Best Android phone options <$400?

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jonathan18

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#1430296 18-Nov-2015 12:21

sxz: Nexus 5. It's 2 years old, but still a champ. Has everything you want but the SD card. 32gb model from $425 (which is about what I paid for mine 2 years ago):

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=2325265

TBHm I'm put off by my friend's experience: he purchased a Nexus 5 at about the same time I got a G3, and while mine's been an overall positive experience, his has been anything but... He said only last week he'd not buy it (or another Nexus!) again.

jonathan18

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#1430298 18-Nov-2015 12:36

NZtechfreak:
Are there are no issues with operating the Chinese-sourced Zenfones in NZ? Have you bought one of these off AliExpress, and can you recommend any particular sellers on there?

I grabbed my P8Max from AliExpress, they have pretty good buyer protections, no issues running it here - you can check which frequencies they have.

Storage-wise, I'm happy as long as it has at least 16GB, but to get the 4GB RAM it's either 32GB or 64GB; will the different processors on these varients of the same model make much difference? And, indeed, should I be too concerned about having 4GB of RAM versus 2? (It's just I'll end paying a bit more to get one with 4GB of RAM from China than the 2GB model sourced from NZ, which will at least have the warranty - and I'm not sure how much my wife will need this additional RAM).

True, may be overkill for the use-case, local warranty is not insignificant.

The Zenfone phone is quite a bit more than the UMi also suggested above (which is more like $150 US versus $220-230) - will it peform significantly better?

Thanks!

No idea on the UMi, specs look reasonable on paper, but then you're dealing with a large established international brand Vs, well, who again? If you're concerned about warranty issues then the UMi seems like a much larger risk. The link to the UMi shows an Antutu score of 17,000, whereas the ASUS 4GB model has ~50,0000. Benchmarks aren't everything and don't correlate to every day use particularly well, but I'd be surprised if so large a difference wasn't noticeable. Would depend on use-cases of course.

Some of the comparisons I've read since indicate that the 4GB version, technical performance wise, is nipping at the heels of current generation flagship phones, while the 2GB is more comparable with the previous generation leaders such as the G3 (eg http://blog.gsmarena.com/benchmarking-asus-zenfone-2-ze551ml-intel-atom-z3580-soc-4gb-ram/). TBH, that's fine by me - I'm more than happy with the performance of my G3, and I know my wife's expectations and needs are far lower!

The biggest problem is that Asus really risk confusing purchasers by the huge variety of phones sold under the "Zenfone 2" name, and basically none of the models available here match up with what's available on AliExpress.

Case in point: I can't find the ZE551ML (5.5", 1080) in the 2GB version in NZ; cheapest is $428 for a 4GB/16GB version.

Best value for money I can find on AliExpress is a ZE551ML 2GB/16GB for $279 NZ; it's another $90NZ for the 4GB/32GB version.

sxz

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#1430523 18-Nov-2015 16:56

jonathan18:
sxz: Nexus 5. It's 2 years old, but still a champ. Has everything you want but the SD card. 32gb model from $425 (which is about what I paid for mine 2 years ago):

http://pricespy.co.nz/product.php?p=2325265

TBHm I'm put off by my friend's experience: he purchased a Nexus 5 at about the same time I got a G3, and while mine's been an overall positive experience, his has been anything but... He said only last week he'd not buy it (or another Nexus!) again.

That surprises me a lot! I'm usually keen on the latest and greatest and in my mind this phone still doesn't really get beaten by any of the newer phones (EXCEPT - battery life is just OK and it doesn't have expandable storage). Since having this phone it's the first time I haven't felt the need to upgrade to the latest phones. I would sing the praises of nexus phones all day long - I hate some of the android skins out there (looking at you samsung)

gzt

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#1430570 18-Nov-2015 18:38

There is a lot of moto g2 stock around might be 199 for Xmas. G3 is a bit slow coming in but cross fingers for some better price near xmas.

jonb

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#1430929 19-Nov-2015 09:23

Also the Huawei P8 Lite is very nice. Currently $298 at Harvey Norman.

Edit: sorry, no Spark 850Mhz 3G.

jonathan18

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#1431249 19-Nov-2015 16:35

Thanks for all the posts; they've been really useful to help me narrow down my options. I've now come around to the idea of purchasing from overseas - not a risk I've taken when buying a phone previously, but I thought it's worth a go given the bang for buck is that much greater.

My current thinking is one of the following:

* Asus Zenfone 2 - ZE551ML 16GB / 2GB model - $279 NZ

* Xiaomi Note 2 - $217 - $254 NZ for the standard 16GB / 2 GB (exact cost depends on the specific model - not sure which one I should buy)

* Lenovo K3 Note - $238 NZ

Any thoughts on the relative merits of these phones and which offers the best value? The Xiaomi seems the highest quality / closest to a 'giant killer'; it's also a decent amount thinner than the Zenfone - 8.3 v 10.9mm.

