Current best value Android Huawei Ascend G300

Psygnosis

Hi,

My Dad broke his HTC desire and I need to get him a new phone. I have seen this available in the North through Vodafone
Huawei Ascend G300


So I am going to get one of the lads at work to pick it up for me.
It looks a cracking phone for the price
Single core 1ghz
4" screen
and all the usual big battery as well.
ICS due in June/July and Huawei are pro active with updates.


What do you guys think
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_g300-4594.php

It can be unlocked for around 6 quid on ebay and it works. It can also be debranded with a rom form modoco.

Works out at 100 quid sterling plus the unlocking fee of 6 quid so 106 all in.

It actually seems better than the desire he had previously.

Jarren

I doubt there will be any better than this phone at this price. phones at this price wont be able to match the specs of this one as far as i am aware.

http://www.modaco.com/forum/650-huawei-ascend-g300-g300modacocom/

another review http://www.electricpig.co.uk/2012/05/01/huawei-ascend-g300-review-too-good-for-the-bargain-bin/

Get it unlocked http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=251050783250&clk_rvr_id=347361189525#ht_2431wt_1185

Zonda999

Looks very decent for the price in fairness OP, no way would you get get better raw specs for the money

Mimikyu

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somebody_else

I have one - how to buy it online on vodafone.co.uk and have delivery to IRE ?

Tom

Mimikyu

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Jarren

somebody_else wrote: »

I have one - how to buy it online on vodafone.co.uk and have delivery to IRE ?

Tom

http://www.deliverme.ie/

somebody_else

Yeah I just see that but 22 euros is a bit too much.

Also driving 130 km one way to Newry is a bit too much.

Pity I have no relatives in UK/NI.

Tom

I think I will go and try to fix my HD2

seannash

Captain Morgan wrote: »

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Do you mind me asking what the agent looked like so I can see if he's working there tomorrow

seeing_ie

Could any Dubliners picking up one of these collect one for me too:D

My desire was taken last week, the G300 looks like a good value replacement.

eamon234

seeing_ie wrote: »

Could any Dubliners picking up one of these collect one for me too:D

My desire was taken last week, the G300 looks like a good value replacement.

These are launching in Ireland this week.

Mimikyu

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Sools

Get a galaxy s3 for him.best android phone IMO

Riesen_Meal

Sools wrote: »

Get a galaxy s3 for him.best android phone IMO

That's all well and good but this is a budget phone, it's by no means near the price of a SGS 3....

Mimikyu

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eamon234

€129 AFAIK

Captain Morgan wrote: »

Captain Morgan wrote: »

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On Vodafone also? Any idea of price?

Zonda999

Yep; http://shop.vodafone.ie/shop/phonesAndPlans/phones/mobileDetails/mobileDetailsMain.jsp?tabSelected=overviewTab&selectionKey=mobile&segment=&voucherCode=&planType=prepay&skuId=sku1310126&planSkuId=&subPage=phones&menuKey=

It'd be great of these were unlocked but they probably wont be, unlocking shouldn't be too difficult though

Its superb value in fairness

Mimikyu

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manu2009

Looks good, im tempted at that price.

Works out ever so slightly cheaper from Amazon.

somebody_else

do they deliver for free to IRE ?

Also warranty is question here - sending phone to UK instead to vodafone shop

Tom

Adyx

For orders over £25 postage is free. Don't think it's worth to save 6 or 7 euro though. As much as I hate Fatcheese, you'll get €5 or €10 cashback if you go through them to order with Vodafone too.

I was thinking of getting the Smart 2 but even at twice the price this looks to be even better value.

Psygnosis

So I got the phone for my dad and got the unlock code from ebay 7 euros then flashed the generic rom from hauwei onto it to get rid of vodafone branding.

It's a really nice phone much smoother than his htc desire was and easier for him to use with the bigger screen. He's 66 and while not a techno phobe he would'nt have the best eyesight.
He really likes the phone can do everything for him email, small bit of browsing music fm radio etc.
The only issue is the phone is a bit slippy not textured so you could drop it easy I have ordered him a gel case for it which should help him with that.
Anyway its a cracking phone for the money.

manu2009

Psygnosis wrote: »

So I got the phone for my dad and got the unlock code from ebay 7 euros then flashed the generic rom from hauwei onto it to get rid of vodafone branding.

Just got one today aswell and ive ordered the unlock code on ebay, could you post the link to where you got the stock huawei rom?

