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What phone to go for?

edit: for the most up-to-date indecisive rambling, just jump to the most recent post, though feel free to peruse the whole thread.
I understand this is a very difficult question to answer, especially given that no two people's needs are ever quite the same but I'm just looking for some ideas/a sounding board.
I currently have a Touch HD which I have been quite happy with, I really quite like TouchFlo, but it's starting to show it's age and I'm due an upgrade in about a fortnight anyway.
At the moment, given what's available on the market, Android is the only choice IMO.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against WinMo/WinPho but I'm not buying a phone that won't be properly upgradeable and therefore, arguably, rendered obsolete in a couple of months and I'm definitely not waiting two months plus for a new phone on the off-chance I like what I see.
As for the rest, Symbian's a joke; Blackberrys aren't my thing; Palm is not an option; and the iPhone, well unless they announce something pretty damned special on Monday, my dislike of iTunes alone is enough to put me off - before we even get onto the flaws with the handset(s)...
In terms of what I want, that's where it all gets a bit difficult.
I can't work out if I want to go for an all-out powerful handset à la the Desire or the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S or if I want something a bit less fancy, the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini being a prime example - trading off absolute power for benefits in terms of size and cost.
My worry about a high-end handset is that I get one, then a month or two, or even a week or two, later, something else comes along that makes me regret my decision - not least the impending WinPho 7 release and all the potentially 'awesome' new handsets that will accompany that.
With the X10 Mini, I'm not too worried about something better arriving in the near-future, I think it's too niche a device to end up with much competition but, having read the review of it on GSMArena, it seems that my biggest concern is the handset's Achilles Heel - the low screen res. If it was even HVGA, I would probably just go for it but QVGA is pushing usability.
Anyway, yeah, I'm just looking to bounce ideas/suggestions around, so if anyone wants to chip in, please feel free.

Nexus one is my phone of choice at the moment. I've just made the jump to Android and this device is nothing short of awesome! The 2.2 upgrade will be rolled out soon which brings several improvements too. (It is available already but this early release isn't very polished yet. I'm waiting for the OTA release).
Unusually for me i'm keeping this device stock, so no custom ROM flashing etc. It's just such an improvement over the WM phones that i'm used to that i don't feel the need to change anything. I could harp on for hours about all the features that makes this such a good device but you should have a look around instead and make your own informed decision. There are lots of good forums devoted to this device but i'd start with the dedicated xda, nexus one section.

Thanks.
If I were going for a high-end Android device, then it would be the Desire and not the Nexus One - partly because I like the Sense UI and partly because I wouldn't entertain the idea of switching to Vodafone, their tariffs aren't competitive and their coverage is poor where I stay.
I have played extensively with the Desire and it is a lovely phone but, as I said previously, I'm concerned that if I upgraded to it, I'd only want to change again when say the Galaxy S comes out or in a couple of months when WinPho 7 arrives.
Obviously, there's a chance that would be the same if I went for the X10 Mini but I would be able to get it on such a cheap deal instead, that the idea of then choosing to shell out for a new device a few months down the line isn't so bad.
I'm also starting to question whether I need all the features that the Desire/Nexus One offers as opposed to merely wanting them.
I bought myself a laptop back in January and, since then, I'm using the web a lot less on my phone, so do I really need something with a huge, high-res screen?
Thanks for the input, it's greatly appreciated (as is anyone else's opinions/ideas), I fear I've a bit of thinking ahead of me yet though...

At the moment, there are a few phones that I'm considering and I'm trying to weigh them all up, so I'd appreciate any input, suggestions or ideas anyone can offer up.
First up, the HTC Desire
Pros:
HTC Sense
Decent CPU and RAM
AMOLED screen
HTC handset - excellent build quality and 2 year warranty
Cons:
No HD video
Screen is only AMOLED, not sAMOLED
It's already sold a lot and, as sad as it is, I don't really like the idea of having the same phone as everyone else
Samsung Galaxy S
Pros:
superAMOLED screen
HD video
CPU that's potentially even more powerful than the Snapdragon in the Desire
Samsung handset - 2 year warranty
Cons:
No HTC Sense
Even worse, it uses Samsung's childish UI
No camera flash - seriously, wtf?
Not yet released
Motorola XT720
Pros:
8MP, HD video, Xenon flash - the best camera on an Android handset just now
480x854 screen resolution - more pixels are never a bad thing
[edit] HDMI out - a real boon for an HD-recording handset [/edit]
Cons:
LCD screen - not even AMOLED, let alone sAMOLED
480x854 screen resolution - non-standard resolution may cause some app compatibility issues
No LED flash for video use - a minor point but the ideal camera phone would have LED and Xenon
Question marks over CPU compared to the Desire or Galaxy S (720MHz OMAP A8 Cortex as opposed to 1GHz Snapdragon/Hummingbird on other handsets)
No HTC Sense
Motorola handset - 1 year warranty, not sure of build quality
Not available until the start of next month
Sony Ericsson X10 Mini
Pros:
Tiny size
Well thought-out UI
Cheap
Sony Ericsson handset - 2 year warranty
TINY!
Cons:
Small screen size and resolution - will have a negative effect on web browsing experience and app compatibility
Only running 1.6 'Donut' with very vague upgrade roadmap
Sony Ericsson handset - questionable build quality, possible (probable?) software issues
LCD screen - not AMOLED or sAMOLED
No HD video
I know it may not seem like it, given the large number of points in the 'Cons' category for it but I'm actually drawn the most to the Motorola handset.
The problem is, having only just been released there's a number of questions I have which I can't as of yet get answers for - for example, the build quality may not be an issue but I won't know that until I can have a play with one, the CPU may not be a downside, etc etc.
Anyway, yeah, any/all input is always welcome.

ideas
i guess your best choice can be galaxy s
but if you give up on browsing(use your laptop instead) then x10mini will be the best...feature wise and price
wish you luck

