Chinese Android Phones

Dan_Solo · 25-01-2013 1:04pm

bidiots wrote: »

Any idea how much customs will charge?

I don't know this yet. Do customs come in while the stuff is at the An Post sorting office and select their victims? The e-mail I got from An Post said it would be with me on Monday, if that's any indicator. I've had things arrive before with that dreaded 23% letter alright.

bidiots · 25-01-2013 1:20pm

They've been known to hold the package until the custom is paid, maybe that is just with couriers tho. It seems to be a random ball ache!

Dan_Solo · 25-01-2013 4:25pm

Current Status

ITEM SENT TO CUSTOMS

F*** and s*** and b*******.

Thargor · 25-01-2013 4:33pm

Fuuuuuuuck, whats the procedure now?

Dan_Solo · 25-01-2013 4:35pm

Thargor wrote: »

Fuuuuuuuck, whats the procedure now?

Dunno. Maybe this happens to everything that comes in? You'd sort of hope so, except when it's your own gear! They'll probably send it on with the bill attached.

Thargor · 25-01-2013 5:07pm

No way does it happen to everything that comes in anyway, Id say any hope of getting it on Monday or Tuesday is gone now.

Bet mine gets sent to customs next week aswell, they're probably watching for the barcodes from the phone shops.

Dan_Solo · 25-01-2013 5:10pm

Thargor wrote: »

No way does it happen to everything that comes in anyway, Id say any hope of getting it on Monday or Tuesday is gone now.

Bet mine gets sent to customs next week aswell, they're probably watching for the barcodes from the phone shops.

Like I said, I got a cheapo tablet from China before and customs didn't slow it down much, they just added a "you owe us €" letter to the package.
Not a killer here, but it does change my G2+ from being an outright steal to being just a bargain.:D

Rereggie Perrin · 25-01-2013 9:18pm

Got a G2-S in the post today. Seems decent so far. Hard to see how you could get a new Android 4.1 phone with a good 4 inch screen and dual-core processor for €150 by any other means.

michael999999 · 25-01-2013 9:41pm

Rereggie Perrin wrote: »

Got a G2-S in the post today. Seems decent so far. Hard to see how you could get a new Android 4.1 phone with a good 4 inch screen and dual-core processor for €150 by any other means.

I got an starb93m from HKG, excellent phone! 4.5 sceeen.

Rereggie Perrin · 25-01-2013 11:04pm

michael999999 wrote: »

I got an starb93m from HKG, excellent phone! 4.5 sceeen.

The bigger screen is handy, but the processor runs slower than the G2S (1ghz vs 1.2) and it's running on Android 4.0. It's also only got half the RAM (512k vs 1mb).

gunnerfitzy · 27-01-2013 8:14pm

Hi all,

Anyone who bought a G2S recommend a seller to purchase from?

Thanks in advance.

Rereggie Perrin · 27-01-2013 8:16pm

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

recommend a seller to purchase from?

I went with Mixeshop.com - no problems at all.

gunnerfitzy · 27-01-2013 8:26pm

Rereggie Perrin wrote: »

I went with Mixeshop.com - no problems at all.

Cheers. What shipping method did you use. Did you have to wait long for delivery? Did you have to pay customs charges?

Rereggie Perrin · 27-01-2013 8:59pm

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

Cheers. What shipping method did you use. Did you have to wait long for delivery? Did you have to pay customs charges?

Came in a week, not caught for customs. I did ask them to mark it as a gift with a value below $100, but I didn't see any customs forms with it when it arrived.

gunnerfitzy · 27-01-2013 9:06pm

Rereggie Perrin wrote: »

Came in a week, not caught for customs. I did ask them to mark it as a gift with a value below $100, but I didn't see any customs forms with it when it arrived.

Great! One last Q! Was it DHL you used for shipping?

Thanks!

Rereggie Perrin · 27-01-2013 9:07pm

gunnerfitzy wrote: »

Great! One last Q! Was it DHL you used for shipping?

Thanks!

Sorry, I meant to say that I went for the free shipping via the post office.

gunnerfitzy · 27-01-2013 9:22pm

Cheers!!

Can't see the option for free shipping myself. Air mail is the cheapest at €12. That's ok too!

