Best Mid-Tier Chinese Phones

Coolpad F1, $150, most recommended.

I do not like little-known brands because their mobile have usually failures, Regards

---------- Post added at 12:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:38 AM ----------

I think it's better to spend a little more and have a mobile phone like note5, LG G3, Samsung galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 etc

garcia.sl said:

I do not like little-known brands because their mobile have usually failures, Regards

---------- Post added at 12:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:38 AM ----------

I think it's better to spend a little more and have a mobile phone like note5, LG G3, Samsung galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 etc

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Hongmi Redmi 1S

Your link is truncated, so I can't view it.

I live in Taiwan (ROC) - and we have lots of (Mainland) Chinese phones here. My experience with them has been that they generally do not have US 3G/4G bands - or have a limited subset. The exception would be devices that are specifically targeted at the US market. T-Mobile s 3G does operate on 1900 in SOME re-framed areas in the US, but you often need 1700/AWS. T-Mobile operates a 2G network on 1900, a 3/3.5G network on 1700/AWS and limited 3.5G on 1900. They also operate LTE on band 4 (AWS). However, the 1900mhz re-frame is still new and slowly rolling out.

Chinese phones are so cheap because they use last years chipsets, and are targeted at specific markets with limited band support. It makes chipsets and antenna design substantially cheaper.

One of the best devices - the XiaoMi HongMi line - tend not to have US bands at all. The HongMi 1S does have 1900 on 3G, but you will have relatively poor coverage, and almost no roaming capabilities outside of cities. You will basically only have access to T-mobile's core network, and many places will only have 2G. You will have almost no roaming ability to AT&T's 2 and 3G networks running on 850mhz. (a key component in T-mobiles rural coverage strategy) Additionally, you can forget about 4G LTE. (HongMi 1S specs can be found on GSMArena)

In short, if you want a Chinese phone for use in the states, you're probably better off buying it from a carrier in the US. Otherwise, carefully determine which networks your prospective device supports.

Have you considered the HTC ZenFone series? Most of them have substantially better US band coverage than the Mainland Chinese brands.