I do currently use my laptop a lot for web browsing but I'm not prepared to carry it around with me every day on the off-chance I want to go online.
If the X10 Mini had even an HVGA screen instead of QVGA, then it would probably be high enough to just to alleviate my concerns - at least in terms of app compatibility, though obviously for the likes of web browsing it would never match a WVGA (or higher) handset like the others I'm considering.
As for the Galaxy S, the power, screen and HD video do appeal but leaving out a camera flash just seems so unnecessary, almost like they're doing it deliberately.
But, between that and the Samsung UI, it's just enough to sour my feelings towards it.
As I say, against my better judgement, I can't help but like the Motorola handset.
At least, unlike the Desire, by sticking with an LCD screen it should mean it's ok to use in sunlight - obviously AMOLED has it's advantages but unless you make the jump all the way up to sAMOLED then there's still a cloud attached to that silver lining.
And regarding the CPU, while there are question marks over it, I've also heard it suggested that the TI OMAP 3430 CPUs are actually more powerful than the faster-clocked Snapdragon CPUs like the Desire uses, so it could actually be a better handset than the Desire in that respect.
Also, I should probably point out that my plan when I upgrade is to negotiate as low a tariff as I can out of T-Mobile, then if I see a phone I really like partway through the contract term, I'll just buy it.
So, the shorter warranty on the Motorola may not be an issue.
Thanks for your input, even if it doesn't seem like it, it's definitely appreciated.

Ok, so here we are a full 5 months since the last post and I'm still stuck in the same situation - want, almost need, a new phone but don't know what to go for.
Since last time, obviously things have come on a long way.
Symbian has reached the next level, meaning it's only a bit behind everyone else as opposed to significantly behind; Apple announced the iPhone4 which is a nice piece of hardware but the OS and price are too big of a stmubling block; Blackberry have moved on to OS6 but really there's nothing new about it; WinPho7 was released and looks OK but the hardware is just slightly underwhelming.
As for Maemo/Meego, Bada and WebOS, they're not even worth considering IMO.
So that leaves us with the only thing I am sure about, that my next phone will be an Android handset but beyond that I've still not been able to reach a decision.
Looking back at what I was considering before, none of them are still in the running - the Motorola XT720 turned out to be a dud, the X10 Mini was plagued with problems and the Galaxy S and Desire have both been out-done by the Desire HD.
Obviously the daddy just now is the Desire HD.
The best hardware around, the best UI around, there should be no reason to even consider anything else. And yet, I'm just not taken with it, I know I should love it, I know there should be no competition but it's not exciting me.
On the other hand, against all the odds and especially since the XT720 was so poor, I find myself quite taken with the Motorola Defy.
I know that the specs aren't so great but the idea of a ruggedised handset is pretty neat and the size is just a bit more pocketable than the Desire HD's, though that's not my biggest concern.
Going in the other direction, I'm also quite taken by the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Given how I use my phone making/receiving very few calls, mostly texting and using the internet) a larger device like the Tab is in many ways better-suited to my needs. However, it's biggest advantage is also it's biggest downfall - the larger screen makes the Tab a far less practical device than the likes of the Desire HD or the Defy (I know I said with regards to the Defy that the size difference wasn't my biggest concern but the Tab is a whole order of magnitude larger), to the point that if I decided to use the Tab as a phone, I'd need to get myself a second handset to use on occasions when the Tab's size made it impossible to take with me.
Once again, any/all help will be greatly appreciated.

Xoom vs Gtab - experience

Hi All,
I was like all other people and was so excited about the honeycomb and Xoom, So, I spent 30 mins on a local bestbuy and played around it.. here are my initial feedback.
First, the Xoom is very nice, very nice. It is definitely my favorite device out of 3 of them (gtab, xoom and ipad).
Screen: The screen looked very sharp and the viewing angles were very good. I tilted it with all kind of viewing angles and I could still see my screen (actually a youtube video). but, I found that the Ipad has a brighter screen.
Sound: The sound was much better than the Gtab. The volume was very loud and I just turned it on for 1/4. I played a few songs and the sound were just wonderful.. no complaint..
Touch: The touch was very sensitive and I was able to touch 3-4 fingers at the same time on a map. Gtab was limited to 2 touches. I found that the touch is more easy on the xoom than Ipad. My fingers was stick a little bit on ipad but not xoom. very nice.
Weight: Same weight as ipad and gtab (~1.5) but it definitely feels much lighter. The sides (left and right) are thinner, top and bottom are thicker. So, it creates an illusion that it is very thin looking from the side. Holding it is ok.
Build: Very good build quality but I felt that if I drop it, and it is done..
App: Honeycomb was nice and it took me less than 2 mins to get used to it (if you already have a gtab). But, most of the apps worked basically the same as running on gtab except youtube, gmail, music and etc. Developers need to start building apps for honeycomb to take advantage of the new OS. Otherwise, I found that I can do pretty much the same on my gtab..
Camera: the 5M rear camera was nice but the quality was ok.
Other: GPS, Accelemeter, etc.. worked great..
Negative:
- I didn't like that they put the headphone jack at the top and the power jack at the bottom.
- No accessories at all in store.
- the black color just didn't look expensive. they should have released a white or silver one..
Overall, it is very nice device but $800 is too much for me.. If Moto releases a $600 WIFI version, I would definitely get it. To be honest, I think that the extra $200 to get a Xoom is worthy. It is one of the devices I believe would make my brainwashed Apple Ipad co-workers soooooo jealous for a few weeks (until they get the ipad2..)
I guess that viewsonic needs to either upgrade the gtab to a better specs or lower the price to compete.

A few interesting (to me, anyway) tidbits about the Xoom:
1. Apparently no USB host function (jury still out)
2. Honeycomb appears to have dynamic management of app and media space. This is the reason the microsd does not work. Motorola has asked for a patch so microsd will work. Seems Honeycomb is intended to be a closed system for apps, just like iOS, but less restrictive (of course).
If you look in Xoom's settings, there is no "free space" for device storage allocation, but there is an item view of total app and media space used and a total free for the whole storage. No allocations.

