Yeah, I've never understood why, when creating a "mini" version of a flagship (which several makers do), that it always seems to have severely downgraded specs. I suspect a lot of people would buy a G4 Mini (sized like a G2) with otherwise (other than screen) identical specs. And millions of S2/3/4/5 users would have bought a version of the S6 with removable SD/battery. So strange.
Alternatives to the V²
- Thread starter Cullenator
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Agree with the last few posts. My original moto x 2013 was the perfect size. Since then they have just gotten bigger and bigger! If anything they could've kept the same size as 2014 or at least had a mini version! They're basically forcing everyone to go bigger. And saygus v2 looks pretty hopeless.. s6 is starting to look like the only good option.. or the z3c.
I agree. I don't understand it either. You can get laptops, tablets and hybrid laptops/tablets in different screen sizes with almost identical specs. The only 2 companies that have done it with smartphones are Apple and Sony. Ironically in the case of Apple, the smaller 4.7" iPhone 6 outsells the 5.5" iPhone 6+ by a large margin. Sony's mistake is not releasing them at the same time to see which size customers prefer. I was disappointed that only 1 version of the 2015 Moto X was released with a 5.7" screen. They should have released a 5" version as well.
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May be Samsung will finally release S6 mini with descent specs. Also there is Bluboo Xtouch going to be realeased soon and suppose to have pretty good specs.
I'm willing to wait another month or 2 to see what comes out but here are the phones I'm considering at this point. I have no faith that the Saygus V² will be out by then.
1) Samsung Galaxy S6
2) Sony Xperia M5 (even though it has huge bezels)
3) ZTE Nubia Z9 (Elite or Exclusive US versions)
4) LG Nexus 5 2015
5) Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
6) ZTE Axon Mini (thanks to @aspid667 for mentioning this one in the main Saygus V² thread because I hadn't heard about it)
For the ones that don't have a microSD slot I will not consider anything with less than 64gb built in storage.
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1) Samsung Galaxy S6
2) Sony Xperia M5 (even though it has huge bezels)
3) ZTE Nubia Z9 (Elite or Exclusive US versions)
4) LG Nexus 5 2015
5) Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
6) ZTE Axon Mini (thanks to @aspid667 for mentioning this one in the main Saygus V² thread because I hadn't heard about it)
For the ones that don't have a microSD slot I will not consider anything with less than 64gb built in storage.
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Huawei joins the party:
http://www.gizchina.com/2015/08/09/huaweis-next-flagship-is-the-4-7-inch-huawei-mate-7-mini/
Looks like by Fall 2015 we'll have some descent choice of alternatives.
http://www.gizchina.com/2015/08/09/huaweis-next-flagship-is-the-4-7-inch-huawei-mate-7-mini/
Looks like by Fall 2015 we'll have some descent choice of alternatives.
Im a little dissapointed this phone, http://www.doogeemobile.com/doogee-f3-pro-3gb-16gb.html, the Doogee F3 Pro doesnt have the correct bands to work in the US. Seems like an interesting phone for the price. Watching this Youtube on the frame of the phone was cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XfcuOHVOkY
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4.7 is just a tad too small for me. 5.0-5.2 (with little to no bezels) is the sweet spot. The LG G2 was the perfect sized phone.
If that Doogee had proper bands for the US, it would be pretty appealing to me. Seems to have a 64GB built-in option + SD, and capacitive buttons. Other downsides are no replaceable battery & doubtful possibility of development on XDA. I can only assume the listed 170g weight must be a typo. Still, nice to see some decent offerings in the 5" range.
Here's my experience of buying and using the Jiayu S3 Advanced (3gb).Awesome! Would love to hear what you think of it after you get it.
Price: £130 (approximately $200)
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/321958 (Bloomberg Mikki)
Ordered: 5/8/15 (that's day/month/year)
Received: 10/8/15 (that's day/month/year)
I would highly recommend this seller. This was my first purchase through AliExprees, and I was a little nervous to be honest. Especially since you can't use PayPal.
The transaction couldn't have gone anymore smoothly though. I had contact with the seller throughout. From requesting which silicon I'd like, to when I I could expect to receive the phone, to also letting me know that it would be sent as $27 value, so as to avoid any customs. I was given a tracking number within a few days of ordering, which worked perfectly through DHLs tracking. I will definitely be buying from Bloomberg Mikki again.
Now to the phone. I've been using it for about a week now. I've added TWRP, which was really simple. I just downloaded the Jiayu.es app. Then I added Xposed, which runs perfectly. I've had no issues with the phone at, it's super fast, smooth and the battery is great. I regularly get about 6hrs screen on time.
The GPS is really accurate, the dual speakers make a noticeable difference to audio quality and volume compared to the single one on my old Samsung Galaxy S4.
All my apps are working with the phone just fine. With one slight exception. For some reason the eBay app force closes when I try to search. Not that big a deal though, as I can just use the mobile site.
