10 replies to this topic

[PaulOBrien]

I currently have a Huawei Ascend P1 on loan and I have to say it's a rather lovely device. It's thin, well made, packs a TI OMAP 4460 dual core processor (as seen in the Galaxy Nexus) and qHD OLED screen and now it's less than £260!

Currently £251.99 + shipping at Handtec, the P1 packs a decent punch specs wise. Including...

• Android 4.0 ICS
  
• Dual core TI OMAP 4460 1.5GHz CPU
  
• 1GB RAM / 4GB ROM
  
• 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD (960 x 540) screen
  
• 7.69mm slim body
  
• 8MP BSI Camera
  
• 802.11b / g / n WiFi
  
• Bluetooth 3.0
  
• 5.1 Dolby sound system
  
• MHL-HDMI connections
  
• Dual microphone noise reduction
  
• microSD expansion
  
• 129mm X 64.8mm X 7.69mm
  
• 110g
  
• 1670mAh battery

Pretty solid internals and very good indeed for a device at this price point!

So what's the catch? Well, I have to be honest - there really isn't one so far as I can see, with the possible exception of the fact a Jelly Bean update is TBC. As well as the great hardware (at 7.69mm thick and 110g it feels retty amazing) the P1 features a virtually stock Android build which is very refreshing. This also means it zips along nicely.

Now, the P1 is great, but Huawei also have another sister model, the P1 XL. It's identical in every way apart from the fact that the battery is a 2600mAh item! NICE! Unfortunately the P1 XL hasn't made it to these shores but just lately I have had a bit of an obsession with looking at phones on AliExpress, the Chinese market. Sure enough a P1 XL can be purchased from there, with speed DHL delivery for... around £260! Now, the reality is of course that a warranty claim will likely be a nightmare (if possible at all) but, I have to confess, it's quite tempting, no?

Click here to view the item

[Sere83]

Yep if your wiling to import, hotmid (which I hear are a good reputable seller although have no personal experience of using them) amongst a load of others, are selling the slightly upgraded D1 with 720p 4.5inch IPS display for a similar price...

http://hotmid.com/hu...bile-phone.html

However the best phone deal from china right now has to be the Xiaomi M1 which is now sitting at £170 all in inc shipping, some sites as low as £150. Also the improved Xiaomi M1s for around around £200. Even less if you have a personal connection out there which wont bump the price. Xiaomi's cheap solid hardware and weekly MIUI rom updates are a devastating combo which any android fan should really try. A 4.1 release should drop this month.

Incidently Paul I really think you should consider adding a Xiaomi section to the site, they really are starting to be a force to be rekoned with in china and I suspect it wont be long until they officially land in europe. The M2 is just plain beastly.

[PaulOBrien]

Noted, I will do that!

P

[RaoulTeeuwen]

Sere83, on 02 October 2012 - 12:12 PM, said:

However the best phone deal from china right now has to be the Xiaomi M1 which is now sitting at £170 all in inc shipping, some sites as low as £150.

Would you be so kind to share a link to sellers of the 150 pounds M1?

[syscode]

RaoulTeeuwen, on 02 October 2012 - 04:01 PM, said:

Would you be so kind to share a link to sellers of the 150 pounds M1?

£17 off, but is it that bad?
http://hotmid.com/xi...tive-tocuh.html

[Sere83]

PaulOBrien, on 02 October 2012 - 12:30 PM, said:

Noted, I will do that!

P

Good man! Cheers

RaoulTeeuwen, on 02 October 2012 - 04:01 PM, said:

Would you be so kind to share a link to sellers of the 150 pounds M1?

www.android-tablet-computer.co.uk had it for 150 a while back but I believe its gone back up to £167. Again I have no personal experience of this store. The price in China has been dropped considerably though since the introduction of the M1s and M2

[syscode]

Sere83, on 03 October 2012 - 07:08 PM, said:

Again I have no personal experience of this store....

Anyone with personal experience dealing with chinese phone shops? Hard to tell for a nub which is a real deal, and which is a bad one..

[Sere83]

Yep this is an issue which often prevents people from ordering from china, but there are many good stores. I have heard mostly good reports about ipad alternative.com, hotmid.com, merrimobiles.com, android-sale.com, houseofdap.com and mp4nation.com. I've heard good and bad things about some of the bigger sites like fastcardtech, mcbub, pandawil and alibabi. But again like with any site there are good and bad reviews

I have personally used houseofdap.com and the guy who runs its a top man ( he actually ordered my xiaomi mi one for me), but they no longer sell tabs or phones, apart form the Meizu MX I believe. Mp4nation is also a solid store with a great community, who I have ordered from before but again no phones atm.

A lot of these sites have live help chat facilities too, so you can ask if they actually have the items in stock, and whether they accept paypal etc etc.

Slatedroid.com is also a good community site to check reviews and ask people about store experiences. I think its definitely worth checking out and maybe posting in the forums if you're interested in ordering from China as there is some great hardware to be found out there.

Also this just popped up on merrimobiles....

http://www.merimobil..._p/meri5781.htm

[hecatae]

is it a chinese holiday this week?

[Sere83]

Yeah, back to business as usual on monday

[hecatae]

Sere83, on 06 October 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

Yeah, back to business as usual on monday

Ah that explains why not heard anything regarding my M1 order