5” Android 4.0 3G tablet smart phone MTK6575 Cortex A9 1GHz CPU dual SIM dual standby WIFI GPS Star N8000 Flash player 11, new google play store (black, white, pink)
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
A great value dual-sim Android smart phone, 1 Aug 2012
This review is from: 5” Android 4.0 3G tablet smart phone MTK6575 Cortex A9 1GHz CPU dual SIM dual standby WIFI GPS Star N8000 Flash player 11, new google play store (black, white, pink) (Electronics)
This N8000 dual-sim smart phone is not without its imperfections but the feature set, dual-sim capability and bargain price means that this is a fantastic gadget!
I wanted a dual-sim phone, to avoid carrying both a business and a personal mobile around. When it comes to dual-sim phones, the choices are pretty limited with all the models being a poor compromise in one way or other. On the other hand, when it came to a single-sim phone, I tended to stick to fairly “dumb” phones as I just can’t justify spending many hundreds of pounds on sim-free iPhone or similar (fancy phones like the iPhone or similar are not available under my corporate plan and I just use a PAYG SIM for a personal number).
But then I found the N8000!
This phone has a large, clear 800×480 WVGA capacitive-touch screen which is smooth and responsive to the touch. It’s 5″ size means that it’s certainly a handful but not uncomfortably so…although smaller handed folks might find it a bit more of a juggle. The colours are bright and vivid, with images and video being clear and smooth. However, this is NOT an iPhone – the touch screen accuracy isn’t quite as refined as the iPhone and the display isn’t a patch on the retina display! This might be an issue for me if I was buying a tablet…but for me, this is mainly a phone and given the substantially lower price of the N8000, I’m more than happy with the display quality.
The processor is a 1 GHz Media Tek MTK6575, which has plenty of performance for this form-factor and it powers the Android 4.0.3 easily. Using the device is generally a pleasure, although those new to Android may have to Google to find out how to personalise their settings, as the supplied user manual doesn’t go into any detail. One of the first things you may have to do is adjust the input language, as my unit came with Chinese pinyin input enabled by default (go to Settings->Language & Input and change the default keyboard).
As for connectivity, the WiFi and GPS both tested fine. WiFi claims to be 802.11b/g and it certainly seems speedy enough, with an adequate antenna that seems to have reasonable reception, although nowhere near as good as, say, my laptop (the phone drops to zero reception while a laptop is still finding a moderate signal).
With good WiFi reception, it’s fast enough to stream video from a DNLA server and the Android OS supports Xvid and DivX etc. just fine. High quality video streams did have a slight stutter now and then but whether this is due to the device’s video codec, the OS or networking, I’m not sure yet.
The GPS locked on (took a little while) and located me with fair accuracy. Not as tight as my TomTom but close enough to find your way…but in fairness, more outdoor testing is required.
The dual-sim functionality is excellent, with clear profiles and SIM indicators on all messages, calls and so on. Call quality and clarity is good, with very satisfactory signal strength and reception.
The embedded sound speaker isn’t great. Volume levels above about 75% tended to make the speaker sound a little distorted (mostly due to what sounds like vibration of the case) but fortunately the stereo headphones are much better. The mic and ear-speaker seem fine for phone calls, however.
One other minor quibble; the unit came fitted with a screen protector but whoever fitted it didn’t properly wipe the screen first…there are two tiny specs of dust trapped underneath it which cause a tiny “air bubble” around them. These are hardly noticeable when the display is in use and presumably I can get another screen protector and replace the fitted one.
Also, the phone comes with an analogue TV function which is pretty much defunct now that the digital switchover has happened. There is an “FM Radio” application included but for the life of me, I couldn’t get it to tune in to a single station…all it finds is static, despite using the headphones as an antenna (every other FM radio I have can access a multitude of stations just fine). Not a major problem but it would have been nice to have.
In conclusion, this is NOT in the same quality league as an iPhone but it’s also not in the same price bracket. However, I definitely feel that the quality, features and functionality are very good given it’s sub-£120 price! Add the dual-sim facility and I am quite happy with the few quality compromises described above.
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This review is from: 5” Android 4.0 3G tablet smart phone MTK6575 Cortex A9 1GHz CPU dual SIM dual standby WIFI GPS Star N8000 Flash player 11, new google play store (black, white, pink) (Electronics)
I was initially *very* sceptical that you could get something decent for the price. If something is too good to be true, then it probably is. Even after reading the reviews, I was still a little hesitant but decided it was worth a punt anyway.