Great info. thank you. Based on the above, nothing here puts me over the edge to upgrade above my baby (gtab). At the moment my plan is to upgrade the screen if one is released per other forum news and if a good tutorial comes with it for the install.

sniperscope said:
Great info. thank you. Based on the above, nothing here puts me over the edge to upgrade above my baby (gtab). At the moment my plan is to upgrade the screen if one is released per other forum news and if a good tutorial comes with it for the install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently due to the new app and storage management, quite a few apps either do not install, work or they crash after short use. Honeycomb may be an OS best adapted once apps catch up to it.

rushless said:
Apparently no USB host function (jury still out).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I was wondering about that too. I gotta have USB Host on my tablet!

sniperscope said:
.... At the moment my plan is to upgrade the screen if one is released per other forum news and if a good tutorial comes with it for the install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
me too +1

sniperscope said:
Great info. thank you. Based on the above, nothing here puts me over the edge to upgrade above my baby (gtab). At the moment my plan is to upgrade the screen if one is released per other forum news and if a good tutorial comes with it for the install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will take that plunge if the option ever becomes a serious reality. Although it took me a second to get used to the viewing angle I do like the privacy aspect of the current screen. I feel totally comfortable doing my online banking and purchases in public.
Over all I'm sticking with my gtab. Stable, fast, flash and hulu working. I don't feel the need to upgrade for a long time. I don't even care about 3.0 at this point.

Mantara said:
I will take that plunge if the option ever becomes a serious reality. Although it took me a second to get used to the viewing angle I do like the privacy aspect of the current screen. I feel totally comfortable doing my online banking and purchases in public.
Over all I'm sticking with my gtab. Stable, fast, flash and hulu working. I don't feel the need to upgrade for a long time. I don't even care about 3.0 at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here, screen could be better but is not garbage either so for the price I am quite happy with my new gtablet, I own a nexus one and the higher quality screen seem to pay off more on a smaller device than a full screen tablet.
I am quite confident that better rom will appear sooner than later and my current tnt with ADW is rock stable
Most app that doesn't install have issue with the CPU not the storage configuration IMHO.
I think google is making a mistake with the way they limit software based on device, I am trying to load firefox and it doesn't allow me because I used the market fix
I hope they realize they will force people to side-load apps from all kind of source often unreliable...
Also the market doesn't handle 2 device linked to the same account well it seem...
So more issue with Google than with my Gtab

Chinapad Momo8 My Impressions

I recently was given a chance to try out the Momo8 tablet. I'd like to post my impressions in case anyone has been looking at this tablet as a possible future purchase.
Here are the stats of this pad according to the site I purchased it from:
Model MOMO8 Tablet PC
CPU Rockchip 2918 Cortex-A8 Dual Core, 1GHz
Operation System Android 2.3
RAM 512MB
Nand Flash 8GB
Shell Material Plastic
Screen Size 8 Inch (4:3)
Type Capacitive Screen
Resolution 1024 x 768
Visible Angle 150°
All of this information seems to be accurate except for the fact I get some different Nand memory measurements. (Around the 4-5 gb range). Still it is a good amount of memory and I always use an SD card anyway. Let me begin my review:
First thing I'll say is that this is one of the best feeling tablets I've ever encountered. It has the solid feel of a more expensive tablet. Nothing loose or out of place. Nice square edges. Just an all around great feel. There are times the screen requires a second press to get action. Haven't quite figured that out yet. this A8 processor is blazing fast compared to the other tablets I've worked with. Plus it apparently has some kind of graphics accelerator installed.
I've had a Gpad G10 and a Eken m009 and this Momo's viewing angle is amazing compared to those. I can even see the screen from almost direct edge on viewing. Wireless is a bit spotty however. Sometimes it will lose the connection while not even leaving the same room. Battery life is pretty incredible though. I managed to use it on and off with only putting it into standby for the whole day the other day and still had nearly 60% battery when I got home. (And I left the wireless on by accident, so that's even more amazing to me). The only other problem I've found with my Momo is that the speaker is screwed up. For the brief moment it works it has clear, crisp, loud sound. But, usually it's completely dead. Headphones however are pretty amazing, clear, loud (so loud I've adjusted the sound well below the middle level.) Other things I've noticed are the cameras. The rear camera is amazing. Sure it's not a high quality 10mp it's only supposed to be a 3mp if I remember correctly. What really surprises me is that the front facing camera is supposed to be .3mp and yet I'm getting great, bright, good quality face shots. The only other issue I have discovered is that when you have it in landscape mode with the buttons on top, the lower right corner of the screen has some sensitivity issues when using an onscreen keyboard. Using a recalibration app fixes it for a while, but it goes back within a very short time. Ie: when pressing n and m I get spacebar. When I press m and backspace it registers as enter.
The capacitive screen is outstanding for tapping browser links. Very good reaction. Once in a while it's a tiny bit out of calibration though. The only screen calibration tool I've found so far that works is one that has you tap a calibrate button and then it calibrates itself. I'm not crazy about it and would like one that has you touch multiple spots on the screen and then calibrates on them.
As for the aforementioned weight, it isn't a light pad, but that's actually my preference. I like the fact it has a little extra durability to it. Somewhat thick, and kind of blocky if you get what I'm saying. I like the all around feel. It's just light enough that I can read for hours without really any additional strain.
All in all this is a durable, fast, really well designed pad with a few minor issues. Compared to the higher end pads I've used I think I'd rather save a couple hundred and get something that just works for what I want instead of getting some name brand that I'm paying for the name.
Additionally I managed to fix the keyboard problem. Downloaded Thumb Keyboard from Amazon Appstore fixed it right up and in fact is the fastest on screen keyboard ever.

it might have been worth it, if they included 1Gb RAM and at the very minimum included 16Gb internal storage
Sent from my Nexus S using xda premium

So far the memory hasn't been an issue. I would prefer that the nand memory was actually as much as it says it is. But, I have an sd card so it doesn't particularly cause me much of a problem.
1GB of memory would be nice, but I haven't had any issues where I've run out of memory yet, and I tend to run two or three things at once.

