Edited as Code doesn't work any longer! Apologies! Still a bargain price though!
Bought one of these pre-sale and I'm really impressed. The battery life is incredible, and can even be used to charge other devices. Quick as any other phone I've tried (S6, iPhone 6) - great screen too. Little bit heavy due to the battery, but not unreasonably so. Update to Marshmallow expected soon - we'll see! Camera is ok - not as good as LG G4 or iPhone 6 but the hardware is great, so (again hopefully) an update may make it even better.
In stock now and should take about 2 weeks to arrive. I had no extra charges and the tracking worked well.
I know that some people prefer the security of a UK seller - if it goes wrong the onus is on you to pay the return fee - my view is that supporting these companies will pressurise the big names to reduce the prices of their premium phones over the next few years.
Ulefone Power Android 5.1 4G Phablet 5.5 inch 6050mAh MTK6753 64bit 1.3GHz Octa Core 3GB RAM 16GB ROM 13.0MP Camera
Display: 5.5 inch FHD 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Screen
CPU: MTK6753 64bit Octa Core 1.3GHz
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP front camera + 13.0MP back camera
Bluetooth: 4.0
GPS: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Digital Compass
Features: Fingerprint Scanner, OTG, Hotknot, quick charge
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, Micro SIM and Standard SIM
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/900/1800/2100/2600MHz
Both SIM slots are compatible with 4G, respectively. When they work at the same time, only one of them can receive LTE service and the other GSM. You can choose in settings which one for 4G.
If you do, then it has one. If you need dual-sim as well as expandable storage then it's no good.
barbiegirl
1 Apr 165#92
Just to confirm Roger's comments. I ordered one of these for my VERY tech savvy 15 year old. It;s an extraordinarily good phone and he cannot find a single fault with it (the headphone output is set a little low, but entering MTK engineering mode, you can increase it to deafening levels). He can't kill the battery in a day and I've never seen a heavier user. The build quality is extraordinary too - better than my Redmi Note 2 by far. Not a hint of Chinglish and a lovely vanilla Android experience. 3GB RAM makes it fly along too.
I order from Gearbest (have ordered at least 6 items from them without issue) and it was here 8 days later.
For those who are concerned, be smart! Use PayPal and you have total protection.
screen on time and talk time and maybe a photo with another smart phone for actual real world comparison in size would be handy as im about to buy it:)
Thanks
steviep23
1 May 16#163
No probs, haven't been off it all day, no faults so far but ill post again in a few days. Ordered from banggood and it took around two weeks, used them several times and no issues. Fingerprint works fine so far
ifitsfreeitsmine
1 May 16#162
Very interested in this phone so interested in a review after you have used it for a few days
Did you buy this from gearbest and if so how long did it take to arrive,
Another phone I came across is the oukitel k6000 from gear best,
It has very impressive specs but got voted cold mainly because it was from gearbest so would like to know your Experiences with them.
Please tell us how your phone performs, battery life, charging, fingerprint scanner etc. The good and the bad.
Much appreciated
steviep23
1 May 16#161
Phone arrived yesterday :smiley:
Having had a bad experience with another Asian phone (DooGee F3 Pro) i wasnt expecting much.
But wow , this is a belter!
Excellent build quality on a par with any top shelf product available in carphone warehouse.
I am very happy with my purchase and have no hesitation recommending this to anyone , if your debating buying one just go for it , you wont be disappointed
Still looking for a clip in case although the silicon one supplied is quite good
gingo67
25 Apr 161#160
worked it out. just change channels on the router. have to say, some phone for the money. no complaints at all
gingo67
22 Apr 16#159
I'm the same. Had the phone over a week now but cant connect it to my virgin router. Its fine on public wifi but not accepting my password. Just keep saying 'saved'. Anybody help?
imhappy
22 Apr 16#158
Phone looks good so far. Haven't started using it as my everyday phone yet so cannot give a detailed review. The WiFi signal kept dropping to start with but took it near the router and got full signal; now works fine everywhere! Not loaded with junk apps when arrived so looked quite clean.
ifitsfreeitsmine
16 Apr 16#157
Please keep us upto date on how this phone performs.
A detailed review wiuld be most welcomed.
