[OFFTOPIC] China Phone Discussion - UPDATED 30/10/2013

[Guest metal.mickey]

I got my Newman k1a from Merimobiles. I asked em to mark the item as agift and They included an invoice for a dummy device. It took 6 days via dhl. Total spend was £137.

Just my tuppence worth.

Mm

[Guest]

I got my Newman k1a from Merimobiles. I asked em to mark the item as agift and They included an invoice for a dummy device. It took 6 days via dhl. Total spend was £137.

Just my tuppence worth.

Mm

Did you get a customs charge for it? Do you remember what the cost split was between phone and shipping? Just curious.  ;)

[Guest Pyntux]

My g300 is dead (RIP g300), so I got Lenovo p780 as replacement for both of my phones... :) It's very good, and battery is crasy... :D

Edited November 12, 2013 by Pyntux

[Guest jamie_w]

Just ordered an UMI X2 (1G +32G) version from Antelife for $194.99. Free shipping with Singapore Post. Now the wait begins!

Use this link http://www.antelife.com/umi-x2-mtk6589t-quad-core-smart-phone-5-0-inch-android-4-1-ogs-1920-x-1080-screen-1g-32g-black.html

Then add this code at checkout "Gizumix21g" to get the discount.

Original article is here on Gizchina. http://www.gizchina.com/gizchina-forum/topic/umi-x2-and-umi-cross-discount-codes-from-antelife/

There is CWM image for flashing on XDA forums. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=43058108

Has your phone arrived yet? I see its out of stock now so I might look else where if anyone's got advice where to look. Is it best to pay via paypal? Also do people in the UK pay in GBP or by another currency to make it cheaper?

[Guest metal.mickey]

My K1a was £127 plus £17 delivery.

NO CUSTOMS CHARGES.

It arived in a plain brown packaging, as if it was a handwrapped gift, no markings other than the address and the stamp

[Guest]

Has your phone arrived yet? I see its out of stock now so I might look else where if anyone's got advice where to look. Is it best to pay via paypal? Also do people in the UK pay in GBP or by another currency to make it cheaper?

 

No, they refunded me. As soon as I ordered it they told me it was out of stock so they gave me a full paypal refund 2 days later. I actually made 60p profit due to exchange rate changes between ordering and refund.  :D

 

ALWAYS PAY WITH PAYPAL!

[Guest grolly]

256MB RAM!?! Good luck!  :D I used one of those once (Vodafone Smart/Huawei U8160) and it was a nightmare...

normally people moan cause it don`t support 3g LOL

but yeah i agree about the memory until i saw some video`s of this thing and i was shocked at how well it worked.

also it`s gonna be a big upgrade for my lad ;) he`s currently using my old zte blade LOL

i opted for the zte v967s for myself ;) uk seller again on amazon @ 110

[Guest tps1]

I purchased a Haier w910 from BuySku.com. The price was good and you could find a discount code with a google search. Also can pay with Paypal.

 

I ordered on 13th October and it arrived on 31st October (to the UK). It was posted via Singapore Post.

 

Really happy with the phone although upgrading the phone to Android 4.1.2 caused problems with mobile networks, so I am back on 4.0.4. But otherwise all working well.

[Guest dalyer]

Really happy with the phone although upgrading the phone to Android 4.1.2 caused problems with mobile networks, so I am back on 4.0.4. But otherwise all working well.

 

If you haven't seen it already then this thread and the links to the Spanish moviledualsim.com website might be of interest to you. 

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2394696&page=9

 

I have elbuit's repack of gASK's 4.1.2 ROM (Acer V350 based) and it works fine.

Edited November 12, 2013 by dalyer

[Guest jamie_w]

Can people recommended a good quality phone for me please, I'm looking to order in the next week. I was thinking about getting the xiaomi red rice but I think with the new wave of phones out soon I'd rather get 1 a bit cheaper. My only specs I want are quad core, max 5"screen and regular rom updates (miui etc) and not too expensive. Thanks

[Guest tps1]

If you haven't seen it already then this thread and the links to the Spanish moviledualsim.com website might be of interest to you. 

 

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2394696&page=9

 

I have elbuit's repack of gASK's 4.1.2 ROM (Acer V350 based) and it works fine.

 

Thanks for the link. I have tried this ROM and it didn't work for me. It might be my network provider - I need to add APN manually (OVIVO in the UK). I'll stick with 4.0.4 (rooted, with my own choice of launcher and keyboard) for now.

[Guest dalyer]

OK - that's odd. I think I had an initial problem with wifi but flashed it again and everything worked fine. I also had to manually add my APN or use Tweakker APN to configure it but that was not bother. I haven't used the Haier W910 that much yet but that ROM looked clean and stable as much as I did use it.

[Guest Maringer]

Thanks for the link. I have tried this ROM and it didn't work for me. It might be my network provider - I need to add APN manually (OVIVO in the UK). I'll stick with 4.0.4 (rooted, with my own choice of launcher and keyboard) for now.

When I set up my OVIVO SIM the other month, I used information from the following file:

http://ovivomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/OVIVO-Mobile-Android-Phones-Setup-Guide.pdf

In this file, there is a note that, instead of entering APN type as "internet", some devices need to enter the following as APN type instead: "default,supl,dun,fota"

As I recall, I needed to enter the second option to get my OVIVO sim to work correctly. Perhaps worth trying that one if you didn't yourself?