Do these work ok ?

rotrhead said:
Do these work ok ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like mine. The only issues I've had so far are the ones that I detailed in the review. 95% of all the games I've tried so far have worked, books are nice (plus I finally got things working on the brightness adjustment for fbreader), and it plays music and video beautifully. I haven't tried hooking it to my television or anything, but that's not really an option I needed.

Bought one yesterday - coming soon, I hope!
I bought one yesterday from McBub.com for $145.99 plus the protective cover, making the total just over $150.
Great reviews on Slickdeals.net from one of the users, and after rooting a Nook Color last year and having fun with it (after checking out lots of the forums on here to root it), I figured I'd try this Momo8 out. I haven't used Ice Cream Sandwich, and it ought to be nice with a tablet this size.
Does anybody have any idea if there is a USB Ethernet adapter for it? I'm curious about whether I could find an adapter to have a little more secure Internet usage when I'm traveling. Otherwise it looks like a fun tablet to work with!

Not sure if there is an USB ethernet adapter, but the built in ethernet plug seems to work great. Might be a little confused about your question.
If you find out a good, quick, easy rooting method, or a way to upgrade the OS without losing features, please let me know.

Looks like mine has no built-in Ethernet - only wireless
As a newbie I can't post outside links yet... but McBub.com is where I bought the Momo8. Its description is Ployer MOMO8 Business Edition Tablet PC - 8 inch 8GB Android 4.0 1.5GHz Capacitive 2160P HD 3D Movie (CN109156), and there's no Ethernet plug on it that I can tell - only wireless access.

Whoops my bad, I just checked and you're right. I confused it with my 9.7 that I've been working on this week. Lol, should always double check. Yeah, not sure if a USB ethernet adapter would work or not. I'd recommend getting an adapter from ebay or a chinese site, so you don't invest too much into it. Then if it works you could get something better.

For sure - I've emailed a few sites to see if they have any info on it, and I may try to email Ployer themselves to see if they can recommend anything. Thanks!

if only included 3g support and gps....i think it will be nicer compare to branded tablets

Hello, I just bought one of these and it came with android 4.0.1.
I was wondering if it would be easy to flash to 4.0.3, or would I have any problems since it is a chinapad and maybe the version of android is customized to work with this tablet? I say that because some of the functionality in 4.0 does not seem to be on this tablet (like brightness, there's no auto brightness, no face unlock, a couple of other things).
I'm worried that if I flash this, it will mess up whatever settings they had with it. Thanks for the help!!

It looks decent. I would have gotten one too, but I bought a Kindle already.

Intel Atom Smartphone Lenovo K800 opinions

Hi! Lenovo just released its Intel Atom Android smartphone called the Lenovo K800. It is the second smartphone powered by Intel to hit the market. It has a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM, and 4.5 inch HD screen. Look at its full specs here: www.chinaphonereview.com/lenovo-k800-lephone-k800
I wonder how Intel could stand up against the more established smartphone processors. Please share your thoughts on this phone.

toffzter said:
Hi! Lenovo just released its Intel Atom Android smartphone called the Lenovo K800. It is the second smartphone powered by Intel to hit the market. It has a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom CPU, 1 GB RAM, 16 GB ROM, and 4.5 inch HD screen. Look at its full specs here: www.chinaphonereview.com/lenovo-k800-lephone-k800
I wonder how Intel could stand up against the more established smartphone processors. Please share your thoughts on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think very soon they will be on pair with samsung,when it comes about smartphone processors.

Intel chips are excellent for desktops and laptops. But I still cannot say if I want a phone with the logo "Intel Inside". Although Intel is a giant in the CPU business, it is still a newbie in the smartphone department. Let's see if Intel Atom exceeds expectations with Lenovo K800.

I wonder if someone could get Windows 7 or x86 Ubuntu running on it. It has an x86 processor, 1GB of RAM, 1280x720 display.

X86 does very well in android. Also there are many socs that actually use more power than even the previous generation pine trail atoms. The a5x comes to mind. The new medfield chips reduce the power significantly.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Got it!
Hi There,
Got the Phone in China (I live there). First surprise, the phone comes without a micro SD card slot. Apart from that the phone delivers what was shown a few months back.
Package (nice) gives you the phone, battery, headset, usb wall plug and usb cable (µUSB).
Surprises come from the software: there is
no google play
no gmail (
no gmaps ((
which is kind of hard to take for an android phone...
Gmaps = > download the APK, it works (AGPS seems not operational though as the fix is super slow to come)
I downloaded the APK, google play starts but asks for an account, then closes, whatever your answer is to the question whether you want to add an account or not.
Adding account: It seems you can only add an exchange account, not a google account, which is probably the source of the problems I am facing (which I believe is a general problem on Android phones bought in China)
Gmail does not work
Google earth crashed
Skype works
So if anyone has a hint, how to add this real google account, then enable the rest (Google play, Gmail), this would really be helpfull to turn the device to a real Android device.
Let me know if you guys have questions on the device, I'll try to visit this thread on a regular basis.

root required...
Hi,
so the google play stuff is quite typical to the Android China phones which do not have this google account connection.
Here is what I found on another xda thread:
You need to have googleservicesframework and googlefeedback installed on your phone as well for it to manage account. Download any gapp packages, for instances cyanogenmod ones and adb push it to system/app. With both the market and the googleservicesframework in the system, it will be able to manage the account and work as it should. Hope that helps.
adb remount
adb push c:\market\GoogleFeedback.apk /system/app/GoogleFeedback.apk
adb push c:\market\GoogleServicesFramework.apk /system/app/GoogleServicesFramework.apk
adb push c:\market\Vending.apk /system/app/Vending.apk
adb reboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So now the big deal is to get the device rooted

Hi,
Got some more time to play with the device.
Gmaps works well, but GPS seems not able to get a locate from the cell, so maps only gives you its position once the gps gets a fix, which is quite longer..
Gmail can be installed, by getting the GoogleServicesFramework.apk installed (you can get it from a CM7 Gapps package).
Then it works well, the only drawback being the contacts imports from your Google account seems not possible.
Google play is still a no go, same for Google earth. I could get Google Translate to work as well, very usefull when you live abroad!
Forgot to add: Z4Root does not work for me.

root continued
well, tried super one click, also Doomlord Zergrush, both also not working

Have you tried asking the seller for support? Maybe they have rooting services. Most Chinese shops have the capability to root the phones they sell. They usually have roms for their phones.

thanks
He he I bought the phone online from Lenovo (launch offer).
But it a good suggestion, so I'll visit the phone market this week end, thanks!

