Hello,
I'm looking for Android phone up to 200$.
Not sure if should I buy something kinda outdated (like htc desire with old android) or rather fairly new construct like chineese clones (something like hdc i9300 or something else on mtk6575/6577). with recent android version Those chineese phones have quite good specs, but it's a lot of mess with them (sometime they claim to have ips screen, sometime the vary same model say it's amoled, even single alieexpress auction in one place is stated that it has ips screen while few lines lower says its amoled).
Very hard for me too choose. Are there any reputable reviews of those clones? Lots of reviews look more like commercials saying only good thigs about phone.
What would you choose?
I just want pretty standard things like :
responsive UI (hate lagging)
wifi (really working not just 1m away router)
good screen usable in sunlight (perfect would be ips) between 3.5 and 4.8 inches.
web browsing option
capable of runinng few apps at the time (browser, calendard etc) - don't care about games, although it would be nice to view movies.
and pretty decent battery (so like 2days at least of working)
GPS
decent camera which could replace separate compact camera.
Phone must be new.
Is anyone really happy with clone bought from china? Not only after buying but also after few months of use?
Could you point sellers you've been satisfied with? I know there are ratings with aliexpress, but many users buying barely know what they are buying, and even if phone is lot worse then specs say they give good feedback. E.g. Few months ago on polish auction site (like ebay) there was a guy selling fake pendrives (256mb capacity while claiming to have 32gb - altered somehow to show fake capacity) and most users left him positive feedback.
thanks in advance
Please use the sticky at the top of this section for all phone decision questions. Thank you. Thread closed.
Greetings fellow xda members and modders!
Having received my ZTE Blade V one week ago, I felt like posting a small review about the phone, its capabilities and my experiences from it, as i have noticed that this phone neither exists in XDA database nor has any relevant topics for it as well.
Before starting the review I would like to state that i live in Greece, where the phone is priced at 159€. For a quad-core phone with no sim-locking that is considered a real bargain. With that covered, we are ready to begin our review
Design
Design-wise, the Blade V is far from perfect, but fairly decent considering its price. Its corners are rounded off and the exterior of the device is clean and simple. It could be even better if the micro-USB port was placed to the bottom of the phone though, beacuse on the left side of the phone you can easily feel a small bump. A camera button would be a nice addtion as well. With dimensions of 126 x 64 x 10.9 mm and a weight of 130g, you might expect a somewhat big and heavy device, but it still manages to fit comfortably in your hand, whether you are left or right-handed, providing easy access to all of its controls.
When you see the back of the Blade V, you momentarily forget that you are holding a device in that price range. The back cover design is very similar to that of the Galaxy S3 (should you choose the black version) and there are no flaws to be found. The back camera could be a little more protected though. The overall quality of plastic seems to be pretty good, and even after removing the back cover many times, there was no squeaking to be heard. Last but not least, the battery is removable which is a big plus for many users.
Display
Many android users (including me) have a lot of requirements when it comes to the display, beacause it can either ruin or boost your experience. Fear not, because Blade V will not dissapoint you. It features a 4-inch IPS LCD multi-touch screen operating at 800x480 pixels which outputs 16 million colours. Sure it is not as sharp and vivid as displays featured at more expensive phones, but it provides a rewarding experience whether it comes to multimedia or daily use. It can be very bright if required and at maximum brightness the screen can be seen even under direct sunlight.
Camera
The device features 2 cameras, but the lack of video calling limits the use of the front VGA camera to taking selfies and using it for skype calls ONLY. The back camera is rated at 5 MP and the lens seems to be of decent quality. Pictures are shot at 2592х1944 pixels, with the user having the conveniences of auto-focus, panoramic shot,picture timer,photo filters (sepia,b/w,negative) and a LED flash which can be set to on,off or auto.
When it comes to video though, many will be dissapointed. While the quality remains decent and the movement fluid, the phone is unable to shoot in HD, with the user being limited to 480p, qvga or qcif quality. Additional choices for video capturing are light on/off (the LED one), the adjustment of white-balance, geo tagging and two codecs: AMRNB and AAC.
Internal Hardware
The main selling point of this phone is its hardware. For 159€, you get a phone with a quad-core CPU, 1 GB of ram, and 4GB internal storage (up to 32 GB with micro sd), with only 2.5 GB of internal memory accesible to the user though. Now let's dive into some technical details: The CPU is a Qualcomm MSM8225Q Snapdragon clocked at 1.2 Ghz. While not top of the line, in combination with the Ardeno 203 GPU and 1 GB of ram, it can promise a responsive,lag-free and fluid experience, from daily use to gaming. I have to mention that I installed A LOT of apps (aproximately 800MB) of varying requirements and still not managed to bring it to its knees. The internal storage is more than enough and gives you room for plenty of applications, but don't expect to be able to install large applications such as NFS Most Wanted, because you might run out of memory.
