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Cheap Android Phone: Huawei U8300 Boost Mobile (Optus Prepaid) for $29 (Includes $10 Credit)

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Cheap Android Phone: Huawei U8300 Boost Mobile (Optus Prepaid) for $29 (Includes $10 Credit)
Go to Deal
LBarryOne on 12/10/2011 - 12:18 catalogues.samswarehouse.com.au (3839 clicks)
Last edited 13/10/2011 - 10:47

$29, (includes $10 credit)
Prepaid phone, locked to Optus.
Android 2.1
GPS,
WIFI,
2.6 resistive touch screen (320x240)

Where to Buy:
Sams warehouse
GoLo
Crazy Clarks
ChickenFeed

Specification:
http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/huawei_u8300
http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_u8300-3162.php

Mobile Huawei Prepaid Mobile Plan Android

Related Stores

Crazy Clarks
Crazy Clarks

closed Comments

  • ccrap on 12/10/2011 - 12:49

    How much to unlock?

    • pinchies on 12/10/2011 - 12:52
      +4

      Why would you unlock it? TPG, live connected are all on optus network. I don't think it has 850MHz for telstra.

      • ccrap on 12/10/2011 - 16:20
        +3

        Reason for unlock is to send to tight cousin overseas so we can skype/viber/whatsapp for free - currently only has a nokia 8250.

        Thanks pone, huyle, arrogant84 and hfhf for unlocking ideas.

        • Johnny-Kun on 12/10/2011 - 22:24

          I thought you can't send any kinda of Lithium battery overseas unless your planning to give the phone via person.

          Reason why I say this, I wanted to send an mp3 player and HTC Wildfire to a friend overseas but wasn't allowed due to some restrictions with the shipping agreement on the AusPost Form Correct me if Im wrong

        • Rajserp on 14/10/2011 - 19:10

          You just say there are no Lithium Battery

      • Shwayne on 12/10/2011 - 23:13

        Thanks, didn't realise that at first!

    • scotty on 12/10/2011 - 13:00

      Indeed. There are many cheap providers on Optus — LiveConnected, Amaysim, TPG, etc. $29 for an Android phone is quite cheap.

      • Noobist45 on 12/10/2011 - 23:35

        Hold your horses there tonto ! Are you telling me that it's the network that matters, not the company ? So i am with Amaysim who use the Optus Network so i would not have to unlock this phone to put my current Amaysim sim card into this Phone - Is that what you are saying ?

        • focused77 on 13/10/2011 - 00:02

          Exactly, the lock is usually a "NETWORK" lock. So any provider that uses the optus network will work.

      • trev on 13/10/2011 - 10:09

        I paid $49 for mine and even at that price I reckon it's terrific value. For navigation I've installed "OsmAnd" apk (open streetmap maps, & also fully useable offline when you are beyond the reach of mobile phone towers).

        I paid the offer in the whirlpool wiki to unlock it but even before it was fine fine with Dodo, Amaysim, Virgin. Watch out fir other phines, eg the Huawei Ideos U8150 from Virgin is SUBNET locked meaning works on Virgin but not Dodo, for example. Virgin were great (as usual) for unlocking my U8150 … Did it via email and they sent both unlock codes (network and subnet) in the one message.

        • TScott on 13/10/2011 - 10:29

          I just got back from buying one for 29, and the screen is fine. But it didn't come with a 1gb microsd or a microsd card reader. =( BUT it works with my Optus Prepaid Sim, which I'm VERY happy about. =D

    • Pone on 12/10/2011 - 13:28

      http://www.unlocksolution.com/Huawei_U8300

      I found this will do for £8.00, not sure if it is helpful. :)

      • [Deactivated] on 12/10/2011 - 13:48

        The linked whirlpool wiki page suggests it can be unlocked for $8.

        • bennyzhou on 15/10/2011 - 02:53

          That service is actually provided by me.

          If you can whim me through whirlpool. I can sort out the unlock for you.

    • bennyzhou on 15/10/2011 - 02:51

      You can unlock for AUD $8

      http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/huawei_u8300

      check the unlocking part

  • [Deactivated] on 12/10/2011 - 13:21
    +1

    Good deal, but the phone design makes me wanna puke!

    • llama on 12/10/2011 - 13:22
      -1

      Yeah - the worst of both worlds… Ugly AND virtually unusable.