Toasterspark

What's the battery life like? And also, how's the camera on it?

Sounds like a great phone for the price.

BopNiblets

Captain Morgan wrote: »

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I saw this in Vodafone on Grafton street today, no need to go up north!

Mimikyu

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jgbyr

Anyone have any user feedback on this phone yet?

Clitlady

Does ICS work on this?

Adyx

Clitlady wrote: »

Does ICS work on this?

Huawei are apparently planning an update to ics during the summer. In the meantime there's a few people on Modaco working on an ics rom. Weren't having much luck the last time I checked the thread though.

somebody_else

Here goes small tutorial how to make most of the phone:

1. Go to Tesco Mobile and order Yourself a free sim card

2. After You have card at Your hand go to Vodafone shop and tell them that You want to switch netork from Tesco to Vodafone -- 20 euros off the phone price.

2a. If You have unwanted phone You can bring it with You and ask Vodafone if they want it - from 5 to 50 euros off the phone price.

3. GO to eBay to purchase unlock code for this phone.

4. Go to ModaCo and follow instruction there to root Your phone.

5. Go to ClockworkMod Recovery for Huawei U8815/Ascend G 300 to install ClockworkMod Recovery (so You can install custom room on it.

6. Go to de-branded Rom for G300 to install custom room on it.

7. At this point You should receive Your unlock code so You can put Your sim in G300 and start playing.

I went thru above and now have unlocked and de-branded phone.

If You have any questions let me know.

Tom

54kroc

Some good tips there, Cheers.
I copied your post to a thread over on the Bargain Alerts forum, hope you don't mind.

jgbyr

I just got one of these, nice looking phone. The thing is when I turn it on with the sim card in I keep getting this message "The process com.android.phone has stop unexpectedly. Please try again." The phone then locks the screen. It keeps happening.
I can explore the phone without the sim card in though. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks

ionapaul

somebody_else wrote: »

Here goes small tutorial how to make most of the phone:

1. Go to Tesco Mobile and order Yourself a free sim card

2. After You have card at Your hand go to Vodafone shop and tell them that You want to switch netork from Tesco to Vodafone -- 20 euros off the phone price.

Hi Tom - thanks for the tutorial. What's the deal with the €20 off the phone price; I can't see anything about this on the Vodaphone website? Is this offer still running?

seannash

ionapaul wrote: »

Hi Tom - thanks for the tutorial. What's the deal with the €20 off the phone price; I can't see anything about this on the Vodaphone website? Is this offer still running?

Curious about this also

54kroc

ionapaul wrote: »

Hi Tom - thanks for the tutorial. What's the deal with the €20 off the phone price; I can't see anything about this on the Vodaphone website? Is this offer still running?

seannash wrote: »

Curious about this also

When you buy the phone online you need to pick the option to move your number to Vodafone, then the €20 discount will show up.

I popped into a Vodafone shop at lunchtime to pick one up using Toms advice and I got the phone for €109, If you want instead of the discount they will give you a 3G broadband worth €30.

The phone is very nice, great build quality, better than a HTC Desire imo.

somebody_else

Hi jgbyr

Put custom rom on it - it solves a lot of issues plus it removes Vodafone crappware from it
Or You can try to update it from Hiuawei directly at huawei device
Tom

jgbyr

jgbyr wrote: »

I just got one of these, nice looking phone. The thing is when I turn it on with the sim card in I keep getting this message "The process com.android.phone has stop unexpectedly. Please try again." The phone then locks the screen. It keeps happening.
I can explore the phone without the sim card in though. Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks

It turns out that my sim card was the problem. Its a few years old. Went into a VF shop & got a new one ,working fine now.

somebody_else wrote: »

Hi jgbyr

Put custom rom on it - it solves a lot of issues plus it removes Vodafone crappware from it
Or You can try to update it from Hiuawei directly at huawei device
Tom

Thanks for the reply Tom. Have never done this before but I think I will give it a go. Can the phone be easily restored if something goes wrong?

Adyx

I put the B888 rom on mine, updating from B886. It gets rid of all the Vodafone crap and the buttons seem to work better. It hasn't been officially released by Huawei though and it's apparently difficult to downgrade again if you need to return the phone.

wilser

Sorry for the noob question,but will this phone work in America?

