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

[Guest Maringer]

Can you or someone else tell me something about eBay? I have never bought anything from eBay. How do it work? Do they ship to middle east? Their prices compared to Chinese stores? Do they accept PayPal? I shall be thankful in advance.

eBay is just a marketplace for sellers and in itself doesn't sell anything, they just supply the service to the sellers and charge fees for listings put up and sales made. Originally just for auctions, many sellers also have fixed price listings (called "buy it now") as well. Some sellers ship overseas, others don't - it depends on the individual. Sellers can be based almost anywhere in the world so always check closely where you are buying from. Some sellers are completely reliable, others are less so. However, the level of feedback a seller has received is usually a good indication of their reliability. All sellers have to accept Paypal (Paypal is owned by eBay and they get a cut of transaction fees). Ultimately, if you pay by Paypal, you should be pretty much safe as it is up to the seller to prove they have supplied the item as described and eBay tend to encourage sellers to accept stringent returns policies. All the money that eBay make comes from the sellers but the balance is very much in favour of the buyers.

As you may guess, the company I work for has been selling on eBay for many years so I have a lot of experience with the service. For me as a seller, it is frustrating how often eBay change their policies in an attempt to screw sellers out of more money! Generally poorly thought-out policy changes as well, but buyers shouldn't really worry about buying from reliable sellers. If you order something from an eBay seller and it doesn't arrive, just make a claim and you should get your money back.

[Guest apple2005]

eBay is just a marketplace for sellers and in itself doesn't sell anything, they just supply the service to the sellers and charge fees for listings put up and sales made. Originally just for auctions, many sellers also have fixed price listings (called "buy it now") as well. Some sellers ship overseas, others don't - it depends on the individual. Sellers can be based almost anywhere in the world so always check closely where you are buying from. Some sellers are completely reliable, others are less so. However, the level of feedback a seller has received is usually a good indication of their reliability. All sellers have to accept Paypal (Paypal is owned by eBay and they get a cut of transaction fees). Ultimately, if you pay by Paypal, you should be pretty much safe as it is up to the seller to prove they have supplied the item as described and eBay tend to encourage sellers to accept stringent returns policies. All the money that eBay make comes from the sellers but the balance is very much in favour of the buyers.

As you may guess, the company I work for has been selling on eBay for many years so I have a lot of experience with the service. For me as a seller, it is frustrating how often eBay change their policies in an attempt to screw sellers out of more money! Generally poorly thought-out policy changes as well, but buyers shouldn't really worry about buying from reliable sellers. If you order something from an eBay seller and it doesn't arrive, just make a claim and you should get your money back.

Thank you very much for the reply. So it is like aliexpress. I have just gone through eBay and registered an account. But I don't know how to bid. Like for example, I wanted to bid for Lenovo phone. It is quite cheap as compared to other online shops. But when I bid, I get a reply " you cannot buy or bid on this item because the seller require you have a linked PayPal account". What does that mean? I am having a PayPal account. I don't know how to link it?

Secondly the price seem to be too cheap. But the seller has very good reputation also. Thousands of positive feedback.

Your further help will be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Guest Maringer]

You should be able to link your Paypal account to your new eBay account quite easily. As Paypal is owned by eBay, their systems are very closely integrated so it should be quite straightforward. Look in the account settings section (if you can find it). If you're struggling, scroll to the bottom of the page and there should be a 'Customer Support' link where you can search a help section telling you how to link the accounts.

 

If you're concerned about the prices, bear in mind that many of the listings on eBay are auctions with users bidding against each other. The price you are seeing is probably just the current level the auction has reached. If it is an auction, the listing will tell you when it ends.

 

When searching through eBay, you can specify if you want to look for auctions or prefer to look for 'buy it now' fixed price listings.

 

I'd recommend looking through the help sections of customer support as these should let you know how to use the site and what is required from you.

 

I'd always recommend looking at the feedback of a seller to see how reliable they are. Look for sellers with very high percentage positive feedback and the larger the quantity of feedback, the better. Regardless, your money should be safe if you follow eBay procedures and pay using Paypal, but there are always a few scam merchants around attempting to con buyers!

 

As always (and similar to the Chinese companies who sell direct and those who sell via Aliexpress), if a deal looks too good to be true, the chances are that it is too good to be true and is a scam!

Edited November 18, 2013 by Maringer

[Guest]

This might be a bit of a dumb question but does MIUI have Google Now as part of its system?

[Guest tillaz]

This might be a bit of a dumb question but does MIUI have Google Now as part of its system?

