Chinese Android Phones 2 - Read First Post!

RIchieNouveau wrote: »

I was also struck by how light my wife's redmi 2 was. I actually didn't like it, although I think the majority like lighter phones so maybe I'm an oddball.

I'm with you, I prefer a bit of heft in a phone so it doesn't feel like it will bend in my pocket.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good case. As mentioned above it's incredibly slippery.

Ryback wrote: »

Got a Mi5 from Top One last week, cost €250 including delivery. Price has now gone up to around €340.

Lovely phone although it does feel very light. Performance is great though. Requested the stock ROM and was very easy to sideboard Google services

Hi... from where did you buy?
Thanks

Has the search function on Aliexpress been heavily limited? If I search for a certain phone lets say "Redmi 3s". I get no results for the actual phone itself just a load of accessories stuff. It is the same even if I search with incognito mode.

WhiteMemento9 wrote: »

Has the search function on Aliexpress been heavily limited? If I search for a certain phone lets say "Redmi 3s". I get no results for the actual phone itself just a load of accessories stuff. It is the same even if I search with incognito mode.

Same here m8,not sure whats going on

CantGetNoSleep wrote:

I'm thinking of going for this too, although I think it is cheaper elsewhere

Let me know if you see it cheaper somewhere. Thanks

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Let me know if you see it cheaper somewhere. Thanks

It was about 155 on Banggood with a code but the code is expired, it is 170 now

CantGetNoSleep wrote:

It was about 155 on Banggood with a code but the code is expired, it is 170 now

Does that include delivery and custom charges?

What are banggood like to order from do you know?

jozi wrote: »

Was that for the 32 or 64gb model?

32gb

Looking to order the Xiaomi mi Max 32gb with global ROM. Can someone point me to few good websites with EU stock? My previous orders were from oppomart. But they don't have this model in stock.

I'm guessing here is probably the best place to post about Xiaomi phones rather than start a new thread. Made the move from Windows Phone (Lumia 930) to Android (Nexus 5X) a few months ago. Loving the experience so far, but getting frustrated with space running out all too often. I have a few pretty big apps and like to keep a few games for the kids on it as well as videos/pics (which auto-delete I think after 30 days to avoid clogging things up). Bottom line is I think I need at least 32GB or else the option of memory card which the 5X doesn't give me.

I'd love to be able to "trade up" to a better spec phone without too much cost, so I'm guessing "going Chinese" might be my best bet. I have lots of other Xiaomi products so am a fan and believe they make decent quality stuff.

So what I want is Android, 4G (Meteor - I know some of these Chinese phones have issues with bands?), fingerprint scanner (I'm a convert!), Play Store, NFC (loving Android Pay!), 5.5" max and ideally a decent enough camera for pics/videos (lower night quality I could live with as mainly family pics/videos). It would also help if it was USB-C now that I've bought a load of charger cables! I'm guessing I might get near enough to € 200 for the 5X which has had front/back covers from day one, so that would roughly be my budget including customs if applicable.

Can anyone recommend my best bet? I'm struggling a bit understanding the difference between the Redmi Note and Mi series. I read through this but got confused and indicated most aren't available or won't work well outside China.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

g0g wrote: »

I'm guessing here is probably the best place to post about Xiaomi phones rather than start a new thread. Made the move from Windows Phone (Lumia 930) to Android (Nexus 5X) a few months ago. Loving the experience so far, but getting frustrated with space running out all too often. I have a few pretty big apps and like to keep a few games for the kids on it as well as videos/pics (which auto-delete I think after 30 days to avoid clogging things up). Bottom line is I think I need at least 32GB or else the option of memory card which the 5X doesn't give me.

I'd love to be able to "trade up" to a better spec phone without too much cost, so I'm guessing "going Chinese" might be my best bet. I have lots of other Xiaomi products so am a fan and believe they make decent quality stuff.

So what I want is Android, 4G (Meteor - I know some of these Chinese phones have issues with bands?), fingerprint scanner (I'm a convert!), Play Store, NFC (loving Android Pay!), 5.5" max and ideally a decent enough camera for pics/videos (lower night quality I could live with as mainly family pics/videos). It would also help if it was USB-C now that I've bought a load of charger cables! I'm guessing I might get near enough to € 200 for the 5X which has had front/back covers from day one, so that would roughly be my budget including customs if applicable.

Can anyone recommend my best bet? I'm struggling a bit understanding the difference between the Redmi Note and Mi series. I read through this but got confused and indicated most aren't available or won't work well outside China.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

The Redmi Note series tend to be lower specced phones. The processors wouldn't have the same grunt and the camera would be weaker. On the other hand they tend to have better battery life as the Mi5 and Mi5s have a 3000Mah battery compared to 4000Mah on the Redmi Note 3 & 4.

In terms of reception, 3g won't be an issue but 4g might be a little patchy as the Xiaomi phones only cover band 3 but not band 20. There may be some versions that cover both though. I think there is a global version of the note 3 that has both band 30 and 20

Based on budget I'd say the note series would be up your street.

I'm struggling to find a Zuk Z2 in a European warehouse. Can get it from banggood through their Hong Kong warehouse for €170 which is a good price. Am I best off waiting for one of the reputable dealers to have them back in stock in a European warehouse?

Never ordered anything from China before so I'm not familiar with expected delivery times or potential custom problems but looks like a lot on here have done so with no issues

g0g wrote: »

Just had a look around. Maybe Xiaomi official store on Aliexpress is my best bet and use normal shipping?

No such thing as Xiaomi Official Store on aliexpress, although a few sellers would like you to think that!


Edit: - The store used to be called Xiaomi Authorized store before they change the name.

Also you may get caught for VAT!


Edit 2: - Try Goldway with "Sellers Shipping Method" to avoid VAT!

DANNY2014 wrote: »

Bought two of these just b4 Xmas off that particular store (as last poster said there is no official xiaomi store on Ali) on the 11/11 event... Make sure if you purchase get the special edition for the 4g it's 2mm bigger than the original redmi note 3...went with dhl for quicker delivery so got caught for customs but had phones on 10 december but 200 all in it worked out for one and 180 for the other...working a dream super fast for what I need plus great battery life... Camera is a little grainy at times but it's not the worst out there,plus no NFC so contactless payment won't be working...

Do any Xiaomi more expensive models feature NFC and if so are we talking much more? Any other brands at this spec level worth considering?

DANNY2014 wrote: »

Best off put what you need into kimovil and compare to what you need

The result of that query is 1:
https://www.kimovil.com/en/compare-smartphones/name.Xiaomi,fe_bands-lte-800,fe_bands-lte-1800,fe_conectivity-nfc
https://www.kimovil.com/en/where-to-buy-xiaomi-mi-note-2-6gb-128gb

Its going to cost you at least €500 by the looks of things so way over budget.


NFC sort of died for a while then Android Pay added jurisdictions and is in demand again. I received my non NFC X822 about 10 days before it launched here. If you root you cant use it anyways which is a pain but thats a dealbreaker for me.

While AP is nice I'd just get a Contactless CC and forget about it.