Top End Chinese Smartphones

[john2028]

Do any members have experience of the Chinese made top end smartphones? They offer high specs at decent prices, mostly it seems because marketing and advertising costs are kept low. The one I am considering is this.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271566460153?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

There is a comprehensive two part review of the market here.

 

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Chinese-Android-phones-pros-and-cons-price-4G-LTE-and-clones_id49599

 

As pointed out many components for expensive branded mobiles are actually made in China

 

Any comments/advice welcome.

 

Cheers

[stef74]

I live in China.

 

The Chinese that have money, and a smart, buy nothing thats made or designed by a Chinese company.

I have first hand experience of production of chinese items. for global companies.

 

They do not perform as well as items made elsewhere.

 

im being polite.

[DaffyDuck]

There are a couple of manufacturers of Chinese brands that qualify as "top end" and that are worth considering.

ZTE, OnePlus, Xiaomi.

Where these companies 'save' money, is in their profit margins -- they operate on razor thin margins, and are effectively chasing volume and marketshare. Being based in China, their operating costs are also much lower, and many use gimmicky ways to reduce their marketing expenses (like OnePlus' dumb 'invite' system). Additionally, they 'save' money by having less R&D, as they ride on the coattails of others who had done the heavy lifting previously.

None of which is any concern to consumers.

While the phone they provide offer excellent specs, and in the case of the above, decent build quality, their foregoing of profits will cut (IMO) into their long-term viability, and their ability at long-term growth, or their long-term existence. Again, IMO.

Thus, in the immediate presence, they offer decent phones, of good quality, at really low prices (the OnePlus retails at $350), that will serve you well for 3-4 years. If those companies are still around by then, remains to be seen.

 

 

Of those three companies, I would probably spend my money on OnePlus, before I'd buy a Xiaomi.

Of those three, though, ZTE is more likely to be around for the long-term.

[mermar]

who sells xioami or oneplus one at thailand ???

[nthn]

One plus one can get in mbk I have a Huawei mate 7 runs very fast top specs can get from jaymart

[The Jewelman]

Does anyone know if the Xiaomi note 4G is available at Tukcom  ?

[Goanna]

Htc are chinese. A major player

[travelling_man]

The person who stated that Chinese branded phones do not perform as well as non-Chinese phones is incorrect IMO.

 

Huawei -- a huge, forward thinking company with outstanding phones.

Oppo - moving forward in Thailand with high end and high dollar phones.

 

I am a fan of ZOPO, also a Chinese brand.  I'm on my second ZOPO phone in three years.  It is fast, performs well, and is exceptionally reliable. 

 

It is not about "money" -- I just upgraded my wife's Samsung S4 to a Note 4.  She has to have "big brands" ... I dislike her Samsung phones and am happy with the ZOPO.  In fact, both Huawei and Oppo have phones that cost more than the Note 4 did.

 

Understand that these phones are not "knock-offs" -- these are true BRANDS on their own.

 

I have purchased and gifted two Lenovo's (also Chinese).  They are good phones, but I find you must use a lot of pressure on their touch screens for your choices to register.

 

As to low-end phones, I have purchased and gifted two Elephone's.  They work find until you have kids load the latest, power sucking games into their phones and try to play 14 hours per day!

 

I purchase all of the Chinese phones from etotalk.com; who removes all Chinese, sets everything to English, as well as providing rooted phones.

[southsidebruce]

I live in China.

 

The Chinese that have money, and a smart, buy nothing thats made or designed by a Chinese company.

I have first hand experience of production of chinese items. for global companies.

 

They do not perform as well as items made elsewhere.

 

im being polite.

but the beauty of the Chinese smartPHones is that they are really smart, so smart that the Chinese gov't is able to hep you on out if you get into trouble... as they will be looking after your calls, that will be routed through their networks, no doubt... although I shouldn't be one to talk about gov't surveillance coming from the States and all... but still, the Chinese are damn good at it... so go ahead and buy that shiny new Chinese phone, Chinese router, etc... 

[ingo67]

Htc are chinese. A major player

 

From Taiwan, not mainland Commie China.

[layow]

I've got a Hyasong Z1, only cause it was at a knock down price.

 

Not a bad phone, for 3995 bht

[plahgat]

I bought the Oppo Find 5 in 2013 my first and still only mobile phone.

 

Plahgat

 

 

 

[Short]

This phone I've linked to has everything except at half the price.  The 5.5 screen is too large for me but a 4.7" version is expected to follow.