As for connectivity, the device lacks 4G features but in turn provides full 3G, wifi and bluetooth.
Software
There is not much to say here, as ZTE have done little to customize Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. What must been mentioned though, is a convenient application called Mi-EasyAcces, providing easy acces for up-to 6 user-set applications without having to unlock the phone. Last but not least is the really nice Mi-POP application which enables you to have a back button available anywhere on the screen in order not to have to move your finger down all the time. Otherwise the UI is the same like factory 4.1 Jelly Bean with a launcher
Battery
For the last part of my review, i feel like covering a very important issue of today's smartphones- battery life. The battery is rated at 1800 mAh and provides very good battery life, to the point that a full charge is able to last you two days with medium brightness, moderate use and good coverage.
Conclusion
Before i bought the phone, i believed that this level of experience could not be provided under the 200 euro price tag. Well, this phone proved me wrong. The device sure is not high end but it provides a really impressive and smooth performance. Rooting it was a piece of cake and many people here expect it to become a great modding platform, given its Qualcomm CPU and the spec/price ratio. Even for the basic user, who has no modding knowledge or experience, it is a great entry-level phone for a great android experience
I would like to thank everyone for your time, patience and support you have shown me since i registered at XDA, no matter what problem i have faced. I would be very delighted to see your comments, opinions and experiences with the device, as well as constructive critisism for future posts.
PS: Mods and staff, please feel free to edit/do as desired with the following article
UPDATE:
ATTENTION FELLOW READERS! After ROUGHLY one month of regular use, the screen started showing flashing white pixels on dark images at the bottom left part. They appear to flash rapidly and range from 3-5 pixels per blink. I REALLY hope ZTE covers this, otherwhise they gained one VERY unhappy customer
DarksonDAP said:
UPDATE:
ATTENTION FELLOW READERS! After ROUGHLY one month of regular use, the screen started showing flashing white pixels on dark images at the bottom left part. They appear to flash rapidly and range from 3-5 pixels per blink. I REALLY hope ZTE covers this, otherwhise they gained one VERY unhappy customer
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Click to collapse
What a thorough review, and an interesting read. I feel your pain with the display issues that you're experiencing and, like you, really hope that ZTE comes through and does the right thing. If they don't fix or replace your phone, you should write a letter to the editor of one of the local techie publications and get some exposure on the issue...and, in so doing, help others to avoid a similar fate.
Best of luck and please let us know how it turns out!
Thank you for reading my review and providing me with all this great support, I am really grateful. The issue has mysteriously vanished when i booted up the phone this morning and has not occured ever since (knock on wood). I will try having a Drag Racing marathone to stress it a little bit, in order to check the stability of the device or if any issue will appear again. As you might guess, ZTE's reply to the issue is no-existant and i really hope that they should have reached a solution if this unacceptable problem ever plagues me again.
DarksonDAP said:
Thank you for reading my review and providing me with all this great support, I am really grateful. The issue has mysteriously vanished when i booted up the phone this morning and has not occured ever since (knock on wood). I will try having a Drag Racing marathone to stress it a little bit, in order to check the stability of the device or if any issue will appear again. As you might guess, ZTE's reply to the issue is no-existant and i really hope that they should have reached a solution if this unacceptable problem ever plagues me again.
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Click to collapse
Hi, this pixel error is returned? This is ROM bug? You tried the latest Virgin frimware?
No, this pixel error has fortunately not returned since the last time i posted about it. It could have been either a ROM or an application bug by the looks of it. The phone is still running on the stock ZTE rom and is rock solid. In Greece the phone is sold unbranded and unlocked
any chance of a link to the stock rom please?
the only link i have been able to find is this one https://mega.co.nz/#!5Ig3ECwD!R21Vik...2PLpeXW1eFZJFI
which was included in this topic http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2440697
and this link from another forum
http://www.modaco.com/topic/365062-zte-blade-v-stock-roms/
i have not tested them myself though
PS: I apologize to the administration and the community if the use of external links is forbidden, my purpose is to help a fellow friend. If, for any reason, I break any posted rule please notify me and i will edit my post immediately
I also have this phone and I have had not problems at all with it. Great value for money
Update android zte blade v
Good afternoon,
I have ZTE BLADE V from October 2013 Android version is 4.1.2. I am looking to find a later version for my phone but I'm confused about what I read.
