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

[Guest ADROW]

hi, i saw http://www.aliexpres.../712877022.html online the retailer said say they have it in stock right now...

what's the delivery time on your order. it seems that they use paypal with your order (securer?). I was thinking of using aliexpress but they have mixed reviews.... and no paypal but some kind of escrow service...

No delivery time given. As I've ordered a few things from Chinese retailers like DealExtreme, I've learned to just go with the flow. Most of them don't actually hold stock when they say they do and it can take days for them to process an order. I've had deliveries take anything from a few days to over a month. I did look at aliexpress but the lack of PayPal stopped me. I only have a debit card and so wanted the ability to dispute the purchase if anything goes wrong. The aliexpress escrow service sounds good but I had read on another site that their payment protection isn't as good as PayPal's (apparently they are just as likely to side with a seller over a buyer).

[Guest Mrian]

No delivery time given. As I've ordered a few things from Chinese retailers like DealExtreme, I've learned to just go with the flow. Most of them don't actually hold stock when they say they do and it can take days for them to process an order. I've had deliveries take anything from a few days to over a month. I did look at aliexpress but the lack of PayPal stopped me. I only have a debit card and so wanted the ability to dispute the purchase if anything goes wrong. The aliexpress escrow service sounds good but I had read on another site that their payment protection isn't as good as PayPal's (apparently they are just as likely to side with a seller over a buyer).

well ive ordered my g3 and il wait and se what happend. i ordered from aliexpress. tempted to get the newman n2 but it only has 1 gb ram :/. still other good stuf quad core etc uhnmm yeah the g3 was like 88 pounds direct from manufacturer but i dont know if it would ship okay..thats almost half price!

[Guest ADROW]

Just thought I'd post an update, had to file a PayPal claim today to try and get my money back. Antelife.com have been completely ignoring my emails since the initial order confirmation. From what I can gather they have no stock but are still claiming on the product page that they do (posting pictures etc...). Can only advise to avoid ordering from that site.

I'm sure the claim will be resolved but I'm now unsure where to look at ordering from next. Seems to me that any site not listing stock levels can't be trusted. Would be interested to hear what sites others have used and had a good experience.

[Guest kyan31]

Just thought I'd post an update, had to file a PayPal claim today to try and get my money back. Antelife.com have been completely ignoring my emails since the initial order confirmation. From what I can gather they have no stock but are still claiming on the product page that they do (posting pictures etc...). Can only advise to avoid ordering from that site.

I'm sure the claim will be resolved but I'm now unsure where to look at ordering from next. Seems to me that any site not listing stock levels can't be trusted. Would be interested to hear what sites others have used and had a good experience.

I recommend fastcardtech or uredeal. My brother brought a Jiayu G2 from fastcardtech and got in in under 2 weeks. I have never used uredeal, but they have a good partnership with GizChina.com and the website workers speak proper english :P. Uredeal is a little more expensive than other websites though.

[Guest holtend]

I'm probably going to grab this https://www.pcworld....r-just-158.html

from here http://www.kogan.com/uk/buy/agora-50-dual-core-smartphone/

It seems pretty decent, and probably more reliable than a random chinese seller???

Comes with 12 month UK warranty :)

Edited January 12, 2013 by holtend

[Guest ADROW]

I recommend fastcardtech or uredeal. My brother brought a Jiayu G2 from fastcardtech and got in in under 2 weeks. I have never used uredeal, but they have a good partnership with GizChina.com and the website workers speak proper english :P. Uredeal is a little more expensive than other websites though.

I looked at fastcardtech initially but chose not to use them as their website seems sketchy. They list phones for order that have literally just been announced so I suspect they operate in a similar way to antelife. They also don't appear to accept paypal even though they state they do on the site (I tried to order the I-20 from them but the checkout didn't allow paypal). Uredeal seemed better but they are also advertising the N2 as in stock on the front page, but the comments on the product page clearly show that it isn't. There seems to be a general dishonesty with Chinese retailers about the fact that many of them are either drop-shipping, or don't have a proper supply-chain with the manufacturers and they encourage orders without any idea of whether they can fill them.

I'm actually considering holding on to my money and waiting for the Nexus 4 to become available from google again. Reliable brand name phone at a great price (but massively in demand because of it).

[Guest kyan31]

I looked at fastcardtech initially but chose not to use them as their website seems sketchy. They list phones for order that have literally just been announced so I suspect they operate in a similar way to antelife. They also don't appear to accept paypal even though they state they do on the site (I tried to order the I-20 from them but the checkout didn't allow paypal). Uredeal seemed better but they are also advertising the N2 as in stock on the front page, but the comments on the product page clearly show that it isn't. There seems to be a general dishonesty with Chinese retailers about the fact that many of them are either drop-shipping, or don't have a proper supply-chain with the manufacturers and they encourage orders without any idea of whether they can fill them.