Pros and cons
Thanks in advance
imhappy
16 Apr 16#156
All cases seem to be the stick on ones. You can actually order off ebay with 2-3days delivery time!
imhappy
16 Apr 16#155
Didn't have to wait that long as the phone arrived this morning. All looks good apart from the WiFi that keeps dropping off
imhappy
16 Apr 16#154
Hello, have u managed to find a solution for this problem?
Mine arrived this morning and all looks good except for the WiFi signal that keeps dropping off! Cannot see the 5g option at all in the searches! Is the band for it not available on the phone?
steviep23
16 Apr 16#153
cheer for replying but again they are the stick on ones , you have to stick the phone to the case.
Im looking one that clips in
nightmare , that happened my last one hence looking a case :disappointed:
steviep23
15 Apr 16#150
Anyone got a link for a case?
beetroot66
15 Apr 16#149
Mine lasted a month. Didn't drop it, or knowingly hit it off anything. Just had it in my pocket, did a bit of kneeling, pulled it out to find the screen cracked in all directions :-(
reddeviluk
14 Apr 16#148
Excellent Wolfy, glad it's ticking the boxes, how's the finger print scanner please? seems to be a mixed bag.
Cheers,
Rich
itswolfy
14 Apr 161#147
hi.. i just got my one of these phones, its an amazing phone.. yes its a little heavy but a massive battery is what your getting.. i am seriously impressed with this phone..
Ogre
10 Apr 16#146
Where to order from though hmmmm
imhappy
9 Apr 16#145
Not too fussed over the fingerprint scanner considering the other good specifications of the device
imhappy
9 Apr 16#144
Seems like yes but at least it will be covered by amazon warranty
reddeviluk
9 Apr 161#143
LOL, That's the one I am thinking of going for, looks great. My only issue is the number of YouTube videos and reviews that mention the fingerprint scanner not being great......Currently also considering the Honor 5x too.....
Too much choice.
Rich
imhappy
9 Apr 161#142
The wood finish one
dodoegg1
7 Apr 16#141
is it fulfilled by Amazon? Or just being sold on amazon by some other party?
ifitsfreeitsmine
7 Apr 16#140
It is a long wait, I thought by buying from Amazon then it would UK stock, is it being shipped from the far east?
reddeviluk
7 Apr 16#139
Which colour did you go for?
imhappy
7 Apr 16#138
Sure, will do once it arrives. Not going to be soon though, it seems as expected delivery is April end-start of May. Long wait!!
ifitsfreeitsmine
7 Apr 16#137
Please keep us upto date on how the phone is,
Genuinely interested in this phone, I think it ticks a lot of boxes.
imhappy
7 Apr 161#136
Ordered one just now from Amazon!
imhappy
6 Apr 16#135
Thank you for your response
Ogre
6 Apr 162#134
Would absolutely recommend getting it from Amazon. Returns to Gearbest are a nightmare. Its worth paying the extra £19 from Amazon for piece of mind
imhappy
6 Apr 16#133
Would anyone suggest if it is worth spending extra £20 and getting it from amazon?
Crw
6 Apr 16#132
Mine works fine connected to my virgin superhub (AC version) and I've also had no problem connecting it to other wifi extenders, acces points etc. Does yours connect to other devices?
Roger_Irrelevant
6 Apr 161#131
As an example I took it out walking at the weekend, as an experiment I ran BackCountry Navigator pro and set it to record my track. So mobile data was on and GPS, plus I had the screen on a few times during the day. Was on constantly (in pocket) from 10:00 until about 17:00, GPS looked accurate to about 2m the whole day and the battery had dropped from full to about 73%.
Would be an amazing phone at £300 never mind £120
n1ghtman
5 Apr 16#130
I bought this phone off amazon , brilliant phone , I can't seem to get it to connect to my Virgin media WiFi, has anyone else had the same problem
ifitsfreeitsmine
4 Apr 16#129
Hello, would like opinion from those who actually own this phone, please give us a quick review, pros and cons, I understand it's not a uk model so how does that affect it for use in the uk and how does it compare to similar phones such as the honor 5x and 7.
I'm very impressed with the specs especially the large battery, fingerprint scanner etc.
