Guest tillaz Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 What are your thoughts on only having 4GB of internal storage? My SGS2 has 16GB and I'm forever deleting things when my camera tells me I can't take a photo because I'm out of space! Shouldn't really be a problem when you can throw in a 32GB / 64GB SDcard, on my nexus 4 i only have 16GB and using dropbox to store all my photos and videos has been a life saver, once there uploaded i delete them from my phone as the can be streamed from dropbox, great if you have an unlimited data plan like me. Google drive also works good gives you an extra 15GB, although I still prefer bropbox for the auto upload feature for pics. Edit: You won't see people building any ROMs from source (CM) for the China phones as there is never any kernel source available for the mtk devices so we can't do much in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maringer Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 Until I read this I hadn't really considered buying a cheaper Chinese phone. Now I'm just toying with which particular one to go for! I still have my trusty old SGS2 and have been very close to ordering a Nexus 4, but I've been holding out for the rumoured Nexus 5. Looking at some of the quad core, 5" full HD Chinese phones, I'll definitely order one pretty soon. This Vowney V5 looks great, but have you tried any others? Ideally I'd like more built in storage space, plus I want one that has good developer support, (CyanogenMod support would be great). Any opinions on other Chinese handsets? The Jiayu G4 seems to get very good reviews and is available in different configurations including one with more memory and storage (2GB RAM + 32GB memory and a sdcard slot) plus a massive 3000mAh battery. However, this only uses a 4.7" 720p screen. Otherwise, there are loads and loads of 5" 1080p phones. Don't think any are as cheap as the Vowney, however! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rattonboy Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 great review! but the score on antutu is a bit low it gets around the same score my Orange San Diego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maringer Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 Bear in mind that Antutu is a pretty poor benchmark so I wouldn't necessarily judge it as much of an indication as to the value of a phone. The MT6589 seems to be a bit quicker in graphics than the San Diego: http://gfxbench.com/compare.jsp?D1=Jiayu+JY-G4&D2=XOLO+Lava+X900&cols=2 I needed to compare a different phone with a MT6589 and an analog of the San Diego as results for the Vowney and SD haven't been recorded in that database. In my opinion, a quad core chip (regardless of brand) ought to provide perfectly good performance for general use these days. The only time the phones may struggle will really be in games so I always like to compare devices using GFXbench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sere83 Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 great review! but the score on antutu is a bit low it gets around the same score my Orange San Diego. San diego uses PowerVR SGX540, MT6589 uses PowerVR SGX544MP2, a far superior GPU in every way. Quad core A7 also has better power consumption than intel atom and being an arm cpu, better app compatibility not to mention latest android OS version, its also still cheaper than the san diego. Plus larger higher res display, no comparison really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rico_89 Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 (edited) Sere83, can you please tell me the name of the clock and weather widget in your first pic? Ah I remember now "Dash Clock Widget", I used to use it on my G300 when I was running JB. Edited July 4, 2013 by Rico_89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tillaz Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 benchmarks on the OSD baffle me... when it first came out it was getting 5705 which was on par with the first gen of dual core see the modaco review here with benchmarks http://www.modaco.co...ego-review-r599 yet today people are now getting scores around 12000 which is on par with the first gen Quad core devices.... i don't know, but to me this seems like antutu benchmark is not as accurate as people think :huh: Sere83, can you please tell me the name of the clock and weather widget in your first pic? talking about weather widgets here is one i have been using, looks kind of cool its called eye in the sky https://play.google....c.weather&hl=en also here is my wallpaper if anyone wants it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maringer Posted July 3, 2013 Report Share Posted July 3, 2013 San diego uses PowerVR SGX540, MT6589 uses PowerVR SGX544MP2, a far superior GPU in every way. Actually, the MT6589 uses an SGX544MP1, as I understand it. It is still superior to the SGX540 but it only has one MP core, not 2. That said, I don't think anyone should have any problems with the amount of power supplied by this chip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dan Mullen Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Shouldn't really be a problem when you can throw in a 32GB / 64GB SDcard, on my