Buying mobile handsets from China?

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656 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#965337 12-Jan-2014 10:11

thl have changed their logo, for what it's worth - they may have started life as a clone manufacturer, but have started making their own designs now.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
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Geekzone

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#965338 12-Jan-2014 10:12

I hope so. Nothing tells me how bad a company is like ripping off logos, taglines and products.

NzBeagle

961 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#965351 12-Jan-2014 10:22

KevinL: ...also the Xaomi Hongmi is retailing for US$115 in China (originally ~$130) and can be purchased for as little as US$158 on Aliexpress, giving a price of NZ$190, half the price of your Galaxy S3. It's so wildly popular that there are even cheap chinese copies of the Hongmi.

If you look at the specs at http://www.phonearena.com/phones/compare/Xiaomi-Hongmi,Samsung-Galaxy-S-III/phones/8194,6330 they compare very well for half the price.

That's not bad value. Only the camera and processor would make me hesitant vs the s3. I don't think you can count out some of the emerging manufacturers.

oxnsox

1923 posts

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#965352 12-Jan-2014 10:25

That's a fair summary KevinL
There's always folk who will buy on price
There's always folk who will buy on brand
And there's people whoose decisions are based on their perceptions of value and performance for their own needs.

I guess most of us don't really understand the scale and nature of the internal Chinese market, and actively move away from unkown (tech) brands that are well enough respected their that other manufacturers choose to copy

Edit: spelling & clarity

KevinL

656 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#965354 12-Jan-2014 10:34

Exactly. I have an LG G2, but if my budget was ~$200 I'd certainly be considering the Xaomi Hongmi.

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#965508 12-Jan-2014 15:33

joker97: even in china you cannot beat - research and development, design quality, quality control, after sales support, resale value, the list goes on

a NZD400 latest top china phone is not going to give you anywhere near the features of say an NZD400 samsung galaxy s3 which is 2 years old

just a guess

someone prove me wrong

I'll do my best with the THL phone I bought and have had for four months now (with no issues whatsoever).

THL W8s v Samsung Galaxy S3

1.5Ghz Quad Core Cortex A7 v 1.4Ghz Quad Core Cortex A9
2GB Ram v 1GB Ram
32GB Rom v 32GB Rom
Dual sim v single sim
HSDPA 850/2100 (Telecom only) v HSDPA 850/900/1900/2100 (all NZ networks)
Screen 5" 1920x1080 gorilla glass 3 v 4.8" 1280x720 gorilla glass 2
No USB OTG v USB OTG
Graphics PowerVR SGX 544 v Mali 400MP
Camera 13MP v 8MP
Battery 2000mAh v 2100mAh

Evreything else is the same e.g. wifi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4, GPS etc etc

$325.16 v $536.99 (32GB version)

AnTuTu benchmarks

THL W8S 15468 (real world off my phone)
Galaxy S3 16301 (from AnTuTu site)

So while the S3 pips the W8S in benchmarks, having used both I can say there's no real world difference that I have noticed.

I would say that a NZ$325 highish end Chinese phone (certainly not top end) like the W8S gives you very close to the features of a NZ$537 2 year old Samsung Galaxy S3 (comparing apples with apples unless you can show me where you can buy a NZ new 32GB Samsung Galaxy S3 for NZ$400).

I have no issues with the fact that a Chinese phone is not for everybody, but it is obvious if you are interested in a Chinese phone then there are good bargains to be had as long as you do your homework.

skuzzb

66 posts

Master Geek

#965560 12-Jan-2014 16:50

i was looking at the Xaomi Hongmi but according to http://www.mobicity.co.nz/xiaomi-hongmi-dual-sim.html#.UtIQSrS7JD0 the frequency is GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, 3G 1900, 3G 2100 although frequency from China 2G Network GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network WCDMA 900 / 2100 http://www.xiaomimobiles.com/shop/hongmi-red-rice/

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#965570 12-Jan-2014 17:15

skuzzb: i was looking at the Xaomi Hongmi but according to http://www.mobicity.co.nz/xiaomi-hongmi-dual-sim.html#.UtIQSrS7JD0 the frequency is GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, 3G 1900, 3G 2100 although frequency from China 2G Network GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network WCDMA 900 / 2100 http://www.xiaomimobiles.com/shop/hongmi-red-rice/

My understanding is that will be no good for Telecom (needs 3G 850) but will work for Vodafone.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

KevinL

656 posts

Ultimate Geek

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#965578 12-Jan-2014 17:47

That is also my understanding. The Moto G is probably a better value proposition, to be fair, but 40% more expensive than the Xaomi Hongmi.

freitasm

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#965596 12-Jan-2014 18:22

tukapa1:
skuzzb: i was looking at the Xaomi Hongmi but according to http://www.mobicity.co.nz/xiaomi-hongmi-dual-sim.html#.UtIQSrS7JD0 the frequency is GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, 3G 1900, 3G 2100 although frequency from China 2G Network GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network WCDMA 900 / 2100 http://www.xiaomimobiles.com/shop/hongmi-red-rice/

My understanding is that will be no good for Telecom (needs 3G 850) but will work for Vodafone.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

That's correct.

skuzzb

66 posts

Master Geek

#965598 12-Jan-2014 18:25

i looked at the Moto G at Mobicity as well but here are the specs which is really confusing with their comments about Recommended Networks,same as the Xiaomi Hongmi,if it hasnt got 3G 850 how do they recommend for XT or Telecom??

Network Band

GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, 3G 850, 3G 900, 3G 1900, 3G 2100

Recommended Networks

2Degrees, Vodafone 2G, Telecom XT Network, Vodafone 3G, 3G 1900, Telecom 3G 2100

http://www.mobicity.co.nz/motorola-moto-g-16gb.html#.UtImYLS7JD0

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#965618 12-Jan-2014 18:36

skuzzb: i looked at the Moto G at Mobicity as well but here are the specs which is really confusing with their comments about Recommended Networks,same as the Xiaomi Hongmi,if it hasnt got 3G 850 how do they recommend for XT or Telecom??
Network Band GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, 3G 850, 3G 900, 3G 1900, 3G 2100 Recommended Networks 2Degrees, Vodafone 2G, Telecom XT Network, Vodafone 3G, 3G 1900, Telecom 3G 2100

http://www.mobicity.co.nz/motorola-moto-g-16gb.html#.UtImYLS7JD0

The specs clearly say 3G 850/900/1900/2100 so it's all good to go for any NZ network.

skuzzb

66 posts

Master Geek

#965622 12-Jan-2014 18:45

Oops my bad, still stuck on Xiaomi Hongmi specs,

tukapa1

725 posts

Ultimate Geek

#965627 12-Jan-2014 18:54

If you were wanting something for the Telecom network you could consider something like this - landed for NZ$309 - no good if you want NZ supplier though.

2c.

farcus

1554 posts

Uber Geek

#965700 12-Jan-2014 20:27

skuzzb: i was looking at the Xaomi Hongmi but according to http://www.mobicity.co.nz/xiaomi-hongmi-dual-sim.html#.UtIQSrS7JD0 the frequency is GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900, 3G 1900, 3G 2100 although frequency from China 2G Network GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network WCDMA 900 / 2100 http://www.xiaomimobiles.com/shop/hongmi-red-rice/

there are two versions of that phone with the newer version having 900 / 2100 wcdma
so if you purchased you'd need to be careful about which version you got.

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