Thanks again.

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howduz1

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#1434053 24-Nov-2015 18:44

I've just recently received ZTE Nubia Z9 Max. Purchased from merimobiles at about 254US, just snuck in under the NZ400 (come through customs untouched), I was looking for best camera and best audio and narrowed it down to this one (for the price). 16 and 8 mb cameras and a "hifi" quality audio chip (for streaming the best free radio station out there... "Radio Paradise").

Worth a look, for your specs.

This is my first smart phone so I have nothing to compare it to but it's a nice piece of kit. Not totally in love with the UI, there's a few crap apps on there that I can't get rid of so I'm looking into this rooting thing (clearly this term wasn't thought up by a Kiwi or Aussie)

MadEngineer

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#1434085 24-Nov-2015 20:05

How many of these cheap devices come with pre-installed adware? Fortunately AVG can find some of them, in the limits of androids so called sand boxing. A tablet given to my son as a gift had adverts showing in the app switcher for which avg found and offered a direct link to settings to disable it so avg could then remove it.

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rb99

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#1434470 25-Nov-2015 12:09

gzt: There is a lot of moto g2 stock around might be 199 for Xmas. G3 is a bit slow coming in but cross fingers for some better price near xmas.

Moto G2 will be $199.97 at Noel Leeming on Friday.

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wanghou168

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#1434700 25-Nov-2015 18:25

rb99:
gzt: There is a lot of moto g2 stock around might be 199 for Xmas. G3 is a bit slow coming in but cross fingers for some better price near xmas.

Moto G2 will be $199.97 at Noel Leeming on Friday.

Thanks for the heads up, can't wait till Xmas.

Getting one if it costs 200 :)

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gzt

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#1434706 25-Nov-2015 18:42

I just noticed the mg3 is ipx7.

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540trickzter

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#1434780 25-Nov-2015 19:49

jonathan18: I’m on the look-out for a phone for my wife; she doesn’t care about getting anything too flash, but I’m struggling to find the best phone in this price range.

I’m looking for one that:
* costs less than $400
* has a screen of at least 4.5”, ideally 5”
* works on all networks
* has a decent camera
* takes an SD card (or comes with lots of memory), as it will be used for Spotify offline
* is running at least 5.0 (out of the box or immediately upgradable), and ideally will get 6
* ideally has 16GB RAM (not guaranteed at this price point, I know!)
* has decent resolution (as per RAM, understand that many phones at this price point will be 720x1280)
* preferably runs a relatively pure Android (not keen on Huawei or Xiaomi for this reason; similarly it doesn’t make run for a Samsung)

Any thoughts and advice on the options available would be greatly received.
Cheers
Jonathan

Pretty much all your requirements point towards the OnePlus X. You can land the White version with Gold trim now (which your wife would love I'd say) for around NZ$395.

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Krishant007

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#1440409 4-Dec-2015 11:48

540trickzter:
jonathan18: I’m on the look-out for a phone for my wife; she doesn’t care about getting anything too flash, but I’m struggling to find the best phone in this price range.

I’m looking for one that:
* costs less than $400
* has a screen of at least 4.5”, ideally 5”
* works on all networks
* has a decent camera
* takes an SD card (or comes with lots of memory), as it will be used for Spotify offline
* is running at least 5.0 (out of the box or immediately upgradable), and ideally will get 6
* ideally has 16GB RAM (not guaranteed at this price point, I know!)
* has decent resolution (as per RAM, understand that many phones at this price point will be 720x1280)
* preferably runs a relatively pure Android (not keen on Huawei or Xiaomi for this reason; similarly it doesn’t make run for a Samsung)

Any thoughts and advice on the options available would be greatly received.
Cheers
Jonathan

Pretty much all your requirements point towards the OnePlus X. You can land the White version with Gold trim now (which your wife would love I'd say) for around NZ$395.

What phone did you end up getting?

Also, how can you get the White oneplus x landed here? I havent even seen the white oneplus x. I would be quite interested in this one.

jonathan18

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#1440532 4-Dec-2015 14:06

Krishant007: What phone did you end up getting?

Also, how can you get the White oneplus x landed here? I havent even seen the white oneplus x. I would be quite interested in this one.

In the end I went with a Xiaomi Redi Note 2 - ordered only a few days before the Note 3 was announced! That said, not sure when that will be available... In the end, it offered a lot of phone for very little dosh, which was ideal given it's close to Xmas and there are lot of other costs at this time.

Apparently he phone was dispatched from HK on 26 Nov, but still hasn't shown up. Given others have reported slow dispatching but quick delivery, I seem to be having the reverse problem!

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