phone. Just...be warned...
 
So your $250 Chinese phone that a bunch of people said not to buy due to quality issues, has serious quality issues... Anyone else not surprised? The fact that you are going to buy another one blows my mind.

At least do everyone a favor and post how bad the next one turns out so people can point back to this thread when people ask about buying a Chinese phone.
 
Well, shit happens. I've had phones from HTC, Samsung, Motorola, etc that have messed up as well...should I not buy any of them either? Get real dude. Anything has a chance of being faulty and from what I've been reading this seems to be more rare than anything. It is a high quality device...I just got a lemon. It happens, you get over it.

But hey, if you can find me a unlocked GSM Galaxy Note 2 for $250 let me know...I'll wait...
 
I applaud JoeUser for trying out something most of us are just curious about, and way too chicken shit to try out for ourselves. Myself, I wouldn't have done it either, but I was really interested in what Joe had to say about his purchase. Its unfortunate that their lack of customer service is so evident. I figure this is largely why so many Chinese companies are fly-by-night... just trying to make a quick buck.

Anyhow, Joe, thanks for the great insight on something rather foreign to most of us Americans. I think I will just stick with my N4 for now... :D
 
JoeUser said:
Well, shit happens. I've had phones from HTC, Samsung, Motorola, etc that have messed up as well...should I not buy any of them either? Get real dude. Anything has a chance of being faulty and from what I've been reading this seems to be more rare than anything. It is a high quality device...I just got a lemon. It happens, you get over it.

But hey, if you can find me a unlocked GSM Galaxy Note 2 for $250 let me know...I'll wait...
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well, I think its just that you will more likely get a lemon from them, but real problem with dealing with these companies is their customer support. Once you give them your money, you are no longer a possible customer to them. Hope you get your money back dude.
 
Sorry you got a bad one, but very encouraging that the phone is awesome!

I've been doing a little research and many Chinese phones are running the miui ROM, which is very popular and probably has more users and support than cyanogen mod because 1 billion population in china :).

Funny how "omg we told you so" people are coming out. They're conveniently ignoring the data that conflicts with their rationalization of paying $600 for a phone (awesome build quality and speed) and latching on to the negatives that can happen with any manufacturer and unknown retailer.

Hope PayPal can work this out. There are so many PayPal horror stories.... I'd be willing to bet that if they had just sent you another one it would have been fine. There are bad nexus, Samsung etc devices as well... shit happens...

If you see any on eBay you can always give those retailers a shot. They are fanatical about their ratings and the rare times I've had an issue they resolve it immediately.

Thanks for sticking with it and the great review. Please ignore the trolls.
 
I'd stop comparing this to samsung, if a device fails, you can get it replaced easily. They won't ignore you or talk to you only through a paypal dispute, which is why I recommend staying away from these guys.

I'll have to look up the modem and see if there is a rom out their with a better supported driver.
 
Trimlock said:
I'd stop comparing this to samsung, if a device fails, you can get it replaced easily.
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Yes, replaced easily with a deductible tantamount to buying one of these Chinese market phones in the first place.
 
Ruoh said:
Yes, replaced easily with a deductible tantamount to buying one of these Chinese market phones in the first place.
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My friends note 2 fails on him with in 60 days and it was replaced with in 3 days, he made one phone call and paid nothing. How is that comparable to possibly being out of $250 beforeyou get to even use it?
 
"Stop comparing this to a name brand... the support you will get is terrible..."

Do my eyes decieve me? Is this actually the hard ocp forum where people hack shit to pieces and push their systems (and their bucks) to the limit because why the hell not?

Wtf has happened to this place... I feel like I'm on reddit front page... doesn't anyone besides me and JoeUser care about hacking anymore?
 
MChief said:
"Stop comparing this to a name brand... the support you will get is terrible..."

Do my eyes decieve me? Is this actually the hard ocp forum where people hack shit to pieces and push their systems (and their bucks) to the limit because why the hell not?

Wtf has happened to this place... I feel like I'm on reddit front page... doesn't anyone besides me and JoeUser care about hacking anymore?
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Since when is a failing modem you have zero way to replace our repair "hacking"

[H] was never about hacking ... Its about modding and overclocking. Good luck modding a cell phone out side of a rom.
 