 

no, Google now is part of the gapps package, (which you will flash) the apk its self is available on the play store, but its counterparts for it to work are not

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox&hl=en

 

 

MIUI has its own built in assistant thing though... but in my experience its just been in Chinese and unusable for me.

[Guest apple2005]

You should be able to link your Paypal account to your new eBay account quite easily. As Paypal is owned by eBay, their systems are very closely integrated so it should be quite straightforward. Look in the account settings section (if you can find it). If you're struggling, scroll to the bottom of the page and there should be a 'Customer Support' link where you can search a help section telling you how to link the accounts.

If you're concerned about the prices, bear in mind that many of the listings on eBay are auctions with users bidding against each other. The price you are seeing is probably just the current level the auction has reached. If it is an auction, the listing will tell you when it ends.

When searching through eBay, you can specify if you want to look for auctions or prefer to look for 'buy it now' fixed price listings.

I'd recommend looking through the help sections of customer support as these should let you know how to use the site and what is required from you.

I'd always recommend looking at the feedback of a seller to see how reliable they are. Look for sellers with very high percentage positive feedback and the larger the quantity of feedback, the better. Regardless, your money should be safe if you follow eBay procedures and pay using Paypal, but there are always a few scam merchants around attempting to con buyers!

As always (and similar to the Chinese companies who sell direct and those who sell via Aliexpress), if a deal looks too good to be true, the chances are that it is too good to be true and is a scam!

Thanks Maringer for your wonderful feedback. I was able to link my PayPal account as well. A million thanks once again.

[Guest shweeney]

the iPhone has no SD card slot either and it hasn't done Apple any harm.  I think Google have said they want consistent performance on their phones and the variable quality of SD cards (and the flaky implementation of Move2SD in different apps) makes it unreliable.  If an app is performing badly because of a slow or faulty SD card, users will blame the phone or Android itself.

[Guest shweeney]

belated review of Freelander i30 (aka Newman K1)

 

ordered from Focalprice - took 43 days to arrive (though a few of these were due to customs)

 

Pros:

• Nice bright 5" screen (720P) - I was worried it would be too big, but having used it for a few days I can't see myself going back to a smaller screen.
• very responsive JB 4.2.1 - blows the G300 I had before out of the water
• no bloatware or Chinese apps
• was able to watch a 1G MKV video on it with no stuttering 
• excellent sound from the headphone jack (the G300 was terrible with a lot of hiss) - haven't really used the speaker so can't comment on this.
• Haven't tested GPS in any serious way - opening GMaps shows where I am but that's probably mainly from GSM
• Camera is quick to open and take snaps - pictures are decent enough (haven't tried video)
• Easy to root
• 3G works fine (in Ireland on the Tesco/O2 network)
• battery life is fine - no problem getting a day out of it.

 

Cons:

• Came with the play store but not full Gapps, with the result that a lot of apps wouldn't install due to missing libraries. Had to install CWM and then flash the Gapps package to get this fixed.  I've flashed plenty of ROMs in the past on the G300 and OSF but was still a bit nervous I might brick the phone.
• its not ugly but its not beautiful either - its quite angular and a bit uncomfortable against my ear during calls (though I don't make that many calls anyway)
• the volume rocker is quite unresponsive.
• battery seems slow to charge (though I usually charge it overnight so this isn't a major issue)

 

haven't tried the dual-SIM functionality so can't comment on this.  Anyone any questions ask away, I assume its much the same as most of the other MTK6589 phones.

Overall very happy with it (now I have the apps working properly), though if the Moto G had been announced before I ordered I would have given it serious consideration.

[Guest Ironandroid]

My awful experience with focalprice

Hi there. I would like to report my totally negative experience with them. On October 18 i order a zte .The next day i send an email to the customer service asking if it was possible to change my order for a bigger screen phone of course paying for the difference. So having received a positive answer i start this conversation always with the same gay lasting several days in which i propose them almost all the 6 inch phone they have on display and receiving always the sorry not available now answer. It was suggested to wait for a week for refilling the stock which i agreed upon but even after that week there was still not a single phone available. At this point the same guy proposed me to close the deal and issue a refund, a proposal that i found very sensible and respective for the customer. while i was waiting for my refund on paypal i suddenly receive an email (november 7) from a totally different guy who said i could forget my refund and that the phone was already being shipped on October 27 i.e. while i was discussing the matter with the other guy. I THINK THIS IS UNCCEPTABLE. It is clearly stated that you can modify/cancel the order if not shipped yet aand when i sent my first email it was long before it was shipped. so basically they give a s... on customer willing. Further the phone arrived already used (chinese sms stored, box seals open) and without eu plug

[Guest SG8]

Good man, thanks!! Another bit along the way now!! Much appreciated.

