Star S7180 Note ii

johnny76

You wont get more phone for your money.
Ordered from the top rated seller on aliexpress.com on 20 dec, delivered on 7 jan.
Got a extra 16gb memory card as well for a grand total of €148 delivered.
A bargain if ever there was one.

StaticNoise

Does it come with a stylus?

johnny76

No stylus.
The phone works perfect.
Google it, check out the videos on the internet

StaticNoise

Thanks.

If this is the case, why don't more people use knockoffs? It's not down to just marketing.

paddyp

Thats a great price, you didn't get caught for customs then? Was it yanwen express or something?

yesno1234

Jiayu G3 is only slightly dearer and better phone imo.
Better rear facing camera 8mp v 5mp.
Better screen 1280x720 v 960x540
Smaller screen (Pro imo, 4.5 inch is slightly too big even imo) - 4.5in v 5.3in
Looks better too imo.

AlmightyCushion

No warranty to fall back on in case something goes wrong plus you're pretty much guaranteed not to get an updates be they new versions of android or big fixes. I actually would consider a cheapo Chinese knockoff if they had good CyanogenMod support.

johnny76

paddyp wrote: »

Thats a great price, you didn't get caught for customs then? Was it yanwen express or something?

Got it at aliexpress.com Just picked a top rated seller and picked the cheapest postage which was either China Post or Singapore Post cant remember which.
Did not get caught by customs, if i did get caught what would it have been 20-30 euro at the most? Still a bargain.

johnny76

yesno1234 wrote: »

Jiayu G3 is only slightly dearer and better phone imo.
Better rear facing camera 8mp v 5mp.
Better screen 1280x720 v 960x540
Smaller screen (Pro imo, 4.5 inch is slightly too big even imo) - 4.5in v 5.3in
Looks better too imo.

But do you actually have this phone?
i have the Star S7180 Note ii and can honestly say it is the business.

paddyp

StaticNoise wrote: »

Thanks.

If this is the case, why don't more people use knockoffs? It's not down to just marketing.

Warranty, returns, fear of being scammed or receiving low quality stuff that breaks a couple months down the line.

Thats why the chinese are keen to build these centers in places like Athlone an Angola.

johnny76

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

No warranty to fall back on in case something goes wrong plus you're pretty much guaranteed not to get an updates be they new versions of android or big fixes. I actually would consider a cheapo Chinese knockoff if they had good CyanogenMod support.

It comes with jelly bean 4.1.1
Premium Phones from the top brands are still sold with ice cream sandwich and will never get jelly bean.
If you want to pay hundreds more for a Brand name go ahead. We all know they are made in the same factories by the same workforce.
As for a warranty, at this price who cares.
If it breaks or you lose it you are not hugely out of pocket.

AlmightyCushion

johnny76 wrote: »

It comes with jelly bean 4.1.1
Premium Phones from the top brands are still sold with ice cream sandwich and will never get jelly bean.
If you want to pay hundreds more for a Brand name go ahead. We all know they are made in the same factories by the same workforce.
As for a warranty, at this price who cares.
If it breaks or you lose it you are not hugely out of pocket.

Nearly €200 (if you get caught by customs which is a lot more likely than it used to be) is a lot of money to throw away on a phone if it falls apart after a couple of months.

johnny76

Just checked it comes with a 12 month warranty.

paddyp

Some of the chinese on aliexpress have ways around the customs for a few euro extra they ship it via a european country with favourable import laws. When i get stuff it arrives repackaged in a royalmail bag via southhampton or somewhere.

In terms of returns and warranty. There is so much fear and suspicion it can actually work to your advantage when something goes wrong they are usually prepared to give you most of your money back or send you a new one rather than get bad mouthed especially when they ask you to describe the issue and you send them a link to your blog describing the problem

Its all about researching your supplier, the feedback ratings on aliexpress are meaningless you effectively can't leave bad feedback you're encouraged to temove it or it gets hidden or removed.

I've had very positive experience in general especially compared to the local vodafone shop here that tells *everybody* their phone is water damaged without even taking off the battery cover and are beligerent enough that people give up trying to make a warranty claim.