They just emailed me back, asked for proof the phone doesn't work (sent them a video) and we'll see what happens. I think the PayPal dispute lit a fire under their asses! :)
 
JoeUser said:
They just emailed me back, asked for proof the phone doesn't work (sent them a video) and we'll see what happens. I think the PayPal dispute lit a fire under their asses! :)
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Hopefully it takes them less then a week to get back to you. Do you happen to know the SoC it uses?(or modem if its not integrated) there might be a Rom floating on XDA that has a better driver for it.
 
entropism said:
It's not the country of origin, it's the support, sortware & community behind it. Would you buy a Samsung phone for $600 that has NO warranty, NO software updates, NO replacement parts, and NO dev support? I certainly wouldn't, even if the phone was $200. Now add in a complete lack of accountability for the accuacy of the specs, and you have yourself an even worse product.
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For these same reasons, I was discouraged by my friend to buy inexpensive China phones. You would not know where to bring your phone in case there will be problems on its parts. The after-sales services is one consideration that we have to make when we buy gadgets like smartphones.
 
Well I don't know if Xiaomi was mentioned but I've been totally intrigued by their new Mi2S phone. Xiaomi is getting quite popular in China as a direct seller and they do no marketing. The Mi2S is basically $350 and has almost S4 level specs. 1.7Ghz Snapdragon 600, 2GB, 13MP camera. ect. The only 'downside' is 4.3" 720p display. But for some that may be a pro and not a downside at all. If there was a reputable seller in the US I'd be tempted to try it out honestly.

http://www.xiaomi.com/mi2s

PS- Check out the MIUI V5 introduction video on the above page...tell me that UI doesn't look slick!
 
Well I got it shipped out today and PayPal will be refunding me soon.

Think this time I'm going to go with a more reputable brand. There are a couple like Oppo or Zopo that have very good ROM communities and what not so ROM support or additions aren't hard to come by.

I have to say though that I will definitely be going smaller. 5.7 inch screen is AWESOME. Really, it is. But the problem is that it's too big for quick usage. I have big hands, but using the phone one handed (I know it's a two hand phone) was nearly impossible. More so than with my Note.

It's an awesome screen size for media consumption though! Gaming, surfing the web, videos...great. But texting is a bitch. So I'll definitely be going with a 5 inch phone this time around. 5 inch 1080p! ;)
 
If you go oppo tell us how you like it, they look pretty cool on paper.

And gj on getting a refund, did they ever contact you back? Or only through paypal?
 
No they contacted me AFTER I threatened to forward the emails to PayPal in my support of the case. Go figure...:rolleyes:

I will say that they did provide quite good support though...giving me a new ROM and all that. Had to light a fire up their asses to get help though.

Here is the phone I'm looking at getting next:

http://www.pandawill.com/zopo-c2-al...6589-quad-core-1g-4g-130mp-camera-p73784.html

Looks like a nice one to me. Don't know about the LCD though. Reading some reports that the ZOPO ZP980 ($100 more) only has a difference in storage (4GB for the C2 vs. 16GB for the ZP980) but I've seen that they both might use different LCD's as well. I don't know, might spring for the ZP980 if I can.

We'll see!
 
4GB ROM/storage is way too limiting, IMO. Be mindful that at least a portion of that will be taken up by the OS, coupled with the fact that you can't transfer apps to SD card anymore on 4.0+, if you put many games or apps in general on that phone, it's going to fill up fast. You may have considerably less than 2 GBs of actual storage after the OS.

Otherwise, it's pretty decent otherwise for the price.
 
Trimlock said:
Is that the same soc as your last one?
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Yes. MediaTek MT6589. Very nice chip for the money. No speed demon mind you, but the performance was way above what I really actually need on a day to day basis. Much faster than my Note 1 both in benchmarks and actual use.

T4rd said:
4GB ROM/storage is way too limiting, IMO. Be mindful that at least a portion of that will be taken up by the OS, coupled with the fact that you can't transfer apps to SD card anymore on 4.0+, if you put many games or apps in general on that phone, it's going to fill up fast. You may have considerably less than 2 GBs of actual storage after the OS.

Otherwise, it's pretty decent otherwise for the price.
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True. 16GB version it is then!
 
I just be careful since the last one crapped out on you. I don't know if the modem is part of the package or not but I would be holding my breath :p
 
Silenus said:
Well I don't know if Xiaomi was mentioned but I've been totally intrigued by their new Mi2S phone. Xiaomi is getting quite popular in China as a direct seller and they do no marketing. The Mi2S is basically $350 and has almost S4 level specs. 1.7Ghz Snapdragon 600, 2GB, 13MP camera. ect. The only 'downside' is 4.3" 720p display. But for some that may be a pro and not a downside at all. If there was a reputable seller in the US I'd be tempted to try it out honestly.

http://www.xiaomi.com/mi2s

PS- Check out the MIUI V5 introduction video on the above page...tell me that UI doesn't look slick!
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Play with their phone before, not as good as you see on video.

