The Chinese are starting to make high quality cheap phones

[Humanity has risen!]

It really *is* gorgeous … but since it doesn't run iOS I will GUARANTEE it doesn't perform as well as an iPhone - because phones with better overall components than the Doogee don't.

These are some great mid-level phones you are highlighting that remind us that there is really no need for the high-end phones, with their high end cost!

But seriously - you should be commenting and comparing to Samsung and HTC (and even Lenovo) since THEY are the ones bleeding money as a result of these phones - NOT Apple. Continuing to always be anti-Apple when they aren't the real competition? Makes no sense.

But a great phone - thanks for highlighting.

Also worth noting - totally useless for about 40% of Americans who are on networks these things won't serve.

To be fair Americans getting phones primarily made for the Chinese and various third world markets is a new phenomenon. The Chinese haven't had time to adapt to this yet. I looked at Doogee's Facebook page and they are showing pictures of stores they have opened in Egypt and in Mexico. Also nearly everyone who comments on their page, along with Elephone's page, is not from North America.

I've seen a few recent Chinese phones that incorporate American frequencies for 4G and LTE, so it will probably change.

In Canada most these phones work depending on who your provider is. It's only if you're under Telus or Koodo, a communications company for which the frequencies are like the US, that it won't work.

I've even found out that with the coupon GBaff you can reduce the bill by another $10. In fact it's so cheap I've decided to order it as well to see which one I like better. I'll post impressions when I get them, for sure.

I do think that unless you play demanding 3D phone games (which is stupid IMO), you indeed don't need much specs. I think it's worthwhile to get a quadcore, but other than that I think it's not needed. I encrypt all my phones too and the slightly added slowness doesn't bother me, I don't notice it.

The only thing with this Doogee that is slightly inferior is the 1280x720p resolution, but I don't really care. I think it's pretty stupid to try to cram increasingly higher rez screens onto these tiny devices. It's a waste of energy and all the old web assets get uglier.

 

[GothicGothicness]

You won't notice a difference just comparing them, but use both for years and you definitely will.

I have always had iPads but an android phone. I like the freedom of choosing between the 2.

Right now I have an iPad Air 2 and a nexus 6. They're both great devices, both have adequate battery and both have about the same number of crashes which is to say both have very few.

The big difference comes in when you start using apps. Apple hands down has better quality apps. ( of the ones I use obviously) even the same app by the same people is laid out and functions better on iOS. I can't think of one app I use that I don't prefer on iOS.

Google maps is better than Apple maps but I can run google maps on my iOS so it's a moot point.

I am not an apple fan either. I would love to see anyone top them so I could use them instead. I'm actually not brand loyal at all, I think it's stupid to like something just because of its brand. I will try out everything and pick what works best for me. I'm really not that big of a fan of android either.

Also not a big Microsoft fan but I wouldn't mind seeing them produce a real windows phone. The thought of having all my devices unified is appealing but I can't find any one OS I like enough to tie all my devices to. Of course I'm sure they'd tie it to xbone which would be a major downer.

As for these cheap phones, I have no interest. Mobile tech moves to fast for me to purchase something that's under powered when I buy it.

Well, I have tried a few apps as well and I found the android version was almost always superior, it might be what you are used to though, as I don't use that many apps I am probably not the best suited to give such an opinion. But how good the apps are should not have anything to do with the OS, maybe the development tools or such? but the OS no, so I am still very curious what TXA means.....

 

[txa1265]

I've even found out that with the coupon GBaff you can reduce the bill by another $10. In fact it's so cheap I've decided to order it as well to see which one I like better. I'll post impressions when I get them, for sure.

Cool - look forward to it. As i mentioned I recently picked up a Motorola Moto E' with some similar mid-level specs and it is a really solid phone - cost me $50 with no contract.

I do think that unless you play demanding 3D phone games (which is stupid IMO), you indeed don't need much specs. I think it's worthwhile to get a quadcore, but other than that I think it's not needed. I encrypt all my phones too and the slightly added slowness doesn't bother me, I don't notice it.

And I think that is the reality for most people - all of these things people try to sell at the huge CES presentations and so on are nice enough and might be used in a couple of years, but right now it isn't worth paying extra for.

The only thing with this Doogee that is slightly inferior is the 1280x720p resolution, but I don't really care. I think it's pretty stupid to try to cram increasingly higher rez screens onto these tiny devices. It's a waste of energy and all the old web assets get uglier.

... that is why the Galaxy S5 tested so poorly compared to LG and HTC - they packed this quad-HD screen in there, so it did poorly on anything involving the screen, and yet no one could really see the difference! Totally worthless spec.

 

[pibbur who]

It has even higher specs than the One Plus One without the stupid invite system and a cheaper price. With the coupon "P7000" it costs $195 US! The company is from one of their ex managers.



It has more RAM, it has a 1080p screen, the same screen size, and most of all a big removable battery. I think a removable battery should be mandatory for every phone. Samsung has really betrayed its users by removing this feature from the Galaxy S6.

Seriously, you have a fully functional phone with three times as much RAM as the iPhone 6 Plus for so little money. A Plus costs more than 4 times as much!

Storage capacity? 16GB? My iPhone's got 128.

pibbur who who maybe tries to compensate his dwindling memory with machine memory.

 

[DArtagnan]

As long as my place of work keeps giving me a phone, I don't have to consider any of this. I'm quite happy about that

 

[txa1265]

Storage capacity? 16GB? My iPhone's got 128.

pibbur who who maybe tries to compensate his dwindling memory with machine memory.