Edit: just found out it will work

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Picked up one of these for a family member today. Lovely phone for about 100 bucks. Very like the HTC Desire in shape/design. Going to play with it a bit over the next few days.

jgbyr

somebody_else wrote: »

Here goes small tutorial how to make most of the phone

7. At this point You should receive Your unlock code so You can put Your sim in G300 and start playing.

I went thru above and now have unlocked and de-branded phone.

If You have any questions let me know.

Tom

A question about this as it's all alien to me. My sim is with Vodafone so do I have to unlock the phone after following the rooting & other steps.

Adyx

jgbyr wrote: »

A question about this as it's all alien to me. My sim is with Vodafone so do I have to unlock the phone after following the rooting & other steps.

If you plan on staying with Vodafone, there's no need to unlock it.

jgbyr

Adyx wrote: »

If you plan on staying with Vodafone, there's no need to unlock it.

Thanks for that.

jgbyr

I have been trying to follow the steps to install a rom on the phone.
I have rooted it but now I am stuck on this:
5. Go to ClockworkMod Recovery for Huawei U8815/Ascend G 300 to install ClockworkMod Recovery (so You can install custom room on it.

I don't know what I'm supposed to download here & what to do then. Can anyone help. Thanks

Adyx

I know this lazy and I probably shouldn't just link to another forum but the instructions in this thread on Modaco are fool-proof and easy to follow.

If you want to back up your apps first you can use Titanium before you flash a new ROM.

Also when you have CWM installed make sure you back up your current ROM before you flash a new one. This can use around 550MB so make sure you have space on your SD card.

Donieh

Hi Folks,

I am currently with O2 and was looking to switch to Tesco Mobile when I noticed this thread and would really like the get this phone however I have some clarifying questions about the providers

Do I need to switch to tesco mobile before I begin this?
With these steps i am guessing you are with vodafone as a provider?Should I just goto Vodafone and say that I want to switch to them from O2 if that's the case what discounts would I get?
Can this switching be done instore versus online?

Sorry if these basic questions however I have relocated home this weekend from living in the US.

Thanks,
Donieh

54kroc

If you pop into a Vodafone shop and switch your number to them there and then you'll get €20 off the price of the phone.
Go home and buy the unlock code from ebay and then switch your number to Tesco.

Donieh wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I am currently with O2 and was looking to switch to Tesco Mobile when I noticed this thread and would really like the get this phone however I have some clarifying questions about the providers

Do I need to switch to tesco mobile before I begin this?
With these steps i am guessing you are with vodafone as a provider?Should I just goto Vodafone and say that I want to switch to them from O2 if that's the case what discounts would I get?
Can this switching be done instore versus online?

Sorry if these basic questions however I have relocated home this weekend from living in the US.

Thanks,
Donieh

Donieh

54kroc wrote: »

If you pop into a Vodafone shop and switch your number to them there and then you'll get €20 off the price of the phone.
Go home and buy the unlock code from ebay and then switch your number to Tesco.

Donieh wrote: »

Hi Folks,

I am currently with O2 and was looking to switch to Tesco Mobile when I noticed this thread and would really like the get this phone however I have some clarifying questions about the providers

Do I need to switch to tesco mobile before I begin this?
With these steps i am guessing you are with vodafone as a provider?Should I just goto Vodafone and say that I want to switch to them from O2 if that's the case what discounts would I get?
Can this switching be done instore versus online?

Sorry if these basic questions however I have relocated home this weekend from living in the US.

Thanks,
Donieh

Thanks!

Zardoz

What is the battery life like on this phone ,the reviews seem to indicate its the typical 1 day charge period.

I currently have a Tocco Light phone and I usually only have to charge it once a week as my phone usage wouldnt be great.
I would like to switch to a smartphone but the idea of having to charge a phone every day is a huge turnoff .
Would I get longer out of the battery with low usage ?

Adyx

Zardoz wrote: »

What is the battery life like on this phone ,the reviews seem to indicate its the typical 1 day charge period.

I currently have a Tocco Light phone and I usually only have to charge it once a week as my phone usage wouldnt be great.
I would like to switch to a smartphone but the idea of having to charge a phone every day is a huge turnoff .
Would I get longer out of the battery with low usage ?

With light usage I'd get 2 days easily enough, especially with bluetooth/gps/wifi turned off. There's plenty of options for lowering battery use too like reducing screen brightness, screen timeout and haptic feedback. It comes with a 1A charger too so it doesn't take long to charge it anyway.

There's no way you're going to get a week out of it though.