The UI is a bit laggy and sluggish, and for the most part it feels like a cheap iPhone copy.... It crashes a lot also.....

Overall, the quality is a meh, but for it's price it's not bad.....
 
Aren't most smartphones "Chinese" already ?

The iPhone is made in Chinese sweatshops I mean Foxxcon, most of the Android phones I think are Korean based though. With a lot of the hardware parts probably from Taiwan ?

Samsung, HTC, and LG are Korean made Android Phones, I have zero problems with that, so don't think I'd have a problem with Chinese made phones.
 
Zorachus said:
Aren't most smartphones "Chinese" already ?

The iPhone is made in Chinese sweatshops I mean Foxxcon, most of the Android phones I think are Korean based though. With a lot of the hardware parts probably from Taiwan ?

Samsung, HTC, and LG are Korean made Android Phones, I have zero problems with that, so don't think I'd have a problem with Chinese made phones.
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HTC is a Taiwanese company, not Korean.
 
Most phones are ultimately assembled in China regardless of if the company is American, European, Taiwanese, or Korean.

As said the main difference is 1 what can a particular company bring to the tablet that no one else can or what do they have a big advantage in. So apple makes the OS and as such they have a monopoly there. Samsung makes a bunch of stuff, displays, CPUs, nand, etc.. So that's why they are able to do so much better profit wise and stay ahead of the curve, IE give the newest stuff to themselves. The other issue is support if you care about support you probably only want to buy a phone direct from the carrier anyway.
 
Got my refund today from PayPal. It took a little while, but a lot of that was me trying to work things out and all that when I should have just sent it back.

Deciding what I should get at this point. That Lenovo looks crazy nice. Hmmm...
 
CHANG3D said:
Currently priced at $488-ish...
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True but the ZOPO that I am looking at is like $350...so another ~$100 for the Lenovo seems like a pretty sweet deal. Especially for the specs! 2Ghz dual core Atom, 2GB RAM, SGX544 GPU, 5.5 inch 1080p screen. Got 26,000 points in Antutu...hmmm...gonna have to think about this one...
 
JoeUser said:
True but the ZOPO that I am looking at is like $350...so another ~$100 for the Lenovo seems like a pretty sweet deal. Especially for the specs! 2Ghz dual core Atom, 2GB RAM, SGX544 GPU, 5.5 inch 1080p screen. Got 26,000 points in Antutu...hmmm...gonna have to think about this one...
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Hey, man, I ain't stopping you! You would immediately be one the coolest person on this subforum! LAWL!
 
JoeUser said:
True but the ZOPO that I am looking at is like $350...so another ~$100 for the Lenovo seems like a pretty sweet deal. Especially for the specs! 2Ghz dual core Atom, 2GB RAM, SGX544 GPU, 5.5 inch 1080p screen. Got 26,000 points in Antutu...hmmm...gonna have to think about this one...
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Remember this isn't an arm based phone.
 
would it be possible to run a full copy of windows 8 on the k900? and lol at Kobe Bryant in china.
 
rudy said:
would it be possible to run a full copy of windows 8 on the k900? and lol at Kobe Bryant in china.
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Memory limitations may prevent it, but essentially its a full blown x86 computer with a cellular modem so I don't see why it wouldn't load Win8. Would be very slow unless you stripped the kernal down and essentially 90% of the services.
 
limitedaccess said:
There is actually a Window 8 phone being developed and planned for release this summer using the same hardware as the k900 (clover trail, 2gb ram) - http://www.pcworld.com/article/2038...-the-audacious-phone-that-runs-windows-8.html
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Which would lead me back to my original argument dating back to when WinRT was announced. WHY THE HELL DO ANYTHING WITH ARM WHEN YOU ARE IN BED WITH x86?!?!

GAH! They have had the ability to strip windows down and run tiny apps for decades now! I would of loved to have a full blown x86 computer in my phone instead of these arm peices of crap that can't even translate to my PC for anything other then media!

btw - thanks for the link, I look forward to this rom and the possibilities this has with enthusiasts in the mobile market for the future.
 
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