The Doogee allows you to use a MicroSD card ... which is a very $ efficient way to deal with storage. When I bought my Galaxy Note 3 last year I grabbed the 16GB version and popped in my 32GB card, which already has my music folder on it, and was good to go. When I got rid of that ... and later got the Lalaxy Tab S tablet I could just pop my card into THAT ... simple. And I can grab a 64GB card for $25 - compared to the $100 64->128GB differential on my iPhones.

 

[zakhal]

I just swicthed to work place phones. Its simply too costly to buy new phones nowadays when you have to pay like 1000€ for flagship phone.

The last one I bought myself was galaxy s3 and it lasted only 3 years before performance degradation (software/hardware) was so bad it could not be trusted anymore.

I just got s5 which should last 2 years and then I can get maybe s7 as long as the screen size does not become too big.

 

[Pladio]

Like others, work provides my phone.

I did buy an Iphone 4 a long time ago and I still use it once in a while...

 

[pibbur who]

With 128 GB I have room for around 70% of my music collection (120-130Gb), in addition to to other things. And actually, I do listen to every album in there. So I I wouldn't be happy with less.

Of course, I could always settle for less and start using my iPod Classic again. But 1 device is more practical than two devices.

I admit that replaceable memory cards (and replaceable batteries) are a huge plus compared to the big i.


pibbur who for some reason would like 256 GB

 

[txa1265]

As long as my place of work keeps giving me a phone, I don't have to consider any of this. I'm quite happy about that

As far as I understand it ... having a work phone in the US and EU are very different things. In the US, it means you are *expected* to be readily available 24/7, always respond to call/text/IM/email ... but at the same time it is very clear that it is NOT your device, you are not allowed to personalize or mess with settings, and when you switch departments, organizations or leave the company your phone disappears *that day*. Well, for most companies of any size or structure, anyway.

 

[Ripper]

With 128 GB I have room for around 70% of my music collection (120-130Gb), in addition to to other things. And actually, I do listen to every album in there. So I I wouldn't be happy with less.

Of course, I could always settle for less and start using my iPod Classic again. But 1 device is more practical than two devices.

I admit that replaceable memory cards (and replaceable batteries) are a huge plus compared to the big i.


pibbur who for some reason would like 256 GB

Did you ever try the Plex media server, Pibbur? My music collection is too large to carry around, and streaming it to a phone can result in annoying interruptions in signal. Plex has a great feature where the phone app lets me select music from my main library to be downloaded to the phone. So, I only need enough storage for the music I'm currently listening to, and my whole library is available.

 

[pibbur who]

I'll check it out.

pibbur who does not like the "Share your media with friends and family" social feature. Ouch!

 

[Ripper]

I'll check it out.

pibbur who does not like the "Share your media with friends and family" social feature. Ouch!

Don't worry - it's your own server, and you can guard it as jealously and fiercely as required.

 

[Pladio]

As far as I understand it … having a work phone in the US and EU are very different things. In the US, it means you are *expected* to be readily available 24/7, always respond to call/text/IM/email … but at the same time it is very clear that it is NOT your device, you are not allowed to personalize or mess with settings, and when you switch departments, organizations or leave the company your phone disappears *that day*. Well, for most companies of any size or structure, anyway.

In the company I work for, they expect you to answer the phone most times during the week. Weekends are usually off-limits unless you are on a demanding project.

Phone does disappear when you leave the company though.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

I refuse to put any personal data on a work phone.

 

[txa1265]

I refuse to put any personal data on a work phone.

That is definitely something I agree with - I don't even use the company WiFi with my personal stuff ... it was one reason I kept my LTE iPad for a long time, to do personal stuff in my free time. Now I just use my iPhone 6+ for that .

 

[zakhal]

I got my work phone sealed in a box. Its just as same as one you would buy from store. And there are no requirements for me to use it certain way. I will propably use work email (gmail), calendar (gmail) through browser, make some calls and do some tests and thats all.

 

[DArtagnan]

As far as I understand it … having a work phone in the US and EU are very different things. In the US, it means you are *expected* to be readily available 24/7, always respond to call/text/IM/email … but at the same time it is very clear that it is NOT your device, you are not allowed to personalize or mess with settings, and when you switch departments, organizations or leave the company your phone disappears *that day*. Well, for most companies of any size or structure, anyway.

That's not how it works at my place of work

But I'm employed by the municipality of Copenhagen, which means there's no company or privately held interest involved in exploiting us.

We get a phone to do our jobs, but if we take the phone home with us - we're expected to pay a small amount of tax for private use. That's a relatively recent rule, by the way. A few years ago - it was all free.

As for the "norm" - I'm not sure there is such a thing in Denmark. Some companies will do their best to exploit their workers - and I'm sure people in important positions are expected to be on call for the better part of the day. But I'd say we have a much clearer distinction between private life and work in this country.

So far, that is.

 

[GothicGothicness]

You are not allowed to force an employee to be available outside of work without a compensation here... so it is not much of a problem.

 

[Myrthos]

I don't get a phone from work, but a SIM card. Officially it is to be used for business only, but nobody really cares as long as it is within reasonable use. I however have a separate private SIM card and also have a dual SIM phone because of that. This means I'm stuck with an Android phone as Apple does not make dual SIM phones. If they did, I would have bought an iPhone instead.

Oh, and if I leave the company the SIM card can be transferred to me if I like, in order to keep the phone number.