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Telstra Prepaid Huawei Ascend Y201 Smartphone + 1000 Flybuys $39.50 at Coles Again

720

Cheap smartphone at Coles from Wednesday 26 June until Tuesday 2 July. Perfect for Kogan Mobile and Aldi Mobile, no unlock necessary.

Specs:
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 2100
Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
3.5" screen, 320 x 480 pixels, 3.5 inches (~165 ppi pixel density)
3.2 MP Camera with VGA video 30fps
CPU 800 MHz Cortex-A5
Wi-Fi hotspot
512MB RAM, 4GB Storage (2.5GB User accessible)
microSD, up to 32 GB
More here: http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_y201_pro-5112.php

This is similar to April and May offers:
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/103839
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/99953

Locked to Telstra. Before you go and purchase an unlock code, try your sim card first - it may just work.
Huawei Y201 Unlock Codes $5.49: http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/91771

The 1000 Flybuys points may be of additional value to some people.

Related Stores

Coles
Coles

closed Comments

  • I wonder if Coles just have a warehouse full of these stashed somewhere…

    Great deal, even though the FB points dropped to 1000

  • Thanks for posting and very well worded and informative.
    I might just pick one up on wednesday - having a bigger screen, more memory and a faster processor for this price is amazing.

  • Great deal for the price, got my other half one the other week. It's a bit slow for todays standards but if your demands aren't great, or you are buying this as a backup phone then there really is no better option. +$5.50 for unlock if needed on other networks, can't go wrong.

  • +5

    I bought this phone a while ago…and while I admit it's unbeatable for the price, I find it gets pretty laggy at times and sometimes even unresponsive (screen freezes or apps crash).
    Has anyone else experienced this, if so, what's the best thing to do to fix it? (I have a microsd card and I try to move stuff to that when I can). It's got all the latest updates, etc and I don't run any games.

    Cheers

    • Just keep resetting the phone. That's all you can do.

    • Only 3rd party ROMS or official Huawei SW updates can fix the issue.

    • This happens with most cheap phones with low memory. When the phone runs out of RAM due to too many concurrent apps, they will start to crash and the phone can act erratic and reboot itself. Don't overload the memory or buy a better phone!

    • Not just these phones. My Nexus S has become so laggy that it now takes up to 5 second to register a key press using the standard Android keyboard :(

    • +1

      My Samsung gs3 is just as bad lately, so bad in fact that I'm going to root it and install 4.2

      • So this is software related issues due to outdated OS?
        How can Android became so unstable after some time if you don't update it?
        Assuming an update is available.
        I'm stuck on Gingerbread :(

      • Definitely the way to go. Running 4.2.2 since it was leaked and it's running quite smoothly. Admittedly there are a few hiccups every now and then but no regrets

    • +1

      I have the HTC ChaCha and it's pretty much the same spec, stock I had the same issues. I've found the majority of the time it's because of the phone running low on RAM. Try getting AutoKiller Memory Optimizer and put the settings to Ultimate. It'll essentially make it so that the inbuilt memory clearing in the OS is triggered alot higher than usual. You won't be able to have a browser window open and then switch out to another app without it closing the browser anymore, but it's not like you could multitask very well in the first place with phones like these. With this my phone performance has become alot more reliable, free memory stays relatively high for long periods of time. Used to idle around 180 mb ram free with stock, got this and LauncherPro and now freshly booted I idle with 240mb ram free and I almost never have a slow down.

      • Impressive indeed. So you have gained around 60mb of functional RAM just by installing this app. I will need to check it out. Multi-tasking on a single core phone is a pipe dream so it's not like you are going to have multiple concurrent active apps running or doing many functions at once.
        Even using the web browser with background music can force crash my phone at times.

        • Launcher Pro is light on resources but it's development has been abandoned since 2011. You should check out Nemus Launcher if you want something that's also light, and works on Froyo.

          For gingerbread, I recommend Holo Launcher. Or Apex.

