[Question] Hello from a Prospective Buyer

[Insent]

Good morning! (or whatever greeting is appropriate based on your current time of day.) I'm new to not only this forum, but the China phone scene and rooting. I do own an android phone currently but it is difficult to call it a smart phone considering it barely has the capacity to perform the functions inherent to its operating system.

That being said, I'm interested in purchasing a phone that I can actually tinker with and that has the capability to do more than take calls and send texts. I'm about at the point where I have my heart set on the UMI Zero, which looks to be everything I could ask for aside from the WCDMA bands, which I've decided is not a deal-breaker for me.

Other phones I'm considering are:
Posh Titan HD
THL T11
Elephone G6 or P2000
iOcean X7

However, I thought it wise to speak to people that were more knowledgeable and experienced than I am. Firstly, if anyone has any suggestions based on their firsthand experience with any of these models I would love to hear it. My questions and concerns are as follows.

Is octa-core a noticeable improvement from quad-core?
Is 2gb of ram significant over 1gb?
Which sellers are reputable?
Would I be missing out if I chose 4.2 over 4.4?

That's all I can really think of for now. My budget is $250 at the highest and I'd like whatever I get to be able to hold up with the ever-increasing demands of technology for a decent amount of time. WCDMA 850/1900 is a plus, and I'd feel like anything over a 5" screen would be excessive.

On introducing myself, my name is Jeremy, I'm from the US. Technology has always been a hobby of mine, but due to the high costs I haven't been able to afford to indulge in it for several years. I'm also interested in foreign languages and I love reading and playing metal guitar.

Any advice is appreciated! Sorry for being so verbose.

[WuddaWaste]

Hey Jeremy! Welcome to the forums!

My name is Adam (WuddaWaste is fine too). I too live in the USA and am kind of a geek at heart. My first Android phone was the Nexus 4, then I got into the China phone market around a year ago. Since then I've learned quite a bit. Seems like our paths are similar.

As far as reputable shops go (which is about half the game with this market), the admin here has the forum partnered up with the best shops in the business as forum sponsors. It's a win-win-win situation. Forum members here get discounts and coupon codes while simultaneously knowing they're purchasing through a reputable seller. If there's ever a problem with the transaction, the admin works with the seller to make sure everything is made right. Simultaneously, the sponsors here get props for treating customers well which equates to more business. Capitalism is a beautiful thing when it actually works. Anyway, bottom line, if it were me.... I'd find the phone I wanted then buy from whichever site sponsor has the best overall price.

(Note: I don't get paid to say any of this. I don't get paid at all. I'm just here 'cuz I think Chinese phones are cool and I like supporting the community.)

I have to run in a sec, so I'll try to be quick with my thoughts overall. The rest of the community I'm sure will chime in as well.

- $230 is plenty to get an awesome phone.
- My experience is that 2GB is a noteworthy performance increase over 1GB.
- Octa-core is awesome, but not as awesome as 2GB of RAM. Octa-core, Hexa-core, and even Quad-core MTK chips are all pretty decent in my experience.
- A LOT of knowledgeable people here actually prefer Android 4.2 over Android 4.4 (mostly for SD Card reasons)

When I get a chance I'll take a closer look at your options, but off the bat the THL T11 is already on my list of phones I'd buy if something happened to mine. In fact, I occasionally just check the price on the phone to see if anyone has it for super-cheap.

[Insent]

Thanks for the warm welcome. That sounds like a great system that's set up between this community and the sellers, not to mention that it certainly puts me at ease knowing that there's that level of support and customer service.

Between the technical specs and the design aesthetics that I'm attracted to, the T11 definitely makes it onto my short-list. Especially considering the answers you provided regarding RAM and the number of cores, which in turn has led me to strike an option or two from my potentials. I'm eager to hear what you have to say once you can afford the time to go further in-depth.

There is one thing that I'm left wondering about your post, though. You said:

- A LOT of knowledgeable people here actually prefer Android 4.2 over Android 4.4 (mostly for SD Card reasons)

I know already that it won't take me long to fill 8/16gb. I fully intend to upgrade my storage capacity, thus; what I'm curious about is: What exactly are the differences pertaining to the SD Card that would make 4.2 more appealing than 4.4?

[Twotems]

Basically 4.4 doesn't allow you to move apps etc to the sd card. It's allowed with Lollipop though. I won't comment on the phones you mentioned other than the Umi which I think is a lovely phone. I'm in the US too (on Tmobile) and I don't see your point of having a smartphone without compatible wcdma or lte bands. More than anything, that's what makes it a smartphone. Consider your choice carefully otherwise you'll end up with a glorified featurephone that's only useful on wifi.

[Sniper47]

From that list in USA, THL T11. Solid and 850/1900 will get you 3g everywhere in the USA on AT&T networks and almost everywhere on T-Mobile. These things are unlocked, so you can use any provider.

Take a look at iNew V8 too. If I had to chose, I would take that over THL T11, but they're both strong choices.

As far as I've heard, there's a module that allows you to use link2sd with 4.4 using gravityBox/xposed. Though haven't personally tried it.

Also worth mentioning that inew v8 has a ROM available that unifies storage giving you 14gb total. Difficult to imagine needing more than that unless playing many huge games.

[Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register]

[Twotems]

Without 1700 AND 1900 you won't have 3G on Tmobile. Doesn't at&t require 900 also?

[Sniper47]

Without 1700 AND 1900 you won't have 3G on Tmobile. Doesn't at&t require 900 also?
You are incorrect here. T-Mobile is mostly 1900 across the USA. In some places it's still 1700/2100, but that's currently being refarmed to 1900 to make room for LTE on 1700.

There is no 900 3G in the US. AT&T is 850 or 1900.

[Twotems]

Without 1700 AND 1900 you won't have 3G on Tmobile. Doesn't at&t require 900 also?
T-Mobile is mostly 1900 across the USA. In some places it's still 1700/2100, but it's all currently being refarmed to LTE.

There is no 900 3G in the US. AT&T is 850/1900.Sorry mate we're both wrong. Tmobile needs both 1700 and 2100 for LTE, 3G and H+. [Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register]

[Sniper47]

I'm not wrong Twotems... They're saying mostly what I said just said. T-Mobile 3G is 1900 in the majority of the USA.

In SOME places it's still 1700/2100... 3G has been refarmed to 1900 for many years now to make room for LTE on 1700/2100. Thus, some areas are using 1700/2100 for LTE and some for 3G as they refarm all 3G to 1900. It's been going on for quite awhile.

[Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register]

Regardless, if you happen to be in an area that T-Mobile is still 1700/2100 3G, every AT&T or AT&T MVNO will have their 3G on 850 or 1900.

[Twotems]

I'm not wrong Twotems... They're saying mostly what I said just said. T-Mobile 3G is 1900 in the majority of the USA.

In SOME places it's still 1700/2100... 3G has been refarmed to 1900 for many years now to make room for LTE on 1700/2100. Thus, some areas are using 1700/2100 for LTE and some for 3G as they refarm all 3G to 1900. It's been going on for quite awhile.

[Only registered and activated users can see links Click here to register]
The link I provided was updated November 19th (3 days ago). Your link is from March 2013 (almost two years old) . I'll stick with what they are currently saying on their website. I made this expensive mistake before and now have a pentaband phone.