Chinavasion smartphones

Johro

Been browsing for cheaper alternatives of android 2.2 smartphones, chinavasion.com has ample choice, I know that some of you will sniff at anything from China but I bought my niece a dual sim quadband touchscreen mobile a few years ago for around 100 euro including shipping, and she still uses it.
What I'd like to know is, how do you think this http://www.chinavasion.com/android-tablets-phones/draconis-32-inch-touchscreen-dual-sim-android-22-smartphone-quadband-gps/ compares to other android phones that cost a lot more money?
And while you're at it, how about this 7''tablet/phone? http://www.chinavasion.com/android-tablets-phones/tabulus-android-22-tablet-phone-with-7-inch-touchscreen-quadband-gsm-wifi-camera/?s=awr107
(If price shows US dollars, change to euro on left of screen)

tallaghtmick

Bought a n97 copy with windows on it from that site before and the battery lasted a whole 2 hours,be very careful.The phone/tablet looks nice though.

Johro

tallaghtmick wrote: »

Bought a n97 copy with windows on it from that site before and the battery lasted a whole 2 hours,be very careful.The phone/tablet looks nice though.

That doesn't sound great, though I gotta say my niece got two batteries with her phone and that's still going.
Two batteries seems to be standard with anything from chinavasion. My sis bought a HD camcorder from them last year and she got two 16 Gb SD cards with it. And a spare battery. She's very happy with it, specs very high and most of the components are made by Sharp.
I guess there's always an element of doubt when buying stuff like this online, especially at those prices and from across the world.
I would've been in touch with them and demanded a new battery though if that had happened to me.

tallaghtmick

Johro wrote: »

That doesn't sound great, though I gotta say my niece got two batteries with her phone and that's still going.
Two batteries seems to be standard with anything from chinavasion. My sis bought a HD camcorder from them last year and she got two 16 Gb SD cards with it. And a spare battery. She's very happy with it, specs very high and most of the components are made by Sharp.
I guess there's always an element of doubt when buying stuff like this online, especially at those prices and from across the world.
I would've been in touch with them and demanded a new battery though if that had happened to me.

I did but a silly mate wanted a swap with a proper n97 plus 100 his way even after i told him about the battery,he said he could get a proper one:D

jimmycrackcorm

Beware; Many of those cheap chinese phones don't support 2100 frequency for 3G here.

tallaghtmick

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

Beware; Many of those cheap chinese phones don't support 2100 frequency for 3G here.

Even if they do the network might not have the settings for the phone.

Johro

My niece had no problem accessing the 3G network with hers anyway. I don't think there's an issue there. Also, the phones may be a lot cheaper, but they defo don't look or feel cheap. A lot of well known brands are made by these same manufacturers, and they make components for the likes of Sharp, Samsung etc. Like I said, my niece was and still is happy with her phone and my sis is happy with her HD camcorder, she also got a lot of accessories with it, which you'd have to pay extra for here. You're lucky to get a carry strap when you buy a camera here.
My question is more about the software, memory, connectivity etc. and how it stacks up against others on the market.
Have a look at the smartphones on the site, they're not toys by any means.

Johro

tallaghtmick wrote: »

I did but a silly mate wanted a swap with a proper n97 plus 100 his way even after i told him about the battery,he said he could get a proper one:D

Ah well, he asked for it.;)

evolutionqy7

Johro wrote: »

Been browsing for cheaper alternatives of android 2.2 smartphones, chinavasion.com has ample choice, I know that some of you will sniff at anything from China but I bought my niece a dual sim quadband touchscreen mobile a few years ago for around 100 euro including shipping, and she still uses it.
What I'd like to know is, how do you think this http://www.chinavasion.com/android-tablets-phones/draconis-32-inch-touchscreen-dual-sim-android-22-smartphone-quadband-gps/ compares to other android phones that cost a lot more money?
And while you're at it, how about this 7''tablet/phone? http://www.chinavasion.com/android-tablets-phones/tabulus-android-22-tablet-phone-with-7-inch-touchscreen-quadband-gsm-wifi-camera/?s=awr107
(If price shows US dollars, change to euro on left of screen)

Why not go for a galaxy mini or se mix Walkman? Around same price. Near same spec. And u can get them both under 120 each.

At least u will get a decent speed. Future software updates and some support

jimmycrackcorm

Johro wrote: »

My niece had no problem accessing the 3G network with hers anyway. I don't think there's an issue there.