Thanks in advance.
reddeviluk
4 Apr 16#128
I'm asking myself the same question...Got to decide on the Honor 5X, Honor 7 or this....mmmmmm.
Rich
M1sterDeeds
3 Apr 16#127
This vs Honor 5X seen in a different deal here? The Honor is more money at 150 but its from eBuyer.
I'm drawn to the battery on the Ulefone, but don't mind paying a bit more if the Honor is the better phone.
EazyDuz
3 Apr 16#126
made second account to counter act your troll vote, you must work for gearbest well u arent fooling me
mk-donald
2 Apr 16#125
No, ulefone Be Touch 2 is since 2nd update in Oct 2015 still just pretending to be 5.1 - which frankly is even worse than delivering 5.0 and then failing to update to 5.1.
There were meant to be multiple other OS too - none of them ever got released as far as I can find, which given they can't be bothered to even issue the Android it was allegedly sold with 8 months ago isn't surprising!
Nice hardware but marred by the software and ulefone's attitude to truth and ongoing (lack of) support.
smugjojo
2 Apr 16#124
Ulefone Touch2. + 3100 Ah battery. Mine is gr8. Avoid the white case - it looks off white very quickly.
smugjojo
2 Apr 16#123
I have Ulefone touch2. Brilliant.
buglawton
2 Apr 16#122
I'm equally concerned by MS and by Chinese makers, or even Apple for that matter. At least MS makes some pretence at allowing you to control your privacy. The Chinese manufacturers seem to bury their stuff very covertly and don't offer any settings.
Proveright
2 Apr 161#121
It is a bit ironic some people trying to scare monger or run down Chinese phones "might" have spyware , when Microsoft openly advertises their products " do " spy on you and download your data to lots of different servers , and force peoples kit to upgrade without their knowledge in the back ground , so they can be spied on more !
buglawton
1 Apr 16#101
Has anyone run the Kaspersky spyware detector on their Ulefone? If so did it detect the 2 non-removable threats that come as part of the operating system? (as reported on Amazon by a Ulefone Paris buyer).
andiejn to buglawton
1 Apr 161#118
I run AVG without issues (one of the 1st apps I added, would've been the 1st if googleplay's 'my apps' ran alphabetically!)
sco0ter to buglawton
1 Apr 162#120
i have run eset, Norton and Kaspersky on the phone and not one of them had found anything wrong. I do remember someone on a forum saying some sites were adding their own apps before sending them out. U launcher used to be detected as malware as well due to its modules and set up but I believe the developers fixed this and it was added to the latest ROMS from ulefone. I also believe that the ROMS on the ulefone site even though they have the same build number include the fixed u launcher and can be flashed to fix any security warnings and get rid of any added apps. This doesn't seem to be a problem with the power but more for the Paris. All I did was start my phone then factory reset it before setting it up and nothing was detected. I had heard the horror stories about Chinese phones and dodgy apps so checked as best I could. using the the above software apps. I will get round to rooting later and have a deeper check.
andiejn
1 Apr 16#119
I've always found paypal to lean very heavily in support of the buyer, even when the buyer is full of brown stuff.
andiejn
1 Apr 16#117
it has hot knot, which is similar and apparently next gen, but not cross compatible. Personally, I don't particulaly like either 3 years of NFC on a HTC and used it once, on a mates stereo - and that turned out to be some long way around installing some crappy app to use a bluetooth connection I could've set up to begin with. The whole NFC payments things just looks like a crime crisis waiting to happen to me.
.
drkdeath5000
1 Apr 16#115
Is it possible to get CM12 (cyanogenmod) on this?
rev6 to drkdeath5000
1 Apr 16#116
No.
sco0ter
1 Apr 161#114
as already said the GPS is excellent. compared to my moto g 2 and my Nexus 7 (which I use as a navigation device only now) it is better in the city centre. The Nexus is terrible. The Moto g faired a little better but not when surrounded by buildings. the power never lost a lock today. I primarily use the TomTom app. the lock is also within 20 seconds.
