Battle of the cheap Chinese Androids

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6325 posts

Uber Geek

#1471835 15-Jan-2016 12:05

Is it hard to flash the redmi note 3? I notice there is a 7.0 UI now? Does that mean it will delete all the chinese apps and just install a blank UI in english? I suppose then go to play store to get apps......

numfarr

329 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1474077 18-Jan-2016 19:31

Xiaomi are locking bootloaders in the latest upgrades for some models, avoid unless you want a brick or a device you can't customise. Glad I went for Cyanogenmod instead.

http://www.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-locks-bootloader-on-recent-devices/

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1488572 10-Feb-2016 09:06

Bought the wife a MEIZU M2 note White 5.5 at the PB tech sale last weekend. Not a bad phone but it improved after the first software update and Play store update. Did think about loading another launcher on it but was concerned that once loaded i might not be able to get back as i couldn't see an default app settings. She likes the phone as she can read the papers and FB in the morning without having to turn on her tablet. She had a 1st gen Moto G before . Have order a wallet from Amazon but looks like it could take a month to get here. Hong kong > you shop in Oregon > NZ.

I went to get the SIM card changed to a Nano SIM and the guy at the Spark store was adamant that the phone would not work on their network. Put in SIM worked fine. Got something like 50Mbits down at the St Lukes store..

Regards,

Old3eyes

wasabi2k

2096 posts

Uber Geek

#1488621 10-Feb-2016 10:43

old3eyes:

I went to get the SIM card changed to a Nano SIM and the guy at the Spark store was adamant that the phone would not work on their network. Put in SIM worked fine. Got something like 50Mbits down at the St Lukes store..

He was pretty much right. The phone doesn't do band 28:

4G:LTE FDD:1800/2100/2600MHz(Band 1/3/7)

It will work fine in central city areas, but not where there is band 28 coverage only. I don't know enough about their network to understand the impact of that.

bgstclair

13 posts

Geek

#1488625 10-Feb-2016 10:50

I recently purchased the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Prime for my wife - it is honestly an amazing phone for the price. Great specs, excellent camera - runs like a dream with zero lag. Of course, the UI is a bit rubbish, but I simply installed Google Now Launcher and it's good to go. Strongly recommended.

The version I purchased was pre-loaded with Google Play services, so you might want to check with whoever you buy it from whether it includes play services (unless you really enjoy flashing roms)

Check out the reviews on the Note 2 Prime and you will see my views are pretty much universally shared.

Best of luck!

Dairyxox

1594 posts

Uber Geek

#1488628 10-Feb-2016 11:06

wasabi2k:

old3eyes:

I went to get the SIM card changed to a Nano SIM and the guy at the Spark store was adamant that the phone would not work on their network. Put in SIM worked fine. Got something like 50Mbits down at the St Lukes store..

He was pretty much right. The phone doesn't do band 28:

4G:LTE FDD:1800/2100/2600MHz(Band 1/3/7)

It will work fine in central city areas, but not where there is band 28 coverage only. I don't know enough about their network to understand the impact of that.

For Spark, some of their city areas are also band 28 only. Like Tauranga.

jonb

1771 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1489668 10-Feb-2016 12:06

I believe phones with the MTK6753 system on chip only accesses the 900/2100mhz 3G bands. So it can do data in the Spark shop on 4G, but anywhere outside of central city areas it will only get data on 4G, but will not be able to send or recieve calls on 3G.

Sharesies kids

Free kids accounts - trade shares and funds (NZ, US) with Sharesies (affiliate link).

jonathan18

7413 posts

Uber Geek

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#1489669 10-Feb-2016 12:07

Dairyxox:

wasabi2k:

old3eyes:

I went to get the SIM card changed to a Nano SIM and the guy at the Spark store was adamant that the phone would not work on their network. Put in SIM worked fine. Got something like 50Mbits down at the St Lukes store..

He was pretty much right. The phone doesn't do band 28:

4G:LTE FDD:1800/2100/2600MHz(Band 1/3/7)

It will work fine in central city areas, but not where there is band 28 coverage only. I don't know enough about their network to understand the impact of that.

For Spark, some of their city areas are also band 28 only. Like Tauranga.

Palmerston North's the same - all Spark 4G is 700Mhz band 28.

The Redmi Note 2's got the same limitation, ie lacking band 28 support; I bought this for my wife anyway, as she currently doesn't need to worry about internet data speeds. (Now she's planning on setting up her own business and may use the phone to tether for mobile data, it may be a different thing!)

old3eyes

9120 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#1489680 10-Feb-2016 12:24

wasabi2k:

old3eyes:

I went to get the SIM card changed to a Nano SIM and the guy at the Spark store was adamant that the phone would not work on their network. Put in SIM worked fine. Got something like 50Mbits down at the St Lukes store..