    • it has too much crud pre-installed on it for a low-memory phone - rooting it and adding a decent application manager (rom toolbox pro ftw, or titanium backup if thats your flavour) to get rid of the telstra app and facebook app running all the time etc and it performs quite well

  • +1

    I have put JB 4.2.2 on mine, and it works very well. Check out the whirlpool thread for more info.

    This is a really good phone, and not just at this price.

    • Will wait for the warranty to expire before I hack my Huawei. The LG P690f also bought from Coles, I was able to install custom rom - with working camera but it is like a "copy" ICS and not full ICS. But it is now twice as fast and I was able to get rid of the Telstra bloatware. It crashes every now and then but maybe due to the animations. Still can't play Candy Crush though - stupid Arm7 requirement!

      • +1

        At 40 bucks why wait? A dead phone is a dead phone in or out of warranty. If they gave you 2 years warranty would you wait that long? Everyone else would be on Galaxy s6 by then while u r clutching your $40 from 2 years ago Huawei.

        mind you I have nothing against cheap phones, just hack now and enjoy the benefits.

        I learned this lesson with my LG gt540. Downright useless with 2.1 stock, put on CM7 (android 2.3) and for what I do with it no need to upgrade

      • Edit. Moved comment to correct place.

    • +1

      Thanks mate for the info - I've also put JB - very happy with the CM10.1 ROM
      Also the stock android browser is pretty fast than the chrome in ICS

      Only problem is cannot view YouTube videos - but it seems a common issue with other users too
      So hoping it will be sorted out very soon

      • +1

        Stock YouTube App works brilliantly on it, use Android 2.3 Gingerbread Keyboard on it instead of stock ones, OfficeSuite 7, Avast Mobile Security. Got it as a back up for a 3GS and now use it instead of it. Found it slightly faster and more responsive than the evil empire device (Don't like the iphone imposed restrictions either). However don't run with multiple webpage tabs open as this causes the Y201 to lag.

  • +2

    This post put a smile on Bagman's face for sure :)

    • Bagman Unlock codes provided within 24-48 hours.
      Payment by Paypal $5.49 - [email protected]
      just send him your IMEI number and your email address
      he will email you the unlock code -

      Hint when unlocking the phone -
      you will need an old or un-used sim card
      even the $2 sim cards from coles etc. will be fine to use for this
      - why
      you place this sim card into the phone and utilise the unlock code Bagman gives you
      then you place your vodafone, optusnet etc. sim card and it works PERFECTLY

      • Why do you need a secondary sim card from another network?
        I thought it would just go straight in and work instantly.

        • The phone is network locked to Telstra.

          By putting in a SIM from another provider, it will come up with a prompt to unlock, that's when you enter the code provided.

          If you called Telstra to unlock the phone, they will tell you exactly the same thing.

  • Thanks for the heads-up Shump. Wife needs a new phone. Anyone able to comment on the battery life?

    • Battery is good.I charged last night and haven'used the phone today.Still 93% after 18 hours.

    • +1

      I got mine at the last deal and got the unlock code so I can use Amaysim.
      Though occasionally it does seem to ignore a touch I am still very happy with it for the price.
      I only want to use the phone functions so have disabled the mobile data functions for now to conserve battery power.
      I make or receive just a handful of short calls in a week.
      So far the battery has lasted me from 9 to 11 days before recharging.
      Prior to disabling data I think the battery lasted 7 days or a bit longer.
      Of course, your mileage could vary depending on use.

  • +1

    Very good phone for the price - using it for more than 3 months, can't complain, great spare phone.

    However if u are already using a high-end phone, u might feel this phone bit laggy/ slow to response. Specially chrome & Facebook app are slow to response. Overall Internet browsing experience is average, I also tried dolphin later settled with boat browser. My brothers old acer liquid metal is still running (on gingerbread) much smoother although both phone's specs are pretty same.

    Some more Plus points - Easy to root and do CWM recovery, stock ICS is pretty good. Bagman can unlock it for $5 if needed.

  • great little low-end phone @ $40

  • I bought this a while back too. I also find it a bit slow, it freezes or just completely turns off at times…and the keyboard is a bit too small (I have installed swiftkey…a little better, but still..)….

