Buying a new smartphone

[Jay Serasinghe]

Well ... only the back sticker displays where its made @. Guys at the shop even agreed me doing a benchmark test (Quadrant test) on the device if im actually buying it. And it carries 1 year warranty and so on. I don't think these are fake versions but the county of origin if different. And based on the net search i came up on several forums that the made in Vietnam versions has the least returned units to the factory due to defects. Then again that may depend on various factors.

What i am thinking is should i spent extra 5k for the same phone which is made in china over the made in Vietnam version. Hmm ...

[Schiffer]

Check the correct phone model.and if it says "Made by Samsung in Vietnam/China/Korea" that's deffs genuine atleast sticker wise

[YALA]

you can try this as well its the imei number analysis

https://www.numberingplans.com/?page=analysis⊂=imein

[newone]

bought S3 LTE (i9305) for 54900/- It says made by Samsung in Vietnam... but the stickers and manual printed in french...

Edited October 24, 2013 by newone

[Jay Serasinghe]

bought S3 LTE (i9305) for 54900/- It says made by Samsung in Vietnam... but the stickers and manual printed in french...

Hi newone, have u done any benchmark tests on the phone and compared the results with other S3 results? if so any difference?

[Pericles]

bought S3 LTE (i9305) for 54900/- It says made by Samsung in Vietnam... but the stickers and manual printed in french...

Vietnam was a French colony.

[xXx]

Vietnam was a French colony.

But is French an official language in Vietnam? or is it been widely used by the locals?

[Pericles]

But is French an official language in Vietnam? or is it been widely used by the locals?

I found this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_French_(dialect)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam#Languages

I guess its about as widely used as English in the Crown Colony of Ceylon but its not an official language, by the look of things.

[newone]

Hi newone, have u done any benchmark tests on the phone and compared the results with other S3 results? if so any difference?

Not yet machan...

[newone]

Vietnam was a French colony.

So that's why they used french... I have found some s3's mentioned Vietnam version and going very cheap... I asked from the shop and they said its a fake version as same as the Chinese one.

[udayap]

Best option is to buy a phone imported from the agent....Hope, agents (like JK) would not import a fake one and sell.....

[Jaliya48]

Best option is to buy a phone imported from the agent....Hope, agents (like JK) would not import a fake one and sell.....

Or ask someone to get one abroad (US presumably) but pay the unlocking charges (if it cannot be done by yourself). There also appears to be a lot of model numbers (GT-xxxx etc) so it's rather confusing!

Edited October 26, 2013 by Jaliya48

[vishkid]

You can buy an unlocked version from US as well. Unlocked GT-i9300 is currently selling $350+ at amazon marketplace. I expect there to be quite a few deals (close to $275) come black friday and cyber monday.

And the model numbers are not confusing at all - just read the wiki article for S3 or S4 - things are quite clear there.

Edited October 27, 2013 by vishkid

[Davy]

Reviving this thread to ask a question to which the answer may seem obvious. The Nexus 6 vs the OnePlus One. What do you guys think?
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6604&idPhone2=6327

While the Nexus 6 features stock Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with a whopping price tag of 799 USD, it seems like going for the OnePlus One with pretty much the same spec (yet with Android 4.4 + Cyanogenmod) is the sanest choice for a fraction of the price.

[Schiffer]

i checked out a one plus one today. earlier it had a issue with the earpiece it has been fixed with the new firmware update. loved the phone had a good cam and the feel of the phone was really nice.

but i just get the feeling the nexus is gonna be better. the cam on the nexus is a 13mp off of a sony. i wasnt that impressed wih the one plus one cam. that and well.. i am biased towards nexus devices, u just cannot beat them

That said one plus one is HUGE value for money although this guy asked 58k for the 1plus1

[vishkid]

Well isn't Nexus 6 priced at $650 for 32GB and $ 700 for the 64GB? For me, the N6 is tad too big and a tad too pricey but if you compare with the apples and samsungs, it's massive value for the spec. The screen and the camera is going to be an absolute charm.

Incidentally, I was reading below at geek.com yesterday;

<quote>

There are unfortunate costs associated with these business practices. Take OnePlus, for example. Their smartphone is an exquisite piece of hardware with some spectacular software onboard that you can’t just walk into a store and buy, and likely never will. OnePlus sells their phone at just about cost, and as a result can only afford to manufacture the device in small batches. Their “invite” system for purchasing is the result of this business practice, and on top of making the phone hard to purchase it makes the phone hard to replace. Ask someone who has replaced aOnePlus One how the warranty experience worked out for them, and get ready for a 20 minute sob story of how the process took weeks and in many cases required a second $350 charge on their card while the mess was sorted. Google has a little more flexibility than OnePlus due to having much deeper pockets, but at the end of the day this is where that race to the bottom leads.

