Smartphone Brand / Model Request: 4G/3G Dual-SIM, B28 Frequency, > 5-Inch Display

whyisave on 12/06/2017 - 21:17
Last edited 14/06/2017 - 04:30

I'm looking for a dual-SIM phone with following specifications, and wondering if anyone had any tips or suggestions for brands, models, etc.

I need to replace the phones of the parents, so trying to get some EOFY eBay deals too :-)

Criteria:
○ 3G / 4G Dual-SIM
○ Must have the B28 frequency ( also prefer B5, because of Vodafone )
○ 5 - 5.5 inch display
○ Minimum 2GB RAM
○ Budget is around AU$150 - 250 ( Price can be flexible, if it's second-hand for the the right model )
○ Can support Android 6 Marshmallow ( but Android 7.0 Nougat would also be welcome )

Preferences:
○ Good ROM ( either from manufacturer or I will probably root the phone, just to optimize battery-life but it depends, on the ROM and i will research it from XDA as well )
○ Regular updates, but not necessary ( if do follow path of installing a custom ROM, in a years' time )
○ Decent camera ( e.g. the Sony phones are excellent for their cameras )
○ ~ 2500 mAh battery capacity and higher

Models?

Recommendations by,
jackofspade —> Motorola G4 Plus
clse945111 —> Asus Zenfone 3 (ZE520KL or ZE550KL)

Mobile

Comments

    • whyisave on 14/06/2017 - 04:19

      thanks for bringing this to my attention.
      i had forgotten about this model, since i last looked at it, a few months back.
      the price has come down and the parents are already happy users of Motorola (and I'm impressed with their build too, after putting on some ROMs on them)

  • [Deactivated] on 12/06/2017 - 22:48
    +2

    Must have the B28 frequency ( also prefer B5, because of Vodafone )

    Just so you know… if you're on Vodafone then B28 isn't needed. If you're planning to switch around then yes you'll need it.

    From your requirement list I'd recommend the Asus Zenfone 3 (ZE520KL or ZE550KL), the 5.2" version is cheaper and in your budget, 5.5" is slightly over. The bigger version has a bigger battery and 4GB of ram while the smaller one has 3GB.

    • ESEMCE on 13/06/2017 - 09:50

      +1, excellent point about Vodafone!
      And even for other networks, for the vast majority of people, Band 28 is just a nice to have feature…
      Chances are that your current phone doesn't have Band 28 either. If you're pretty happy with the reception you get with your current handset, you really have to question how valuable Band 28 is to you.
      In my case, I'd be happy to spend no more than 20%, ie on a $200 phone, no more than $40 extra.

      There's lot's of excellent handsets in OP's price range that tick every box except Band 28, there's few, if any handsets that tick all the other boxes if they feature Band 28. Not teven the aforementioned ASUS Zenfone 3 Ze520kl is actually in OP's price range of $250 max.

      • [Deactivated] on 13/06/2017 - 10:14

        Yeah you're right, I thought the ZE520KL might be in the $250 range after the ebay discount. It is currently $278 with the 10% off which I think is a bargain anyway. (As I've personally used this phone and thought it was pretty good)

        • ESEMCE on 13/06/2017 - 10:17

          Agreed it's the closest phone to tick the OP's requirements apart from price and event then, pretty close.

        • whyisave on 14/06/2017 - 04:24

          yes,..exactly.
          i'm eyeballing a few on eBay, courtesy of that 10% discount, but we all still have 2+ weeks left in June, to see how many other discounts will be unleashed, so i'll wait a bit :-P

        • katekate1 on 21/06/2017 - 20:06

          When was this discount available?

        • [Deactivated] on 21/06/2017 - 20:28

          @katekate1:
          It was quite a long running one, but at the moment (until midnight tonight) there's 15% off on ebay which is a better deal.

    • whyisave on 14/06/2017 - 04:23

      well, the dual-SIM slots of the phone will be used for 1 x Telstra and 1 x Vodafone SIM card.

      it's currently being used like this.

      over the last few months, the mobile reception has been worsening and that's why i feel like the parents' 3G/2G phones are slowly getting weaker reception.

      PS: i like the Zenfone 3 too, from the specifications 'on paper'. i have personal experience with Motorola phones and am impressed with their build quality and updates to Android (Motorola used to manufacture Google phones)
      plus, the XDA community make great ROMs for Motorolas too.

      i'll read more into the Zenfone 3 and check some reviews out.

