28 replies to this topic

[john.smith]

OK just got it in hand for 5 minutes.

Been a fan of ZTE Blade/San Francisco, owned a ZTE Light/V9, Huawei Ideos X5/U8800 and HTC HD2 with Android 2.3.4

The Ideox X3 I have is from Taiwan, running Android 2.3.3

In short, it's quite small and lightweight, 105grams (on my scale) ~11mm thick fits very well in a girl's hand, low resolution (480*320) comparing to what I had before, but VERY snappy.

Can't make Flash Player to work as expected (or not?!), camera is doing OK without surprises. Angry Birds Rio is playable but Level 1-8 starts to get choppy when things are collapsing.

It cost me about USD200 in Taipei.

Anyone gives me some insight of the price in other region?

I think it beats Wildfire S if the price is right.

Feel free to ask questions on performance and anything to be tested.

Brought to you by John from casesss.com

 x3-2.jpg   98.41K   16 downloads  x3_1.jpg   138.79K   19 downloads

Edited by john.smith, 01 March 2012 - 12:53 PM.

[iambluedevil]

john.smith, on 14 July 2011 - 11:07 AM, said:

OK just got it in hand for 5 minutes.

Been a fan of ZTE Blade/San Francisco, owned a ZTE Light/V9, Huawei Ideos X5/U8800 and HTC HD2 with Android 2.3.4

The Ideox X3 I have is from Taiwan, running Android 2.3.3

In short, it's quite small and lightweight, 105grams (on my scale) ~11mm thick fits very well in a girl's hand, low resolution (480*320) comparing to what I had before, but VERY snappy.

Can't make Flash Player to work as expected (or not?!), camera is doing OK without surprises. Angry Birds Rio is playable but Level 1-8 starts to get choppy when things are collapsing.

It cost me about USD200 in Taipei.

Anyone gives me some insight of the price in other region?

I think it beats Wildfire S if the price is right.

Feel free to ask questions on performance and anything to be tested.

Brought to you by John from Sofiz.co.uk  

x3-2.jpg x3_1.jpg

Hello John,

I'm currently thinking on purchasing this device, which came out today in my country. It's going for around 140US$ here in Portugal, but with reward points you can get it for less than 90US$.

It doesn't seem to exist on the western world. I still haven't seen a  review.

So, how does it handle? On the youtube videos it seems extremely fluid. How much available RAM is there?

I think I've read somewhere that it was supposed to run flash video, not sure though.

In a nutshell, how would you rate the phone? And in comparison with the ZTE Blade, is the price difference worth it?

Thanks in advance!

[insectskin]

iambluedevil, on 15 July 2011 - 05:09 PM, said:

Hello John,

I'm currently thinking on purchasing this device, which came out today in my country. It's going for around 140US$ here in Portugal, but with reward points you can get it for less than 90US$.

It doesn't seem to exist on the western world. I still haven't seen a  review.

So, how does it handle? On the youtube videos it seems extremely fluid. How much available RAM is there?

I think I've read somewhere that it was supposed to run flash video, not sure though.

In a nutshell, how would you rate the phone? And in comparison with the ZTE Blade, is the price difference worth it?

Thanks in advance!

Do you have it already?
What dou you think about the X3?

Im from PT to. Is this phone a good choice or the difference of prices in Portugal... its better to go for the Blade?

[john.smith]

To make it really short, I think US$90 is a good price because I bought it at a much higher price.

The feeling is snappier than ZTE Blade, mostly because of the lower resolution. At the same time, reading non-mobile based websites will be a headache because of the lesser detail.

The backlight appears to be better than ZTE Blade, slightly better by impression so it's kind of readable under sunlight. Of course, it's still far from perfect. I cannot use Dimmer downloaded from Market to control the backlight though. It must have used another driver.

The "instant-on" feature (found in Android Settings) is really impressive. Turning on the machine takes less than 15 seconds. But then, it's so stable that you don't really need to turn it on and off so often.

I read that reviews in Taiwan saying the audio quality is improved, but I just find it acceptable, nothing great (comparing to the good old Nokia) or nothing worse (comparing to dodgy Chinese no-brand machines).

The machine is now in factory under tooling so we should have the jelly case for it really soon.

Please also let me know which markets has got this Ideos X3 available so we can inform the customers.

Oh, one more thing. The ultra clear and anti-glare screen protectors for Ideos X3 are now available, please check them out at
http://www.sofiz.co....l.aspx?model=15

insectskin, on 27 July 2011 - 02:56 AM, said:

Do you have it already?
What dou you think about the X3?

Im from PT to. Is this phone a good choice or the difference of prices in Portugal... its better to go for the Blade?

Attached Files

•  ideosx3.jpg   54.64K   15 downloads

[insectskin]

Just another quick question. is there much of a difference between 3.5 and 3.2 screen size?

[iambluedevil]

I got the phone and I do think it's a good purchase, for the price of course. Have in mind that this is a low end cellphone, but the first impression I got is that Huawei did a good job creating some sort of a lightweight launcher and presets - thus creating an enjoyable experience.
The resolution sometimes is an headache, mainly typing wise. But with some tweaks it's quite fixable, it comes with some apps that enlarged the keyboard to a point that it becomes comfortable. Personally, I installed the new swype beta and had no trouble since then.

insectskin, on 28 July 2011 - 02:59 AM, said:

Just another quick question. is there much of a difference between 3.5 and 3.2 screen size?

