I have been keeping tabs on the availability of the xiaomi red rice wcdma version . Can be had at the companies official site , but at a £ premium cost along with a hefty (£21 +) shipping charge. Then add on the chances of a DHL shipping being nailed for vat and the associated handling charge . Bumps up to a potential £ 200. So I think I will give that a miss , until at least the dust settles on the queues wanting the thing .And Xiaomi stops " batching " the phone , where scalpers grab all .
Any body got any ideas or suggestions , for an alternative around same spec decent quality dual sim smart phone , at reasonable £ cost ?
Have read this entire thread for ideas , but the tech moves so quickly its hard to keep up with the latest good spec & deals
Have looked at the THL W200 and reviews seem favourable .Also considered the Star Quad Core 5.5" NOTE II model . This gets decent reviews from Amazon buyers .
Any suggestions appreciated . Thanks all
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Edit , now noticed above post talking about same model Star ?
I have been keeping tabs on the availability of the xiaomi red rice wcdma version . Can be had at the companies official site , but at a £ premium cost along with a hefty (£21 +) shipping charge. Then add on the chances of a DHL shipping being nailed for vat and the associated handling charge . Bumps up to a potential £ 200. So I think I will give that a miss , until at least the dust settles on the queues wanting the thing .And Xiaomi stops " batching " the phone , where scalpers grab all .
Any body got any ideas or suggestions , for an alternative around same spec decent quality dual sim smart phone , at reasonable £ cost ?
Have read this entire thread for ideas , but the tech moves so quickly its hard to keep up with the latest good spec & deals
Have looked at the THL W200 and reviews seem favourable .Also considered the Star Quad Core 5.5" NOTE II model . This gets decent reviews from Amazon buyers .
Any suggestions appreciated . Thanks all
Have a look at the Jiayu G3S which is currently on sale for £134.99 inc shipping.
Hi. Many thanks for your quick reply . Have book marked your suggestion . A good spec and finish ( gorilla glass etc ) at a fair deal for the bundle .Seller seems to have a good feedback also . Thank you
I think I already know the answer :mad: but I wondered if there was any way to upgrade a chinese phone? Mine is a Note 2 Clone, on 4.1. I wanted to go to Kitkat, but I doubt that can happen
Just got a ThL W2000 in white. Dual sim, memory card slot, 1GB RAM, 8GB ROM, MTK6589T, Android 4.2.1, 8mp back camera, front camera, 2 batteries, hard case, flip case. £135 from a UK seller on eBay.
Was very impressed to see many apps install to my 32GB memory card. It's also very fast. Love it.
I bought a similar Hong Kong import phone from Amazon, but it never turned up. I contacted firm who promised a refund but never did refund me.
I contacted Amazon who told me the firm was no longer trading with them. I made a formal claim with Amazon, and they agreed a refund within 10 minutes, and money back in my account two days later!
So all, be careful when buying - it is probably worth paying a few pounds extra to get Amazons guarantee.
I bought a similar Hong Kong import phone from Amazon, but it never turned up. I contacted firm who promised a refund but never did refund me.
I contacted Amazon who told me the firm was no longer trading with them. I made a formal claim with Amazon, and they agreed a refund within 10 minutes, and money back in my account two days later!
So all, be careful when buying - it is probably worth paying a few pounds extra to get Amazons guarantee.
Did they have good feedback? I always try to buy from a UK seller.
I bought a similar Hong Kong import phone from Amazon, but it never turned up. I contacted firm who promised a refund but never did refund me.
I contacted Amazon who told me the firm was no longer trading with them. I made a formal claim with Amazon, and they agreed a refund within 10 minutes, and money back in my account two days later!
So all, be careful when buying - it is probably worth paying a few pounds extra to get Amazons guarantee.
I bought from skhuamei2015 via ebay on the back of a recommendation on a forum perhaps this one.
I am happy to on recommend them. Very good email resolution. The phone I bought has fallen under £100 now.