 

 

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!!).

Got the custom rom installed and am quite impressed with this phone, strangely though the GPS even appears to work properly even though it is the MTK6589 chip. GPS test shows it picking up the satelites fairly quickly and accuracy to around 10 feet (and holding the location while driving). Have not used it for navigation yet, but am amazed that it appears to work as well as it does.

Next problem though is a bit of a problem. In the storage options, I cannot set my microSD card as the default storage location, it does allow me to select SD , (which I assume is the internal storage on the phone) but the available space is so small it is not much use. It does mention something in the linked rom about not being able to install programs on the sd card, so I am assuming it is something that I may have to put up with, but don't really want to change the rom as everything else is working so well).

Any advice appreciated.

Edited November 19, 2013 by SG8

[Guest hippy dave]

My awful experience with focalprice

Hi there. I would like to report my totally negative experience with them. On October 18 i order a zte .The next day i send an email to the customer service asking if it was possible to change my order for a bigger screen phone of course paying for the difference. So having received a positive answer i start this conversation always with the same gay lasting several days in which i propose them almost all the 6 inch phone they have on display and receiving always the sorry not available now answer. It was suggested to wait for a week for refilling the stock which i agreed upon but even after that week there was still not a single phone available. At this point the same guy proposed me to close the deal and issue a refund, a proposal that i found very sensible and respective for the customer. while i was waiting for my refund on paypal i suddenly receive an email (november 7) from a totally different guy who said i could forget my refund and that the phone was already being shipped on October 27 i.e. while i was discussing the matter with the other guy. I THINK THIS IS UNCCEPTABLE. It is clearly stated that you can modify/cancel the order if not shipped yet aand when i sent my first email it was long before it was shipped. so basically they give a s... on customer willing. Further the phone arrived already used (chinese sms stored, box seals open) and without eu plug

That's pretty terrible. File a complaint with PayPal and hopefully they should give you a refund?

[Guest tillaz]

Next problem though is a bit of a problem. In the storage options, I cannot set my microSD card as the default storage location, it does allow me to select SD , (which I assume is the internal storage on the phone) but the available space is so small it is not much use. It does mention something in the linked rom about not being able to install programs on the sd card, so I am assuming it is something that I may have to put up with, but don't really want to change the rom as everything else is working so well).

Any advice appreciated.

 

on your rom goto system / etc

 

copy all files that end with .vstab

 

and paste into your sdcard then send me them, and i can make a zip for you to flash that will set your sdcard as default storage, (including for app installs) 

[Guest SG8]

on your rom goto system / etc

 

copy all files that end with .vstab

 

and paste into your sdcard then send me them, and i can make a zip for you to flash that will set your sdcard as default storage, (including for app installs)

Thanks for that, but I don't know whether I might be getting out of my depth here. The rom I downloaded from here( <a data-ipb="nomediaparse" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.needrom.com/mobile/lenovo-a830-7/comment-page-3/#comments%20)%20but%20not%20sure%20what%20I%20am%20meant%20to%20do%20with%20it.%20)%20gives%20me%20a%20" href="http://www.needrom.com/mobile/lenovo-a830-7/comment-page-3/#comments%20)%20but%20not%20sure%20what%20I%20am%20meant%20to%20do%20with%20it.%20)%20gives%20me%20a%20" clockword%20mod'%20folder%20with%20a%20backup%20folder%20and%20another%20folder%20inside%20that%20with%20some%20.tar%20files%20and%20one%20of%20them%20is%20called%20system.ext4.tar%20so%20i%20unzipped%20that%20folder%20and%20within%20the%20system%20folder%20that%20that%20produced%20there%20is%20a%20folder%20called%20'etc'%20but%20there%20are%20no%20files%20in%20that%20folder%20that%20end%20with%20.vstab"="">http://www.needrom.com/mobile/lenovo-a830-7/comment-page-3/#comments%20)%20but%20not%20sure%20what%20I%20am%20meant%20to%20do%20with%20it. ) gives me a 'clockword mod' folder with a backup folder and another folder inside that with some .tar files and one of them is called system.ext4.tar so I unzipped that folder and within the system folder that that produced there is a folder called 'etc' but there are no files in that folder that end with .vstab

There is a vold.fstab so I am not sure I am going the right way about this ??

I also thought I might try flashing another rom (with the view of going back to the other one if it was not as good), but ran into even more trouble as I reinstalled mobileuncle tools but it mostly just freezes before displaying any menu and then I get the 'stopped responding message'.