    • jcsantos on 12/10/2011 - 13:52
      +7

      wait till you see it transform into a robot :D lol

  • arrogant84 on 12/10/2011 - 13:23

    i heard someone said we can unlock by using dc-unlocker tool in DC UNLOCKER forum

    http://www.dc-unlocker.com/forum/index.php

    but i dont know it work or not because i didnt have this phone :)))

    • hfhf on 12/10/2011 - 15:01

      DC Unlocker do it for 10 Euro.

  • King Tightarse on 12/10/2011 - 13:26
    +10

    Ozbargain rule 101:

    "it's not a bargain unless you wanted it in the first place"

    These phones are very 1st gen Android. The battery life is piss-poor and the (resistive)touchscreen is too small to be of much use. The best thing about them is probably the handy QWERTY keypad but overall, thumbs down. A novelty at best.

    • King Tightarse on 12/10/2011 - 13:34
      +6

      Haha neg me if you want, unknown person, I don't care.
      I had one these for a week and I have described it as experienced. I don't want other people to feel the frustration of the crappy screen and extra laggy processor.
      The phone is pretty crap. Cheap but crap.

      • bahoogas on 12/10/2011 - 13:50
        +1

        Thanks for being honest. I guess you get what you pay for.

        I was considering getting one for my mum, but if it's slow and the screen's crap then it may be more trouble than it's worth.

      • murkywater on 12/10/2011 - 13:52

        True enough. Can you using it for wireless tethering by downloading an app from the market - since 2.1 doesn't have it?

      • SydStrand on 12/10/2011 - 14:09
        +4

        Yeah it's cheap, ugly and you get what you pay for. But Damn. $29. And it has Wi-Fi, GPS, and a 'touch' screen. No matter what way you cut it, this is extraordinary value, especially considering how most 'disposable' prepaid phones are black and white (or even screenless) dumbphones.

        • bargaino on 12/10/2011 - 15:15
          +1

          At least those dumb phones have good battery life.

    • netsurfer on 12/10/2011 - 14:11
      +4

      OzBargain should show those people who voted negative on a comment.

      It seems like if you say anything bad about a deal, some people will get upset and negative vote your comment.

  • murkywater on 12/10/2011 - 14:04
    +3

    Just saw this thread on XDA: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1091159

    CM7 on a $29 phone, not bad LOL!

    • shawn_low on 12/10/2011 - 14:12
      +1

      Sweet! CM7 on this phone? Hah.

      $29. Total bargain.

    • King Tightarse on 12/10/2011 - 14:14
      +1

      Yeah, I tried to go that route too.
      Read the thread all the way through, they never got it up running properly. Lots of issues: rotated screen with camera, keyboard not fully functional, wifi only works occasionally etc.

      Dont wannna come over as too negative, just telling it like it is (or was for me) :)

    • netsurfer on 12/10/2011 - 14:15

      Thanks for the link. I am trying very hard to think of a good use of this phone (other than using it as a smartphone - it is really too slow for that. Even playing Angry Birds on this will be quite painful). Pocket Wifi perhaps… but I already bought pocket wifi devices from previous OZB deals people posted.

      Mini-SMS gateway perhaps?

      • King Tightarse on 12/10/2011 - 14:23

        I ended up just using it as an MP3 player/ text machine. It did those two functions well.
        Can't play Angry birds on this baby…well you can if you enjoy mega lag/insane screen showing what happened 7 seconds ago between freezes.

        • morpheu on 12/10/2011 - 14:44

          that XDA link mentions the cpu can be o/c to 710mhz, have you tried that?

        • netsurfer on 12/10/2011 - 14:59

          Wouldn't make much of a difference. The CPU is too slow and there is no GPU. It is just slow.

          The phone is slower than iPhone 3G.. and iPhone 3G is quite slow in today's standard.

        • Koonit on 12/10/2011 - 15:09

          still faster then my first PC.

          I'm totally getting one just to play with!

      • sane on 12/10/2011 - 15:53

        Remote control for a HTPC or PS3 via the Bluetooth.

        Would probably manage as a Sat Nav for the car with iGo or Google Nav.

        • netsurfer on 12/10/2011 - 20:45
          +1

          iGo does not really work properly on that resolution (even the hacked one).

        • moortoozzy on 12/10/2011 - 23:11

          iGo works perfectly on it.

  • joshptyltd on 12/10/2011 - 15:10
    -2

    Why would you bother with this phone? It's fugly,and probably buggy. I would rather a Nokia 3310. Spend another $100 bucks and get the Acer Liquid Metal on sale at JB.

