Vodafone 845

Forums › Android › Vodafone 845 - $199!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ... | 17

5833 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1639

Trusted

Subscriber

#399625 3-Nov-2010 14:13

I got my V845 this monring. The NZ Post courier van was pulling in just as I arrived. Perfect.

I charged it up. I'm using a 2Degrees SIM as that's all I have spare. I added 1GB of data to it for $20.

-It does Wifi.
-It does Bluetooth. Spoke to my Nokia headset no issues. Made a call.
-It does GPS. Located me via Google Maps in seconds. BETTER THAN GALAXY S.
-It does 3G.
-It's got about 183MB of usable system RAM for running apps.
-It's running Android v2.1
-It has an FM radio.
-It has a decent camera/vidcam with reasonable function set / controls.
-It has about 160MB of internal storage space for apps.
-It does NOT have an sdcard, but I added an 8GB and away I went.
-It has a 2.8" resistive screen. Be sure to calibrate it. Use a very fine-tipped pointer - not your finger. The screen is smallish and not as nice to use as a capacitive screen. But surpirsingly responsive anyway. I've had no issues.
-It has an optical sensor which minimises the amount of touching on the screen.

-No multi-touch.

THERE IS NO LAG!!!!!!! (Unlike Galaxy S). It is very responsive. With animations reduced, it's actually fast.

Could it be better? Sure. Bigger screen, capacitive, AMOLED, more RAM....yadda yadda.

Android v2.2 would be nice so I could have Apps2SD. That's really all this phone needs that it hasn't got. I don't really care about multi-touch.

Bottom line? For the $199 I paid for it, this wee phone is - in a word - AWESOME. This is 80% of a high-end phone for 15%-20% of the price.

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

Linuxluver

5833 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1639

Trusted

Subscriber

#399630 3-Nov-2010 14:19

kyhwana2: Well, it's pretty decent for the $175 pricetag, if you want more, you pay more :)

BIG +1

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

lokhor

2858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 171

Trusted

#399632 3-Nov-2010 14:22

Linuxluver can you try out some custom firmware on it? My mum has one and i'm very tempted to flash with custom firmware but don't want to break her phone

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.

langers1972

1039 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 118

#399633 3-Nov-2010 14:23

Linuxluver:
kyhwana2: Well, it's pretty decent for the $175 pricetag, if you want more, you pay more :)

BIG +1

Yeah I don't think it's useful for all the uber geeks to compare these devices with the Desire and Galaxy as they're nearly $1000 not $175.

I am totally confused about what to get almost to the point of giving up and waiting a while.

lokhor

2858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 171

Trusted

#399646 3-Nov-2010 14:44

What are your requirements in a phone?

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.

Linuxluver

5833 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1639

Trusted

Subscriber

#399652 3-Nov-2010 14:49

lokhor: Linuxluver can you try out some custom firmware on it? My mum has one and i'm very tempted to flash with custom firmware but don't want to break her phone

I can once I've got my head around the phone. That usually takes me a week or few depending on the culture around the device and how mature it is (software, docs, independently-written improvements, ease of rooting and restoring).

The default ROM seems pretty good so far. Just rooting that would be not too shabby. But Apps2SD would more or less perfect the phone (bearing in mind its inherent limitations).

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

Samsung

Shop now on Samsung phones, tablets, TVs and more (affiliate link).

kyhwana2

2572 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 233

#399676 3-Nov-2010 15:34

Linuxluver: I got my V845 this monring. The NZ Post courier van was pulling in just as I arrived. Perfect.

Android v2.2 would be nice so I could have Apps2SD. That's really all this phone needs that it hasn't got. I don't really care about multi-touch.