I once ordered completely the wrong diagnostic tool on aliexpress chinese supplier said no problem sent out the right one and said send back the other one when you get it.

tm2204

johnny76 wrote: »

You wont get more phone for your money.
Ordered from the top rated seller on aliexpress.com on 20 dec, delivered on 7 jan.
Got a extra 16gb memory card as well for a grand total of €148 delivered.
A bargain if ever there was one.

What's battery life like on it mate?

Full Play Store I presume?

llc

Not sure about the Star Phones. Reviews aren't that good. Doesn't even have a decent screen?

Jiayu phones are very well built. I had the G2 and it was class, the Jiayu G3 has a great spec but has battery leakage issues linked to the ROM. Probably this will be overcome with a new ROM.

The best looking one at the moment is the UMI X1, it has the same spec as the G3 and is well supported from a ROM point of view. It looks as good as the Samsung Galaxy S3.

All of these are dual SIM and dual Core.

Both Jiayu and UMI X1 use gorrilla glass (or quivalent) and IPS screens. You won't scratch the screen.

All of them have the same issue with warranty as in you have to send them back to China if you have a problem.

Allyall

I call shenanigans..

Allyall

I double call shenanigans.

faral

its chinese cheap ****e so even if it was for free I would not touch it.hate chinese stuff

drunkmonkey

Knock off alert if ever there was, has Bargin alerts hit a new low?

long_b

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Knock off alert if ever there was, has Bargin alerts hit a new low?

Eh ... welcome to boards.ie OP - I see by your po a t count that you're new here

bidiots

faral wrote: »

its chinese cheap ****e so even if it was for free I would not touch it.hate chinese stuff

They all come from China bud:D

As regards this Star phone, you are paying for what you get. The screen is not the best and the battery life would be very suspect. There are some good chinese brands to choose from, check my posts and you'll see a review of the Jiayu G3 which for the money, has an amazing screen.

Buying from China, warranty, development community, fear of custom tax, are the main reasons more people don't buy these. No matter what way you look at it tho, a chinese brand for the budget of 150-200 will always have a much better spec than a branded phone here for the same budget.

Happy hunting

gerryk

faral wrote: »

its chinese cheap ****e so even if it was for free I would not touch it.hate chinese stuff

Based on what? I have plenty experience of Chinese electronics (radios and phones) and hardware (knives and tools) and find them comparable to "western" brands of similar, or often much higher prices. Bear in mind that Chinese manufacturers, such as Ganzo, Puxing or Kaito or OEMs for brands like Grundig Radios, Buck Knives, Gerber and other, what would be considered 'high quality' brands.

That doesn't mean that there isn't also cheap crap available, because there is. I would never buy flash memory, or, in fact any storage, from a Chinese vendor, but it's not valid to "hate chinese stuff", in my opinion.

Inquitus

Doesn't look bad for 150 yoyos, lets be honest though it can't even hold a candle to an Android flagship device. But you'd fail to get a new branded phone as powerful for the price.

This thread is strange. There are plenty of people saying that don't buy Chinese as they're cheap quality or they're knock offs or you'll have warranty problems etc., and yet there's a giant thread about Chinese tablets here in BA.

Is there something different or magical about phones that makes them the only thing I shouldn't buy outside of Europe that no one has told me about?

phasers

I've been looking at the Newman N1 myself


Seems like a great phone and the reviews are solid. I don't see the problem with ordering stuff from China, that's where the majority of electronics are made anyway

johnny76

Can see from the reactions here and that i got a permanent ban from the Android forum for posting about this phone, that a lot of people are brand whore's with low self esteem, who feel that they must spent big money on a Branded phone to get value for money and feel warm and fuzzy inside.
A lot of the posters must be young a impressionable and believe all the advertisements.
The facts are very few facilities exist around the world to manufacture smart phones and all the Major Brands tender to these factories to assemble there phones.
When these factories are not making phones for Apple and Samsung they are mass producing these knock offs for the Chinese market.
Wages in china are much lower than the west, hence the low cost of the phone for us. This would be a premium priced phone in china at this price. Only people buying apple and samsung over there are filthy rich.


