[Question] Help me select a good phone.

[GadgetKen]

GadgetKen

Only 512 mb ram in specs but fine for apps I need to run(however I see it says 1.17 gb in total internal storage

You seem to be talking about the 4G ROM
try opening a terminal and run command as a local user

Code:

free

if 512 your total will appear to be about 524288

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Don't know how to open a terminal window, but figured out 2 other ways to determine the ram spec. In running applications I got a total of 471 mb which is confirmed by a phone spec app that says there is 470.82 mb of ram. The 1.17 gb is external storage on the phone rom. That's a little short of 512 mb but close enough. So long as I don't run too many apps at once, it should be just fine.

Odd thing is the 3G soft switch is for all three slots even though only the first 2 are labeled GSM/WCDMA(slot 3 is labeled only GSM). Just tried swapping a 3G sim chip in slot 2 with a 2G sim chip in slot 3, and it showed a 3G signal for the third slot. Apparently any of the 3 sim slots can be used in 3G mode, but only one of them at a time...

[aus9]

sorry you need to install an terminal from playstore before you can open it

but good we agree that your RAM is only 512

[apple2005]

GadgetKen

Only 512 mb ram in specs but fine for apps I need to run(however I see it says 1.17 gb in total internal storage

You seem to be talking about the 4G ROM
try opening a terminal and run command as a local user

Code:

free

if 512 your total will appear to be about 524288

---

Twotems

Thanks for the mention of that phone.. I found a comparion to THL T200 which is $10 more pricier

http://www.merimobiles.com/thl-t200_p/meri10243.htm

but I think the ROM 32 THL versus 16 for Mlais makes me lean a certain way if I had the money.
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apple2005

Can you update your ORIGINAL post so we know your maximum spend $ please

Thanks aus9 for your support and in fact everybody who contributed.
Ultimately I settled on Elephone P8. I gave order to one online store for $ 240 shipped by DHL. It is already shipped and will be having in few days.

[WuddaWaste]

Thanks aus9 for your support and in fact everybody who contributed.
Ultimately I settled on Elephone P8. I gave order to one online store for $ 240 shipped by DHL. It is already shipped and will be having in few days.

Nice choice! I've been pretty curious about this phone myself. Let us know how you like it when it arrives.

[apple2005]

Thanks aus9 for your support and in fact everybody who contributed.
Ultimately I settled on Elephone P8. I gave order to one online store for $ 240 shipped by DHL. It is already shipped and will be having in few days.

Nice choice! I've been pretty curious about this phone myself. Let us know how you like it when it arrives.

Sure. I will let you know when I receive it in few days.

[apple2005]

After working for few days with the phone, here is my short review :

Build quality : The build quality is acceptable except the sim tray which is like the cheaper phones.

Screen: Screen is bright and colors are very good. But the glass is not like what I have seen in other phones. It is not anti finger print.
And a lot of oily fingerprints are deposited on the screen, looking very odd when the screen is off.
There are frquent misstouches and scrolling is not smooth. It came with kitkat installed but Google has screwed kitkat. Applications which you install cannot write to the SD card. Stupid Google. So I have to revert back to jellybean 4.2. The official 4.2 was also not good. Now I installed custom rom, which is better in scrolling and misstouches.

Battery : battery life is not very good. Hope it will improve with use.
Camera: I have taken few photos indoor. Acceptable.. Didn't try outside.
Phone reception is good. Wifi is good also. Sound is very loud. The first phone I saw with this much loud speaker. If you want to ask something else, feel free to ask.

[Twotems]

After working for few days with the phone, here is my short review :

Build quality : The build quality is acceptable except the sim tray which is like the cheaper phones.

Screen: Screen is bright and colors are very good. But the glass is not like what I have seen in other phones. It is not anti finger print.
And a lot of oily fingerprints are deposited on the screen, looking very odd when the screen is off.
There are frquent misstouches and scrolling is not smooth. It came with kitkat installed but Google has screwed kitkat. Applications which you install cannot write to the SD card. Stupid Google. So I have to revert back to jellybean 4.2. The official 4.2 was also not good. Now I installed custom rom, which is better in scrolling and misstouches.

Battery : battery life is not very good. Hope it will improve with use.
Camera: I have taken few photos indoor. Acceptable.. Didn't try outside.
Phone reception is good. Wifi is good also. Sound is very loud. The first phone I saw with this much loud speaker. If you want to ask something else, feel free to ask.

That's a lesson I learned with my first China phones (jiayu g5, inew v3). Though the jiayu is a good phone overall, I had to replace the speaker after a few weeks and the gps is crap. WhatsApp also crashes quite often whilst typing and you have to start your message all over again. The inew is just crap overall but a gorgeous phone to look at and handle.
My point is that you're better off going with a more established Chinese manufacturer (Xiaomi, huawei, zte, Lenovo, acer, asus etc) in the long run. The extra $50+ you spend on them is worth it. That's what I eventually did and I'm very satisfied.

[apple2005]

After working for few days with the phone, here is my short review :

Build quality : The build quality is acceptable except the sim tray which is like the cheaper phones.

Screen: Screen is bright and colors are very good. But the glass is not like what I have seen in other phones. It is not anti finger print.
And a lot of oily fingerprints are deposited on the screen, looking very odd when the screen is off.
There are frquent misstouches and scrolling is not smooth. It came with kitkat installed but Google has screwed kitkat. Applications which you install cannot write to the SD card. Stupid Google. So I have to revert back to jellybean 4.2. The official 4.2 was also not good. Now I installed custom rom, which is better in scrolling and misstouches.

Battery : battery life is not very good. Hope it will improve with use.
Camera: I have taken few photos indoor. Acceptable.. Didn't try outside.
Phone reception is good. Wifi is good also. Sound is very loud. The first phone I saw with this much loud speaker. If you want to ask something else, feel free to ask.

That's a lesson I learned with my first China phones (jiayu g5, inew v3). Though the jiayu is a good phone overall, I had to replace the speaker after a few weeks and the gps is crap. WhatsApp also crashes quite often whilst typing and you have to start your message all over again. The inew is just crap overall but a gorgeous phone to look at and handle.
My point is that you're better off going with a more established Chinese manufacturer (Xiaomi, huawei, zte, Lenovo, acer, asus etc) in the long run. The extra $50+ you spend on them is worth it. That's what I eventually did and I'm very satisfied.

I totally agree with you. Before buying, I searched a lot but couldn't find any of those companies which should match my criteria 5.7 inch, full hd, at least 2gb ram and dual sims. Only few, I found and none from the best companies.

Before that I bought Coolpad_9976A. That's a fantastic device, much better than Samsung. The build quality is at par with Apple products. But I found that it is too big for everyday use. I couldn't find any other coolpad product satisfying my criteria.

[Twotems]

Understood. Most phones are a compromise of some sort. Finding a 5.7 inch with your criteria is difficult. But knowing what I do now I would rather compromise on certain specs than quality and reputation. At 5.5 for instance there's a much wider choice.

[apple2005]

Understood. Most phones are a compromise of some sort. Finding a 5.7 inch with your criteria is difficult. But knowing what I do now I would rather compromise on certain specs than quality and reputation. At 5.5 for instance there's a much wider choice.

Exactly, I am thinking the same. I have to compromise on 5.5 inches. I am thinking of buying Nubia Z7 max.