I think you'll definitly feel it, specially on some apps that are designed primarily for a larger screen. (I'm thinking, for instances, on emulators). I still feel then very usable, although I can tell that it's not the best experience possible. As a trade off, I do prefer smaller phones and I really don't like most of the larger bar designs out there.
About the sound, I've also heard of some complaints regarding the ringtone volume. The only complaint I have with it is with the hands free mode with the speaker, which could be a little bit louder.
All in all, good value for a fully functional Android phone. The big downside with is with the frontal camera - what's the point of having if it's native Android version doesn't support Google Talk with video? Seems somehow redundant!
I'll be looking into those jelly cases in the near future!

[CyBEER]

Definitelly the best phone for value. 99euros for a small android with a decent screen hvga (for that price only qvga phones available).

Already with Gingerbread.

Front facing camera! I never tested, but there are hacked versions of.gTalk and Skype that will probably work.

Gps, gyro, radio fm, hspa 7.2mbps,...

The specs state that supports Flash 10. If it doesn't because of the processor, in this site thre is a version for arm v6.

Conclusion: if u don't have the money for a top phone, this shoul be your choice either for first timers, for your ladies (prefer small phones), or simply because you want to dump your old nokia for a real internet experience with more than 200000 apps available (most for free), or because u need a gps system, a music/video player....

Cheers

Sent from my GT-I9000

[john.smith]

CyBEER, on 09 August 2011 - 05:14 PM, said:

Sent from my GT-I9000

Thanks for your input CyBEER. But wait, it was sent from i9000

[john.smith]

Vellamo score and Angry Birds Rio comparison against ZTE Blade now available on Youtube!

Edited by john.smith, 03 October 2011 - 09:13 AM.

[Jekle]

john.smith

The Ideos X3 or Blaze is available in:
UK (Under Blaze)
Malaysia
Japan
Portugal
and some others I haven't mentioned

[Andreasz]

Germany (99 Euro)

Edited by Andreasz, 11 October 2011 - 07:52 AM.

[Sebastian404]

Ifs not available in the uk really, phones4u have the exclusive for it and despite having an official launch 3 weeks ago...  None of the shops have stock, and hey are being vey coy about when they will...  

It's not available to buy online either....  

Makes you wonder what's going on really

[t.reddings]

Sebastian404, on 11 October 2011 - 09:16 AM, said:

Ifs not available in the uk really, phones4u have the exclusive for it and despite having an official launch 3 weeks ago...  None of the shops have stock, and hey are being vey coy about when they will...  

It's not available to buy online either....  

Makes you wonder what's going on really

I too contacted both Phones for U shops. They had never heard of it. Phoned Phones for U direct. Again never heard of it. But she checked and confirmed it is coming. Not sure when, I also contacted Tesco, again never heard of it but checeked and confirmed it's due in. Again not sure when. I found a link to the phone on the phones for U website. Blaze @ Phones4U Shows an incorrect processor speed.

Hmmmm

[t.reddings]

I finally decided I couldn't wait and ordered on line from Germany. Lidl Shop.

The phone comes unlocked and PAYG with SIM. So for £85 I got the phone. Will have a wait a week till my mate brings it over....they didn't deliver to UK.

[Sebastian404]

t.reddings, on 14 October 2011 - 10:51 AM, said:

I too contacted both Phones for U shops. They had never heard of it. Phoned Phones for U direct. Again never heard of it. But she checked and confirmed it is coming. Not sure when, I also contacted Tesco, again never heard of it but checeked and confirmed it's due in. Again not sure when. I found a link to the phone on the phones for U website. Blaze @ Phones4U Shows an incorrect processor speed.

Hmmmm

I semi-professionally know someone who works for Phones4U PR, and she told me it was a total cock up, they wanted to 'beat' TescoMobile to the punch, the stores have posters, all the tech blogs have samples for review, lots of the virial marketing, but none of the store have stock..  but she has no idea why, or when they will see it.

Tesco are due to be selling the thing for less than Phones4U too...

The text on the website btw is for the Huawei Vision, it seems they cut and paste the wrong Press Release

[Sebastian404]

t.reddings, on 14 October 2011 - 10:53 AM, said:

I finally decided I couldn't wait and ordered on line from Germany. Lidl Shop.

The phone comes unlocked and PAYG with SIM. So for £85 I got the phone. Will have a wait a week till my mate brings it over....they didn't deliver to UK.

You should of bought a bunch of them, they are going for around £150+ on ebay

[t.reddings]

Sebastian404, on 14 October 2011 - 05:53 PM, said:

You should of bought a bunch of them, they are going for around £150+ on ebay

I've just read a review for this phone in the recent edition of Android Magazine. It states the phone is on sale for £80. Seems to me like the PR machine is in full swing yet no retailer has stock!

I'm still waiting for mine to arrive from Germany. Should have it next week!.

[Sebastian404]

M y local phones4u has taken Down the big poster they had for it.

I belive tesco are going to sell it for 80gbp but they Are just as stock-less

[Sebastian404]

Had a very interesting chat with a very cute girl in phones4u (they are all cute in my local branch) and she showed me that it has been removed from thier intranet, she said it was there last month but is now expunged....  

Wonder what's going on there then...

[t.reddings]

My phone has arrived from Germany. Complete with Lidl.de sim. May be handy for when I go there next as it has one months free net access.

So first impressions are good. It has a nice feel in the hand, very light. So now I'm adding apps.  

And the other good news is it is unlocked.

Now I need my case and screen protector.

Edited by t.reddings, 25 October 2011 - 09:19 AM.