The screen on the phone is great. I absolutely love the MiraVision option, which let's you fully customise the brightness, contrast, saturation and colour temperature.
Smart Wake settings also work really well too. Such as double tap to wake, slide up to unlock, draw c to open straight into the camera. Speaking of the camera, this is probably the only slightly chink in the S3s armour. The video recording quality is great. It's smooth, audio works just fine too. The camera on the other hand can be a bit hit or miss, with the built in app. So I decided to install Camera ZOOM FX. After tweaking some of the setting in this the camera now performs a lot better, and a lot more consistently.
In conclusion I'm really happy with the phone and the seller I bought it from. I'd highly recommend both. Just bare in mind though, if your after a phone with a top notch camera, then perhaps this isn't the phone for you.
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Seems like a nice alternative if you dont mind a 5.5" phone.
(I just quoted his conclusion to keep the size of my post down. I recommend everyone read his excellent review if you haven't already: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=62340274&postcount=191 )
Sounds like an awesome phone, except for the camera. Lots of really cool features though; thanks for posting!
I used to think I'd hate a 5.5" phone. Now that I've had one for over 3 months or so now (the LG G3 Cat.6), I've found that it's not as bad as I thought it was. It fits in my pocket just fine, and is not terribly awkward or uncomfortable to use, even with one hand. The turning point for me was when I realized that my Galaxy S3 with the CASE was still the same width as an LG G3. Of course, YMMV.
I have LG G3, albeit with the 6500 mAH extended battery, and I find it a little too big for me. I have smaller hands. I was a little disappointed to see the new LG made Nexus 5 2015 is actually going to be a little taller than the G3 due to the front facing stereo speakers. Bummer.I used to think I'd hate a 5.5" phone. Now that I've had one for over 3 months or so now (the LG G3 Cat.6), I've found that it's not as bad as I thought it was. It fits in my pocket just fine, and is not terribly awkward or uncomfortable to use, even with one hand. The turning point for me was when I realized that my Galaxy S3 with the CASE was still the same width as an LG G3. Of course, YMMV.
For $25 more than the Saygus I got a Z1C and a Z3C from Amazon, so returns wouldn't be a problem - nor was delivery on time a problem.
After having them for a month I'd say the Z1C is a better quality build of phone, esp noticeable I the SIM/SD card flaps. And at $250 delivered for a pink one (pink was $25 cheaper than other colors) it is a really good value phone.
The Z3C has a slightly larger screen by 0.3" and a much better contrast when you view them side by side. It was $375 delivered on Amazon.
Speed is no noticeable difference, video editing is the same as far as I can tell, nothing else seems to be very much different except I think the z1c had fast charging v1 and z3c has fast charging v2 (if you have the correct charger). The z1c came with a fast charger. Z3c I think so too (v1).
Overall I put a 128gb sd in the z3c (that I had ordered on may 20th in expectation) and am very happy with it's quality, both the software and hardware.
The camera could/should be better but it's ok in good light.
The z3c camera is supposed to be better, I can't really tell as the automatic software is so hit and miss in terms of whether it captures a good image or not.
Waterproofing is great for when you're sweating or caught in a downpour both happen regularly for me.
Best of all the Saygus drama is over, I have a working phone and have moved on. With them their poor track record pre-delivery it made me nervous on their after sales service and/or warranty abilities.
2 great phones with questionable customer service or one pipedream that never materialised, with terrible service? I'm happy with the choice I made.
After having them for a month I'd say the Z1C is a better quality build of phone, esp noticeable I the SIM/SD card flaps. And at $250 delivered for a pink one (pink was $25 cheaper than other colors) it is a really good value phone.
The Z3C has a slightly larger screen by 0.3" and a much better contrast when you view them side by side. It was $375 delivered on Amazon.
Speed is no noticeable difference, video editing is the same as far as I can tell, nothing else seems to be very much different except I think the z1c had fast charging v1 and z3c has fast charging v2 (if you have the correct charger). The z1c came with a fast charger. Z3c I think so too (v1).
Overall I put a 128gb sd in the z3c (that I had ordered on may 20th in expectation) and am very happy with it's quality, both the software and hardware.
The camera could/should be better but it's ok in good light.
The z3c camera is supposed to be better, I can't really tell as the automatic software is so hit and miss in terms of whether it captures a good image or not.
Waterproofing is great for when you're sweating or caught in a downpour both happen regularly for me.
Best of all the Saygus drama is over, I have a working phone and have moved on. With them their poor track record pre-delivery it made me nervous on their after sales service and/or warranty abilities.
2 great phones with questionable customer service or one pipedream that never materialised, with terrible service? I'm happy with the choice I made.
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T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S6 128gb is $580 with their back to school sale which ends tomorrow. Very tempting at that price.
Thanks for the comments, I just ordered the z3c too. Couldn't find anything else! Hopefully the glass doesn't shatter :/
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When/where can we buy it? I like the internals and price, but don't really care for the design.
It looks like they put an iphone on top of a windows phone and smushed them both together.
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