    Apart from these issues.., I really, really like this phone. I like the set-up. It is very user friendly, and very functional :-) cheap, unlocked touchscreen phone ..after bagman unlocks it ;-)

  • It apparently has the Testra Blue tick for regional areas aswell.

    • non blue tick phones can be telstra compatible too

      just look for hsdpa 850mhz support on any 3g phone

      • This has blue tick according to bing search but no hsdpa 850mhz according to specs link provided. Do you mean 850 or faster?

  • +1

    Apparently an expert user can unlock for free. Just follow the g300 unlock instructions…

    http://www.modaco.com/topic/358599-how-to-free-sim-unlock-yo…

    • Interesting. The procedure involves changing the IMEI. This is illegal in Australia. Cheap reusable burner phone if a criminal also changed the Sim card. Nobody should ever do that.

  • +1

    I have a Huawei Ideos X3, with a Qualcomm MSM7227 600 MHz CPU and Adreno 200 GPU. Would this be much the same phone, given that it has the same pixels (320 x 480), and is slightly larger (3.5 inch screen vs 3.2). http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=5112&idPhone2=…

    Not worth me upgrading to this methinks, better to wait until a few years when phones are 16 cores with 20 Gb of ram and 100 Gb of rom and cost $20.

    • This one is definitely faster/better!

    • +2

      Huawei X3 is sloooow compared to a lot of phones that you can buy in the $100 range. Plus, with the newer phones nowadays that come with 4GB of NAND flash you'll get a lot more internal memory for installing apps.

      If you're still using that, consider the Y300 as a worthwhile upgrade. It's a dual core, 800x480, 4 inch low-to-mid end device that goes for less than $130 via DSE. See Bagman for unlocking.

      • I'm really tempted by the Y300, Telstra have them for $114. https://onlineshop.telstra.com.au/prepaid-mobile/mobile-phon…

        • That's a good deal. Great specifications for the money and is better than G300.

        • +1

          I bought the wife the G300, unlocked by Bagman for $5.49 and couldn't be happier. It's fast, smooth, great camera, great battery life. I'm yet to root it, but don't think I will yet, all the tutorials seem to be in their infancy and I don't want to kill it just yet. An excellent phone for the money, thanks for the advice scrimshaw.

    • I've got the same phone(X3) and was comparing the two models. It seems this one is definitely better and faster, but I've had my Ideos X3 for a whole year now so I'm not complaining.

      It all depends on how often you use your phone and what you expect it to do. I'm quite happy running a low end android phone because I seldom use it for more than calls and text messaging.

  • I never got the flybuys from the last time around :(

    • Neither have I come to think of it, may have to call them up and ask.

      • i never got mine & called up flybuys & will give then til mid July, then shall call again to ask
        where are my points !!!

        • Same here…

    • did you activate the telstra sim? maybe its conditional on that

      • I don't think so, it's not a on fiction you activate sim. I bought it, didn't activate sim. Thought I didn't get points, rang up fly buys and found it. Pretty sure it was labelled Telstra in my statement. But was definitely there…when I didn't think it was.

        • +1

          It did actually state in the conditions that you needed to activate the sim to be eligible.

      • *conditional

  • God damnit, dropped my Nexus 4, disabling it until my new screen arrives..

    And just bought an LG Optimus L7 at Woolworths for $49, about the same time this deal was posted.

    • where u get L7 for 49? its not advertised? locked to anything?

    • if you haven't opened the box etc, then I am pretty sure you can take it back & get a refund
      anyway try it

      • Opened it as needed a phone immediately.

  • +1

    http://youtu.be/n2TaeFP8eI8 youtube unboxing and review of the phone.

  • +1

    Good find!

    I bought one in one of the previous promotions. Was selling for $49 at the time plus 2,500 FB points. Oh well.

    GREAT phone for the price and super easy to unlock. True bargain IMHO.

  • I will buy one at opening time Wednesday morning to avoid disappointment. Something makes me think that these will sell-out quickly. So this is the cheapest price the phone has ever been?

    • Didn't you read the OPs original post?