I'm actually considering holding on to my money and waiting for the Nexus 4 to become available from google again. Reliable brand name phone at a great price (but massively in demand because of it).

Fastcardtech usually list the phone on the site for pre-orders. If you go to the top page, there will be a note that shows if there is stock or not.

They also do except PayPal, like most sites. You get to the PayPal part after you fill in your details, and choose what shipping you want etc.

Edited January 12, 2013 by kyan31

[Guest ADROW]

So my phone turned up out of the blue this morning. I was out at the time otherwise I may have refused delivery. Seeing as I wasn't charged any import fees I decided to give it a go. First mild panic when I tried to insert my sim, only to realise that it's a micro sim slot. Luckily I had a sim cutter to hand and was able to use that.

I have a couple of potential issues with the phone, so far coverage on Three seems to be worse with this than with my G300, but I am in an area with poor signal so will have to see how this goes. I also don't seem to be able to set-up a google account properly. Play is installed and it lets me install apps like gmail and maps, but I don't seem to have an overall account that syncs my contacts etc...

I've heard that downloading a googleframework.apk file can help with this but when I go to install it asks me if I want to replace the one I already have, and I'm not sure if I want to do that.

Anyone have any ideas? I will post a size comparison with the G300 shortly.

Edit: Sorted, I went back to a French forum I'd noticed a lot of I-20 discussion on, and someone linked to an XDA Exynos4 root exploit which works on this phone too. That let me install Titanium Backup and from there I could restore old system apps from my G300 like google contacts sync. All working much better now.

Some pics:

Edited January 12, 2013 by ADROW

[Guest tillaz]

my dad is selling his G300 and getting this with the money (basically a straight swap as it was sold for £100)

http://www.merimobil..._p/meri7667.htm ZTE V955 (the all black version)

i'm interested in getting this imported

http://www.fastcardt...com/ZTE-Grand-S

ZTE grand S £183.33 (this price seems to good to be true... rumor's say its 2,799 Yuan = £279)

EDIT: hmm... just got a reply from fastcardtech, and they say i will actually be $289 / £183.33 (don't think i believe them)

1080p 5 inch IPS display

2GB RAM

Android 4.1.2

13 MP camera

Quad core 1.7 GHz

supper thin 6.9mm

video (i want a black version though)

[Guest Hoggonator]

my dad is selling his G300 and getting this with the money (basically a straight swap as it was sold for £100)

http://www.merimobil..._p/meri7667.htm ZTE V955 (the all black version)

i'm interested in getting this imported

http://www.fastcardt...com/ZTE-Grand-S

ZTE grand S £183.33

1080p 5 inch IPS display

2GB RAM

Android 4.1.2

13 MP camera

Quad core 1.7 GHz

supper thin 6.9mm

video (i want a black version though)

Hi Tillaz

Have you used that site before where you are getting your dad's phone from? My wife needs a new phone and that looks pretty sweet for the price.

[Guest tillaz]

Hi Tillaz

Have you used that site before where you are getting your dad's phone from? My wife needs a new phone and that looks pretty sweet for the price.

yeah, i got a tablet from there, and have friends and family who also buy from merrimobiles

if you use the free shipping it normally takes 3 weeks, witch is kind of the standard from china

[Guest Hoggonator]

yeah, i got a tablet from there, and have friends and family who also buy from merrimobiles

if you use the free shipping it normally takes 3 weeks, witch is kind of the standard from china

Cheers, I assume you think it is a pretty good phone as your Dad is getting one. Any decent custom ROM's for it out there?

[Guest tillaz]

Cheers, I assume you think it is a pretty good phone as your Dad is getting one. Any decent custom ROM's for it out there?

yeah, its great for the price and made by a well known manufacture

4.5 inch IPS display

Snapdragon MSM8225 Dual-core 1.2GHz

HSPA+

Android 4.0

records 720p video

2000mAh battery

beats the G300 by quite a lot for the same price, not sure about custom roms but you can have them send it pre-rooted

you can see better pictures of it here https://www.google.c...iw=1366&bih=643

[Guest holtend]

lol @ OS "Real Jerrybeam 4.1"

on this phone http://www.fastcardtech.com/HDC-Galaxy-Note-2-Lord

[Guest dalyer]

lol @ OS "Real Jerrybeam 4.1"

on this phone http://www.fastcardt...axy-Note-2-Lord

:D

http://www.engrish.com/

Mind you - ask me to translate English to Chinese and the results would probably be ten times worse! :blush:

[Guest grabster]

I am looking to get a galaxy note 2 type clone from probably fastcardtech but there are so many to choose from.