MariaHolland · 28-01-2013 8:31am

Rereggie Perrin wrote: »

Got a G2-S in the post today. Seems decent so far. Hard to see how you could get a new Android 4.1 phone with a good 4 inch screen and dual-core processor for €150 by any other means.

Do you have any problems with the screen, known as "G2S jump screen"?

Regards,
Maria

bidiots · 28-01-2013 1:00pm

Just received my GS2, will give an update after a week. So far, its a great looking phone, not too small/big, light, great screen, very happy so far....

bidiots · 28-01-2013 11:49pm

Dan_Solo wrote: »

F*** and s*** and b*******.

How much customs did you get hit with Dan?

Thar, any sign of the phone yet?

Thargor · 29-01-2013 1:40am

Nope still says Despatched to overseas (Country code: IE) on the tracking with a date from 4 days ago, did the one customs took turn up yet?

keithsfleet · 29-01-2013 12:39pm

Sorry amateur hour from me.
Much of a difference between the G3 and the G2S? Power and computable capabilities or is there more?

bidiots · 29-01-2013 12:50pm

I had the G3 and now have the G2S.
There is an ocean of difference between screen size, the G3 is a beast, but too much of a beast and I wasn't impressed with the battery life at all.
The G2S is a really nice phone. Screen is smaller but it feels really comfortable in my hand, very responsive and comes with Jellybean which is an advantage. So far, I'm loving the G2S....

positron · 29-01-2013 1:36pm

bidiots, I will fight your G2S with my G3 any day - it's could be a bit of a weapon at the right hands

ThunbergsAreGo · 29-01-2013 1:44pm

bidiots wrote: »

I had the G3 and now have the G2S.
There is an ocean of difference between screen size, the G3 is a beast, but too much of a beast and I wasn't impressed with the battery life at all.
The G2S is a really nice phone. Screen is smaller but it feels really comfortable in my hand, very responsive and comes with Jellybean which is an advantage. So far, I'm loving the G2S....

What is the G2S comparable with?

Thargor · 29-01-2013 1:53pm

Lots of people report 2 days use and more from the G3 battery once they move away from the stock rom which has a known battery drain issue, and the G3 will have Jellybean any day now aswell.

I love a brick of a phone, Ill be moving to a decent 4.7-5 inch model as soon as I see a good one released on Gizchina, I had one of these back in the day when everyone else was playing Snake on their 3210s when my uncles company gave him a Blackberry:

Coolest kid in school :cool:

michael999999 · 29-01-2013 2:16pm

Thargor wrote: »

Lots of people report 2 days use and more from the G3 battery once they move away from the stock rom which has a known battery drain issue, and the G3 will have Jellybean any day now aswell.

I love a brick of a phone, Ill be moving to a decent 4.7-5 inch model as soon as I see a good one released on Gizchina, I had one of these back in the day when everyone else was playing Snake on their 3210s when my uncles company gave him a Blackberry:

Coolest kid in school :cool:

I'm having a fast draining battery issue with my star b93 aswell, where would I get a rom to replace the stock rom?

Thargor · 29-01-2013 2:25pm

http://www.priceangels.com/Star-B93-MTK6577-Android-4-0-3G-Smartphone-GSM-WCDMA-Dual-Standby-Quad-Band-with-4-7--HD-Capacitive--Screen-and-Wi-Fi-GPS-Bluetooth--Black--s252252.html

Well its only an 1800 mAh battery according to that, the Jiayu G3 is 3000, you could just be using it as its intended. I see it comes with 2 batteries aswell, thats always a sign that even the designers of the phone or tablet think the battery performance is weak.

I cant find much mention of your phone on XDA developers so it doesnt look like it has a big modding community around it, I dont know if it even has root access or not:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php

Did you root yours? You wont be flashing any ROMs without root access.

michael999999 · 29-01-2013 2:28pm

Thargor wrote: »

http://www.priceangels.com/Star-B93-MTK6577-Android-4-0-3G-Smartphone-GSM-WCDMA-Dual-Standby-Quad-Band-with-4-7--HD-Capacitive--Screen-and-Wi-Fi-GPS-Bluetooth--Black--s252252.html

Well its only an 1800 mAh battery according to that, the Jiayu G3 is 3000, you could just be using it as its intended. I see it comes with 2 batteries aswell, thats always a sign that even the designers of the phone or tablet think the battery performance is weak.