So how's your phone now? Have you got the bugs fixed?

It's amazing that an Android phone should ship without any gapps - considering the missing link with your Google account means you can't autosync your contacts (assuming you're coming from another Android device).
Is there any progress in getting the device rooted? Like someone else said, it'd just be a case of getting a working recovery & flashing the CM gapps package.

now working...
Hi,
superoneclick ended up rooting the phone.
Gapps working now
About the absence of Gapps, this is just the way it is in China.
Even the default search is not Google, which is shocking on an android phone
And people want it this way, my chinese colleagues do not want google play/ gapps !

Some more
a parallel thread on this
http://www.modaco.com/topic/355005-the-san-diego-hacking-topic-root-progress-etc/

Congrats! So how's your phone's performance now? Can you post a little review of your phone?

ManuLM said:
Hi,
superoneclick ended up rooting the phone.
Gapps working now
About the absence of Gapps, this is just the way it is in China.
Even the default search is not Google, which is shocking on an android phone
And people want it this way, my chinese colleagues do not want google play/ gapps !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happy days : )

Impressions after a few weeks of usage
here are some impressions on the device, after a few weeks of usage on a daily basis.
My reference is another Android Phone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 which I own for a year now. I can't pretend to make a detailed review ala Endgadget, so I'll rather cover some topics to highlight. Feel free to ask for any specific questions.
Screen:
First point, the screen on the K800 is a 4.5inches display, and this is a notable difference from the GS2. More space, but also much more points. This is my first HD(720p) display, and I must say I love it...
Surfing is easier and nicer, and watching a 720 DivX on the device is actually fairly impressive. Note the rescaling works well, and a usual DivX would do just as good, without the extra points.
The display delivers a more realistic color than the GS2 amoled, less vivid, also I feel less bright.
Hardware
general size and shape are not K800 top spots. The design is very squarish, the phone is also rather thick (~11mm is nowadays a thick phone). It is also heavier.
Overall assembly quality is very good, but squarish. It is also heavier than the GS2, note there are reasons for it: bigger display, bigger battery also (1900mA).
Assembly quality is very good and the phone feels solid, and sits nicely next to my Lenovo laptop without looking ridiculous.
One topic of regret is the absence of a SD card slot, forcing you to rely on the 16GB internal storage.
Usage
SW: it is shipped with Android 2.3.7 as said earlier, and if this can be seen as an issue by many of us SW enthusiast, it is also an advantage on the power side. Together with the large battery, the phone offers quite an extended usage. With a "light" day (3G / GPS always on, few calls/mails/SMS, light surf, few minutes of playing) I only draw ~25% of the battery. I love this !!
On a heavier day I managed to draw almost 50% (when I just got it), playing around, downloading apps, trying various stuff and customizing UI besides a normal usage. The average is around 30-40% per day depending on my usage. This overall is a very nice aspect of the phone.
After having my GS2 flashed to ICS LPG, I faced a major increase of the battery, having to recharge the phone during the same day when my usage was a bit heavy, which is really annoying (and made me buy a juice pack...). GS2 drains its battery faster.
Speed:
The UI sometimes has some quick slow downs, not killing but visible (scrolling accross desktops), which are hard to explain, but overall the experience remains very smooth. I also faced some issues of reactivity on the android soft buttons, be it back, home, or context menu. While it is not killing for the usage, it is a point to improve and it makes the user experience not up to the level of the galaxy S2, because you have to press the button sometimes 2-3 times before it reacts. Also the haptic feedback (very short vibra run when you type) is much sharper on my Samsung device, so there is some more maturity needed on Lenovo side here (I guess they have to learn here).
The surfing is really fast on the K800, be it on 3G or on Wifi where it really goes fast. Getting pages is notably faster than on the Galaxy S2.
USB interface is also quite enjoyable, I reached 17MB/s on a file transfer, which makes the transfer of big files (read 720p content) quite fast and convenient. I faced no recognition issues at all on my various computers.
You really feel like the hardware interfaces on the device are not skimmed down anyhow, and that feels good. I could not try the WiDi as I have no WiDi receiver.
Compatibility:
I faced only minor issues on the device, like G earth does not run, so do some apps, like Asphalt 5 or 6, but I could not spot too many issues here. I also could not get temple run running on the device.
That's all that comes to my mind right now, so I'll be just posting further impressions on the go.
This device is now my primarily device, and in the evening I do not worry that I'll run out of juice.

Wow! Thanks for the review! So, is it safe to say that it is the best smartphone you've tried? How about the camera of the K800 and its call quality?

well there are some maturity issues like reactivity (will it be improved by SW? It should be doable for reactivity) and form factor Design (soap box) as reported above, which make the experience not complete, but for a first Android flagship device by Lenovo, result is overall really impressive and competitive on several aspects (speed, power, display...).
Call quality is good I have nothing to complain about here (including speakerphone), camera I have not been testing extensively so I can't really tell you so far, how good it is.