    • whyisave on 20/06/2017 - 09:51
      +1

      just bought the ASUS Zenfone 3 ZE520KL for AU$ 250+ last night, during the eBay 15% sales.

      it was that, or the Motorola G5 Plus, which was about AU$ 60 more, and the only difference I could see was the G5 Plus had NFC, but Zenfone 3 did not have NFC.

      thanks clse945111 !

      • [Deactivated] on 20/06/2017 - 09:59
        +1

        I'm sure you'll enjoy the phone!
        When you get the phone though, I recommend disabling all the Taiwanese stuff on it, there are quite a few carrier branded and sponsored apps that you don't need.

  • GangGang on 13/06/2017 - 08:42

    Have you looked at the chinese phones on aliexpress or tinydeal? I've purchased 3 from there. 1 for myself and 2 for other people. If your parents dont use it much just get one of them as it will be cheaper & more variety to choose from. The downside is that it has ads that pop up which you can delete.

    People will mention that it isn't aus stock so warranty will be a issue.

    • whyisave on 14/06/2017 - 04:26

      the one that i have looked at, is only the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro Special Edition, Kate model (with band 28)
      however, it's hard to know which is the Kate Model and which is the Kenzo model.
      sellers on eBay don't always know what i mean either, when i ask.

      i just don't know much about the other brands and i have used a Xiaomi phone briefly, to be impressed by it.

      • ESEMCE on 14/06/2017 - 07:41

        Physical dimensions are a giveaway…
        152mm for the Kate and 150mm for the Kenzo if I recall correctly.
        The Kate is just a tiny bit longer and therefore none of the Kenzo accessories fit it!

        • whyisave on 15/06/2017 - 13:36
          +1

          regarding the physical dimensions,
          you know that. i know that. the seller doesn't know that.

          phones are not usually listed with their physical dimensions,
          so when i have asked sellers sometimes which model was it (Kate or Kenzo),
          they simply don't know,…and this is also because the sellers are just the middleman that
          sends the dispatch order to the warehouse.
          so, the seller doesn't have intimate knowledge of the phones they sell.

  • bongom on 13/06/2017 - 09:52
    +1

    Moto G5 if Motorola fix the dual sim problem?
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/312511

    • whyisave on 14/06/2017 - 04:27

      thanks for telling me about this Moto G5!
      Didn't know about it, and I surely will look into it.
      Plus, it's on sale… but I haven't bought something from Harvey Norman,… ever i think! :-D

      what's the Dual-SIM problem ?

  • katekate1 on 21/06/2017 - 20:10

    Agreed that, I have personal experience with Motorola phones and am impressed with their build quality and updates to Android (Motorola used to manufacture Google phones)
    plus, the XDA community make great ROMs for Motorolas too.

    Zenfone 3 reviews

    The smartphone is made a name for itself at Computex 2016 with 6GB of RAM. All but one (the OnePlus 3T) of our best phones ended 2016 with 4GB of RAM, which prevents slowdown with multiple apps open.

    This phone also debuted the Snapdragon 821 chipset worldwide (though the Google Pixel and Pixel XL launched with the chip first in the West) and starts with 64GB of internal storage (going up to 256GB).

    Of course, there’s also a more reasonably priced Snapdragon 820 version – the one we tested – but you wouldn’t know that from Asus’s 821-touting product page. The 820 is in fine print.

    I dont see why not!!!

  • whyisave on 29/06/2017 - 11:27
    +2

    the Zenfone 3 arrived yesterday and i'm really liking the phone.
    very customizable and a quality product for the price point, with variety of features: B28 frequency, Dual-SIM, 3GB RAM, … etc.

    it was almost identical with the Motorola G5 Plus, which was about AU$ 60 more, except one difference was G5 Plus had NFC, but Zenfone 3 did not have NFC;
    the second difference was G5 Plus has Micro-USB socket and the Zenfone 3 has a USB-C socket.

    the problem i have now, is that the Zenfone 3 has very poor performance on the 802.11n (Wireless-N) wireless band, and i have turned off the Bluetooth on the phone too.
    802.11g (wireless-G) is very good though.

    upon reading, i find this is a problem for the Zenfone 3 ZE520KL models

    ZE520KL — zenfone 3 problem connecting wifi.,..,
    — https://www.asus.com/zentalk/id/thread-115687-1-1.html

    ZE520KL — Wifi slow connection
    — https://www.asus.com/zentalk/in/thread-129120-2-1.html

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