I cant find much mention of your phone on XDA developers so it doesnt look like it has a big modding community around it, I dont know if it even has root access or not:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php

Did you root yours? You wont be flashing any ROMs without root access.

No haven't rooted it, brilliant phone only for the battery!

Thargor · 29-01-2013 2:46pm

michael999999 wrote: »

No haven't rooted it, brilliant phone only for the battery!

http://www.juicedefender.com/

Stick that or one of its competitors on there, push the power saver settings to the limit without making it too annoying to use, it can make a huge difference.

bidiots · 29-01-2013 3:37pm

positron wrote: »

bidiots, I will fight your G2S with my G3 any day - it's could be a bit of a weapon at the right hands

Thargor wrote: »

http://www.priceangels.com/Star-B93-MTK6577-Android-4-0-3G-Smartphone-GSM-WCDMA-Dual-Standby-Quad-Band-with-4-7--HD-Capacitive--Screen-and-Wi-Fi-GPS-Bluetooth--Black--s252252.html

Well its only an 1800 mAh battery according to that, the Jiayu G3 is 3000, you could just be using it as its intended. I see it comes with 2 batteries aswell, thats always a sign that even the designers of the phone or tablet think the battery performance is weak.

I cant find much mention of your phone on XDA developers so it doesnt look like it has a big modding community around it, I dont know if it even has root access or not:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php

Did you root yours? You wont be flashing any ROMs without root access.

Well as one of the few who has used both the G3 and G2S...i'll take the higher road here:p

Regards the battery life of the G3, there are ways to reduce drain such as 'toning' down system settings and adjusting screen brightness,using apps such as 'juicedefender' and 'tasker', turning off wifi/gps etc etc......but why have the phone if you turn off the 'cool' features

But to be honest, I'm a bit skeptical about the claims of the battery size in the G3. Yes the screen is huge and amazing res, but with my Samsung S3, I could get 2 days easy, with out reducing any settings. And the S3 has a smaller battery. Just my 2 cents

And Positron....size doesn't matter - unless you are compensating for something:D

P.S. I'm surprised how the G2S has impressed me, battery life so far is brilliant, screen res is very impressive. The shape/size/weight is whats really doing if for me, for 150 quid, it's looking like an amazing deal.

positron · 29-01-2013 3:39pm

bidiots wrote: »

And Positron....size doesn't matter - unless you are compensating for something

I am sure you are talking about eye sight. :cool:

Also G3 is very eghh stiff...

bidiots · 29-01-2013 3:43pm

positron wrote: »

I looked into a few reviews of G3 - all good in general, but I am a bit iffy on how thick the phone looks. I am a sucker for wafer-thin phones.. G4 that was mentioned above looks much thinner..!

PS: I hate my current phone too - it's one of the old favourites of boards - San Fran-fecking-cisco. This is possibly the last of those in service between all boards users....!!

Actually just noticed you had a San Fran, I got a couple of these years ago, found it to be a great piece of kit for the money and the ROM's available were brilliant. You should still get a few quid for the phone, get a spare battery and its still well able for the basics:)

positron · 29-01-2013 3:50pm

Yeah you are right about SanFran, but mine is truely fra-cked with my motorbike commute - it still looks and works okay, but the main issue is that the 3.5 mm jack isn't working. I could probably turn it into a motorbike GPS device, or a basic "action camera" or something like that. Anyway, my 2 year old has claimed it now as her own for various baby game apps - when she can't get her hands on any other phones.

Thargor · 29-01-2013 3:51pm

Tell us more stories about the G3 in daily usage someone, still no fecking change on the Singapore website, still item dispatched to IE...

I see the G5 is already being talked about, just looks like any other iPhone rip-off though, the G4 looks way nicer and 4.7 inch screen:

http://www.gizchina.com/2013/01/29/jiayu-g5-leaked-image-reveals-iphone-styling/

The Oppo Find 5 also went on sale in the last couple of days but sold out instantly, that is a seriously good looking phone and a 5 inch screen, costs around €450 though if you ever manage to get one, could be big news in a few months time:

http://www.chinaphonereview.com/oppo-find-5-x909

bidiots · 29-01-2013 3:59pm

I don't think I could trust my trouser pocket with the Oppo, can just imagine the 'smash' as I sat down quickly and bent it in two....its a lot of money too....

positron · 29-01-2013 3:59pm

Thargor wrote: »

Tell us more stories about the G3 in daily usage someone, still no fecking change on the Singapore website, still item dispatched to IE...