I believe the custom ROM I linked to (which is 2.1) has apps2SD+ support.

jonherries

1434 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 316

Trusted

Subscriber

#399677 3-Nov-2010 15:35

The specs impress me for the price (I think my wife is getting an early xmas pressie). I noted a couple of things as well:

Doesn't do 850 umts (so won't work on telecom rurally). Does do 900 & 2100 umts
Can run skype (plus wifi is sweet) - be good to know the performance
If rooted will be a wifi hotspot (for your ipad/samsung tab)
2 x custom roms available on xda dev
Will run a simplenote alternative (great for a shared shopping list with my iphone)

Does anyone know if you can get spare batteries for this phone?

Ta Jon

lokhor

2858 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 171

Trusted

#399678 3-Nov-2010 15:35

Yeah i think app2sd is a must since it only has 160mb for applications. my mum ran out of space basically as soon as i taught her how to use the market haha

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.

pritishd

28 posts

Geek

#399692 3-Nov-2010 15:53

kyhwana2: Picked up one of these from dickies, it's at home charging now. When I get home it'll be getting a custom ROM. ;)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=741643

Just a heads up, wifi Does not work on that.

I installed Celestial Teapot. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=802893

jonherries:
Does anyone know if you can get spare batteries for this phone?

Ta Jon

Yes they should be quite easy to get(unlike the iPhail), but i reckon you won't need them till atleast the next 3-4 years. The batteries on these are very good.

dclegg:
Yeah, I reckon I know this to be true, but my desire to upgrade my old dinosaur is clouding my judgement and allowing me to be tempted by lesser offerings :-).

This is awesome oppurtunity to bring up a "patience" quote, but can't think of any at the moment Innocent

But you know as well as I do, you are bound to have iphone fanboys with your mates, so better to have a real cool phone that can do much more than the iphone

The thing that concerns me the most is the phones build quality. The iPhone feels like a quality piece of kit when you hold it, whereas the Galaxy S appears very cheap and plasticky in comparison. Is this really a problem, or once it is cased up is it something you don't really notice?

Personally I don't mind the outside look. Having "Google" brand on the back is pretty cool iIMHO

I have a silicon case, so it looks decent.

For me what bugged me the most was the "Touch Wiz" launcher. It was too iphone clone like. First order of business was to replace that with launcher pro.(btw you can't do that sort of things on the iphone)

I have also heard reports of the Samsung Android phones suffering from lag once you start running a few apps on 'em. Is this really an issue, or a storm in a teacup?

Funny enough after tinkering with VF845, I felt my SGS was like lightening speed.

Yes, there are lag issues, but Sammy is just being a idiot and releasing the froyo update which fixes those issues.

langers1972

1039 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 118

#399694 3-Nov-2010 15:57

I got one in the end for $175 from DSE and was surprised they have a 2 year warranty, just using it to learn to drive Android as for that price you can't lose

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Linuxluver

5833 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1639

Trusted

Subscriber

#399710 3-Nov-2010 16:23

langers1972: I got one in the end for $175 from DSE and was surprised they have a 2 year warranty, just using it to learn to drive Android as for that price you can't lose

Be aware you can swipe the keyboard left or right to get different layouts. There are several and I didn't much like the "T9"-ish default.

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

nickb800

2735 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 829

Trusted

#399714 3-Nov-2010 16:28

langers1972: just using it to learn to drive Android as for that price you can't lose

Im going to get one on the same basis - it will be fun to play with and my first outing with a smartphone.

If it turns out to be a horrible phone then i can use it like an ipod touch (minus the storage) - a few games, basic web browsing and as a media remote at home.

Im still to tight to spend $1k on something that easy to break

WallySimmonds

60 posts

Master Geek

#399755 3-Nov-2010 17:58

Is it worth doing web browsing on this phone at all? Looking at getting one of these for the gf for Christmas, seems like an alright deal.

ruderger

53 posts

Master Geek

#399765 3-Nov-2010 18:39

jonherries:

Can run skype (plus wifi is sweet) - be good to know the performance

Does it really run Skype? that's awesome, I thought Skype need a higher screen res?

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ... | 17