Well I have had two of these phones now and they have been ok. They are not upto the original standards as far as camera etc and even I have found the call volume too low and GPS slow to lock but for the price I can't fault them. I had a dual core Note 2 and then a quad core Note 2. Both fine
I have today ordered my new No1 N3 note 3 clone. I am buying a new phone every 12 months and having bought 3 I am still better off than buying a new note 3
What steals it for me is the dual sim feature. Where I live I can not get a signal in or around my house on 3 but can with O2. Then vise versa at work. Plus I go abroad often so the facilty at home to fit both sims and be contactable and again overseas with the use of local sim is great
Just bought a Quad Core, Dual Sim Cubot GT-99 on Ali-Express. It cost around £108 including a 8gb memory card and DHL delivery.
My main reason for buying was that I needed a phone with DC-HSDPA speeds, in order to take advantage of '3's Ultrafast Network especially when tethering, I use '3' as my home internet connection, so as well as being a smartphone during the day, it would essentially have to be a full time, high speed mi-fi device during Evenings and Weekends - something which the GT-99 has done so far for me with no problems whatsoever.
There is always a risk associated with buying direct from the Far East, but then again some UK retailers aren't the last word when it comes to sending goods, returning calls, warranty claims and customer service either! (Google WAE+ reviews for one glowing example!).
Do the research and legwork first on any vendor in ANY country and the risks of getting burned are minimised.
In this case, this GT-99 has been discussed in generally a positive light on a lot of UK / European forums, the Alibaba vendor I found has several thousand general customer feedback ratings with over 100 positives given from buyers who actually bought this particular model of phone, on this basis, I thought it was a reasonable gamble.
The phone arrived around eight days later, it was extremely well packaged in a type of air cushion, the screen protector was already placed, with no air bubbles, and only required the protective layer to be removed using the tag.
The phone was already preset to English, with no Chinese characters in sight, the small easy start instruction booklet was also in English, as was the pre-installed Google Play App, the vendor had even included a UK style mains adaptor for the international 2-pin charger (Shaver Plug Style).
If you are worried about the safety aspect of supplied mains adapters with foreign style pins, Most of these phones will happily charge from any current limited Generic 5V 1.0A usb plug in the wall charger and this phone is happily charging to its full capacity, from my ebay sourced generic UK based mains and car chargers, with no ill effect.
I've always viewed the AH rating of Chinese sourced battery capacities with some open mindedness, and I viewed the 2200mah rating of the GT-99 with the same suspicion - that said it lasts around 4 hours longer per charge than the battery in my previous Huawei which was a lower capacity, so the rated capacity of the GT99 battery is certainly higher.
The phone is fast and responsive, and comes unlocked with no manufacturer based logos, software and crappy bloatware running in the background. Its also very easy to unlock, should you wish to.
For just over £100 i'm more than happy with my purchase and its build quality (which is excellent) and its daily usability, and considering it was around 3 or 4 times less than something 'branded' even if it lasts 12 - 18 months it would have paid for itself and earned its keep. Most people seem to not keep phones any longer than that anyway as no doubt by then they are bored with it and have their eye on something better anyway (or have dropped it down the toilet or smashed it).
Like with all phones, you should use it a bit of common sense and protect it with a proper case from Day 1, some Chinese phones are difficult to source decent quality cases for, however in respect of the GT-99, it is very close in physical size to the HTC One X and so I bought a good quality case from Ebay designed for the HTC, and it fits just fine, with the camera, mic, ringer etc holes all in the correct place.
I'm looking to buy this phone (Cubot GT99) an use on Three - sim only. I have read some posts saying there are problems with reception dropping and lack of mobile internet. Anyone else got a GT99 want to make a comment - the above is certainly glowing - hope that is still the case.