Just checked the meteor online shop and the galaxy note 2 is €649 on PAYG.
You get the Star S7180 Note for €150, a saving of €500.
Do you honestly think the samsung is €500 better?

The €500 that i saved is now waiting for november when Sony and Microsoft are expected to launch there next generation consoles. There will be no Chinese knock off's of these, so full price will be paid. Keep your power dry until you actually need it.

If you paid €649 on PAYG for a phone you would need to hold onto it for years to get value out of it. The technology would have become obsolete before too long and you are stuck with it.
This phone works out at €6 a week for six months,if it breaks or gets lost i not going to have a conniption, i can get a new improve phone for another €150 and still have saved €350 on the Galaxy note 2 PAYG price.
No one knows what the phones will be like in six months, could blow todays phones clear away.

johnny76

faral wrote: »

its chinese cheap ****e so even if it was for free I would not touch it.hate chinese stuff

Hate to break the bad news but the Apple or the Samsung phone you have in your pocket is cheap Chinese ****e sold at inflated prices to gullible people with too much money.
All the marquee brands are made in china.

sunny2004

o you have a link to where you bought the phone ?

bidiots

johnny76 wrote: »

Can see from the reactions here and that i got a permanent ban from the Android forum for posting about this phone, that a lot of people are brand whore's with low self esteem, who feel that they must spent big money on a Branded phone to get value for money and feel warm and fuzzy inside.
A lot of the posters must be young a impressionable and believe all the advertisements.
The facts are very few facilities exist around the world to manufacture smart phones and all the Major Brands tender to these factories to assemble there phones.
When these factories are not making phones for Apple and Samsung they are mass producing these knock offs for the Chinese market.
Wages in china are much lower than the west, hence the low cost of the phone for us. This would be a premium priced phone in china at this price. Only people buying apple and samsung over there are filthy rich.


Just checked the meteor online shop and the galaxy tab 2 is €649 on PAYG.
You get the Star S7180 Note for €150, a saving of €500.
Do you honestly think the samsung is €500 better?

The €500 that i saved is now waiting for november when Sony and Microsoft are expected to launch there next generation consoles. There will be no Chinese knock off's of these, so full price will be paid. Keep your power dry until you actually need it.

If you paid €649 on PAYG for a phone you would need to hold onto it for years to get value out of it. The technology would have become obsolete before too long and you are stuck with it.
This phone works out at €6 a week for six months,if it breaks or gets lost i not going to have a conniption, i can get a new improve phone for another €150 and still have saved €350 on the Galaxy tab 2 PAYG price.
No one knows what the phones will be like in six months, could blow todays phones clear away.

Sorry to rain on your parade here but the Star for 150, you are getting what you pay for. It is nowhere near the quality of a Galaxy Tab 2, with older version of software, no stylus, much inferior screen, little to no english development community. Its comparing apples to oranges I'm afraid.

People need to be informed about the 'down' side of the cheaper chinese brands too.

King Krib

Just had a look at the website referred to in this thread, some impressive gear on it I have to say. I don't see PayPal as a payment option, what is the preferred and safest payment option on this site.

bidiots

phasers wrote: »

I've been looking at the Newman N1 myself


Seems like a great phone and the reviews are solid. I don't see the problem with ordering stuff from China, that's where the majority of electronics are made anyway

You will get a similar spec phone, with same processor for a few quid cheaper.

bidiots

King Krib wrote: »

Just had a look at the website referred to in this thread, some impressive gear on it I have to say. I don't see PayPal as a payment option, what is the preferred and safest payment option on this site.

Have a read http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056851139

sunny2004

johnny76 wrote: »

Can see from the reactions here and that i got a permanent ban from the Android forum for posting about this phone, that a lot of people are brand whore's with low self esteem, who feel that they must spent big money on a Branded phone to get value for money and feel warm and fuzzy inside.
A lot of the posters must be young a impressionable and believe all the advertisements.
The facts are very few facilities exist around the world to manufacture smart phones and all the Major Brands tender to these factories to assemble there phones.
When these factories are not making phones for Apple and Samsung they are mass producing these knock offs for the Chinese market.
Wages in china are much lower than the west, hence the low cost of the phone for us. This would be a premium priced phone in china at this price. Only people buying apple and samsung over there are filthy rich.