Has anyone one on here bought one yet ?

Any opinions ?

Its gonna be one of those or a jiayu g3.

[Guest tillaz]

I am looking to get a galaxy note 2 type clone from probably fastcardtech but there are so many to choose from.

Has anyone one on here bought one yet ?

Any opinions ?

Its gonna be one of those or a jiayu g3.

not sure about fastcardtech as i stopped looking on there site because they are blatantly lying about the price of a good few devices

(mainly all of these >> http://www.fastcardt...gory.php?id=282 some under-priced up to £150)

i was looking at them the other day and found these to be the best

best around the £100 mark http://www.merimobil..._p/meri5767.htm

512mb RAM

5.3 IPS display 540 x 960

android 4.0

1Ghz dual core

dual sim

gorilla glass

then this at £140 http://www.merimobil..._p/meri6977.htm

1GB RAM

5.3 IPS display 540 x 960

android 4.0

1Ghz dual core

dual sim

gorilla glass

then this at £195 http://www.merimobil..._p/meri7289.htm

1GB RAM

5.7 IPS 720p display

android 4.1 jelly bean

1Ghz dual core

dual sim

gorilla glass

[Guest grabster]

Thanks for the links tillaz.

This is the one that i will probably go for,its for the wife as her ancient galaxy s finally went belly up and she is using my old san fran.

http://www.merimobiles.com/oem-zopo-zp900s-h9300-android4-0-dual-core-1-0ghz-dual-sim-mt6577-5-3-ips-screen-3g-smartphone_p/meri5767.htm

I read elsewhere that if i choose the dhl delivery option then they ask for customs charges,whereas the free delivery option wont.

Anyone able to verify that or is it the luck of the draw ?

[Guest petebetros]

I've been thinking of buying a Chinese Android phone for use here in the UK but are there any network issues I need to be wary of? A chinese phone will work fine on the 3G networks here in England?

[Guest yaqh]

I've been thinking of buying a Chinese Android phone for use here in the UK but are there any network issues I need to be wary of? A chinese phone will work fine on the 3G networks here in England?

Im also looking for a replacement over g300 and wondering what is a decent one to get without encountering any problems, Jiuyu g3 seems good?

[Guest tillaz]

I've been thinking of buying a Chinese Android phone for use here in the UK but are there any network issues I need to be wary of? A chinese phone will work fine on the 3G networks here in England?

just make sure the phone you choose is WCDMA

avoid TD-SCDMA

Im also looking for a replacement over g300 and wondering what is a decent one to get without encountering any problems, Jiuyu g3 seems good?

depends on how much you have to spend really

[Guest yaqh]

just make sure the phone you choose is WCDMA

avoid TD-SCDMA

dont want to spend more than £120(max £150) want somthing reliable as g300 but with much better battery and performance.

depends on how much you have to spend really

[Guest Coffer52]

Thanks for the links tillaz.

This is the one that i will probably go for,its for the wife as her ancient galaxy s finally went belly up and she is using my old san fran.

http://www.merimobiles.com/oem-zopo-zp900s-h9300-android4-0-dual-core-1-0ghz-dual-sim-mt6577-5-3-ips-screen-3g-smartphone_p/meri5767.htm

I read elsewhere that if i choose the dhl delivery option then they ask for customs charges,whereas the free delivery option wont.

Anyone able to verify that or is it the luck of the draw ?

I used DHL for my Jayu g3 and wasn't charged any duty. By the way for anyone worrying about leadtimes, ordered Friday morning from China delivered Monday to London, 3 days including a weekend!

[Guest yaqh]

@tilaz what would you advise thats good all round phone like g300 but a lot better performace and battery but within that price range.

[Guest tillaz]

@tilaz what would you advise thats good all round phone like g300 but a lot better performace and battery but within that price range.

for £118.34 i would recommend this in black

720p IPS display

1GB RAM

DUAL CORE

THIN DESIGN

RECORDS 1080P VIDEO

BLUETOOTH 4.0

1750 mAh BATTERY

8 .MP CAMERA

2.MP FRONT CAMERA

DUAL SIM

GORILLA GLASS

ANDROID 4.0 (4.1 update now available)

link http://www.merimobil..._p/meri5736.htm