Alternatively can anyone name a 4.5" alternative around £100
Well I have had two of these phones now and they have been ok. They are not upto the original standards as far as camera etc and even I have found the call volume too low and GPS slow to lock but for the price I can't fault them. I had a dual core Note 2 and then a quad core Note 2. Both fine
I have today ordered my new No1 N3 note 3 clone. I am buying a new phone every 12 months and having bought 3 I am still better off than buying a new note 3
What steals it for me is the dual sim feature. Where I live I can not get a signal in or around my house on 3 but can with O2. Then vise versa at work. Plus I go abroad often so the facilty at home to fit both sims and be contactable and again overseas with the use of local sim is great
Roll on my new phone arriving
This is a good comparison with Samsung Note 3 - in Spanish
Octa core running at 1.7, 2 gig ram, 16 gig rom, blah blah blah... for $212, which comes out to a little under 130 quid!
I'm told that Star is a good make over there, but I'm unable to find a single review anywhere of this?? Which is a bit worrying. But a Note 3 clone for £130 has got to be worth a look?? (hasn't it?).
well, as my post above, on 12 Feb, I ordered my phone from Aliexpress, and I still do not have it 4 weeks later. What I do have is a bill from Parcel force for a customs charge of £24. I have bought 3 phones from Chia now, and had to pay customs tax twice. Just something to bear in mind when you order one, is to add around £25 on top for customs
Octa core running at 1.7, 2 gig ram, 16 gig rom, blah blah blah... for $212, which comes out to a little under 130 quid!
I'm told that Star is a good make over there, but I'm unable to find a single review anywhere of this?? Which is a bit worrying. But a Note 3 clone for £130 has got to be worth a look?? (hasn't it?).
it looks good, but depends how much of a Clone you want? other than the screen size it is noting like a note 3. There is no S Pen. There is no USB 3 connection. You will not be able to use any note 3 covers or batteries with this model. the reason I went for the N1, is it can use original back covers, including S View and batteries. It also has the same USB3 connection, meaning I can use standard chargers etc.
Mine although is only Quad core, but was only £114, plus post, and now tax, so totaled £155
it looks good, but depends how much of a Clone you want? other than the screen size it is noting like a note 3. There is no S Pen. There is no USB 3 connection. You will not be able to use any note 3 covers or batteries with this model. the reason I went for the N1, is it can use original back covers, including S View and batteries. It also has the same USB3 connection, meaning I can use standard chargers etc.
Mine although is only Quad core, but was only £114, plus post, and now tax, so totaled £155
Now that's very interesting. I was looking at at the same phone (No1 N3) and read a review that said Note 3 cases wouldn't fit as it was 3 to 4 mm wider?
So I moved on, but I did want to use Note 3 cases but in the end couldn't find anything that was the same form factor.
I'll have to go back to it by the looks of things then.
Comments
I have been keeping tabs on the availability of the xiaomi red rice wcdma version . Can be had at the companies official site , but at a £ premium cost along with a hefty (£21 +) shipping charge. Then add on the chances of a DHL shipping being nailed for vat and the associated handling charge . Bumps up to a potential £ 200. So I think I will give that a miss , until at least the dust settles on the queues wanting the thing .And Xiaomi stops " batching " the phone , where scalpers grab all .
Any body got any ideas or suggestions , for an alternative around same spec decent quality dual sim smart phone , at reasonable £ cost ?
Have read this entire thread for ideas , but the tech moves so quickly its hard to keep up with the latest good spec & deals
Have looked at the THL W200 and reviews seem favourable .Also considered the Star Quad Core 5.5" NOTE II model . This gets decent reviews from Amazon buyers .
Any suggestions appreciated . Thanks all
=======
Edit , now noticed above post talking about same model Star ?