  • This is such a great entry level android phone for the price. Don't hesitate buying this over other $100-$200 phones. This really is a bargain. My girlfriend has had one for 3 months and it's just great.

    • +1

      $200 is a bit of a stretch, HTC Velocity was going for that and sorry but it eats this phone for breakfast.

      definitely have to spend more than $100 to get anything significantly better tho, and u r probably still buying a huawei as above

  • good stuff, had it unlocked, rooted and put 4.1.2 on it, careful with the OC it randomly reboots

    UNBELIEVABLE battery life, puts everything big screen ive ever used to shame, lasts almost 3 days with some calls and whatsapps here and there

  • oh yeah the screen its freaking IPS with scratch resistant (not gorilla ofcourse)

    IPS screen on this kinda budget!!

    the official spec dont show this but i believe only the Telstra spec gets, which isnt found elsewhere in the world.

  • suggestion - if you want ur flybuy points

    activate telstra sim card immediately, as there is an end date for activation to get the flybuy points

    activate the Telstra card & utilise the $10 worth of free calls/text = around 1 hour of chat time
    this is the only way you will get the flybuy points - one of the conditions
    when activating - keep the email telstra emails you, you will need some of the information

    if you don't end up getting your flybuy points - call them 13 11 16
    flybuys customer service will ask you -
    1. the telstra mobile no:
    2. the sim no:
    3. date you activated and bought the phone
    4. your flybuy card you used when buying the phone

    therefore, keep all ur receipts for tax purposes / flybuy points - even photocopy the receipt

  • I'll vouch for this phone too as i bought one for my daughter last time they were on sale.
    She doesn't use it much for texting or calls, but uses it as a wifi hotspot as she doesn't have an internet connection at home. Its been a great little hotspot and has served her well to connect her ipod and tablet etc to the net.
    It has crashed a couple of times and need to turn wifi hotspot on again but has been rock solid otherwise.

  • Do I need flybuys to buy this? Can I activate immediately instore?

    • Nope, and nope.

      The fully-charged led on this is a particularly pretty shade of green.

      At forty bucks, there's no need to fly, or flybuy, or even clarify.

      Just run, but Run Like The Wind.

  • absolutely NO flybuys needed to purchase mobile
    if you wish to utilise the NEW telstra sim card already given when buying,
    can activate phone immediately instore
    if you already have a current telstra, aldi or kogan SIM card you can activate immediately

    • Yep, all phones are indeed pretty active with an activated compatible sim, and yes sometimes hanging around and activating sims instore is fun for all concerned…

      • I meant activate flybuys instore, if it was required for the discount price :)

        • No, the price is $39.50 regardless. Keep in mind that the 1000 points (2500 points in previous deal) represent just 5 bucks in dollar value (if you go through the online + instore Flybuys hoopla to redeem).

          Back when I signed on for Flybuys it was for a specific promotion and you received a temporary card you could use immediately - while you waited for the plastic one to arrive in the mail. I'm not sure if that still happens.
          Somebody else will know.

  • +1

    Perfect time to finally make the switch from Vodafail and try out some of the other network providers. The Aldi 365 day prepaid option for $15 is a cheapskates dream. This would also save me the $5 unlock fee by sticking to the Telstra and associated 3rd parties network.

  • -1

    I like bargains, but not cheap low specification phones, they are, wasting your time

    • Even just as a backup, or for when you don't want to carry something with a five inch screen, a remarkable price for a genuinely usable, albeit very basic smartphone.

      I bought mine solely to use as a wifi hotspot, which it does particularly well. Runs very cool. Great battery life.

    • +2

      It's primary purpose is that of a phone I thought and for that it works admirably.

    • Go back maybe a year and a half ago and this phone would be considered as having very decent mid-range specs. I think 512mb RAM and 800mhz CPU is a very solid combination for running Android 2.3 and you shouldn't have any issues if you know the limitations of this phone

      • +1

        It's actually on ICS.
        Runs surprisingly well.

