Battle of the cheap Chinese Androids

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#1431687 20-Nov-2015 13:30

jonathan18:
old3eyes: Edit 3. If you're talking about a European ROM then you won't see the 850meg 3G band. They only seem to do 2100 and 900 though my Mi4i it has all NZ 3G bands and band 3 LTE..

rmt38:

I bought cheap model with chinese bands.
It has xiaomi.eu rom installed by the store I bought it from.
Here are enabled bands as shown by mediatek app.

God, there's so much to clarify before pressing 'buy'!

I'm assuming, by the suffix, that the xiaomi.eu ROMs are European, but going by rmt38's experience the cheap model (I assume TDD?) came with a xiaomi.eu ROM that supports 3G 850 (his post pasted below).

Could I expect something similar from the ROMS available at http://miuiandroid.com/?

rmt38 - which retailer did you purchase from? Edit: I searched the thread and it looks like you bought it from Goldway.

rmt38: I installed MTK Engineering Mode on the Redmi Note 2 cheaper chinese version, and it lists as enabled the following bands:
GSM: EGSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900, GSM850
UMTS: WCDMA-IMT-2000, WCDMA-PCS-1900, WCDMA-CLR-850, WCDMA-GSM-900
LTE: 1,3,7,38,39,40,41

The answers to your questions are:

You could expect it, but no guarantees. Best to go with what is known to work.

Aliexpress, hongkong goldway.

richms

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#1431895 20-Nov-2015 18:03

If you are this concerned and putting so much thought into it about it then I think perhaps buying a cheap phone from overseas is too risky for you.

Richard rich.ms

Dreal

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#1431980 20-Nov-2015 20:54

Would any of you be interested in a local retailer with one of these (a phablet preferabbly) models, for local consumer protections, customer service etc?

And if so, which model (must be 5.5-6.5 inches)?

Tap That - Great cheap tablets and tablet accessories. Windows and Android, NZ based

Batman

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#1431998 20-Nov-2015 22:45

http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=MPHMIX4000I

jonathan18

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#1432039 21-Nov-2015 06:23

richms: If you are this concerned and putting so much thought into it about it then I think perhaps buying a cheap phone from overseas is too risky for you.

I'm not "concerned", but simply want to do the necessary leg work to make sure I get it right. I've only a strictly amateur knowledge of things IT so work away until I have the information needed to make a decision.

But, thanks to everyone's replies on this forum, I'm pretty much at a point where I can pull the trigger and purchase one., so thanks all for your help.

rmt38

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#1432097 21-Nov-2015 10:33

jonathan18:
richms: If you are this concerned and putting so much thought into it about it then I think perhaps buying a cheap phone from overseas is too risky for you.

I'm not "concerned", but simply want to do the necessary leg work to make sure I get it right. I've only a strictly amateur knowledge of things IT so work away until I have the information needed to make a decision.

But, thanks to everyone's replies on this forum, I'm pretty much at a point where I can pull the trigger and purchase one., so thanks all for your help.

To be fair, I found it very difficult to get a clear picture about everything, from what was involved with xiaomi.eu to whether the phone would even work. I still don't have a clear picture, but that's the trade off you pay for the considerably lesser price.

540trickzter

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#1433191 23-Nov-2015 11:46

Looks like Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 will be announced tomorrow. Redmi Note 2 only a few months old and already succeeded.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-2-Pro-to-be-unveiled-Tuesday-as-the-Xiaomi-Redmi-Note-3_id76009

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jonathan18

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#1433202 23-Nov-2015 11:56

540trickzter: Looks like Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 will be announced tomorrow. Redmi Note 2 only a few months old and already succeeded.

... unless they just continue to sell them alongside each other, which is a distinct possibility given the new model is essentially a glammed-up version of the current (thinner, metal body, fingerprint reader - innards identical), and therefore surely will be more expensive.

I put my order in for a Note 2 yesterday from Goldway; will be interested to know how long shipping takes, given I didn't select the express option...

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#1433216 23-Nov-2015 12:17

about half my 11/11 stuff from aliexpress that shipped on the couple of days after that has arrived already. Some stuff still not even shipped yet. Seems post have got their act together but some of the sellers are slow as.

Richard rich.ms

kotuku4

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#1433326 23-Nov-2015 14:29

kotuku4:
jonb: If I was spending a bit more the UMI eMax mini is a new 5.0" 1080p, Snapdragon 615 phone with similar specs to redmi note 2 for ~$140, and compatible with all NZ networks.

I'm interested in the UMI eMax mini also, has anyone used one and give some feedback?

I ordered the UMI eMax mini from aliexpress, so now wait and see.

rmt38

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#1433658 24-Nov-2015 07:22

jonathan18: I put my order in for a Note 2 yesterday from Goldway; will be interested to know how long shipping takes, given I didn't select the express option...

The longest part of the wait was the delay until they shipped it which was about 7-9 days. After it was listed as dispatched, it took less than a week to arrive. I'm not sure why it took so long to ship it, maybe it's some attempt to add value to their paid shipping option.

jonathan18

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#1433673 24-Nov-2015 08:15

rmt38:
jonathan18: I put my order in for a Note 2 yesterday from Goldway; will be interested to know how long shipping takes, given I didn't select the express option...

The longest part of the wait was the delay until they shipped it which was about 7-9 days. After it was listed as dispatched, it took less than a week to arrive. I'm not sure why it took so long to ship it, maybe it's some attempt to add value to their paid shipping option.

That's reassuring - especially as it's a birthday present for my wife, hence I was worried it it would take six weeks or something, like some of the stuff I've bought off AliExpress before. I'll just be patient until the point they alert me it's shipped! I've ordered cases and a glass screen protector off Ali and eBay, so hopefully they'll arrive in time.

Out of interest, I see a retailer on Trade Me is selling the Note 2 for $289 (I think) - given that will come with CGA coverage, that's not a bad option for those who are happy to pay more for that assurance.

z2k

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#1433688 24-Nov-2015 08:47

jonathan18: Out of interest, I see a retailer on Trade Me is selling the Note 2 for $289 (I think) - given that will come with CGA coverage, that's not a bad option for those who are happy to pay more for that assurance.

I think you're looking at the Redmi 2 rather than the Note 2? Cheapest new one on Trade Me is $379.

jonathan18

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#1433691 24-Nov-2015 08:52

z2k:
jonathan18: Out of interest, I see a retailer on Trade Me is selling the Note 2 for $289 (I think) - given that will come with CGA coverage, that's not a bad option for those who are happy to pay more for that assurance.

I think you're looking at the Redmi 2 rather than the Note 2? Cheapest new one on Trade Me is $379.

So true - teaches me for scanning critical information! That $379 price def. makes me feel it was worth taking the risk of self-importing!

540trickzter

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#1434193 24-Nov-2015 22:45

So the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 is now official.

Unbeatable prices, only 100RMB higher than the Redmi Note 2 launch prices.

2 Versions:

16GB/2GB version for 899 RMB (~USD $140)
32GB/3GB version for 1099 RMB (~USD $172)

improvements over Redmi Note 2:-
Metal Body
Finger print scanner
4000mAh battery
Gorilla Glass
3GB Ram version

Loses MicroSD card slot and it's non removable battery now though.

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