Have a look at the Jiayu G3S which is currently on sale for £134.99 inc shipping.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Presale-JIAYU-G3-Android-4-0-3G-MTK6577-4-5-1280-720-IPS-Capacitive-Screen-8MP/610657555.html
Hi. Many thanks for your quick reply . Have book marked your suggestion . A good spec and finish ( gorilla glass etc ) at a fair deal for the bundle .Seller seems to have a good feedback also . Thank you
I think I already know the answer :mad: but I wondered if there was any way to upgrade a chinese phone? Mine is a Note 2 Clone, on 4.1. I wanted to go to Kitkat, but I doubt that can happen
Still very pleased with my Star S7189 ;-)
There were two batteries supplied. One has stopped charging. I can't find any on ebay.
Was very impressed to see many apps install to my 32GB memory card. It's also very fast. Love it.
I contacted Amazon who told me the firm was no longer trading with them. I made a formal claim with Amazon, and they agreed a refund within 10 minutes, and money back in my account two days later!
So all, be careful when buying - it is probably worth paying a few pounds extra to get Amazons guarantee.
Did they have good feedback? I always try to buy from a UK seller.
A W1+
A W8+ which was my first 5 inch screen phone but a nurse spilled water on it and ruined it.
Now got a W200
I bought from skhuamei2015 via ebay on the back of a recommendation on a forum perhaps this one.
I am happy to on recommend them. Very good email resolution. The phone I bought has fallen under £100 now.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Free-2013-5-5-1GB-4GB-Android-4-2-1-Note-2-MTK6589-Star-S7189-8-0MP-3G-Phone-/140977958394?pt=UK_Mobiles_Accessories_RL&hash=item20d2f0edfa
Replacement battery arrived today 6 Jan 2014 postmarked Singapore post on 12 Dec 2013
Dunno when it's out or even if it's true but I read somewhere that thl are making a 4G phone.
I have today ordered my new No1 N3 note 3 clone. I am buying a new phone every 12 months and having bought 3 I am still better off than buying a new note 3
What steals it for me is the dual sim feature. Where I live I can not get a signal in or around my house on 3 but can with O2. Then vise versa at work. Plus I go abroad often so the facilty at home to fit both sims and be contactable and again overseas with the use of local sim is great
Roll on my new phone arriving
I'm looking to buy this phone (Cubot GT99) an use on Three - sim only. I have read some posts saying there are problems with reception dropping and lack of mobile internet. Anyone else got a GT99 want to make a comment - the above is certainly glowing - hope that is still the case.
Alternatively can anyone name a 4.5" alternative around £100
This is a good comparison with Samsung Note 3 - in Spanish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynzxDIQ4uuE
Is yours 4.2 or 4.3? The video suggests 4.3 but ebay indicates 4.2
I thought this link might interest some of you.
I've been looking for a Note 3 clone for the last few weeks and found this one today.
http://www.1949deal.com/star-note3-n3-mtk6592-octa-core-1-7ghz-android-4-2-2-smartphone-2gb-ram-16gb-rom-5-7-inch-hd-ips-screen-3g-otg-black.html?utm_source=chinaphonearena&utm_medium=starn3+&&utm_campaign=campaign
Octa core running at 1.7, 2 gig ram, 16 gig rom, blah blah blah... for $212, which comes out to a little under 130 quid!
I'm told that Star is a good make over there, but I'm unable to find a single review anywhere of this?? Which is a bit worrying. But a Note 3 clone for £130 has got to be worth a look?? (hasn't it?).
it looks good, but depends how much of a Clone you want? other than the screen size it is noting like a note 3. There is no S Pen. There is no USB 3 connection. You will not be able to use any note 3 covers or batteries with this model. the reason I went for the N1, is it can use original back covers, including S View and batteries. It also has the same USB3 connection, meaning I can use standard chargers etc.
Mine although is only Quad core, but was only £114, plus post, and now tax, so totaled £155
Now that's very interesting. I was looking at at the same phone (No1 N3) and read a review that said Note 3 cases wouldn't fit as it was 3 to 4 mm wider?
So I moved on, but I did want to use Note 3 cases but in the end couldn't find anything that was the same form factor.
I'll have to go back to it by the looks of things then.
Thanks...