???? Confused ..........

EDIT: Managed to get another rom onto it, (LENOVO A830 S4UI) and the storage problem appears to be sorted, no problem with the SD card so far and the rest of the ROM seems fairly good too, have not tried the GPS yet though!

There are a few Chinese apps that I am not sure whether I should delete them or not, but will continue to play around with the phone and see how the GPS performs tomorrow.

I should probably leave it alone now, but that would be no fun!!

EDITED AGAIN as I realised I made a mess of the link and post.

Edited November 20, 2013 by SG8

[Guest dakok]

 

• battery seems slow to charge (though I usually charge it overnight so this isn't a major issue)

 

It is rather normal for a 2500 mAh battery with a 1A charger to be fully charged for near 5h.

If you want it to charge faster, find a 2A charger :)

[Guest metal.mickey]

@Shweeney.

can you show me how to install rom manager on my K1a and let me have a copy of the recovery image. The one i have doesnt load via mobile uncle so no clockwork mod or roms.

thanks

MM

[Guest apple2005]

@dakok: Did you receive your ZTE 967s? I receive mine today from a store in aliexpress. It looks to be a very good device. I played a little with that and looks fantastic. The display is very good and bright. As a whole I am impressed with the quality.

[Guest apple2005]

My awful experience with focalprice

Hi there. I would like to report my totally negative experience with them. On October 18 i order a zte .The next day i send an email to the customer service asking if it was possible to change my order for a bigger screen phone of course paying for the difference. So having received a positive answer i start this conversation always with the same gay lasting several days in which i propose them almost all the 6 inch phone they have on display and receiving always the sorry not available now answer. It was suggested to wait for a week for refilling the stock which i agreed upon but even after that week there was still not a single phone available. At this point the same guy proposed me to close the deal and issue a refund, a proposal that i found very sensible and respective for the customer. while i was waiting for my refund on paypal i suddenly receive an email (november 7) from a totally different guy who said i could forget my refund and that the phone was already being shipped on October 27 i.e. while i was discussing the matter with the other guy. I THINK THIS IS UNCCEPTABLE. It is clearly stated that you can modify/cancel the order if not shipped yet aand when i sent my first email it was long before it was shipped. so basically they give a s... on customer willing. Further the phone arrived already used (chinese sms stored, box seals open) and without eu plug

Probably it is the worst store. Customer care is very bad. I have placed one order with them. Since one month it is on the way. I am praying to get it peacefully and that will be my last order with them.

[Guest SG8]

Thanks for that, but I don't know whether I might be getting out of my depth here. The rom I downloaded from here( <a data-ipb="nomediaparse" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.needrom.com/mobile/lenovo-a830-7/comment-page-3/#comments%20)%20but%20not%20sure%20what%20I%20am%20meant%20to%20do%20with%20it.%20)%20gives%20me%20a%20" href="http://www.needrom.com/mobile/lenovo-a830-7/comment-page-3/#comments%20)%20but%20not%20sure%20what%20I%20am%20meant%20to%20do%20with%20it.%20)%20gives%20me%20a%20" clockword%20mod'%20folder%20with%20a%20backup%20folder%20and%20another%20folder%20inside%20that%20with%20some%20.tar%20files%20and%20one%20of%20them%20is%20called%20system.ext4.tar%20so%20i%20unzipped%20that%20folder%20and%20within%20the%20system%20folder%20that%20that%20produced%20there%20is%20a%20folder%20called%20'etc'%20but%20there%20are%20no%20files%20in%20that%20folder%20that%20end%20with%20.vstab"="">http://www.needrom.com/mobile/lenovo-a830-7/comment-page-3/#comments%20)%20but%20not%20sure%20what%20I%20am%20meant%20to%20do%20with%20it. ) gives me a 'clockword mod' folder with a backup folder and another folder inside that with some .tar files and one of them is called system.ext4.tar so I unzipped that folder and within the system folder that that produced there is a folder called 'etc' but there are no files in that folder that end with .vstab

There is a vold.fstab so I am not sure I am going the right way about this ??

I also thought I might try flashing another rom (with the view of going back to the other one if it was not as good), but ran into even more trouble as I reinstalled mobileuncle tools but it mostly just freezes before displaying any menu and then I get the 'stopped responding message'.

???? Confused ..........

EDIT: Managed to get another rom onto it, (LENOVO A830 S4UI) and the storage problem appears to be sorted, no problem with the SD card so far and the rest of the ROM seems fairly good too, have not tried the GPS yet though!

There are a few Chinese apps that I am not sure whether I should delete them or not, but will continue to play around with the phone and see how the GPS performs tomorrow.