  • Righto, reported to my local Coles at 6:55am, waiting for the 7am opening. Doors slid open, I went to the counter and asked about the phone. The lady put it on the counter then she rummaged around in a draw and brought out a form for me to fill in. It had the crest from the federal government, and the ID of the Australian Telecommunications Authority and gaps for me to fill in my name, address, phone number[s] and email addresses[es], Passport number, Licence ID, etc.
    "What's this?" I asked.
    "You need to fill this in," she replied.
    "No, I am not going to do that, this is an invasion of privacy."
    She went away and got the manager, and she reinforced that I had to fill in the paperwork.
    "But this phone is not on a contract and I am buying it as a gift," I explained.
    "Sorry," she said, "they are the rules. If you do not fill out the forms, you can't buy it."
    "OK then, sell it to someone else."
    Since when do we need to go through all this rubbish? Last week I bought a handset at DSE for my wife's GF (it was on special) and I did not have to go through any of that rigmarole. And, as I pointed out, I was buying the Huawei as a gift — and even if it wasn't, it was an outright purchase, not something with ongoing commitments. Hell, once it was unlocked, the phone might never have been used in Australia.
    Never been through this for a prepaid phone. Anyone else had this experience?
    One more thing; they had one handset on display, I did not see any others. They might have had extra stock in a drawer, but they had multiple Voda handsets on display so stock might be short.

    • Yeah. Had to fill out that form to get one this morning.

    • +1

      The government in its infinite wisdom thought it would be smart to make it compulsory to have to register every phone, while also having to register the sim. Thing is they didn't account for the second hand market, so the whole thing is a total wank.

      Sometimes you get lucky and can just buy the phone without the hassle, but every so often you get somebody with a stick up their butt who insists on following the rules.

    • +1

      Since when do we need to go through all this rubbish?

      Here's a clue!: Telecommunications (Service Provider — Identity Checks for Pre-paid Public Mobile Telecommunications Services) Determination 2000 (http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2005C00313)

      http://www.acma.gov.au/Citizen/Consumer-info/Rights-and-safe… gives an overview of the ID requirements.

      (Having said that I picked up 2 of these phones from 2 different locations the last time this deal was on - one asked for ID, the other didn't…)

    • -3

      Nanny state = Australia. Ever heard of using fake details?

    • This requirement has been applicable since the late 1990's, after some tosser bought a prepaid when no ID was required and used it for a bomb threat or harassment or somesuch. Untraceable mobiles are an obvious hazard, hence the introduction of the legalities you resent.

    • I bought one from Doncaster Westfield S/Town (Melb.) and absolutely NIL ID required
      then went to buy one at Bulleen Plaza - ID required
      - I left and went to Doncaster to buy another one there with NIL ID required

      Basically, what I am saying is -
      Go to the coles website and call up to another Coles in your area,
      (not all Coles will ask for ID) and then place mobile on hold
      Go and browse around coles and then purchase the any shopping & mobile all at once

      Of course, if you are buying more than one -
      pls pay separately so you are able to get 2 petrol vouches

      • the person who didn't do the paper work probably didn't understand the requirement

    • this is normal. also you need to declare that you have < 5 active sims

      • I think you meant > rather than <

  • And yet, on the way back from the school run, I detoured to the next-nearest Coles, asked if they had the phone and picked one up — no paperwork, no intrusive questions. So it all depends on what store to go into, I guess!

  • I picked up 2 this morning and the lovely lady smiled and didn't ask for my ID or impose the "1 per customer" policy. They had a drawer full of Huwaei handsets but I'm sure they will be gone by the end of the day.

    Got my 5% cashback too so I'm winning right now :)

    • Did you buy them in two separate transactions? Then you would get two fuel discount vouchers. Winning even more.

      • Damn. I didn't even think to do that. TBH I only realised the fuel voucher post-purchase because I seldom shop at Coles/Woolies.

  • Thanks OP. Picked up one from Coles World Square, Sydney.

    Note to self: Coles metro on King/George St do not do catalogue offers, likely any Coles metro store.

  • Got my gf to pick one up. This will be the perfect travel phone to have some travel related apps uploaded. Great timing with this offer OP.

  • Thanks Op, picked one from world square store

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