My REVIEW of the LC-Power SINA-1 Tablet [edited]

Hello there,
in september 2012 I bought my first tablet, a LC-Power MIRA-1. Shortly after, on the 19th I posted a [Q] post here because I had a few questions. In the following weeks, some replies back and forth, more quirks came to light.
In short, I was semi-happy with the MIRA-1 (everything was fine save a few situations where the single-core tablet speed could not really keep up, for example, starting firefox and the keyboard, it always froze 2-3 secs "firefox is not responding. close/wait?")
Still, I do believe, I learned some valuable lessons about android and others with the MIRA-1 or thinking about getting one were helped too.
Fade in today.
I recently bought the new LC-Power SINA-1. It cost me 200EUR (Germany). In comparison, the MIRA-2 (which is like the MIRA-1 with an extra camera and a smaller rechargeable battery) still costs 160 EUR
I found the new SINA-1 to be a very interesting product, especially considering the price.
I came here to write my own review. I am in no way affiliated with LC-Power and I do not get a dime for writing this.
My motive for writing this and yes, maybe even advertise, is very simple. First of all, xda-developer has helped me before and I'd like to give back. More importantly however, I believe in tablets that do not cost an arm and an leg as well as the android (modding) community. I would very much love to see the LC-Power tablets get the attention they deserve...
Thank you for keeping with me so far. Let us begin!
Technical specs for the new SINA-1 tablet:
CPU: ARM Cortex A9 Dual Core 1,5GHz
GPU: Mali 400 QuadCore 250MHz
RAM: 1GB DDR3
Memory: System 1GB + 16GB NAND Flash (+ MicroSD up to 32GB)
Display: 10.1" IPS 5 Point Touchscreen, 1280x800
Networking: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Cameras: 0.3MP front, 2MP back
Connectors: micro-HDMI out, micro-USB host, micro-USB connector, 3.5mm headphones jack
OS: Android 4.1
Want to know more? google it
As I mentioned before, the tablet costs 200 EUR (Onlineshop, Germany, Dec, 15th 2012)
Material and built quality:
The first impression is very good. The tablet feels solid, has a certain weight to it, but is not too heavy.
The front appears to be glas and if it is not, it must be a very hard plastic. The back is made out of aluminium. I have no doubt that both can be scratched, please forgive me for not doing the experimentation on that. However, in a few days of extensive (time) yet normal (application) use, I have yet to see any marks besides fingerprints.
Where the front and back meet I can not feel any sharp edge (MIRA-1 I could).
It is very thin (quite a bit thinner than the MIRA tablet and a bit higher as well)
Overall, I would give the material and quality very good marks. I dont doubt that it could be better in some regard, even if I can't name one right now.
Display (visual):
The 1280x800 resolution suits the tablet well. It is definately a neccesary step up from 1024x768 (MIRA). Even if I did not exactly see pixalation with the old ones, the picture is indeed better with the higher resolution. Webpages like reddit look sharp, the text in 100% zoom is not too small. Pictures look vivid and good. Videos are even better (given the source material is of sufficient resolution itself).
The viewing angles are what you would expect from an IPS panel. Frontal (no angle) is best, the more you move to the side and increase the angle, the more you lose contrast and brightness. I have seen worse and have yet to observe the "picture went negative", but viewing some content with 2-3 people should not be a problem when you dont mind sticking your heads together
The brightness (350cd/m²) is good, in fact, in a dark room you may want to lower it a bit. Even on the lowest setting it is not too dark.
The contrast is equally good, or should I say "normal". It did not attract attention, neither positive nor negative...
First tests with a bright (300W) lightsource led me to believe that the glossy display does not become a shaving mirror when you have a bright light behind you, but it is definately harder to see the picture. Especially noticeable with movies.
Due to it being winter without sun, I can not test the tablet with summer-sun-brightness outside. I fear the results will not be too good. You may want to keep that in mind if you live in africa and will be using the tablet in the sun - might be trouble. (Then again, I don't know any tablet that has a matte display)
The illumination (is that the right word?) - the background light source illuminating the display with the same brightness consistenly - is adequate. There are a few bright spots (tested with a black fullscreen per 1.0 eyeball), especially on the lower left corner/border).
It is not noticeable when looking at brightly coloured images, but it will be a nuisance when watching a movie which is very dark.
I felt that here, my old MIRA-1 did do better. There, I never noticed bright spots like this before.
Display (touch):
The 5-point-capacitive display does very well in accepting touches, even light ones. 2-point touch (zoom) works equally great and the short test with fruit ninja confirmes that 5 points can be tracked. I did not experience any noticeable lag with 1,2 or 5 points in normal operation.
If you take a paint app and draw with your finger, a slight lag can be observed, however, as I understand current technology, this is common and just the way it is.
In conclusion, the display visually is adequate. Are there better displays out there? Yes, definately. Do you get them for 200 EUR? Definately not! Do you need a better display? Well, I can not answer that for you. In my opinion, the illumination is the only real and still overlookable drawback, everything else is fine. 8/10
The touchscreen part of the display is as it should be. I can not really imagine some way to improve it. 10/10
Together 9/10
Actual Performance:
The performance is quite good and right were it should be. There are faster tablets and phones out there and if we were talking about speed in my workstation or gaming rig, I would be right there with the "FASTER!!!!"-crowd. But since I don't plan on playing skyrim or bf3, rendering 3d images or encoding hd-videos on the tablet, I dont need huge speed reserves, I want a tablet that performs well with the usual tasks like webpage browsing, playing media files and so on.
As mentioned before, this is one of the main problems I had with the old MIRA tablet. 2-3sec freezes, applications (mainly the browser) that did not react and had to be waited for. With the SINA-1 they are gone. The OS works like a charm, switching applications goes instantly, browsing webpages is fun and the waiting in the browser now is for the reason it should be - networking speed! (browsing with firefox+adblock+hackers keyboard)
Since the old MIRA did perform well with movies and the games that I tested, it is no wonder that the SINA-1 does perform equally good. HD videos work well, jumping around in them works fast, even over HDMI with 1920x1080.
And I have yet to find a game that does not run perfectly on the SINA-1. I have tested the occasional gamer games like Angry Birds, some RPGs and even some 3D shooters.
It is hard to give points for the performance. On the one hand, I am fully satisfied (10/10), on the other hand are tablets and phones being sold with much much more power, at least on paper.
Button/Connector placement:
There are only two buttons, power and volume up/down. Both are placed on the right higher side, where I would have placed them myself. They feel high-quality (they dont dangle/wiggle) and have a distinct pressure point that needs some force. This helps you in knowing when you actually pressed the button and not press buttons by accident.
The connectors are on top (right side). One exception would be the headphone jack which is on the right side above the buttons.
The USB host (where you can plug in normal usb devices) is no longer a common USB port (like MIRA had), but a micro-USB. A short adapter cable came with the tablet.
The normal USB host (where you connect your tablet with the pc to access the memory/sdcard from the pc) is also micro-USB. A longer cable came with the tablet.
I would have liked the normal USB port to stay.
Also, these two distinct different USB ports look the same. Some attention must be payed to not confuse them.
HDMI is mini-HDMI. Adapter did NOT come with the tablet. (Which would have been nice!)
Power In is 5V at 2.5A. Adapter came with the tablet (duh!) - the cable is a bit short for my taste. About the same as with the MIRA before.
Note: the tablets rechargeable battery can no longer be loaded over USB