Just checked the meteor online shop and the galaxy tab 2 is €649 on PAYG.
You get the Star S7180 Note for €150, a saving of €500.
Do you honestly think the samsung is €500 better?

The €500 that i saved is now waiting for november when Sony and Microsoft are expected to launch there next generation consoles. There will be no Chinese knock off's of these, so full price will be paid. Keep your power dry until you actually need it.

If you paid €649 on PAYG for a phone you would need to hold onto it for years to get value out of it. The technology would have become obsolete before too long and you are stuck with it.
This phone works out at €6 a week for six months,if it breaks or gets lost i not going to have a conniption, i can get a new improve phone for another €150 and still have saved €350 on the Galaxy tab 2 PAYG price.
No one knows what the phones will be like in six months, could blow todays phones clear away.

I think you are getting a bit hung up on the response, I own a Galazy note, I can assure you it will be better built than the phone you are talking about, but as you said, there is a huge cost difference...

Did you just come online to post this offer ??

mcgovern

johnny76 wrote: »

Wages in china are much lower than the west, hence the low cost of the phone for us. This would be a premium priced phone in china at this price. Only people buying apple and samsung over there are filthy rich.

I was in China a few months ago, everyone had iPhones or SG2s or other, big brand phones. Very few were using Chinese brands. Part of that may be that you can't get these China brand phones/tablets as cheap in China as you can here (something to do with import taxes, even though they are built in China, if they want to sell them there, they have to pay an import tax), so the price differential isn't as much. They all bought their phones in Hong Kong rather than China (cheaper, because of the import tax), so I took a trip to check it out, and in the shops there almost exclusively sold Apple and Samsung. I didn't see any Chinese brand phones (not even ZTE) and only the odd tablet by Ainol or similar.

Allyall

johnny76 wrote: »

Can see from the reactions here and that i got a permanent ban from the Android forum for posting about this phone, that a lot of people are brand whore's with low self esteem, who feel that they must spent big money on a Branded phone to get value for money and feel warm and fuzzy inside.

You probably got the ban because you didn't post anything else. Looks like you are selling the phone, or marketing it for someone else in return for something.

johnny76 wrote: »

Wages in china are much lower than the west, hence the low cost of the phone for us. This would be a premium priced phone in china at this price. Only people buying apple and samsung over there are filthy rich.

Bullsh*t.
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/12/16iPhone-5-First-Weekend-Sales-in-China-Top-Two-Million.html
I'm sure if i bother looking further i would find more info.

Those Clone phones aren't the worst, but there are better ones than the star, for a decent price.

There are tons of different clones for every type of phone.
Best Phone in the World only $16.67 per piece.

johnny76

sunny2004 wrote: »

I think you are getting a bit hung up on the response, I own a Galazy note, I can assure you it will be better built than the phone you are talking about, but as you said, there is a huge cost difference...

Did you just come online to post this offer ??

Have been a long time lurker on this forum, and have picked up many a bargain.
I found this phone and it is a genuine bargain at this price so i had to share.

Let's examine the facts before you write off this phone, what do you use your phone for?

Call quality is excellent.
Internet browsing is fast and responsive on the big screen.
Youtube Video playback is smooth.
Streams music perfectly over 3g.( Sony music unlimited, €12 a year with PS+)
Camera is crystal clear, (1080p HD TV is only 2 mega pixels, dont hear people complaining about that as low quality)
Viber messages are instant, found them to be much faster delivery than iMessages on ios.
Has the full Google Play store.
Google Now works Perfect.
As a E-reader it is perfect size to read books.
Battery life IS good. It comes with a second battery to swap if you are going to be a very heavy user. I have had no need to use the second battery. You will get a day of use from a charge.

Here is a video of it in action,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZSjx8ylLjw

Now Tell me what can the €649 galaxy Note 2 do that this phone cant for €150.
And if there is some function missing or not as good, is it honestly worth €500 more?

Allyall

Why do you keep quoting the Galaxy Tab 2?