If someone can give me some information about whether a new version (unofficial) and the installation process.
Thanks in advance.
Hi all,
Recently my trusty Galaxy S2 started to bug the crap out of me and I decided it is time to start looking out for a new device.
Some of the devices which have caught my eye: HTC one M8, Z1 xperia compact, Oppo first7, One Plus One (although this one seems to be to be more elusive than an albino unicorn) and Mi 3 (although I am not a big fan of Miui).
-note: even though this post is not to ask any recommendations regarding phones, if you would have any to share, please feel free to do so
As someone who spends time on this forum ever since my HTC Excalibur, breaking my phone and hoping to fix it (the kid who takes apart his alarm clock and doesn't know how to put it back together... that's basically me), the first thing I mostly do when getting a new phone is rooting it and installing a custom rom...
Earlier today, I read an article on The Verge, which made me wonder: do different phones still matter?
If you consider the choice of a phone depending on following elements:
screen size
battery life
Android version (and probably OEM added bulk)
price
specs (ie ram, processor speed etc)
design
"various features" (such as the double lens on the HTC one)
Screensize is mostly similar in phones nowadays (except for the z1 compact), the android version is mostly the latest version thanks to everyone on this forum (in phone list above the Mi3 is a a bit different) and design is subjective... so these three won't really make any difference.
From the article on The Verge, it seems that specs to be of less importance nowadays in modern phones (it's attractive to have a quadcore whatever processor with an unlimited amount of ram, but does anyone really use all this horsepower -if you don't game?).
And the thing which I called "various features"; I haven't seen a single feature that wow-ed me enough to consider this a musthave (again if someone knows about something I don't please let me know
Which leaves us to battery life and price.
These seem to be the only dealbreakers for me at the moment...
Anyone who can find him/herself in this opinion (or absolutely disagrees)?
Hi guys,
i need your help, i need to buy a new phone and I have two in mind: OnePlus One(64gb) and LG G3( 32gb/3gb ram).
I do gaming use and media consuming, I consider myself a medium/heavy user.
Wich one I should buy?
Thank you in advance.
When you're dealing with two high-end, respected phones, it really comes down more to personal preference, although there are some important factors to consider. You still need to procure an invite to order a OnePlus One, although that task is gradually becoming easier. Also, the One comes with Cyanogen preloaded. The removable battery and SD card on the G3 may also be important to you (they definitely are for me). Otherwise, the two handsets are extremely similar spec-wise, apart from the 1440p screen on the G3, which comes with its own benefits and caveats. You really cannot go wrong with either.
There are 3 threads already established that are devoted to discussions about devices, please read, and if necessary, repost your question in one of these threads: The what should I buy thread or the The Device Suggestion Thread or the The Device Comparison Thread.
There are also several other discussion threads that you probably should review to help you. They are What phone do you wish you had? or
The Worst Android Device That You've Ever Had & Why or even this place that talks about The best phone you ever owned.
Basically I’m looking for a new phone and I chose it to be an asian (Chinese, Japanese or Korean) phone. But my problem is that I’m not really familiar with those kind of phones, so I was hoping I can find some help online. I would like to receive some suggestions for phones. The price range is about 150-200€ (168-240 USD). And the thing I require are as follows:
Long battery life (in the 2500-3000mAh category)
About 5 inch HD screen
Decent camera
2GB RAM
LTE support
SD card slot
Android 5.0
Gorilla Glass 2 (although not necessary, it would be nice)
Honestly, if you guys can´t think of any specific models, you can maybe just give the name of certain brand.
niky1703 said:
Basically I’m looking for a new phone and I chose it to be an asian (Chinese, Japanese or Korean) phone. But my problem is that I’m not really familiar with those kind of phones, so I was hoping I can find some help online. I would like to receive some suggestions for phones. The price range is about 150-200€ (168-240 USD). And the thing I require are as follows:
Long battery life (in the 2500-3000mAh category)
About 5 inch HD screen
Decent camera
2GB RAM
LTE support
SD card slot
Android 5.0
Gorilla Glass 2 (although not necessary, it would be nice)
Honestly, if you guys can´t think of any specific models, you can maybe just give the name of certain brand.
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Click to collapse
Hello,
Please post your query here with all relevant details Device Suggestion Thread, the experts there maybe able to assist you in choosing an appropriate device.
-Vatsal