Guess I am not a power user to your level Thargor, but wifi is still acting up in some rooms where the laptop usually and G300 definitely holds connection. However I am in the process of switching over to Sky, so Vodafone has changed the profile on my line and it's not very stable anyway. I heard Sky hub has a stronger signal, so this might be okay. I am yet to set up mobile data (switched over Lyca yesterday - need to sort that out now).

Battery - it takes a good while to charge up to 100% - like 6 hours or more on USB power, 3-4 hours on wall charger. And I noticed it drained nearly 40% last night with about 4 hours of active use - with wifi on, streaming, games etc.

Tried video skyping over wifi - it was fine, but skype dies after about 30 seconds. Not exactly sure what was going on there - as wifi is iffy and so was the net at the other end.

Most unexpected best feature - dual sim. Super cool that I could leave both my old SIM and new Lyca SIM on the phone during switching and the SIM management options are really useable and very cool.

Fingers crossed your G3 gets delivered without much further delay.

Thargor · 29-01-2013 4:18pm

Give the battery a couple of full charges and discharges and it should settle a bit, and give Juicedefender a try, not sure about the wi-fi issue, Ive seen people praising it in other threads on XDA Developers but it definitely wouldnt be the first Chinese Android device to ship with poor wi-fi reception, fingers crossed the Jellybean ROM will be out soon and they'll have sorted the bugs.

ThunbergsAreGo · 29-01-2013 4:28pm

What is the Volume output through headphones like? I find the G330 very low

positron · 29-01-2013 4:38pm

^^ Is that about G3? It's fine as far as I can tell. Radio reception is pretty good too.

ThunbergsAreGo · 29-01-2013 4:42pm

positron wrote: »

^^ Is that about G3? It's fine as far as I can tell. Radio reception is pretty good too.

Thank, more about the G2S though, think the G3 is out of my hand size range

Cycle to work a bit and need to hear it above the traffic

Dan_Solo · 29-01-2013 6:39pm

bidiots wrote: »

How much customs did you get hit with Dan?

No idea. It's still "sent to customs".
FASCISTS!

bidiots · 29-01-2013 6:57pm

Dan_Solo wrote: »

No idea. It's still "sent to customs".
FASCISTS!

Check your email, they should be getting in touch with you with a nice 'charge' in order to release the phone....unlucky dude

Thargor · 29-01-2013 8:19pm

If that happens to me Ill lose it, there's something wrong with my Xperia Play, apps keep crashing including system apps like the dialer no matter what ROM I put on it, I think the RAM might be dying or something.

Dan_Solo · 29-01-2013 10:26pm

Rereggie Perrin wrote: »

Came in a week, not caught for customs. I did ask them to mark it as a gift with a value below $100, but I didn't see any customs forms with it when it arrived.

I think the limit is €35 and it being a gift makes no difference at all... it's pure pot luck and nothing else!

Dan_Solo · 30-01-2013 4:56pm

Total Value of Goods - € 146.79
Customs Duty - € 0.00
VAT @ 23% - € 33.76
An Post Fee - € 6.00
Total for Collection - € 39.76

"An Post fee"... an extra fee for charging me extra. JFC...

bidiots · 30-01-2013 5:21pm

Dan_Solo wrote: »

"An Post fee"... an extra fee for charging me extra. JFC...

Ouch...was this for the G2 or G2S?

Dan_Solo · 30-01-2013 5:36pm

bidiots wrote: »

Ouch...was this for the G2 or G2S?

G2 Dual Core 1Gb + 32Gb SD + battery.
Why oh why don't hongkonggeek sell them...

bidiots · 30-01-2013 5:47pm

No matter the supplier, if you use standard post then it looks more likely to get hit with the tax. Major ball ache tho...I've been lucky twice, doubt I'd get away with a third...will give it a go tho:D

P.S. Hongkonggeek do sell them

yesno1234 · 30-01-2013 8:26pm

bidiots wrote: »

No matter the supplier, if you use standard post then it looks more likely to get hit with the tax. Major ball ache tho...I've been lucky twice, doubt I'd get away with a third...will give it a go tho:D

P.S. Hongkonggeek do sell them

Hongkongeeks refund you the tax if you get caught.

Chinese Android Phones

Comments