Huawei G7 ot Sony Z3

LG1234

My HTC M7 is really on its last legs and I need a new phone. Don’t want another HTC as I had nothing but trouble with the M7, from pink photos to poor battery to a screen that was crazy money to replace. I want the Sony Z3 but at €69 and €40 per month with 3 for 24 months. Meteor, who were usually the cheapest are €149 for the phone at €40 pm. Not to cheap. So thinking of getting the Huawei G7 instead. With 3 the phone is free and its only €25 per month with unlimited data and 100 flexi units. Would the G7 be a big step down from the M7? The battery looks good, has a decent quad core processor, 2gb ram, camera seems decent. Is it worth forking out an extra €80 for the Z3 and an extra €15pm for 2 years?

spix

The Huawei g7 is a great phone for the price but it would be considered mid range compared to the z3/m8. If you'd consider going pre pay instead of bill there would be many more options. I've had bad experiences with Sony phones so couldn't recommend the z3 but I'm sure others would disagree.

loyatemu

So thinking of getting the Huawei G7 instead. With 3 the phone is free and its only €25 per month with unlimited data and 100 flexi units.

Took this exact deal at the weekend (actually i paid 30 for the phone, but the contract is only for 18 months). Can't comment on the Sony phone but the Huawei G7 is pretty decent for the price - the screen is very big and bright (it's not full HD though); the phone feels high quality with metal construction and is quite thin and flat - it comes with a free shell cover as well. NFC, 4G, 13Mp camera are all very good specs for a mid range phone.

On the negative side it has Huawei's version of Android which is not terrible but has a few quirks and despite the quad core and extra RAM it's not 100% smooth (though it still seems quicker than the Moto G I had previously).

LG1234

Yes the Huawei is midrange, but what makes the top end phones much better? Processor is a bit better along with the screen? Is that enough to justify spending hundreds extra?

LG1234

loyatemu wrote: »

Took this exact deal at the weekend (actually i paid 30 for the phone, but the contract is only for 18 months). Can't comment on the Sony phone but the Huawei G7 is pretty decent for the price - the screen is very big and bright (it's not full HD though); the phone feels high quality with metal construction and is quite thin and flat - it comes with a free shell cover as well. NFC, 4G, 13Mp camera are all very good specs for a mid range phone.

On the negative side it has Huawei's version of Android which is not terrible but has a few quirks and despite the quad core and extra RAM it's not 100% smooth (though it still seems quicker than the Moto G I had previously).

Cheers. Smoothness is important to me and i would expect a new phone to be totally smooth.

spix

LG1234 wrote: »

Cheers. Smoothness is important to me and i would expect a new phone to be totally smooth.

Huawei's emotion ui is very smooth and snappy, much more than the specs would imply. However by default its set to restrict cpu power consumption to conserve battery so if you leave lots of apps running in the background it might slow a bit, can be easily fixed by switching power mode from 'smart' to 'normal' or by managing apps a bit better.

You wouldn't notice any performance differences between it and a phone with high end snapdragon cpu unless you play demanding games. All cpu's run at lower clocks in general usage.

loyatemu

spix wrote: »

Huawei's emotion ui is very smooth and snappy, much more than the specs would imply. However by default its set to restrict cpu power consumption to conserve battery so if you leave lots of apps running in the background it might slow a bit, can be easily fixed by switching power mode from 'smart' to 'normal' or by managing apps a bit better.

You wouldn't notice any performance differences between it and a phone with high end snapdragon cpu unless you play demanding games. All cpu's run at lower clocks in general usage.

Android is supposed to manage all that stuff itself - apps in the background are generally not consuming CPU and they get kicked if RAM is required (the G7 has 2GB of RAM so is better than the likes of the Moto G in this respect).

However I've had a number of low-to-mid range Androids and none of them have ever been as smooth as (say) an iPhone or a Nexus. I'm not saying the G7 is terrible, but I have noticed the occasional stutter or lag while scrolling in apps (I've tried both Normal and Smart modes, but it doesn't make much of a difference).

spix

loyatemu wrote: »

Android is supposed to manage all that stuff itself - apps in the background are generally not consuming CPU and they get kicked if RAM is required (the G7 has 2GB of RAM so is better than the likes of the Moto G in this respect).

However I've had a number of low-to-mid range Androids and none of them have ever been as smooth as (say) an iPhone or a Nexus. I'm not saying the G7 is terrible, but I have noticed the occasional stutter or lag while scrolling in apps (I've tried both Normal and Smart modes, but it doesn't make much of a difference).

Many apps still do consume power in the background, default Android management is extremely basic. Does the g7 have the power consumption reminders/management I've seen on other huawei phones? Should be in the phone manager app and will show apps that are secretly consuming power.

loyatemu

spix wrote: »

Many apps still do consume power in the background, default Android management is extremely basic. Does the g7 have the power consumption reminders/management I've seen on other huawei phones? Should be in the phone manager app and will show apps that are secretly consuming power.

yeah, it has those - I'm dubious though, if android really needs so much hands-on attention it's a bit ridiculous.

LG1234

Called meteor to cancel current contract. They offered me 28 a month for 6 months rolling contract, with unlimited calls, texts and data. And told me to buy the phone ready to go for 240. This means i would only in a contract for 6 months. He also said 3 are going to increase their price even if im on contract? From 25pm to 30. Any truth in that?

spix

LG1234 wrote: »

Called meteor to cancel current contract. They offered me 28 a month for 6 months rolling contract, with unlimited calls, texts and data. And told me to buy the phone ready to go for 240. This means i would only in a contract for 6 months. He also said 3 are going to increase their price even if im on contract? From 25pm to 30. Any truth in that?

When meteor say unlimited data they probably mean 7.5gb whereas Three means 15gb.

Don't know if there's any truth about Three upping the price. He could be referring to them charging 4.99 for 4G access from next month but 3G will still be free.

Have you had a look through the pre pay and sim only plans?

LG1234

No meteor said they'd cap it at 15gb. But dont see how it can beat the Three deal @ €25pm and €29 for the phone on an 18month contract. That appears to be a cracker of a deal. Just hope the phone is decent. Wanted the Sony more but can't justify the larger extra expense.

LG1234

Also once im in a contract with three, they cant change the price without giving me the option to cancel the contract, is that correct?

loyatemu

LG1234 wrote: »

Also once im in a contract with three, they cant change the price without giving me the option to cancel the contract, is that correct?

the change is the extra fiver for 4G.

didn't 3 say that they were going to charge for 4G before but then extended the free offer?

loyatemu

BTW the G7 has KitKat installed (though Huawei's EMUI skin borrows a few features from Lollipop) but Huawei have said it will get an upgrade to Lollipop in September.

smilerf

I went from the m7 to g7. I love it. I notice very little difference. Actually I find it better. Does everything well. For me its perfect. Great battery sound camera and clear screen

smilerf

I went from the m7 to g7. I love it. I notice very little difference. Actually I find it better. Does everything well. For me its perfect. Great battery sound camera and clear screen

LG1234

loyatemu wrote: »

the change is the extra fiver for 4G.

didn't 3 say that they were going to charge for 4G before but then extended the free offer?

And do you have to go with the extra 5er 4g out is it optional?

loyatemu

LG1234 wrote: »

And do you have to go with the extra 5er 4g out is it optional?

Optional AFAIK:

three.ie wrote:

From July 1st 2015 4G access will be available for purchase through an add on for €4.99 for Prepay, Bill Pay and Broadband customers.