Anonstarter
1 Apr 161#113
I use Google Maps, My Tracks and CoPilot and it's bang on. I cannot tell any difference between the Ulephone and the SGS5.
topazz
1 Apr 16#112
Have you tried it the GPS? Hoping to use mine occasionally as a car sat nav. Is it any good e.g accuracy, time to get a signal etc
Jimmyboy
1 Apr 16#111
I believe it is because Paypal are classed as the agent not the seller.
bonzobanana
1 Apr 16#110
If something doesn't turn up I find Paypal 100% successful in refunding but if a faulty product turns up Paypal make no attempt to comply with uk law and the distance selling regulations. Often expecting the person receiving the faulty or incomplete product to pay return costs. I've used Paypal in the past where their response was unhelpful to say the least and ended up being refunded by the credit card company. I'm just making the point Paypal are not safe. You'd think now that Ebay and Paypal are separate companies we would have a choice of payment systems and we could use responsible companies that work within the law. A company that acts outside the law should not be forced upon consumers.
alcurtis93
1 Apr 16#103
What would've made this great is using a snapdragon 615/650 instead of the power hungry mediatek
barbiegirl to alcurtis93
1 Apr 16#109
irrelevant when you have a 6Amp battery
sco0ter
1 Apr 16#108
yes. I got an email offering me the phone for £112. I found an online code giving 15% off and used that although the price of the phone went up a few quid so it really worked out around 12%. That paid for the DHL delivery. I then went on to live chat and asked if I could get free insurance since it was my first order of this value and was a bit worried and they agreed so it worked out at £111.94 including delivery.
cowtc
1 Apr 16#107
Could be true but I personally think something dodgy was going on at the Belgium transit. Anyway, if you have to contact GearBest for any issues, you're pretty much going to be bent over a barrel. In my case, lucky for Paypal protection, but then for some even that is not enough. I'd just not recommend GearBest for buying stuff, focalprice or banggood are more reliable
tiarnanp
1 Apr 16#106
got 1 for my girlfriend and was so impressed i got one myself. had it 2 weeks now and compared to my samsung note 4 it is very good. slight lag opening apps, fingerprint scanner hit and miss ( my note was too until reprogrammed several times), fibre tipped styluses are not responsive on it.. back to the finger and nightmare getting a wallet case for it that is not a stick on case. Other than that; camera and video are very good, multitasking no problem, and play store on it for all your apps. was concerned it would arrive in chinese filled with chinese apps but english out of the box. girlfriends has had to be re-booted after poor call quality but could have been the network. at £115 ( aliexpress and quidco recommended) and sim only plan you can't go wrong.
sco0ter
1 Apr 16#104
just got mine yesterday. got it before this deal for £112 including DHL delivery and insurance. took 7 days to get here and was hit with customs duty of £21 although £9 of that was DHL charges. must admit though it blows my old moto g out of the water. new update fixed all the issues that I was reading about and marshmallow due in April now they have the mediatek drivers. the Wi-Fi is better as is the mobile hotspot. call quality is far superior to the Moto g. fingerprint sensor works great and easy when you get used to it. anybody wanting to root it can go to the official blog and download all of the files from there as well as instructions on how to do it. Had a bit of problem setting up mobile data but a quick Google got that sorted and it was just a quick setting change. camera is not the best but hopefully will get better with next update.
rev6 to sco0ter
1 Apr 16#105
Did you pay extra for DHL delivery?
sgarbett364
1 Apr 16#102
Really wouldn't bother with Gearbest mobile deals. Took 3 months to deliver the one I ordered after they tried to cancel it multiple times and blaming Chinese new year etc etc. Worst delivery and service I have ever come across
Roger_Irrelevant
1 Apr 16#100
If GB don't deliver, open a ticket, ask firmly for a PayPal refund and they'll send one (Happened when I'd ordered 4 items, order said "Processing" for ~1 week, I asked and they said "One of the items is out of stock, sorry, do you want a refund to your 'wallet'. I insisted on a Paypal refund which they did straight away, and just ordered them separately after that with no problems).
If it arrives, then a few weeks something breaks, granted you might have to be prepared to take the hit. But (a) Reviews thus far are very good, no reports of DOA or any major issues, and (b) Don't forget you're getting a hell of a lot of phone for £120 or whatever. The likes of Apple/Samsung etc. have huge markups so they have the profits to be able to replace any faulty ones relatively quibble free (and also keep their shareholders in nice fat dividends...)