He was pretty much right. The phone doesn't do band 28:

4G:LTE FDD:1800/2100/2600MHz(Band 1/3/7)

It will work fine in central city areas, but not where there is band 28 coverage only. I don't know enough about their network to understand the impact of that.

When she gets out of the band 3 area it just falls back to 3G and she won't even notice it.

One thing i did find while setting it up was it can't send or receive MMS , SMS OK. Had to install Go SMS to get this working as I had to do on my Nexus 4. In the process i discovered my Xiaomi Mi 4I won't do MMS on Spark / Skinny ether. Doesn't worry me as i never use it only WhatsApp and the odd FB Messenger

Regards,

Old3eyes

old3eyes

9120 posts

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Subscriber

#1489682 10-Feb-2016 12:27

jonb:

I believe phones with the MTK6753 system on chip only accesses the 900/2100mhz 3G bands. So it can do data in the Spark shop on 4G, but anywhere outside of central city areas it will only get data on 4G, but will not be able to send or recieve calls on 3G.

According to GSMA it does HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 so should be OK outside the LTE band 3 area..

Regards,

Old3eyes

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1489683 10-Feb-2016 12:27

jonb:

I believe phones with the MTK6753 system on chip only accesses the 900/2100mhz 3G bands. So it can do data in the Spark shop on 4G, but anywhere outside of central city areas it will only get data on 4G, but will not be able to send or recieve calls on 3G.

The Meizu M2 & M2 Note definitely do have band 5/850MHz 3G support. Tested it myself. :)

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

wasabi2k

2096 posts

Uber Geek

#1489690 10-Feb-2016 12:37

old3eyes:

jonb:

I believe phones with the MTK6753 system on chip only accesses the 900/2100mhz 3G bands. So it can do data in the Spark shop on 4G, but anywhere outside of central city areas it will only get data on 4G, but will not be able to send or recieve calls on 3G.

According to GSMA it does HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 so should be OK outside the LTE band 3 area..

I found 3 sites with 3 different band lists for that phone - so would be interested in someone who can confirm.

NikT

1710 posts

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Trusted

#1489691 10-Feb-2016 12:39

wasabi2k:

I found 3 sites with 3 different band lists for that phone - so would be interested in someone who can confirm.

As above.

Looking into the MMS issue too.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

old3eyes

9120 posts

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Subscriber

#1489694 10-Feb-2016 12:43

NikT:

wasabi2k:

I found 3 sites with 3 different band lists for that phone - so would be interested in someone who can confirm.

As above.

Looking into the MMS issue too.

Hi Nik. What's your impression of this phone for it's price??

Regards,

Old3eyes

NikT

1710 posts

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Trusted

#1489706 10-Feb-2016 13:02

old3eyes:

Hi Nik. What's your impression of this phone for it's price??

Full disclosure: Meizu is my baby right now, big plans in the works. PB is the national distributor for 'em, so they're not parallel imports per se.

Starting last year with Smart ultra, there's been a really nice sweet spot at ~$300 for phones that have no major drawbacks. May not have all the bells & whistles like fingerprint scanners, stereo speakers, & waterproofing, but they nail the four things that most people care about - screen size, cameras, battery life, & price point. This year it remains to be seen whether the big boys will want to play in this $150-$300 space, and my educated gut feel is that they won't. Enter Meizu.

Few advantages to this range over most of the immediate competition, like ARMv8/64bit, Dual SIM with full NZ 3G support, bigger batteries, & 5GHz WiFi. I've kept up with Meizu's stuff on the sidelines for years, since I always thought Flyme was far and away the most attractive of the assorted usually-hideous Chinese OEM skins (MIUI is functionally fine, aesthetics are a matter of taste & it doesn't really tick my boxes). Flat, simple, straightforward.

The Meizu range scales nicely up from M2 all the way through to the fancy Pro 5, with essentially the same look, feel, & experience consistently across the whole lineup, just adding in better hardware features as you go up - I wish Samsung, for one, would do this. Build quality is surprisingly good as well, definitely a 5c vibe here rather than the slightly chintzy stuff you normally get in plastic rectangle land. They've resisted the urge to go super-budget.

Straight up it's cool that there are phones for $300 that I could happily use if anything happened to my flagships. I used Smart ultra for six months last year & it was great. Flyme adds a bunch of genuinely useful features like fine-grained permissions management, customisable wake-up/app-launching gestures, & the software build is super minimalist without even the usual slew of Google-branded bloatware like Play Movies/Games/Books et cetera. M2 Note in particular trucks on merrily for two days on 3100mAh, & the laminated IPS screens are really quite nice.

Only real learning curve is the three-function home button that works as back when tapped, home when pressed, & turns the screen off when held down, which pairs nicely when you turn on double tap or swipe to wake. Plus swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the multitasking menu.

Fundamentally I'd never recommend crap kit - These are good. Should be an update to Flyme 4.5 in the works too, which adds the standard Lollipop multitasking menu among other things.

Any questions, let me know.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

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