nexus 4 i only have 16GB and using dropbox to store all my photos and videos has been a life saver, once there uploaded i delete them from my phone as the can be streamed from dropbox, great if you have an unlimited data plan like me. Google drive also works good gives you an extra 15GB, although I still prefer bropbox for the auto upload feature for pics. Edit: You won't see people building any ROMs from source (CM) for the China phones as there is never any kernel source available for the mtk devices so we can't do much in that area. I use Google Drive for storing photos but I'm also using the Nexus Photo Sphere camera, which doesn't allow you to save to SD card. I also use Titanium Backup and my backups tend to take quite a lot of space too, although I imagine I could set that to save to SD. Edit: as long as I can install CWM recovery and root it, I'm not too fussed about custom ROMs. Glad to see there's an easy way to root it :) The Jiayu G4 seems to get very good reviews and is available in different configurations including one with more memory and storage (2GB RAM + 32GB memory and a sdcard slot) plus a massive 3000mAh battery. However, this only uses a 4.7" 720p screen. Otherwise, there are loads and loads of 5" 1080p phones. Don't think any are as cheap as the Vowney, however! I had a good look yesterday at a number of phones for sale on Merimobiles. The G4 does seem very popular, but I'd really like a 5" screen. I'm extremely tempted to buy the V5 at the price it's at, then I'll either get the Nexus 5 when it's available or, if I'm impressed with the quality of the cheaper Chinese handsets, I might get a higher-spec Chinese one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dan Mullen Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Argh, what have you done! Since browsing Merimobiles I'm now close to buying a tablet too! Thinking about the Cube U30GT II as well as the Vowney V5 :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Soup Thief Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 @Dan Mullen - Oh, do - go on! I'm really interested in these phones but don't need one as I'm very happy with my Nexus 4. However, I really fancy a nice big tablet but don't want to splash too much cash. Whenever I've looked at Chinese tablets I've just been swamped with billions of shonky looking underpowered 7inch devices. Would be great to hear about a big tablet that rocks like this phone, under 200 quid. EDIT - I won an 8" Prestigio Multipad 5080b some time back, running a Rockchip 2918 - it was horrid with ugly (gingerbread) firmware. The official update to ICS was similarly semi-functional, which was improved on only slightly by some very (albeit briefly) dedicated Italian devs. Even though I didn't pay a bean for the Prestigio it's made me wary of how flaky these Rockchip devices can be. I see the U30GT has an RK3188. Hopefully better, but likely not much more developer interest than mine had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dan Mullen Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 @Dan Mullen - Oh, do - go on! I'm really interested in these phones but don't need one as I'm very happy with my Nexus 4. However, I really fancy a nice big tablet but don't want to splash too much cash. Whenever I've looked at Chinese tablets I've just been swamped with billions of shonky looking underpowered 7inch devices. Would be great to hear about a big tablet that rocks like this phone, under 200 quid. EDIT - I won an 8" Prestigio Multipad 5080b some time back, running a Rockchip 2918 - it was horrid with ugly (gingerbread) firmware. The official update to ICS was similarly semi-functional, which was improved on only slightly by some very (albeit briefly) dedicated Italian devs. Even though I didn't pay a bean for the Prestigio it's made me wary of how flaky these Rockchip devices can be. I see the U30GT has an RK3188. Hopefully better, but likely not much more developer interest than mine had. Ha, well I've taken the plunge and ordered the Vowney V5, but I've held off with the tablet - for now! Will probably order one next month if the Chinese phone impresses me. I've read/watched a number of reviews of that Cube U30GT II tablet and overall it appears very impressive. 1.8GHz quad core, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, 10.1" 1920x1200 IPS display, dual cameras, Bluetooth, Jellybean 4.1.1... all for less than £180! Also, there appear to be a few ROMs out there, it's easily rooted and upgradable to 4.2.2. I'll let you know if/when I buy it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maringer Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 The Rockchip tablets are pretty good. I've got a RK3066-based tablet which I ordered from China which is very usable - it has a stable Android 4.1 installation, pretty good battery life and a decent screen. The only real problem is that wifi reception isn't great but the tablet is almost a year old and I'm sure the newer devices will have resolved these issues. Best place to look for more information about these Chinatabs is the slatedroid forum which specialises in tablets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ChrisPNE Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 (edited) Thanks guys, glad you liked! ;-) By the way my black back cover just arrived, so much nicer than the white it has a proper matte finish like the HTC one x, love it. Does yours never get stuck on 'G' or drop signal ever? Is your contract with orange or t-mob? Are you running one of Tillaz roms or stock ? What 3G settings are you using? Auto or manual for 3G? Also don't suppose you could tell me what the date on your baseband version is? Mine is 2013/05/15 Sorry for all the questions! haha. Just seems your the only one running on EE. I get good 3G/H/H+ coverage. Sometimes I'm on G/E but I know these are poor signal areas. I'm contracted to T-Mobile but it roams the different networks. I don't think it makes a difference which of the three networks you have a contract with. I'm currently running one of the Tillaz ROMs and have the same baseband as you. I set it to auto mode using the notification drawer toggles. Also for those asking about GPS, I don't have any issues with my GPS. Got the first lock using GPS Status and now it locks fine in Google Maps. Edited July 4, 2013 by ChrisPNE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest george109 Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Sorry if this has been asked before, but does the V5 have a status/notification LED like the G300? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kieranswhite Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Sorry if this has been asked before, but does the V5 have a status/notification LED like the G300? Yes :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rico_89 Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 Ha, well I've taken the plunge and ordered the Vowney V5, but I've held off with the tablet - for now! Will probably order one next month if the Chinese phone impresses me. You won't need a tablet with a 5" screen :) . The V5 can surf full web pages with ease and attach a mouse and keyboard and it's like a laptop :D . I get good 3G/H/H+ coverage. Sometimes I'm on G/E but I know these are poor signal areas. I'm contracted to T-Mobile but it roams the different networks. I don't think it makes a difference which of the three networks you have a contract with. I'm currently running one of the Tillaz ROMs and have the same baseband as you. I set it to auto mode using the notification drawer toggles. Also for those asking about GPS, I don't have any issues with my GPS. Got the first lock using GPS Status and now it locks fine in Google Maps. Did you follow any GPS guides as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest george109 Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 (edited) Yes :) Yay! :D All we need now is the kernel source, we should go and bug them for it like we did for the Huawei Ascend G300 Bootloader unlock codes! :P Also, Thanks for the fast reply :) Edited July 4, 2013 by george109 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tillaz Posted July 4, 2013 Report Share Posted July 4, 2013 All we need now is the kernel source, we should go and bug them for it like we did for the Huawei Ascend G300 Bootloader unlock codes! chances of this are very slim, and even slimmer now there is the so called MTK6589T chip... which i think is just a standard over-clock to the MTK6589 which could be enabled via kernel update <_< not a new and more expensive device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Maringer Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 The 'T' version may be a respin, I suppose, but I think it more likely that MediaTek has been speed binning the 6589 chips with the best ones set to become the 'T' version. Of course, this doesn't mean that all 6589s can't be overclocked in the same manner. If so, hopefully they won't produce too much heat for the phone heatsinks when overclocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tillaz Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 i would skip the T version... and wait a few month for the MTK6592 2GHz octa-core devices http://www.phonearen...-MT6592_id44804 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kieranswhite Posted July 5, 2013 Report Share Posted July 5, 2013 I just got a reply from vowney about kernel source .have a look on the original vowney thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest allanmac Posted July 7, 2013 Report Share Posted July 7, 2013 Great review! Does anyone know if WCDMA 850/1900 are supported? These two frequencies are used in N. and S. America. Merimobiles keeps implying that these two 3G freqs are supported but I'm skeptical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ChrisPNE Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Great review! Does anyone know if WCDMA 850/1900 are supported? These two frequencies are used in N. and S. America. Merimobiles keeps implying that these two 3G freqs are supported but I'm skeptical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ChrisPNE Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Great review! Does anyone know if WCDMA 850/1900 are supported? These two frequencies are used in N. and S. America. Merimobiles keeps implying that these two 3G freqs are supported but I'm skeptical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now