High-Performance, Reliable, "no brand" Android phone - does it exist?

Make it so on 22/05/2013 - 17:49

Hi,
I'm just wondering whether among all the no-brand and copycat android phones there are any that are actually reliable. There are quite a few quad-core high-res phones from unknown brands with all the right specs, but are these any good? Are they stable? Do they last? Is it worth the saving compared to, say, $700 on a Samsung?

I know you get what you pay for, but importers and brand-names can add a bit to a price. I have been lucky before with certain electronics I got cheaply from China through eBay.

I'm hoping some people might have personal experience.

Mobile

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 22/05/2013 - 18:10
    +3

    The brandless ones are definitely not worth considering if you want a reliable smartphone with good software support.

    I think there are probably several 'tiers' of brands that exist in the Shenzhen phone market.

    If you consider Samsung and HTC for example, to be on the top tier, then possibly Huawei, ZTE and Meizu will come second, and Lenovo, Jiayu and THL would be third etc.

    The ones on the bottom of the pyramid are the small producers who make relatively cheap knock-offs of iPhones/Galaxy S's using the cheapest parts available. These are the ones you are probably best avoiding as they probably have no software updates, very little community and absolutely no customer support.

  • rockycape on 22/05/2013 - 23:41
    +1

    The Samsung/HTC android are a better quality phone it would seem. You might choose a cheap android phone because you are ok to upgrade more often and you have factored in that you may get a poor quality phone with no effective waranty/support. The quality of the cheap android phones appears to be getting better now that the companies are onto a few more versions of these phones.

    In regards to android software updates you would be best to assume that you are stuck with the version of android that is supplied when you buy the cheapy. That said I have a Samung Galaxy Tab original (Telstra) and it never received an update as far as I can tell. Also I had an HTC (Three) that never received an update too.

    The other thing is how careful you are with your phone. If you drop a cheapy and break a screen I do not know how easy you will find it to get spare parts etc.

  • shaybisc on 23/05/2013 - 11:03

    One of the mysteries of the universe. The people who do buy them are quite shy about telling anyone how they go.

  • Noblejoker on 23/05/2013 - 12:19

    My first thought of an 'unbranded' phone are the Google Nexus types
    Manufacturer builds strictly to Google specs and they run 'vanilla' Android with no overlays like HTC Sense etc
    I have a Galaxy nexus (manuf by Samsung) which I like and is a top quality phone
    If you can find one it would be under $300 now
    A newer Nexus 4 (made by LG) is available from Google direct or there are even a couple used FS on the forums here
    No way I would spend $100 on unknown/unsupported yumcha when I can have the real deal for $300

    • bob_wangkar on 23/05/2013 - 20:44

      But your nexus is made by yumchas - only supported. LOL? Makes your last point kind of silly. But we know what you mean.

      • Noblejoker on 24/05/2013 - 14:47
        +2

        Agree all our tech is made in asian sweatshops
        Point is some are made in quality assured factories - LG, Samsung - and some are made much more cheaply and generically - the proverbial 'yumcha'
        I see your point (below) about cost $100 vs $300
        But first I think the likelihood of acceptable quality is low and the resale value almost nil
        If you want sub $100 phones then hold out for the next Ozbargain deal for a name brand superceded run out. I have seen some passable phones available from Coles etc here on OB

    • Make it so on 24/05/2013 - 10:57
      +1

      I'm kind of with bob_wangkar on this one. All phones are made in China. I assume with "yumcha" you mean cheaply made Chinese phones. This is actually the exact thing I am after, because I do not want to spend the extra $200 if the quality is acceptable (and that's a big "if", but why would people manufacture an unusable phone?). I honestly don't care about support if the phone costs so little that by the time it needs an update I can upgrade the whole thing and still make profit.
      I have not found Samsung phones to be all that reliable, but then again HTC isn't what it used to be either.
      The Nexus 4 does not look like a bad alternative to the Galaxy S4. Thanks for the input.

  • jurica on 27/05/2013 - 16:22

    As for the chinese brand quad-core phone,JIAYU ,THL,ZOPO,MEIZU,ZTE,UMI,XIAOMI and so on.these are good and reliable.you can buy one .

  • shaybisc on 28/05/2013 - 09:08
    +2

    I've ordered one of these from Banggood for $156.50.

    http://www.redferret.net/?p=37142

    http://www.androidauthority.com/review-thl-w100-211620/

    It's only 4.5", it hasn't got full HD resolution and heaps of pixels but the picture looks fine for my purposes- I'm not going to be watching movies on a phone, shudder- I'm not going to be doing much net browsing on a phone-doing it on a 10" tablet gives me a headache- and I'm not going to be playing games on a phone.

    I'll let you know how it goes.

    Don't sign up with Bangood unless you have a referral link or you will pay $166.50.

    • Make it so on 28/05/2013 - 10:23

      Thanks, this is really good feedback. I would really like to hear how it works out for you.
      As for resolution: I don't see the point of it being much higher than this. It's mostly performance I care about when many apps are running in the background.

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