    • Koonit on 12/10/2011 - 15:47
      +3

      Dude, it's $29 for a smartphone.. The Nokia might be technically better but it doesn't run Android.

      $29 for a GPS, WIFI hotspot and Web Browser. All which will outperform anything at this price point.

      • tklls on 12/10/2011 - 16:15
        +1

        AFAIK Liquid metal uses 850/2100Mhz so its good for Telstra 3g but not Optus network 3g where the Huawei uses 900/2100Mhz 3g (Optus) network. Let me know if i'm wrong

        • georgedeka on 12/10/2011 - 16:27
          -3

          other way around

        • llama on 12/10/2011 - 20:06

          other way around

          Errrr… NOPE.

    • johnn on 12/10/2011 - 16:36

      OMGWTFBBQ I can't believe it! I only need to spend 4.5X the cost of this phone and I can get something better!!

      Although having purchased and used this phone for a brief period, I can confirm what people say about the horrible screen (literally impossible to view under sunlight), slow and laggy processor, and wayy too small screen size. The only thing I wouldn't agree with is that this phone has terrible battery life- when I switched to 2G only I was able to get 2.5 solid days on standby (with the occasional use- it was my secondary phone), which more than demolishes any more expensive Android device I've used that usually last 1 day max.

      In the end, you get what you pay for- a cheap, 'usable' phone with many handy features (physical keyboard, GPS, wireless hotspot capability (didn't use so can't confirm it's usefulness), bluetooth, and you can call people!). Wouldn't recommend it for use as a primary phone (well, maybe for little kids…those who don't already have bloody iPhones!), but for a secondary or backup phone or something you just want to fling around without worrying about it- should be more than enough.

      • A Banana4scale on 12/10/2011 - 19:28

        how good is the GPS functionality? Could this be used as a el cheapo GPS for the car

        • johnn on 12/10/2011 - 22:27

          I only used GPS on it once and it wasn't too flash tbh.

          I wouldn't really recommend it for full-time use as a GPS since the screen is so tiny and if it's a sunny day it'll be impossible to read. Maybe as a last-ditch resort but even then, be prepared for frustration..

  • chris_21 on 12/10/2011 - 16:30
    +1

    By the way, if you are like me and dont live near a Sams warehouse, Go Lo has the same deal (owned by same company)

    http://catalogues.golo.com.au/portal/dynamiccatalogue?Catalo…

    • bargaino on 12/10/2011 - 17:14
      +1

      Crazy Clarks too, for those in other states. Same company.

  • chris_21 on 12/10/2011 - 16:31
    +1

    oh lol i didnt read never mind

  • ozb-442 on 12/10/2011 - 17:28

    Good phone… might get it and try CM7. Hopefully with the Hotfix there'll be less bugs.

    I heard that you can root this phone with Z4root 1.3.0. Also install a better launcher (ie Launcher Pro) and delete the bloatware via Titanium Backup. For $29 this phone is a bargain.

  • sleepyowl on 12/10/2011 - 18:57

    has anyone tried emulating gameboy advanced or colour on this? the one reason i can see buying it for

  • TScott on 12/10/2011 - 19:35

    Do any of u guys know if it works with an optus sim?

    • netsurfer on 12/10/2011 - 20:46

      Boost is Optus. Read the title Boost Mobile (Optus Prepaid).

    • ozb-442 on 12/10/2011 - 22:01
      +2

      Yes. It will work with Optus and Optus resellers (ie LiveConnected, Amaysim)

      Also make sure you activate the sim that comes with the phone. After 6 months you'll be able to unlock it for free

      • temptingdeals on 12/10/2011 - 22:05

        what will happen if i didnt recharge the sim for 6month, will I end up getting my service terminated and unable to unlock it ?

        • ozb-442 on 12/10/2011 - 22:07
          +2

          When you activate it just choose the long life option and it'll be good. You won't need it to recharge at all.

      • TScott on 12/10/2011 - 22:32
        +1

        So that 10 bucks included would last for 6 months?

  • ozb-442 on 12/10/2011 - 22:53
    +1

    Most likely.

  • ledski on 13/10/2011 - 08:01
    +2

    Its also avaliable at Chickenfeed (and im sure every other shop owned by this company)
    http://www.chickenfeed.com.au/catalogue-other-states.htm

    • pikapika on 13/10/2011 - 10:06

      yup, i got the catalog yesterday and was about to post the same thing :)

  • Koonit on 13/10/2011 - 14:34
    +1

    So I picked one of these up for my kid sister (Most probably) and me to play with obviously.