It is a slight gamble but it's great seeing the reaction to some poncey iPhone 6/Samsung sheep who looks at the uleFone and goes "That's a good looking phone, what is it?" And you tell them it cost £120 is priceless. :sunglasses:
barbiegirl
1 Apr 161#99
To be fair, as someone mentioned earlier, they're just £139 at Amazon with Prime delivery.
It's a small premium to pay for Amazon back up and near instant delivery.
Previous owner of this phone, it's fantastic. The wood effect is great, even feels like real wood. Screen curves nicely over the edges. Build quality is great and solid. The battery is simply amazing, two days of heavy use easily. You'd never kill it in a day. Got lots of comments on how good the phone looked. Best 'China' phone I've owned. Better than many phones that cost much much more. Convinced me never to buy into marketing and pay a premium again when it comes to mobiles. One iPhone or s7 or six(ish) of these, crazy.
topazz to beardpunk
31 Mar 162#26
Mind me asking why you got rid?
barbiegirl to beardpunk
1 Apr 161#98
Couldn't agree more. Try telling that to the Apple Fan Boys over on the IPhone6+ John Lewis thread. You'd have thought we were heretics suggesting that £700 for a smartphone was rather excessive and that they were mugs for buying into the Apple marketing scam.
henlowstu
1 Apr 16#96
Only had my moto x play a few months but this phone looks epic for the money. Time to sell up!
rev6 to henlowstu
1 Apr 16#97
Don't do that! :stuck_out_tongue:
Crapweasel
1 Apr 16#95
Price now increased to £126, which is annoying as the deal countdown timer stated 10 days :disappointed:
Gooner77
1 Apr 16#94
I have had loads of problems with Gearbest too. On two separate occasions I ordered a phone, both times they took the money from my card and then never sent anything. A tablet I ordered was full of spyware and ridiculously slow.
Also, I was watching a Youtube product review yesterday, where in the comments people were complaining about Gearbest manipulating the reviews on their site.
kta93
31 Mar 1616#1
shame it's coming from gearbest,terrible company
Theorist to kta93
31 Mar 164#3
I'd heard the same. Tried it anyway, and had no problems...
salsheikh to kta93
31 Mar 163#8
agree. absolute pain in the derrier if anything goes wrong. i purchased goods and they didnt get delivered and i was offered £10 for goods valued at £75! thankfully i paid by paypal and got a full refund.
stephenpg to kta93
1 Apr 16#93
If you buy from any Chinese company your on your own if it goes wrong.
Having said that I've never had any trouble with gearbest.
barbiegirl
1 Apr 165#92
Just to confirm Roger's comments. I ordered one of these for my VERY tech savvy 15 year old. It;s an extraordinarily good phone and he cannot find a single fault with it (the headphone output is set a little low, but entering MTK engineering mode, you can increase it to deafening levels). He can't kill the battery in a day and I've never seen a heavier user. The build quality is extraordinary too - better than my Redmi Note 2 by far. Not a hint of Chinglish and a lovely vanilla Android experience. 3GB RAM makes it fly along too.
I order from Gearbest (have ordered at least 6 items from them without issue) and it was here 8 days later.
For those who are concerned, be smart! Use PayPal and you have total protection.
abdi12346
1 Apr 16#91
Buy only with PayPal.
EazyDuz
1 Apr 16#86
cold no name brand will break in no time
Bushes to EazyDuz
1 Apr 161#88
Why comment on things you know nothing about? You're just a troll.
den169 to EazyDuz
1 Apr 161#90
Also voted hot to cancel clueless dumb vote.
Bushes
1 Apr 16#89
In my experience a lot of the Chinese suppliers will say there will be updates and rarely deliver. So if it says there will be an update to Marshmallow just don’t expect to get it – not that this makes it a bad phone.
Looks a good powerful phone, would consider it.
buglawton
1 Apr 162#87
Voted hot to cancel dumb vote
Anonstarter
1 Apr 161#85
I have both.
The Ulephone Power is very well put together and IMO looks and feels far superior.
FWIW the AnTuTu Benchmark Scores are:
Vodaphone Smart Ultra 6: 24960
Ulephone Power : 37249
(Although neither are slow in real use.)