Motorola’s Nexus 6 is sold significantly above cost. We don’t know exactly how much yet, but much like the Galaxy Note 4 and the iPhone 6 there will be at least $200 in profit made on each smartphone. This means Motorola can pay for things like future research and development, support personnel for when you call in with a problem, and cover marketing costs for this device. Much like Apple and Samsung, Google and Motorola aren’t “lining their pockets” by charging more than the bill of materials for their smartphone. The Nexus 6 has more costs associated with it than just building the phone and putting it in a box, and even beyond those costs it really is alright for these companies to make a little money off of the hardware they are selling you. Nexus fans will need to recalibrate their expectations a little, but in return you get a lot more than just a cheap piece of hardware if you do.

</quote>

[Sierra Charlie]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Davy" data-cid="267767" data-time="1413640372"><p>

Reviving this thread to ask a question to which the answer may seem obvious. The Nexus 6 vs the OnePlus One. What do you guys think?<br />

<a href='http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6604&idPhone2=6327'>http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6604&idPhone2=6327</a><br />

<br />

While the Nexus 6 features stock Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with a whopping price tag of 799 USD, it seems like going for the OnePlus One with pretty much the same spec (yet with Android 4.4 + Cyanogenmod) is the sanest choice for a fraction of the price.</p></blockquote>

Guess the Nexus line has a fairly large advantage over OneplusOne in terms of OS updates. I've used Cyanagenmod on couple of my phones and the experience was fairly alright then. I've moved to Nexus since and no plans to move on to any other platform.

One problem I'm having with Cyanagenmod is I've no idea how their support is going to be like with future Android releases. Used a Samsung for a while and the only problem, and the biggest reason to move to Nexus, was that they didn't support OS releases for their phones well.

[Dinukap4]

I fancy the HTC M8 gonna check it out tomorrow, wasn't disappointed by the M7 only problem was that Pink camera issue at night shooting.

[kush]

What about Nexus 4, little smaller 5” vs 5.5” but same FHD screen, smaller camera 8 MP vs 13 MP, nobody really needs 13MP. Nexus will auto upgrade to Lollipop.

With Nexus 6 out in the market prices will come down soon

[Sierra Charlie]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="kush" data-cid="267788" data-time="1413685127"><p>

What about Nexus 4, little smaller 5 vs 5.5 but same FHD screen, smaller camera 8 MP vs 13 MP, nobody really needs 13MP. Nexus will auto upgrade to Lollipop.<br />

With Nexus 6 out in the market prices will come down soon</p></blockquote>

Don't think the N4 is available any longer. Did you mean the N5?

Btw, Nexus 6 is a premium device. Both the N4 and N5 were good devices. But they weren't the best when compared to the competition. N6 on the other hand mostly exceeds specs from other competing devices. Even the exterior looks markedly premium.

[Sierra Charlie]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="kush" data-cid="267788" data-time="1413685127"><p>

What about Nexus 4, little smaller 5 vs 5.5 but same FHD screen, smaller camera 8 MP vs 13 MP, nobody really needs 13MP. Nexus will auto upgrade to Lollipop.<br />

With Nexus 6 out in the market prices will come down soon</p></blockquote>

Don't think the N4 is available any longer. Did you mean the N5?

Btw, Nexus 6 is a premium device. Both the N4 and N5 were good devices. But they weren't the best when compared to the competition. N6 on the other hand mostly exceeds specs from other competing devices. Even the exterior looks markedly premium.

[Davy]

What about Nexus 4, little smaller 5” vs 5.5” but same FHD screen, smaller camera 8 MP vs 13 MP, nobody really needs 13MP. Nexus will auto upgrade to Lollipop.

With Nexus 6 out in the market prices will come down soon

Yes true, but then there is the Nexus 5 too.

i checked out a one plus one today. earlier it had a issue with the earpiece it has been fixed with the new firmware update. loved the phone had a good cam and the feel of the phone was really nice.

but i just get the feeling the nexus is gonna be better. the cam on the nexus is a 13mp off of a sony. i wasnt that impressed wih the one plus one cam. that and well.. i am biased towards nexus devices, u just cannot beat them

That said one plus one is HUGE value for money although this guy asked 58k for the 1plus1

Thanks! Yeah, I'm biased towards the Nexus line too. The stock Android opens up a whole new set of possibilities. The astronomical price tag is the only concern. If it was compatible with other phones of the range (except Apples of course), then I'd go for the Nexus 6 in a flash.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="Davy" data-cid="267767" data-time="1413640372"><p>

Reviving this thread to ask a question to which the answer may seem obvious. The Nexus 6 vs the OnePlus One. What do you guys think?<br />

<a href='http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6604&idPhone2=6327'>http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6604&idPhone2=6327</a><br />

<br />

While the Nexus 6 features stock Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with a whopping price tag of 799 USD, it seems like going for the OnePlus One with pretty much the same spec (yet with Android 4.4 + Cyanogenmod) is the sanest choice for a fraction of the price.</p></blockquote>

Guess the Nexus line has a fairly large advantage over OneplusOne in terms of OS updates. I've used Cyanagenmod on couple of my phones and the experience was fairly alright then. I've moved to Nexus since and no plans to move on to any other platform.