Have a look at this: http://support.chinavasion.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=227#gsm-ir

Three is not supported properly as all their 3G cells use 2100.

The phones will work on GSM for definite.

Another site that explains this: http://theunlockr.com/2009/10/07/how-3g-frequency-compatibility-works-why-your-unlocked-phone-doesnt-get-3g/

Johro

Okay, I get ya, cheers for the info, I see that to use 3G in Ireland you need to be able to access the 900 and 1800 Mhz bandwidths, so I typed in '3G smartphone' on chinavasion and chose this one here http://www.chinavasion.com/android-tablets-phones/-valkyrie3g-android-smartphone-with-38-inch-multitouch-capacitive-touchscreen/, slightly dearer at 126 euro but should not pose a problem with 3G accessibility.

• 3G Android Smartphone with 3.8 inch Multi-Touch Capacitive Touchscreen
• Network: GSM frequencies 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz. WCDMA:2100MHz
• Color: Black
• Screen Size: 3.8 Inch
• Screen resolution: QVGA(320*480)
• Gps: support
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support
• Operating System: Android 2.1 (Eclair)
• Hardware Chipset: Qualcomm 7227
• CPU Speed: 468MHz
• RAM: 256MB
• Internal memory: 257MB
• External memory: Micro SD card up to 16GB (not included)

Here's part of the specs for the 7'' tablet/phone:

Communications
[*]Wireless Connection: WiFi, USB 3G
[*]Wireless Protocol: WiFi 802.11b/g
[*]Phone Network: Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900)

Johro

Checking out a few others after noticing that particular 3G phone uses android 2.1 version.
Here's a 7'' HDMI tablet though with android 2.3 for just under 140 euro.
http://www.chinavasion.com/android-tablets-phones/ingenium-23-android-23-tablet-with-7-inch-touchscreen-wifi-camera-hdmi-4gb/
Can't be bad. I take your point though.Will be sure to check out all the fine print.

jimmycrackcorm

If you want to get a 7inch tablet then try one out first. I think that a 4inch or so phone is fine for really portable use but if you want to make the best out of a tablet then a 10inch tablet is the next best step up.

7 inch sits uncomfortably in the middle. Consider why Apple went for 9.7 instead of a smaller and cheaper size.

Johro

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

If you want to get a 7inch tablet then try one out first. I think that a 4inch or so phone is fine for really portable use but if you want to make the best out of a tablet then a 10inch tablet is the next best step up.

7 inch sits uncomfortably in the middle. Consider why Apple went for 9.7 instead of a smaller and cheaper size.

Yeah fair enough, I did think exactly that, but I don't really think I'd use a tablet enough to warrant buying one anyway, and social networking is definitely not me, I had a facebook account for a week or so then got sick of the inane posts and generally useless stuff that constantly appeared on my wall so I deleted the account. I have an email address if people want to send me stuff or write something, that'll do me. I will stay on the lookout for a decent smartphone, but am not in any hurry. My laptop and moby will do for now. Cheers for the replies though, made sense.

Johro

Johro wrote: »

Okay, I get ya, cheers for the info, I see that to use 3G in Ireland you need to be able to access the 900 and 1800 Mhz bandwidths, so I typed in '3G smartphone' on chinavasion and chose this one here http://www.chinavasion.com/android-tablets-phones/-valkyrie3g-android-smartphone-with-38-inch-multitouch-capacitive-touchscreen/, slightly dearer at 126 euro but should not pose a problem with 3G accessibility.

• 3G Android Smartphone with 3.8 inch Multi-Touch Capacitive Touchscreen
• Network: GSM frequencies 850MHz, 900MHz, 1800MHz, 1900MHz. WCDMA:2100MHz
• Color: Black
• Screen Size: 3.8 Inch
• Screen resolution: QVGA(320*480)
• Gps: support
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support
• Operating System: Android 2.1 (Eclair)
• Hardware Chipset: Qualcomm 7227
• CPU Speed: 468MHz
• RAM: 256MB
• Internal memory: 257MB
• External memory: Micro SD card up to 16GB (not included)

Here's part of the specs for the 7'' tablet/phone:

• Communications
• Wireless Connection: WiFi, USB 3G
• Wireless Protocol: WiFi 802.11b/g
• Phone Network: Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900)

Just an update, chinavasion now have a 10.1 inch HD Tablet for just over 150 euro, plus shipping and duty.
I know plenty of people will probably compare to the ipad and say it's better but if you're looking for a lot for little money (we ain't all flush) you couldn't really go far wrong.