The Wifi antenna in the Ulephone Power is not as good and it drops in areas where the SU6 still has a signal.
The camera is excellent on the Ulephone, there's far more detail captured and the colours are more natural. Its low light capabilities are excellent.
Gearbest... It was ordered on the 19th February and it was delivered on the 18th March. :neutral_face:
Roger_Irrelevant
1 Apr 163#84
It only takes one bent agency worker at a Royal Mail depot to see a phone-sized looking envelope from china, open it, "lose" the phone box into his uniform, and send the rest on saying it was damaged..
For anyone wavering on this phone I'd say go for it, GearBest are box shifters but if you pay with paypal, and get pay for tracking you can see where your phone is. They even send a photograph of your parcel as it leaves gearbest.
Great things about this phone:
1) Great built quality, feels very premium. Some say it's heavy, well it may be but I prefer it. Not like I have it in my track suit pocket swingling like a pendulum. :smiley:
2) Great software (ROM) No lags, annoyances, everything works out of the box. It's vanilla too, no bloatware.
3) Battery is amazing. Charge overnight on Sunday, you can forget about it till Wednesday. Quick charges in 2 hours.
4) Good Wifi. Not too bothered about how many bands it has, I want fast, reliable wifi. This detects devices no other device in my house can, wifi never drops, I set it to turn on/off with screen on/off and it always does it instantly.
5) Fingerprint unlock - is amazingly useful and works ~95% of time, if not just use pin.
6) Auto power on/off at allocated times, saves even more battery
7) Good camera (Sony IMX-214, f/1.8 which means good in low light)
8- MediaTek Engineer mode :sunglasses:
9) Good call quality, you can tweak mic/speaker levels in [8] above.
As others have said, I've seen the light cos this is the equivalent of a £400/500 'big brand' phone. Ulefone will probably be the next HTC.
ssc1
1 Apr 16#83
do i need NFC? damn!
Roger_Irrelevant
1 Apr 161#82
No you don't, look online and you'll find a video of someone testing the charging via a current monitor (so a physical device between the phone and charger, measuring the mAh) I forget the figures but it was something like 6050 claimed, 6025 actual.
paulsnoop
1 Apr 16#81
A word of warning for anyone who missed this in the specs, 2.4ghz wifi only, no 5ghz!
Perfectly good phone for the money, a few annoying features missing or not working correctly but nothing serious.
cowtc
1 Apr 161#80
Bought a phone from GearBest for £110, when it arrived Royal Mail had put it in a plastic bag saying it arrived in the country like it did. All I received in the package was an Air Freshener. I reported to Royal Mail and then to GearBest, it wasn't something I could do anything about. Royal Mail said it was up to the sender to investigate. GearBest didn't want to help at all and said it was up to me to investigate(?) and offered £9 refund! Luckily I went through Paypal dispute and only needed a letter from Royal Mail to claim back my money. This is why I will never buy from GearBest ever
sonny3sum
1 Apr 16#79
What's the point of NFC anyway?? I have had it on many phones and have never ever used it ?? What the hell is it for, and does anyone actually use it anyway? NFC means nothing to me, I have it on my current Vodafone Smart Ultra 6, is this phone better than the Smart Ultra 6 as I'm thinking of getting this for the other half?
dodoegg1
1 Apr 16#54
Does this work well straight out of the box or is it something I'd need to root or mess around with the firmware? I'm interested in this but only if it just works with minimal hassle
Crw to dodoegg1
1 Apr 16#70
It works straight out of the box, it took me about 20-30 mins to set it up and transfer everything from my old phone.
Afnan to dodoegg1
1 Apr 16#77
no rooting to do. just turn on and go
Afnan to dodoegg1
1 Apr 16#78
but do bear in mind that it takes a micro sim and not a nano one
Afnan
1 Apr 16#76
the exact same thing happened to me. I requested postage from European hub but it still came from China. and I had to wait a month for it to arrive even though the stated delivery time was 8-15 days
mikthe20
31 Mar 16#9
Does this have NFC? (can't see it mentioned in specs so presume not).
Theorist to mikthe20
31 Mar 162#10
No, or at least if it does I haven't found it yet.
mcormack to mikthe20
31 Mar 16#36
No Fxxking Chance.