    I honestly think it's a superb phone for the money the battery has been going all day on 3g, reception is unreal youtube loads in HQ really quick. The GPS got a lock inside. The loud speaker is, well, loud. Much louder than my Inspire 4G which suprised me. The flash key on the keyboard turns on a flash light which will be handy and is quite bright. The camera is extremely slow, but produces acceptable photos without blur. Resistive touch isn't too bad for resistive, obviously no where near as good as even the cheapest capacitive. Trackball works really well, exactly the same as the nexus one imo which was really handy!

    Overall I think this is a mad deal and easily the best phone you could get for the money!

    I'm going to play with some customs roms after i root it and see what this little sucker is capable of.

  • Rajserp on 13/10/2011 - 14:49
    +2

    The smart people over at XDA have a custom ROM in the works that is almost bug free and is very simple to install. This will give you a stock Android feel with Gingerbread 2.3.5. I have installed this rom and the phone is very responsive. Much better than stock. Great second phone / remote / browser / music.

    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1091159

    For a phone costing only $29, you can't go wrong

    If you would like help flashing the XDA ROM please PM me or post here and I will provide better instructions than the XDA ones. (What files you actually need etc)

    A-GPS is great and very fast (12 Satellites)
    Inbult speaker is good.
    3G Speeds are very good.
    Screen, ok, view angle is average.
    Camera, ok.
    Enjoy a great budget phone!

    • temptingdeals on 13/10/2011 - 16:48

      Can I have the instructions,please? =)
      Thanks,
      Jon

    • BarryOne on 13/10/2011 - 17:39

      Could you please spend some time to summarize the steps you have done? Are there any unsolved issues with the ROM?

    • Rajserp on 14/10/2011 - 02:00
      +2

      Ok, I have written some better instructions and complied all the required files to install Gingerbread CM7 ROM. There are no major bugs, and the phone seems very stable and smooth with CM7 on it.

      I will post the links for information ASAP. Currently uploading the files you will need.

      Thanks

  • GaelicAU on 13/10/2011 - 16:59

    Can this phone be setup as a wifi hotspot to share data?

    • BarryOne on 13/10/2011 - 17:35

      Do you mean WIFI tethering? Yes you can. The phone comes with android 2.1. You need to install 3rd party software to enable it. The tethering is built in on android 2.2 and later.

      • focused77 on 14/10/2011 - 13:56
        +2

        I Bought one of these (from this deal), and it appears to already have a wifi-tether app installed, gave it a try today and it works.

  • ledski on 13/10/2011 - 16:59

    I spent a while looking for it instore and it turns out that they keep the phones under the counter, so ask someone if you can't find it.

  • TScott on 13/10/2011 - 17:42
    +1

    The phone came with ALOT more than expected for 29 dollars. It has GPS which was quite fast, ALOT of apps, the screen is good side to side, the phone does have a solid build, the camera only has manual flash, Wifi works perfectly and rapidly, the trackball makes life so much easier, as well as texting with the full qwerty keyboard, videos load quite fast off the micro sd, the screen is crisp and bright, and theres SO MANY THINGS you can do with this phone…I'm amazed with android (first timer) =) But the speaker sounds a little soft for calls i think. Did everyone get the white color handset from this deal? No blacks?

  • BarryOne on 13/10/2011 - 17:46

    I got one from Chickenfeed South Yarra. The phone does not come with Micro SD card. But $29 is still cheap.

    • Tamps on 13/10/2011 - 18:01

      I got one from Sam's warehouse and got a 1GB card I a cool droid usb key chain.

      • TScott on 13/10/2011 - 18:22

        Was it inside the box?

      • ledski on 13/10/2011 - 19:05

        Same. It comes in the box with the headphones

  • trev on 13/10/2011 - 18:54

    Sooo … I bought 2 of these — no 1gb micro SD from Crazy Clarks but that's ok. They came with a build that ends in "B260". I forget where I got it from (The Optus website?) but I upgraded the U8300 that I bought a few months ago for $49 to a factory rom that ends in "B271". I remember people complaining that I was coming through at their end with a buzzing sound.

    There may be a link showing where to get the "B271" factory rom (Still not 2.2 Froyo!) on the whirlpool wiki, if not then on the XDA Developers U8300 thread, if anyone's having voice quality problems with their phone.