The connectors are close together, but not too close. you should be able to connect all 3/4 with power at the same time.
The microSD slot is on the right side, almost on the back.
Speaker: The speaker(s?) is on the backside. I feel like the device is not as loud as the MIRA tablets, but still works well for watching movies or listening to music in a normal room when you are alone.
Software:
Android 4.1 is working great.
Some might argue there are a few needless apps preinstalled. For example Google Maps and Navigation on a device which has no GPS and no mobile internet built in.
But there is no real crapware either.
Google Play:
Google Play is installed and working fine. The device gets shown as "Rockchip SINA-1"
I did run into some trouble with my old MIRA-1 and some apps. A few were apparently not compatible (although I did not understand why), others that were compatible did refuse to install (I can not and will not exclude a layer 8 problem here)
All those apps work now with the SINA-1. Install is fast and there is no trouble. The 16GB memory will suffice for a lot of apps.
Battery:
The rechargeable battery is a bit less powerfull than the one in the MIRA-1 and a bit more powerfull than the one in the MIRA-2.
Still, with the higher speed and I would assume, higher resolution, more power is needed. Hence with usage, the charging level does indeed go down. Quite a bit faster than with the MIRA-1. I will have to correct my earlier estimate from 5-6hrs down to 4-5hrs.
In fact, bring your loader if you are gonna go out all day and will be using the tablet much.
Support:
LC-Power is usually quick in answering normal support emails, but they will not exactly fall over each other trying to resolve any exotic issue that might come up. Maybe if you speak mandarin and mail them directly at tech and dev headquarters in probably china you might have some luck, but I doubt that the LC-Power people in Germany, USA or UK or ... had much to say about developing the device and customizing the android (except of course, maybe some translation)
Also, do not expect regular android updates or any long time support and new android versions. 2-3 months ago I was promised 4.1 for the MIRA-1, still hasn't been released.
Connectivety:
Wireless LAN b/g/n is working as intended. I feel however, that the signal strength is weaker than with the MIRA-1 tablet.
Bluetooth: What can I say. Its Bluetooth. Its there, it can be used, it works...
Mobile internet: Only per additional USB dongle (or tether your mobile phone...)
Ethernet: Apparently there are USB dongles for Ethernet LAN out there. Havent seen one yet, but I havent looked hard either.
Modding:
So far, there has yet to establish a big LC-Power community with modders, mods and custom roms. I really really hope it will happen some time. But dont hold your breath, you are on your own. Spread the word of the LC-Power devices, lets get a high enough market share an the chances of a active modding community will rise dramatically. Or do it yourself...
So...
if you dont care about mods and custom roms, the SINA-1 is ok for you.
If you want to play around, learn android, program aps, make mods, maybe even a custom rom, feel free to give the SINA-1 a try.
If you want to download the newest custom ROM, install it per 10 step manual and prag in school about your mad hacking and modding skills, look someplace else...
Rooting:
The device does not come pre-rooted. (MIRA did)
I welcome that change to some degree. I honestly believe in not giving the run-of-the-mill users the ability to break something beyond their own (or even some specialist) capability to repair it.
Then again, I also am not fond of the tricks one has to employ to actually root a device IF someone knows what he is doing and wants to use a device to its full potential.
That being said, it was relatively easy to root the SINA-1. Instructions at the end of my review
One last sentence about the stock ROM. It is not available for download (at least I could not find it). I know of no way to reflash it or recover a bricked device. You wont find extensive help, manuals and tipps to that end. Make sure to have an appropriate backup and/or tread carefully.
I myself will investigate, if you have any insight into that topic, feel free to contact me...
Summary/Conclusion
I really like this tablet. A lot. I found it superior to the MIRA-1 in almost all aspects (especially speed, compatability, screen resolution and build quality). It has however its week points (battery run time, uneven lightning of the display).
Since it is a 10" tablet without mobile internet, it obviously was made for home usage. Browsing webpages from the couch, watching a movie while your in a room without a TV, or listening to music without bringing your stereo, add a game now and then when you are bored. This is where this tablet shines. I could imagine it being used in a work environment / office as well. And when the batterie gets low, you hook it up.
The occasional traveler should be happy as well. Get a dongle or tether it to your phone and you can surf the web in the bus/train. Hook up your headphones and watch a movie (just hope the sun doesnt shine too much). Also, dont expect the tablet to last a flight around the world without loading up...
All in all, a very decent device with a very attractive price.
So should you get it? Well, it depends...
If you have a MIRA-1 or 2 and you are really happy with them, you dont care about waiting 1-2sec for some apps. Then dont get the SINA-1
If you have ANY other single core tablet that is not up to its tasks, makes you wait for apps, annoys you in some way, yes, give the SINA-1 a try - and sell the old one for some cash...
If you are thinking about getting the MIRA-1 or 2 (or another similar single-core device), try really hard to look for the other 40 EUR and get the SINA-1. Or get the MIRA used for like half its retail (~80 EUR), but be warned about the possibility of the tablet being to slow now and then
If you have another dual-core (or more) high-end tablet, probably with a big name on it like some fruit or samsung or nexus.. Sure, buy it. whats another 200 EUR. Or dont, I dont think it will be an upgrade. Just another tablet, even if it is a decent one
the get it or dont get it reasons in the modding subsection still apply
I myself regret nothing. I watch movies in bed, I surf the web on the couch. If I am really lazy I even open up teamviewer to do 2-3 clicks on my PC without getting up. I take the tablet with me on train rides and watch a movie or surf the web with my phone tethered. And I recently started to use it at work for presentations (put my notes on it). And when I am bored, I do play a game now and then.
Mind you, I did/could have done all that with the old tablet as well. But it sure makes more fun now
End of the review---
I certainly hope that this rewritten and formated review is more informative and better on the eyes.
I think I got most of my english mistakes as well.
I hope this helps some folk decide
If you have questions, feel free to ask them here. I will try to look back now and then and answer those questions.
good day
Catwiesel, Germany
Addendum:
How to root the SINA-1
Disclaimer: no guarantee, you break it, not my fault bla bla...
First, it was not difficult. It was done by the "root with restore by bin4ry method"
step 1: enable usb-debugging and allow installing of "foreign apk's" (or whats it called in english)
step 2: get a usb driver for windows (7 x64 in my case)
step 2b: since you probably wont find a driver, modify the google drivers from the android development sdk. add the line to the google.ntx86 and ntamd64 block:
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_2207&PID_0010&MI_01
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
step 3: add the file adb_usb.ini at /users/[username]/.android directory with the following line:
0x2207
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(i had to do this in my user account and in the administrator account*)
step 4: connect the tablet with your pc, make sure all drivers were installed and usb debugging is on
step 5: google, find and download the zip archive with the batch file, scripts and tools needed
(root_with_restore_by_bin4ry_v17.zip did it for me)
step 6: extract the archive, best to some easily found directory like c:\rootit
step 7: start a command line (cmd.exe) (as administrator?)
note: the actual rooting only worked for me when i started the command line as administrator
step 8: start runme.bat from c:\rootit, ch
step 9: choose method 1, wait for it to finish
(all this information was googled and very little trial and error. did not take me more than 30mins with no clue before hand whatsover)

