Last year I went through the misfortune of losing my phone in the taxi twice in one month. They were both Samsung smartphones and cost quite a penny. Seeing how I am pretty much incapable of keeping a phone safe, yet I needed a smartphone to do my job, I decided to try the cheap alternative: Chinese KnockOffs. At first I was a bit shy of buying one because of all the bad stories I had heard about them (that they break easily, some don't even start, that they use bad materials that break easily and so on). I found a trustworthy site (Dx.com) and after a lot of research, I decided on a phone, the Cubot P6, an Android device. I got it for less than $100 with shipping. I've been using it for the past seven months and I can't complain. Granted the camera isn't great, but it does its job right and everything else works like a charm. Has anyone else had experience with Chinese KnockOff phones? Any tips or recommendations?
A friend had a China phone as how we call it over here, and he told me that it works just fine and even encouraged me to buy one. Since that was around 2010, I don't think his unit was an Android one. I think after a few months his phone was having minor issues already, but it was still usable.
My son gave me a brand new android phone from China back in November. It looks very similar the Samsung. My first smartphone. Granted it has been working perfectly but because it is a foreign phone it doesn't help me qualify for any surveys on telecommunications. It is leaning me towards a more reputable smartphone but for now I'm good with it.
I bought a $250 one. It was an iPhone replica, and trust me it's the best bang for the buck I have ever put my hands on by far. It's better than iPhone 6, trust me. If someone's interested, just contact me via PM and will give you the link warmheartedly.
Their phones aren't that bad, really. They are cheaper, and are for the people who only need a basic phone, or for kids who don't have a lot of money. The specs are a little bit worse than other phones, but are still not bad on newer phones. For example, an S4 replica has a quad core processor, which is not bad. My current phone, the LG Bello, has a quad core processor and it's working like a charm. But, to be honest, I'd much rather buy a budget phone from either LG or maybe some other companies like Huawei. LG Bello is a great phone and I can't recommend it enough, and especially since the price is very nice.e
I have a friend who buys only Chinese-made phones. Since they are relatively cheap he buys a new phone, uses it for a year and sells it to someone and gets himself another . . . Fact is Chinese phones aren't that bad though many people believe they are. However those very cheap ones don't have too long a lifespan so you should buy one of them phones if you intend to replace it within two or three years.
Cheap Chinese phones are flooding the market here. For as low as $20 you can have a smart phone that is wifi ready. And it works. I wonder how those vendors could sell that low considering that phones are electronic devices and does not grow on trees. But there is a catch to that low price - the warranty runs for 2 months only. What do you think, fair enough?
Larger Chinese phone manufacturers, aka the legitimate ones, are worth purchasing, and you'll get a pretty good deal on those devices. A couple of those companies are known for blatantly copying companies like HTC and Apple, which is somewhat annoying. The cheapest of the cheap Chinese knockoff smartphones aren't worth touching, though, if you value owning a device that actually runs as intended.
You have to be careful with Chinese phones because some are imitations of more expensive versions. They have poor engineering and functionality as well as durability. This is not the case with Huawei products which come from China especially the low cost Ideos phone. There are lots of good Chinese products. You just have to be alert.
One of my friends owns a knock off smart phone and it seems to work better than my android. He has had it for about 6 months now and has had no problems at all, I on the other hand had my phone for about 4 months and had to get it fixed twice for over heating.