The ordering process was painless, even more so with the infamously convenient Amazon 1-Click! About 2 days later, I received an email that it had been shipped from China along with a China Post tracking number. A further 10 days and it arrived at my door, well ahead of the projected arrival date.
First impressions were very good in that it was well packaged in a lot bubble wrap. After fighting through this, it was relatively straightforward to open the box. The phone is supplied with 2 batteries (brilliant!); two sets of headphones; hard shell, back cover protector; micro-USB lead; and UK-USB plug. First problem was the instruction booklet was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. There was no diagram to show how to pop off the back cover to install the battery and SIMs. In fact, there are no diagrams in the manual at all. After a bit of fiddling, I managed to work it out and got the battery installed.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich comes up quickly and you get through the setup process in less time than it took to write this line. It recognised the 32GB micro-SD card and my SIM no problem. The phone comes with a heap of stuff preinstalled, most of which is OK. There’re a few Chinese specific bookmarks in the browser but these can be deleted easily. The Google Play store is installed so you can download even more apps!
In operation, it is very smooth and is very responsive with virtually no lag. The screen is crisp and touches are accurate. Bear in mind that this is a big phone but that’s what you expect with a 5″ screen. Phone call quality seems to be good but I hardly make any calls, so your mileage may vary.
Camera seems to work well but can’t improve my photography skills that much. Video works well too but with the same lack of skill on my part.
Wi-Fi setup was easy but getting mobile data enabled was slightly more involved. Consulting the Big G soon found the correct parameters. This was not a fault with the phone but more with my SIM.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with phone and would highly recommend it to anyone. If there was a 6 star rating, this phone deserves it.
Pros: * cheap * great screen * very responsive * two batteries included * good camera * Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Cons: * useless manual * generic brand phone so may be difficult to upgrade OS * analog TV (!) tuner build in but no analog stations in the UK anymore * not usable when charging (as other reviewers have pointed out)
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This review is from: 5” Android 4.0 3G tablet smart phone MTK6575 Cortex A9 1GHz CPU dual SIM dual standby WIFI GPS Star N8000 Flash player 11, new google play store (black, white, pink) (Electronics)
First of all I was really pleased with the packaging, nice and secure, plus only took 8 days to arrive! Been playing with the phone for a few hrs now, downloading apps, syncing emails etc.. all very straight forward with crisp and clear viewing of youtube videos. As great as this phone is the only snag, which I have now overcome, is that my mobile network doesn’t support android 4.0, so unable to go online. Remembering my broadband provider is BT, I can now log on with wifi via the many hotspots. Giving that most other phones/tablets with similar specs cost around the three hundred mark, I’d say for a third of the price, give this a go!
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A great value dual-sim Android smart phone,
This N8000 dual-sim smart phone is not without its imperfections but the feature set, dual-sim capability and bargain price means that this is a fantastic gadget!
I wanted a dual-sim phone, to avoid carrying both a business and a personal mobile around. When it comes to dual-sim phones, the choices are pretty limited with all the models being a poor compromise in one way or other. On the other hand, when it came to a single-sim phone, I tended to stick to fairly “dumb” phones as I just can’t justify spending many hundreds of pounds on sim-free iPhone or similar (fancy phones like the iPhone or similar are not available under my corporate plan and I just use a PAYG SIM for a personal number).
But then I found the N8000!
This phone has a large, clear 800×480 WVGA capacitive-touch screen which is smooth and responsive to the touch. It’s 5″ size means that it’s certainly a handful but not uncomfortably so…although smaller handed folks might find it a bit more of a juggle. The colours are bright and vivid, with images and video being clear and smooth. However, this is NOT an iPhone – the touch screen accuracy isn’t quite as refined as the iPhone and the display isn’t a patch on the retina display! This might be an issue for me if I was buying a tablet…but for me, this is mainly a phone and given the substantially lower price of the N8000, I’m more than happy with the display quality.
The processor is a 1 GHz Media Tek MTK6575, which has plenty of performance for this form-factor and it powers the Android 4.0.3 easily. Using the device is generally a pleasure, although those new to Android may have to Google to find out how to personalise their settings, as the supplied user manual doesn’t go into any detail. One of the first things you may have to do is adjust the input language, as my unit came with Chinese pinyin input enabled by default (go to Settings->Language & Input and change the default keyboard).
As for connectivity, the WiFi and GPS both tested fine. WiFi claims to be 802.11b/g and it certainly seems speedy enough, with an adequate antenna that seems to have reasonable reception, although nowhere near as good as, say, my laptop (the phone drops to zero reception while a laptop is still finding a moderate signal).