  • TScott on 13/10/2011 - 19:49

    Shooot, guys someone help me, I think the phone is eating my credit. I just updated it via sd card and it ate my (12-7=5 dollars). =(

    • bargaino on 13/10/2011 - 19:59

      Did you have a data pack? Even if you do, it gets eaten in 10MB chunks on optus prepaid.

      • TScott on 13/10/2011 - 20:02

        I'm on the long life offer for 6 month expiry, i think it has sumthing to do with the phone's internet usage. But I don't know how to disable it.=(

        • ccrap on 13/10/2011 - 20:10

          immediately turn on wifi and connect to your home network, then set about working out how to turn of 3g data!

        • BarryOne on 13/10/2011 - 20:10

          You can disable 3G mobile internet, but use WIFI to install updates.

      • trev on 13/10/2011 - 20:22
        +2

        at the home screen, press menu key, touch settings, wireless & networks, twiddle trackball down & touch on (or press trackball) "mobile networks", touch the ticked box beside "data service" to turn off (no green tick) mobile network data traffic.

        • TScott on 15/10/2011 - 09:06

          Is there a way to disable all mobile internet, whilst allowing for wifi to work?

        • ccrap on 15/10/2011 - 09:14
          +1

          Thats what trev pointed out above.

  • Rajserp on 14/10/2011 - 02:00
    +1

    Ok, I have written some better instructions and complied all the required files to install Gingerbread CM7 ROM. There are no major bugs, and the phone seems very stable and smooth with CM7 on it.

    I will post the links for information ASAP. Currently uploading the files you will need.

    Thanks

    • Rajserp on 14/10/2011 - 09:24

      There is no FM radio. Just use a radio stream app?

  • Rajserp on 14/10/2011 - 08:22
    +1

    Alright Modders!

    You can find my Step by Step Guide here: Link Coming Soon

    In the Guide is a link to the required files and tools.

    Please be sure to sign up for XDA-Developers and thank TuoNonno for all their hard work.
    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1091159

    Sorry if there are spelling errors etc in the guide. I made it very late last night. Please PM me with any corrections you find so I can keep the guide up to date.

    Thanks all!

    • BarryOne on 14/10/2011 - 08:54

      Is FM working?

      • Rajserp on 14/10/2011 - 09:11

        Actually, I forgot about FM. No, it is not working yet. Don't use the files I linked earlier. The zip was corrupted somehow…. I have to upload it again.

    • Koonit on 14/10/2011 - 09:25

      I'm using the Adrenalin ROM now and it's not bad, does seem a little quicker but it's definitely not ready for prime time, battery life seems worse, and I'm certainly not going to leave it loaded for the person I give this to. I felt the stock rom was way more polished and didn't seem so clunky to work with.. Hopefully it's still being worked on because with a little more polish it would be much better then stock.

      • Tamps on 14/10/2011 - 09:50

        Has anyone flashed the official update? I read that it also has issues. Can any one confirm this?

        • bargainhunter on 14/10/2011 - 10:30

          To 271? Did it this morning, no issues I can see.

          PS Presjar, how's that guide coming along?

        • Rajserp on 14/10/2011 - 12:37

          Hi, Its going well, just the stupid files wont upload. Ill have it ready after work today. Sorry about this!

        • Koonit on 14/10/2011 - 13:09

          I flashed the official latest stock ROM and it's pretty bloody good actually, comes with a wireless tether app and seems a bit faster after it has settled in.

          I've rooted with z4root and ran titanium backup and removed a bunch of apps which i won't use and that usually would start when the phone is turned on, seems to run really nicely.

          This www.sahouse.com.au/U8300V100R001AUSC34B271.zip
          Is the one I'm using, linked by barryone above and is the latest.

        • bargainhunter on 14/10/2011 - 15:16

          No worries Presjar, just expressing my interest.
          Koonit, can you point to a good source regarding the steps you undertook re rooting et al (tee hee).

        • Koonit on 14/10/2011 - 15:27

          Yeah mate.

          Just google z4root, downloaded version 1.3 or latest if you can find a newer one. Didn't appear on the market for me, but it's usually there so probably a stock ROM issue.

          Run z4root and root the phone, install "ROM Manager" from the market then install clockworkmod recovery.

          Then you're all set to install ROMs.

          I didn't find any guides either.. So this is just what i gathered needed to be done. OneClockRoot didn't work for some reason either.

        • bargainhunter on 14/10/2011 - 15:52

          Ta, I'll get on it.

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