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10:25 am
June 6, 2009
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Hi,
Thanks to everyone who have posted about bringing unlocked phones to SO and setting up for data. I'm considering a new Android phone from eBay. See link at bottom for the one I'm watching currently. It's an unlocked quad band phone with (I believe) Android 4.1.1 or Jelly Bean. Cost wise at $208USD, it's the most reasonable cost to get into an Android phone, any name brand phones, say Samsung, are still very expensive in the $400 range. Sellers of these eBay phones have decent ratings, in the 98+% range so customers must be satisfied.
The phone is for my wife. Her needs are
- low talk minutes/month, maybe 10-15 minutes/month
- interested in being able to browse and check email when out and about
- touch screen, doesn't care for a hardware keyboard
- I might be able to sell her on some apps, like Navigation though she's not a techie
- otherwise her go-to device is an iPad with wifi but no 3G
- she has a prepaid non-smartphone now at $10/month with Telus
- her preference is an iPhone but that's too expensive to acquire even used
Any flaws in my plan to bring an unlocked Chinese Android 4.1 phone to SO's data plan? Anyone else had success with this approach?
thanks.
P.S. Example of Android phone from China on eBay.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2710702.....554wt_1056
11:53 am
August 13, 2009
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Dealextreme.com
Get your phone there
That phone is probably from dealextreme anyways, and just drop shipped.
And you get that websites warranty, and you get product reviews.
12:52 pm
October 14, 2008
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I wouldn't buy any no name phone from China. Period. Absolute junk. Heard horror stories of phones/batteries actually exploding. There is no concept of "quality control" in China. I have a basic smartphone, and bought it from a seller here in Canada.
4:44 pm
December 16, 2009
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I second iamdrumming's comment:
Pretty risky purchase spending $280 for a no-name brand phone without any idea about it's quality or reliability. Buy name brand.
Your wife has some pretty basic needs so for $280 you can get some pretty good phones locally. You can buy from Futureshop or Best Buy a Virgin Mobile Samsung Galaxy II for $99 or LG Optimus L5 for $29 with the balance on SuperTab of $150. Sign up for a no-contract monthly plan at FS or BB and before the month is up call up Virgin and ask to convert to prepaid and pay off the $150 Tab. Unlock phone online for $15 from FastGSM.com.
Total cost $265 for Galaxy II or $195 for L5 not including the $50 gift card.
4:53 pm
June 8, 2010
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listen to what other ppl say, do NOT get it!
either get a second hand samsung galaxy 2, or the nexus 4, the nexus 4 is only $300
5:45 pm
November 5, 2012
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Another Nexus 4 vote. Coming on sale next week for $309 (8GB) or $359 (16GB). Comes with 4.2 and all the trimmings.
7:49 pm
December 30, 2010
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how many phones that are not made in china ? all apples stuff AFAIK are all made there(well assembled there)
5:05 am
June 8, 2010
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Indeed lots of phones are made in china but the no brand ones have no quality assurance
Ppl are selling Samsung galaxy 2 and waiting for the nexus 4 so you may find a cheap sg2
You can easily find a sg2 for only 250 or even cheaper
10:05 am
June 6, 2009
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Thanks for all the great advice, that was pretty unanimuos, I'll avoid buying the eBay phone and check out buying locally.
Thanks everyone
12:34 pm
October 14, 2008
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chimpanzee said:
how many phones that are not made in china ? all apples stuff AFAIK are all made there(well assembled there)
Maybe so, but I'm talking about the no name phones like the OP mentioned that he saw on Ebay.
8:23 pm
June 6, 2009
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Thanks WestCoastGuy,
I'll check out FS/BB for the LG Optimus L5. That should do the job. Thanks, total price in is less than the Chinese phone and with much less risk. The $50 gift card should buy a nice case.
4:42 pm
March 25, 2012
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I'm sure a lot of people will make fun of me for this, but here is what I use: http://android-sale.com/goopho.....phone.html
It has been a great phone since day one and there are a few REALLY good custom roms for it. For $200, I couldn't be happier. The antutu test for mine is 3600. Its an extra $30 for 32gb (which is what I have).
6:47 am
May 3, 2011
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winnipegmike said:
I'm sure a lot of people will make fun of me for this, but here is what I use: http://android-sale.com/goopho.....phone.html
It has been a great phone since day one and there are a few REALLY good custom roms for it. For $200, I couldn't be happier. The antutu test for mine is 3600. Its an extra $30 for 32gb (which is what I have).
I'm not laughing, but I do chuckle when people say all Chinese no-name stuff is junk. Some might be, but a lot of no name stuff comes down the same line the name stuff comes down, the name just doesn't go on. Apple's junk is made by Foxconn. In the PC world, Foxconn makes unexciting, entry level OEM stuff that will probably work OK for a few years but not much more than that. So how is that Apple's hardware would be so great but unbranded stuff coming down the same line would be junk? It's like people who buy Japanese stuff, because conventional wisdom says it's better, then they're shocked to find out that a lot of Japanese electronic and gas powered equipment is now made in, wow, China! The Chinese aren't stupid, they know they can't make junk and continue to get work from the Apples and Hondas of the world. They also know they can make more money selling this stuff direct, which is going to continue to expand through places like Deal Extreme. The way of the world today. Not a good way, and not my choice, but there it is.
7:14 am
December 30, 2010
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this MTK chip mentioned in the link is in many of the new breed of no-name smart phone in china, we are going to see more of those.
It is always the case for these xxx bashing. I remember in the early 70s, made in japan meant bad quality, then taiwan/hong/korea then now china.
would i buy this particular one ? probably not when a S2X on Koodo is running lower than it at local store with good return policy. But no-name made in china === bad ?
7:26 pm
February 4, 2013
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I would not buy the phone in the ebay link BUT way too many people are way too harsh on Chinese phones! I am currently using a Jiayu G3 on SO and it works exactly as I wish. In fact, I would pit it against almost any dual core phone on the market. The down side of many Chinese phones, including this one, is availabilty/compatibility of/with North American networks. They are made for the giant Chinese market which doesn't include LTE or even, oftentimes, 3G networks. Having said that, wifi is more widespread each day and many apps have offline options so I really don't miss out. I buy $25 vouchers at 711 and usually get about 4 months out of it. I think more SO users should consider Chinese phones as a way to save on full feature smartphones. A very useful site to learn about the best Chinese phones is GizChina. Of course, not all Chinese phones are created equal. Some names I would recommend are: Jiayu, Newman, Zopo, Oppo, THL and Umi. Many affordable quad-core phones should be released this year and it will be interesting to see if any are LTE and 3G compatible. Just because someone is unfamiliar with a given product doesn't mean they are correct labelling it as junk.
10:35 pm
April 22, 2009
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The Jiayu G3 is a $100 phone at best. No working 3G? C'mon! 4Gb is a big chintzy for a $200 phone!
The specs look nice, but then you have to factor in zero support! Not a high volume device, so even the modders will not be much help, Add to the fact you can get a Nexus for $309, If I am paying that money, I will pay extra for piece of mind! I have blown $50 on the odd Chinese doodad (those android sticks are awesome) but $200 is real money, I will miss if the phone craps out!
