Android phone for £200
- Thread starter oggiet
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Soldato
Redmi Note Pro 3 is what I chose, eagerly awaiting it arriving! Big thread here - Chinese Phones?
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Soldato
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Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation SIM-Free Smartphone 2 GB RAM 16 GB Storage £149.95
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Xiaomi Mi4C! 
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Sony Experia Z3 Compact £149 on PAYG at Vodafone.
4th gen due in a couple of weeks so this price should drop further!
That's 5.5" though, better off looking at a Redmi 3 Pro. The Mi4C might also be worth checking out if you don't need expandable storage, but it's got a faster CPU and full HD display.
Nexus 5x 32GB version is pretty good, so is the OnePlus X mentioned above. Huawei P8 Lite is pretty decent but imo the Redmi 3 Pro is better for the same price (more RAM, double storage, fingerprint scanner and a much bigger battery). No full 4G support on all networks on the Xiaomis though.
If you don't mind buying a slightly older phone (2014) something like the Sony Xperia Z3 is still a very decent phone. Snapdragon 801, 3GB RAM, 16GB expandable storage, 5.2" 1080p display, waterproof, 20.7MP camera, 4K video and you can even update it to Android 6.
Thank you all for your input, much appreciated.
After doing some reading online i've narrowed it down to either Mi4c or just released Mi5 - any opinions ? Also oneplus 3 is coming out soon but put off by their customer support as i heard it awful.
Quick question regarding Xiaomi phone, from what I've read it can be installed with bloatware/malware. I take it that if I root it I can install clean custom ROMs or clean version of its UI ? Also how har is it to bootloader unlock it ? I have read on chinese phone thread that people have ordered from Top-One store on ali and can ask him to install multi language ROM which I guess he will have to unlcok the phone to install that ROM which means I will not need to bootloader unlock it and can just install any ROM I want ?
Sorry for silly questions but been LONG time (first version of HTC Desire) since I have rooted android phone
Thank again for ll your help
After doing some reading online i've narrowed it down to either Mi4c or just released Mi5 - any opinions ? Also oneplus 3 is coming out soon but put off by their customer support as i heard it awful.
Quick question regarding Xiaomi phone, from what I've read it can be installed with bloatware/malware. I take it that if I root it I can install clean custom ROMs or clean version of its UI ? Also how har is it to bootloader unlock it ? I have read on chinese phone thread that people have ordered from Top-One store on ali and can ask him to install multi language ROM which I guess he will have to unlcok the phone to install that ROM which means I will not need to bootloader unlock it and can just install any ROM I want ?
Sorry for silly questions but been LONG time (first version of HTC Desire) since I have rooted android phone
Thank again for ll your help
I was tempted for the Mi5 but having never had a chinese phone and it being £300 at the time i decided on the Mi4c which cost £165, a price i was prepared to write off if i didn't like it.
I asked Top-One for a sealed box so i don't know what rom you would end up with, but they do say they install google services.
With the Mi4c you can unlock the bootloader without having to wait for a code from xiaomi which requires loading an older rom version using the miflash software and a 64 bit version of windows.
This allows you to install your own recovery i.e TWRP which then allows you to load any compatible rom you wish.
The one i'm using is a weekly release from xiaomi.eu which removes all the chinese crap and includes google play. Version 6.4.14 which i've used for 2 weeks now has been great and can't fault it.
The Mi5 can be had for around £250 now.. once it drops a bit more i can see one being ordered and this phone passed on to my son
Edit: I'm on three and not had any problems with 4g.. also have a payg EE sim in the phone as a back up..
I asked Top-One for a sealed box so i don't know what rom you would end up with, but they do say they install google services.
With the Mi4c you can unlock the bootloader without having to wait for a code from xiaomi which requires loading an older rom version using the miflash software and a 64 bit version of windows.
This allows you to install your own recovery i.e TWRP which then allows you to load any compatible rom you wish.
The one i'm using is a weekly release from xiaomi.eu which removes all the chinese crap and includes google play. Version 6.4.14 which i've used for 2 weeks now has been great and can't fault it.
The Mi5 can be had for around £250 now.. once it drops a bit more i can see one being ordered and this phone passed on to my son
Edit: I'm on three and not had any problems with 4g.. also have a payg EE sim in the phone as a back up..
Depends what frequencies 3 use. I'm not from the UK myself but I guess that information can be Googled. Chinaphones tend to only support the higher frequency bands (1800, 2100, 2600) and so do the Xiaomi's.
Most retailers do tend to ship the phones with a lot of adware, this is usually the case if you get one with a multilanguage ROM pre-installed. You can download the official ROMs from Xiaomi here.
You can use that to install the Stable ROM, then with the Updater app you can go to the developer ROM. Once you have that you can unlock the bootloader, for which you have to put in a request with Xiaomi here: http://en.miui.com/unlock/
Mind you, it can take very long for Xiaomi themselves to publish Global ROMs (China ROMs only support Chinese and English languages). Global ROMs support more language but will still come with the standard Chinese Xiaomi apps.
If you want a multi-language ROM without any of the Chinese stuff, you can try the (unofficial) ROMs for Xiaomi.eu after you've unlocked your bootloader (unless you want stable ROMs of course).
Most retailers do tend to ship the phones with a lot of adware, this is usually the case if you get one with a multilanguage ROM pre-installed. You can download the official ROMs from Xiaomi here.
You can use that to install the Stable ROM, then with the Updater app you can go to the developer ROM. Once you have that you can unlock the bootloader, for which you have to put in a request with Xiaomi here: http://en.miui.com/unlock/
Mind you, it can take very long for Xiaomi themselves to publish Global ROMs (China ROMs only support Chinese and English languages). Global ROMs support more language but will still come with the standard Chinese Xiaomi apps.
If you want a multi-language ROM without any of the Chinese stuff, you can try the (unofficial) ROMs for Xiaomi.eu after you've unlocked your bootloader (unless you want stable ROMs of course).
Thank you guys, makes things much clearer !!
Great advise egarding Mi5, think will hold out till price drops and hopefully if there are any problems with it will get sorte out when revised version come out.
So its Mi4c 3GB ram vesion
Quick one BaldJedi, whats plastic like at the back ?? Mark easily ? Which colour did you get ? Also had any problems with it that I should know about ?
Great advise egarding Mi5, think will hold out till price drops and hopefully if there are any problems with it will get sorte out when revised version come out.
So its Mi4c 3GB ram vesion
Quick one BaldJedi, whats plastic like at the back ?? Mark easily ? Which colour did you get ? Also had any problems with it that I should know about ?
Thank you guys, makes things much clearer !!
Great advise egarding Mi5, think will hold out till price drops and hopefully if there are any problems with it will get sorte out when revised version come out.
So its Mi4c 3GB ram vesion
Quick one BaldJedi, whats plastic like at the back ?? Mark easily ? Which colour did you get ? Also had any problems with it that I should know about ?
I got the white one (panda) and have no problems at all.
It's a very solid phone and no creaks from the plastic.. one of the best plastic backed phones i've used.
Top-one include a cheap case but i only use the tempered glass screen protector. The back is showing no marks but then i tend to be careful with my phones..
Good to know kayomani and thank you BaldJedi as just what I wanted to hear as I hate having cases on the phone. Will order it and post in chinese phone thread when get it ...... sure will need help with bootloader and stuff.
Thanks again for your time !
Thanks again for your time !