Is this phone not supposed to be a clone of the Galaxy Note II?

johnny76 wrote: »

Have been a long time lurker on this forum, and have picked up many a bargain.
I found this phone and it is a genuine bargain at this price so i had to share.

Let's examine the facts before you write off this phone, what do you use your phone for?

Call quality is excellent.
Internet browsing is fast and responsive on the big screen.
Youtube Video playback is smooth.
Streams music perfectly over 3g.( Sony music unlimited, €12 a year with PS+)
Camera is crystal clear, (1080p HD TV is only 2 mega pixels, dont hear people complaining about that as low quality)
Viber messages are instant, found them to be much faster delivery than iMessages on ios.
Has the full Google Play store.
Google Now works Perfect.
As a E-reader it is perfect size to read books.
Battery life IS good. It comes with a second battery to swap if you are going to be a very heavy user. I have had no need to use the second battery. You will get a day of use from a charge.

Here is a video of it in action,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZSjx8ylLjw

Now Tell me what can the €649 galaxy tab 2 do that this phone cant for €150.
And if there is some function missing or not as good, is it honestly worth €500 more?

johnny76

Looks like you are selling the phone, or marketing it for someone else in return for something.


I have nothing to gain from posting about this phone.
I found a bargain and wanted to share, if you are not interested dont buy it.

johnny76

Allyall wrote: »

Why do you keep quoting the Galaxy Tab 2?

Is this phone not supposed to be a clone of the Galaxy Note II?

My mistake will edit

Kenny Logins

Skipping past the comparisons to a genuine Galaxy Note II, and as far as sub €200 phones go, this does appear to be a bargain...

Allyall

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Skipping past the comparisons to a genuine Galaxy Note II, and as far as sub €200 phones go, this does appear to be a bargain...

It is.

As are the Hero, Jiayu, Cubot, Bedove and others.

phasers

bidiots wrote: »

You will get a similar spec phone, with same processor for a few quid cheaper.

Any recommendations?

fl4pj4ck

you can drive a fiat and you can drive a merc

ThunbergsAreGo

hmm i am tempted by one of these phones

Pj!

fl4pj4ck wrote: »

you can drive a fiat and you can drive a merc

You can love a Fiat and you can love a Merc.

Thargor

You'll get more love in one than the other though

I bought a Jiayu G3 last night, here's the thread on the Android board:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056851139

A Law

I'm actually interested in one of these also. Was gonna splash out on the s3 BA but would be seriously tempted with one of these. Only problem is dat I haven't a clue which one to buy. I'd spend up to 250-300 if needs be.

Allyall

joefuss1986 wrote: »

I'm actually interested in one of these also. Was gonna splash out on the s3 BA but would be seriously tempted with one of these. Only problem is dat I haven't a clue which one to buy. I'd spend up to 250-300 if needs be.

I was looking at them a few months ago and i just stopped/decided to wait. Now i am back looking again.. Merimobiles are sold out of the Jiayu G3, HongKongeek have it for an extra €6, including Duty/Customs.

I am not sure what one to go for though, only because i was looking at the Note too. A friend of mine bought one about two months ago and he is still swearing by it.

The ZTE range, and the Oppo T29.

Also looking at this

The Newman N2 Quad Core. It's getting great reviews everywhere too.. Might be a bit cheaper because it's not as well known as the Jiayu.. (Which also may not be a good thing, for rooting etc.)

Skip forward to 1:45 seconds to see the phone

I F**KING HAYTE FIREFOX.. That's too many times it has crashed in the middle of posting.. :mad::mad Getting rid of it or rolling back to an old version as soon as i finish this post.

Anyway, what i was saying was the Jiayu makes much more sense. It is so good that the other clones are being compared to it (possibly the nest Jiayu etcc.).. It has a large community, has a decent price. I won't be among the first to use it, which means find any bugs or annoyances..

zom

Pj! wrote: »

You can love a Fiat and you can love a Merc.

It's rather: You can drive Cayenne for 120k or Tuareg for 80k. It's pretty obvious Tuareg is not Cayenne, but is the difference worth 40k euro?

JJJJNR

Would be very interested in loading ubuntu onto one of these.