Drivers
can you please explain how did you installed drivers?
I'm having troubles following your manual. I need sina-1 for developing but i can't connect it with adb cause drivers aren't installed correctly.

tnx for review.. I bought SINA-2 and use your method of rooting and it works.. have U tried some custom rom already? I don't know which is compatible with my device...

Does anybody know how to flash recovery or custom rom to this tablet. I have googled and nothing found. Maybe there is no recovery or custom rom for this device.

Update 9 months later
very small update after a few months of light and sporatic use:
- rechargeable batterie runtime:
I might have overestimated the runtime originally. additionally, rechargeable batteries dont get better over time...
that means that you really will be running to the charger a lot at home and should take it with you.
do not expect to be able to surf the web or watch movies the whole day without recharging.
- wireless range:
the wireless range is really really bad.
I originally stated it to be not great, but actually it is really bad.
No other device I ever had or currently have had a worse range.
expect slow transfer speeds even when directly next to the router
expect trouble even behind one wall / more than 5m away
expect no connection or unuseable for anything expect the most rudimentary stuff (getting an email) behind more then 1 wall and/or more than 5m away
--> apparently this WAS a problem with the earlier SINA-1 tablets and LC-Power will fix it. This would also mean that the newer ones should not have this problem
--> this bad wireless connection might also be a reason for the bad batterie runtime
- micro-sd:
I've had bad trouble with my 32GB MicroSD card(s) (SANDISK 32GB SDHC microSD Class 10)
the previous tablet (mira-1) took it, my even older mobile took it, the SINA-1 did not...
since my 8GB and 16GB cards were working I thought my 32gb card is incompatibel
--> A few weeks ago I could test another SINA-1 (new), no trouble with my 32gb microsd...
- Android
no new android / update has been released by LC-Power (that I can find)
- Modding:
still no real community
- Apps / Games
a few games (that might need a somewhat more powerfull device) that I can tell you are working are:
magicka, pokerstars, terraria
- built, glas, buttons
after light and cautious use over many months, the tablet can still look like new (if you clean it)
I have no scratches, no color scraping off, the buttons dont wobble. its like new
- the power-in jack
this needs a mention too, since it really is not well done. the plug fits, but will fall out very very easily.
best not to move the tablet when you have it plugged in
conclusion:
my first review still stands more or less... for its price this is a okay tablet
if the wlan is indeed being fixed and the batterie will run a bit longer for the current sold devices, this is still a good buy for ~150 EUR
since I do not really know what is wrong with the microsd issue (my tablet broken? newer tablets unaffected) I can not use it for reviewing. but be warned
HOWEVER...
there is a new LC-Power SINA-2 tablet that I will be reviewing soon...
I will post the link later

Thank you so much for sharing.

Very useful review, thank you.
Sent from my LT30p using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Front camera not supporting video calls
Hi!
I was wondering if anyone who owns this tab had any issues with incoming/outgoing video calls (via skype/facebook/ooVoo).
Fact is, I can't make video calls via any of the above software, when i try, skype just blanks out and goes to previous screen. When incoming calls arrive it does the same but it says that I have a missed call.
OoVoo on the other hand connects to video call but automatically uses the back camera instead of front.
I don't get it. Any advices/ideas?
Thx

Here you go guys This tablet got CM10.2 fully working, with stock kernel <3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58477955&postcount=1187
Hope this helps!
The Grüß,
H.

And Sina 2 review?