With good WiFi reception, it’s fast enough to stream video from a DNLA server and the Android OS supports Xvid and DivX etc. just fine. High quality video streams did have a slight stutter now and then but whether this is due to the device’s video codec, the OS or networking, I’m not sure yet.
The GPS locked on (took a little while) and located me with fair accuracy. Not as tight as my TomTom but close enough to find your way…but in fairness, more outdoor testing is required.
The dual-sim functionality is excellent, with clear profiles and SIM indicators on all messages, calls and so on. Call quality and clarity is good, with very satisfactory signal strength and reception.
The embedded sound speaker isn’t great. Volume levels above about 75% tended to make the speaker sound a little distorted (mostly due to what sounds like vibration of the case) but fortunately the stereo headphones are much better. The mic and ear-speaker seem fine for phone calls, however.
One other minor quibble; the unit came fitted with a screen protector but whoever fitted it didn’t properly wipe the screen first…there are two tiny specs of dust trapped underneath it which cause a tiny “air bubble” around them. These are hardly noticeable when the display is in use and presumably I can get another screen protector and replace the fitted one.
Also, the phone comes with an analogue TV function which is pretty much defunct now that the digital switchover has happened. There is an “FM Radio” application included but for the life of me, I couldn’t get it to tune in to a single station…all it finds is static, despite using the headphones as an antenna (every other FM radio I have can access a multitude of stations just fine). Not a major problem but it would have been nice to have.
In conclusion, this is NOT in the same quality league as an iPhone but it’s also not in the same price bracket. However, I definitely feel that the quality, features and functionality are very good given it’s sub-£120 price! Add the dual-sim facility and I am quite happy with the few quality compromises described above.
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|Incredible value for money,
I was initially *very* sceptical that you could get something decent for the price. If something is too good to be true, then it probably is. Even after reading the reviews, I was still a little hesitant but decided it was worth a punt anyway.
The ordering process was painless, even more so with the infamously convenient Amazon 1-Click! About 2 days later, I received an email that it had been shipped from China along with a China Post tracking number. A further 10 days and it arrived at my door, well ahead of the projected arrival date.
First impressions were very good in that it was well packaged in a lot bubble wrap. After fighting through this, it was relatively straightforward to open the box. The phone is supplied with 2 batteries (brilliant!); two sets of headphones; hard shell, back cover protector; micro-USB lead; and UK-USB plug. First problem was the instruction booklet was about as useful as a chocolate teapot. There was no diagram to show how to pop off the back cover to install the battery and SIMs. In fact, there are no diagrams in the manual at all. After a bit of fiddling, I managed to work it out and got the battery installed.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich comes up quickly and you get through the setup process in less time than it took to write this line. It recognised the 32GB micro-SD card and my SIM no problem. The phone comes with a heap of stuff preinstalled, most of which is OK. There’re a few Chinese specific bookmarks in the browser but these can be deleted easily. The Google Play store is installed so you can download even more apps!
In operation, it is very smooth and is very responsive with virtually no lag. The screen is crisp and touches are accurate. Bear in mind that this is a big phone but that’s what you expect with a 5″ screen. Phone call quality seems to be good but I hardly make any calls, so your mileage may vary.
Camera seems to work well but can’t improve my photography skills that much. Video works well too but with the same lack of skill on my part.
Wi-Fi setup was easy but getting mobile data enabled was slightly more involved. Consulting the Big G soon found the correct parameters. This was not a fault with the phone but more with my SIM.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with phone and would highly recommend it to anyone. If there was a 6 star rating, this phone deserves it.
Pros:
* cheap
* great screen
* very responsive
* two batteries included
* good camera
* Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Cons:
* useless manual
* generic brand phone so may be difficult to upgrade OS
* analog TV (!) tuner build in but no analog stations in the UK anymore
* not usable when charging (as other reviewers have pointed out)
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|Great Phone/Tablet For The Price!,
First of all I was really pleased with the packaging, nice and secure, plus only took 8 days to arrive!
Been playing with the phone for a few hrs now, downloading apps, syncing emails etc.. all very straight forward with crisp and clear viewing of youtube videos. As great as this phone is the only snag, which I have now overcome, is that my mobile network doesn’t support android 4.0, so unable to go online. Remembering my broadband provider is BT, I can now log on with wifi via the many hotspots.
Giving that most other phones/tablets with similar specs cost around the three hundred mark, I’d say for a third of the price, give this a go!
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|