One problem I'm having with Cyanagenmod is I've no idea how their support is going to be like with future Android releases. Used a Samsung for a while and the only problem, and the biggest reason to move to Nexus, was that they didn't support OS releases for their phones well.

Thanks! Support for Cynagenmod is actually a concern I had. I reads somewhere that Google tried to aquire Cynagenmod but the company refused, so I'm guessing they have a well sought after plan for their updates and next releases.

Well isn't Nexus 6 priced at $650 for 32GB and $ 700 for the 64GB? For me, the N6 is tad too big and a tad too pricey but if you compare with the apples and samsungs, it's massive value for the spec. The screen and the camera is going to be an absolute charm.

Incidentally, I was reading below at geek.com yesterday;

<quote>

There are unfortunate costs associated with these business practices. Take OnePlus, for example. Their smartphone is an exquisite piece of hardware with some spectacular software onboard that you can’t just walk into a store and buy, and likely never will. OnePlus sells their phone at just about cost, and as a result can only afford to manufacture the device in small batches. Their “invite” system for purchasing is the result of this business practice, and on top of making the phone hard to purchase it makes the phone hard to replace. Ask someone who has replaced aOnePlus One how the warranty experience worked out for them, and get ready for a 20 minute sob story of how the process took weeks and in many cases required a second $350 charge on their card while the mess was sorted. Google has a little more flexibility than OnePlus due to having much deeper pockets, but at the end of the day this is where that race to the bottom leads.

Motorola’s Nexus 6 is sold significantly above cost. We don’t know exactly how much yet, but much like the Galaxy Note 4 and the iPhone 6 there will be at least $200 in profit made on each smartphone. This means Motorola can pay for things like future research and development, support personnel for when you call in with a problem, and cover marketing costs for this device. Much like Apple and Samsung, Google and Motorola aren’t “lining their pockets” by charging more than the bill of materials for their smartphone. The Nexus 6 has more costs associated with it than just building the phone and putting it in a box, and even beyond those costs it really is alright for these companies to make a little money off of the hardware they are selling you. Nexus fans will need to recalibrate their expectations a little, but in return you get a lot more than just a cheap piece of hardware if you do.

</quote>

Last time I checked, the price was set at 799 USD for the 64GB version.

By the way, I saw that the OnePlus One's dual loudspeakers being called "stereo speakers" on many unboxings and reviews on YouTube whereas GSMArena says it's mono. The OnePlus One site doesn't have details on this. Still wondering what's up with that. I have seen the OnePlus One personally and felt in love with it immediately upon seeing it. The build quality is great, the layout is an absolute joy to work with.

Still can't make up my mind. I think I'd better wait until mid November or so to get a better feel of the Nexus 6.

[vishkid]

Last time I checked, the price was set at 799 USD for the 64GB version.

It's on pre-order in the play store now (maybe not visible in Sri Lanka) $ 649 for 32 GB and $699 for 64GB.

[AbeysinghE]

I am looking into getting a smart phone from Ebay and three options under $500. They were the Galaxy Nexus, Blackberry touch 9860, and the Samsung Galaxy 2. Can anyone please recommend the best NEW phone with a good memory capacity from these or another brand under $500?

I need a phone with these specifications:

Full Touch screen

Excellent display (3D display also considered for less than $500, no LG please!)

Good memory

Good Resale value

Good Looks

(If anyone has any ideas to add to these as to what else to look for in a good full touch smart phone under $500 (Rs. 55-60k), Please let me know and reccomend me some quality phones,

One little advice mate. Don't go for Blackberry touch 9860. My friend and myself bought two from Ebay and had serious display sensitiveness issue and had to throw both of them...and you will have to use blackberry service with your local carrier to make use of it's features. Always advisable to use a smart phone with latest android version. Why don't you consider Sony xperia range in your budget?

[Schiffer]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm biased towards the Nexus line too. The stock Android opens up a whole new set of possibilities. The astronomical price tag is the only concern. If it was compatible with other phones of the range (except Apples of course), then I'd go for the Nexus 6 in a flash.

By the way, I saw that the OnePlus One's dual loudspeakers being called "stereo speakers" on many unboxings and reviews on YouTube whereas GSMArena says it's mono. The OnePlus One site doesn't have details on this. Still wondering what's up with that. I have seen the OnePlus One personally and felt in love with it immediately upon seeing it. The build quality is great, the layout is an absolute joy to work with.

Yeap the price is tag is kinda ridiculous for a Nexus device.

and about the stereo speakers. OnePlusOne still keeps fixing there bugs firmware by firmware. so manybe that mono issue MIGHT be fixed later on.