[Guest jamie_w]

Can people recommended a good quality phone for me please, I'm looking to order in the next week. I was thinking about getting the xiaomi red rice but I think with the new wave of phones out soon I'd rather get 1 a bit cheaper. My only specs I want are quad core, max 5"screen and regular rom updates (miui etc) and not too expensive. Thanks

Anybody able to give any advice? I'm wanting to order tomorrow, but would really like recommendations, sites to order from and is it best to order in my own currency (GBP) or another?

[Guest]

Anybody able to give any advice? I'm wanting to order tomorrow, but would really like recommendations, sites to order from and is it best to order in my own currency (GBP) or another?

If you want a safe bet How about the Motorola Moto G? I know its not a Chinese phone as its just been released in the UK. About £120-£135, no import/postage problems.

Motorola plan to upgrade it to Kitkat early next year.

 

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/motorola-moto-g-on-sale-now-for-120-50012744/

 

The only downside I can see is that it doesn't have a micro SD slot.

[Guest tillaz]

Google own Motorola so this phone should be well supported, but i would avoid the 8GB unless you can live with 5.5GB max available storage 

 

Full specs http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g-5831.php Google seriously need to add Sd Card slots to there devices...  

[Guest tillaz]

or if anyone is interested i lowered the price of my 16GB nexus 4 to £199.99, would probably take £180 outside of eBay since i would avoid £20 fees 

 

its like new, here is the link if anyone is interested. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251377154244?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

send me a PM if interested.

[Guest jamie_w]

If you want a safe bet How about the Motorola Moto G? I know its not a Chinese phone as its just been released in the UK. About £120-£135, no import/postage problems.

Motorola plan to upgrade it to Kitkat early next year.

 

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/motorola-moto-g-on-sale-now-for-120-50012744/

 

The only downside I can see is that it doesn't have a micro SD slot.

It looks ok but id rather have a micro sd slot really.

[Guest shweeney]

quite a few apps are showing as incompatible with my phone (Freelander i30) - I think its mostly apps that plugin to Google Maps/Location services.  The phone came without GMaps installed but I've subsequently installed it from the Play Store and its working fine.  However many apps still say "incompatible" - its as if Play Store cached my phones capabilities at the start and now won't refresh them (this is a guess).  Anyone any ideas - there's no way to delete a device in Play and start again unfortunately.

 

(I can probably use something like Market Helper to get around it, but I'd prefer to fix the root cause).

[Guest jamie_w]

Is this genuine? http://www.aliexpress.com/item/EMS-Free-shipping-2013-Pre-sale-XIAOMI-HONGMI-RED-MI-Phone-MTT6589T1-5G-1GRAM-4GROM-OTG/1187550648.html

[Guest tillaz]

quite a few apps are showing as incompatible with my phone (Freelander i30) - I think its mostly apps that plugin to Google Maps/Location services.  The phone came without GMaps installed but I've subsequently installed it from the Play Store and its working fine.  However many apps still say "incompatible" - its as if Play Store cached my phones capabilities at the start and now won't refresh them (this is a guess).  Anyone any ideas - there's no way to delete a device in Play and start again unfortunately.

 

(I can probably use something like Market Helper to get around it, but I'd prefer to fix the root cause).

 

 

that's not why they are saying incompatible, its determined by what's in your build.prop, if you can send me that i can help you.

[Guest shweeney]

that's not why they are saying incompatible, its determined by what's in your build.prop, if you can send me that i can help you.

 

thanks, I think its because the maps library is missing as described here - I tried using Market Helper to change the device ID to Samsung and was able to download one of the apps, but it then wouldn't install complaining of missing libraries. 

 

if that doesn't work I'll come back to you.

[Guest tillaz]

thanks, I think its because the maps library is missing as described here - I tried using Market Helper to change the device ID to Samsung and was able to download one of the apps, but it then wouldn't install complaining of missing libraries. 

 

if that doesn't work I'll come back to you.

 

market helper just edits the build.prop, but a few things need changed for full compatibility i had to do it for my G300 rom.

 

 

check in system/framework if you have com.google.android.maps.jar

 

if not your best flashing a Gapps package for your version of android so it adds all the missing java library's and other files and libs

 

http://wiki.rootzwiki.com/Google_Apps

[Guest shweeney]

market helper just edits the build.prop, but a few things need changed for full compatibility i had to do it for my G300 rom.

 

 

check in system/framework if you have com.google.android.maps.jar

 

if not your best flashing a Gapps package for your version of android so it adds all the missing java library's and other files and libs

 

http://wiki.rootzwiki.com/Google_Apps

 

 

got Gapps installed, apps all working - thanks.

[Guest SG8]

Am looking for a bit of assistance in getting CWM working on a LENOVO A830, I have managed to get Mobile Uncle tools onto the phone and can boot into 'a recovery' but am looking to get CWM installed with a view to installing custom roms, but having scoured the web I seem to be going around in circles.

Can anyone point me in the right direction???

Edit: Installed ROM MANAGER and found a recovery here ( http://www.needrom.com/mobile/lenovo-a830-7/comment-page-3/#comments ) but not sure what I am meant to do with it.

Am probably missing something simple (or else I am out of my depth!!).

Edited November 15, 2013 by SG8