Just to update on my progress with the LENOVO A830, the S4UI rom was fine but gave awful problems with WIFI connectivity, so have gone back to the first rom (with the storage problem). Tillaz if you are out there I could do with getting that sorted!!

Am going to try a few other roms, but the one thing that I have found amazing is that the GPS works very well, if I could get the storage issue sorted I think the rom would be almost perfect.

[Guest tillaz]

Just to update on my progress with the LENOVO A830, the S4UI rom was fine but gave awful problems with WIFI connectivity, so have gone back to the first rom (with the storage problem). Tillaz if you are out there I could do with getting that sorted!!

Am going to try a few other roms, but the one thing that I have found amazing is that the GPS works very well, if I could get the storage issue sorted I think the rom would be almost perfect.

 

from system / etc

 

send me the vold.vstab

 

(open the rom .zip on your computer with 7zip or winrar and drag it onto your desktop) or (use a root file manager on the phone and copy to sdcard)

[Guest dakok]

@dakok: Did you receive your ZTE 967s? I receive mine today from a store in aliexpress. It looks to be a very good device. I played a little with that and looks fantastic. The display is very good and bright. As a whole I am impressed with the quality.

I got it yesterday, too :)

From antelife. 45 days travel :(

I am impressed with it. Screen is not as good as v987 is (which is spectacular), but it is still very good. I couldn't fit nillkin case ( I had a spare one, from my v987) because it is a tiny bit fatter. Imak cowboy case fits fine.

It had Chinese cwm on but I replaced it with carlivs cwm and flashed his Max Flavour latest ROM.

The phone is fantastic, especially for $130 I paid for it.

More especially when I saw it for $175 at Banggod today :)

Back cover is much better than that of v987 which squeaks a bit.

Definitely THE best buy quad core phone.

[Guest shweeney]

@Shweeney.

can you show me how to install rom manager on my K1a and let me have a copy of the recovery image. The one i have doesnt load via mobile uncle so no clockwork mod or roms.

thanks

MM

 

I used the instructions here

 

I didn't have a stock rom to get the boot.img from so I used the backup feature in "MTKDroidTools" to extract it from the phone.  I only used CWM to install Gapps - I'm happy enough with the stock ROM that's on the phone . 

[Guest SG8]

from system / etc

 

send me the vold.vstab

 

(open the rom .zip on your computer with 7zip or winrar and drag it onto your desktop) or (use a root file manager on the phone and copy to sdcard)

Thanks Tillaz, but the The rom I downloaded (when unzipped) gives me a 'clockword mod' folder with a backup folder and another folder inside that with some .tar files and one of them is called system.ext4.tar so I unzipped that folder and within the system folder that that produced there is a folder called 'etc' but there are no files in that folder that end with .vstab

There is a vold.fstab so I am not sure I am going the right way about this ??

Is the vold.fstab any use or is it a different file entirely ?

[Guest apple2005]

I got it yesterday, too :) From antelife. 45 days travel :( I am impressed with it. Screen is not as good as v987 is (which is spectacular), but it is still very good. I couldn't fit nillkin case ( I had a spare one, from my v987) because it is a tiny bit fatter. Imak cowboy case fits fine. It had Chinese cwm on but I replaced it with carlivs cwm and flashed his Max Flavour latest ROM. The phone is fantastic, especially for $130 I paid for it. More especially when I saw it for $175 at Banggod today :) Back cover is much better than that of v987 which squeaks a bit. Definitely THE best buy quad core phone.

I handed over to my colleague, for whom it was meant for. I was really impressed with the quality. Now they have increased the price, seeing the demand. I bought it for 132 but now it is minimum 155 and above on different stores. The problem is that my other friends also are asking for that but now that store has increased the price to 190...:-) Edited November 21, 2013 by apple2005

[Guest tillaz]

Thanks Tillaz, but the The rom I downloaded (when unzipped) gives me a 'clockword mod' folder with a backup folder and another folder inside that with some .tar files and one of them is called system.ext4.tar so I unzipped that folder and within the system folder that that produced there is a folder called 'etc' but there are no files in that folder that end with .vstab

There is a vold.fstab so I am not sure I am going the right way about this ??

Is the vold.fstab any use or is it a different file entirely ?

 

yeah that's the file i need

[Guest metal.mickey]

how do i extract the boot image from the rom.

///#

ok gone through the process and no device is listed via mtkTools. i manged to make a recovery from dloaded files but after i flash it in MobileUncle it just reboots and then restarts

any ideas

mm

Edited November 21, 2013 by metal.mickey