 

Dual Sim, dual speaker, 3000ma battery, sony stabilized camera, 4g lte, etc...

 

http://www.amazon.com/ALCATEL-ONETOUCH-IDOL-SMARTPHONE-Unlocked/dp/B00V3U6FFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433467433&sr=8-1&keywords=TCL+Mobile

[happy888]

This phone I've linked to has everything except at half the price.  The 5.5 screen is too large for me but a 4.7" version is expected to follow.

 

Dual Sim, dual speaker, 3000ma battery, sony stabilized camera, 4g lte, etc...

 

http://www.amazon.com/ALCATEL-ONETOUCH-IDOL-SMARTPHONE-Unlocked/dp/B00V3U6FFK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433467433&sr=8-1&keywords=TCL+Mobile

Thanks Short.

Looks like a good phone.

And inexpensive for it's features!

Cheers,

H888

[pattayagolfer]

I'm happy with the Lenovo K900, intel chip, a bit too big

[Harlequin]

Using the new Xiaomi 4i - bought a month ago in Hong Kong - very good

 

Sent from my Mi 4i using Tapatalk

[Bonkabit]

Australia Post brochure came today. Includes, among others:

 

Huawei Y530 $59, locked to Telstra

Huawei Y320 $119, unlocked

Huawei Y600 $179, unlocked

 

I'm no techie so cannot give more info on the specs. You should be able to check via web.

[pedro137]

I have 2 Asus Fone pads so not actually phones only , yes it does give some (rude) people a good laugh when you use it as a phone.

I am no techno but they are great for the screen size (7") and old eyes. A techno guy looked at the specs and was quite impressed especially when I told him of the $130 to $140 AUD price at BIG C in Thailand. I got the second one cos of the dual sim capability.

Not sure that it is high end but does all I want and saves carrying a laptop.

[freejackk]

Does anyone know how much the Huawei P8 cost in Thailand?

[slowguy]

From Taiwan, not mainland Commie China.

 

Yep - Made in Taiwan is pretty much same quality as Made in Korea, perhaps not all they way up to Made in Japan, but the Taiwanese are good at quality.

[slowguy]

I live in China.

 

The Chinese that have money, and a smart, buy nothing thats made or designed by a Chinese company.

I have first hand experience of production of chinese items. for global companies.

 

They do not perform as well as items made elsewhere.

 

im being polite.

 

Not dissing your comment but..... the Chinese seem to buy anything that is PERCEIVED as conveying STATUS - they don't know jack about quality - whatever is more expensive is better it seems.  Goldplate it and put some Swarowski crystals on it and you have a hit in China.

 

Just look at their concept of a prestigious car - a fucking Buick???

 

The new Oppo R7 looks nice:

http://www.stuff.tv/features/promoted-7-ways-oppo-r7-series-smartphone-will-steal-show

 

And so does the Huawei P8:

http://www.stuff.tv/huawei/p8/review?_ga=1.140755634.120338005.1438182270

 

I'm considering the LG G4 - for the user replaceable battery feature, and being a slightly older phone, prices should drop soon.

[SoftPorn]

Not chinese but  Alcatel Idol 3 5,5" version looks pretty good for it's price range.

In Finland 278€, in Amazon 240$ for a new one.

http://www.gsmarena.com/alcatel_idol_3_%285_5%29-7081.php

 

I lost my HTC one M8 while I was in Pattaya january so I bought a shitty AIS Lava phone in tukcom for 5000thb

It was ok for few months but now it's getting really laggy, also broke the screen drunk.

Would'nt recommend it to anyone who is using their phone for more than just calling.

 

I'm now thinking if I should buy a new Xperia or that Alcatel, have'nt decided yet.

[Jack Frost]

One plus one can get in mbk I have a Huawei mate 7 runs very fast top specs can get from jaymart

 

Top end phone, great value.

 

Top end Huawei Phones are the best by a Chinese Manufacture. 

 

 

[BangkapiBoy]

Just don't make the same mistake I did by buying a phone made for the Chinese market...  I bought a fantastic phone in China a couple months ago.  Turns out it cannot have Play Store, etc.  And rooting it is risky.  It can't use any of the apps I expected to be able to use.

[PICCOLABESTIA]

Just don't make the same mistake I did by buying a phone made for the Chinese market...  I bought a fantastic phone in China a couple months ago.  Turns out it cannot have Play Store, etc.  And rooting it is risky.  It can't use any of the apps I expected to be able to use.

 

what brand?