Afnan to mikthe20
1 Apr 16#75
hi, I bought this phone from gearbest about 3 weeks ago. it doesn't have NFC but instead has something called hotknot. never really used it but it's meant to be an NFC alternative. apart from that the phone is really good
OscaDosca
31 Mar 16#20
Hmmm, would you trust a tech company that doesn't know what ROM stands for?
EEPROM is the full acronym. But it's still ROM.
More info here: How ROM Works
Crw
1 Apr 16#73
Apparently according to their blog Marshmallow update will be rolled out this month .
bonzobanana
1 Apr 161#69
Got a Ulefone Be X and the quality of the handset is ok. The touch buttons are seriously dark at the bottom. You can't see them at all in low lit artificial light, just visible for bright artificial light and easily seen in natural light. The handset doesn't seem fully stable and using clean master I get warnings about the cpu being laggy and overheating at times even though the phone has only just started being used. It's an octacore cpu design too although only 32bit cpu's. On a quality level of '1' being a dire very low end Chinese phone and a Samsung or premium phone at '10' I'd place the Ulefone about '5' with Doogee a similar higher end Chinese brand at '8'. I also have a Doogee X5 which I'm using for comparision and my previous phone was the original Moto G.
Theorist to bonzobanana
1 Apr 16#72
Not sure it's fair to compare to a different model, especially when it's an emerging brand - it's like knocking the S6 because of problems with the Galaxy Ace. I haven't had the phone long enough to make a proper comparison, but it's honestly as good a build as previous big manufacturer phones I've owned.
Also re the Gearbest thing - I'd agree that it's not as safe as through Amazon, but it's personal choice whether someone takes a gamble; for me (and paying via Paypal) it was worth a go.
And as I mentioned supporting these phones will hopefully have a big impact on the price that Apple / Samsung can get away with charging!
topazz
1 Apr 162#71
I don't know tbh. Many Chinese device manufacturers and sellers seem to lie as a matter of course. The market is fast moving and fiercely competitive, so once they have your cash they will do whatever they can to keep hold of it. The chinese are great at hardware but suck when it comes to implementing the software. When they eventually learn to slow the pace down to allow proper software QC and provide the level of customer service/support we expect in the west, they will be awesome. Until then i am sceptical about most statements emanating from Chinese device manufacturers and sellers until proven otherwise.
In the case of the Ulefone Power, if the Marshmallow upgrade was a deal breaker for me i would have waited until it was released. I can believe that Ulefone would like to do the update but being realistic, if it doesn't happen in the next few months it probably will not happen at all. Because by then, if not already, Ulefone will be focussing their limited development resource on the next 'big thing'.
pc5020
1 Apr 161#68
It's not worth the hassle buying through Gearbest, just buy it off Amazon for the extra and have peace of mind with their second to none returns process
I've had the exact same issues on returns with gearbest as comment #65...not good
VDisillusioned
1 Apr 16#67
Sounds a familiar story from Ulefone. Did the Ulefone Touch 2 ever get it's "promised" update to Android 5.1?
splender
1 Apr 16#66
I think the problem is say a piece of hardware has known <1% fault, then the return rate is actually 3%, say. Then someone raises question why so many supposedly faults from UK only.
Terry Spruce
1 Apr 163#64
Would never use GearBest again.
Phone did not work, they ignored my messages.
When PayPal got involved I was asked to return phone to China
at my expense even though I paid more to get it from their European warehouse.
GearBest then refused to accept phone and faulty phone was eventually returned to me.
Paypal refunded me but not for postal costs.
Using GearBest is not worth the hassle.
Crapweasel to Terry Spruce
1 Apr 16#65
Sounds like Gearbest is fine when the product works ok, but you're screwed if there is any kind of problem. I wonder what the best option would be when you get a faulty item? Does anyone know if you have to go through the rigmarole of returning an item all the way back to Gearbest only for it to be rejected, before Paypal will step in, or is there some kind of workaround method to get Paypal onside before going through the drama of sending it back?
smugjojo
1 Apr 162#63
same as.
rudy691
1 Apr 16#62
I wouldn't hold your breath on that...
mistermoneysaver
1 Apr 16#61
Was going to get this, but cancelled it and ordered the redme note 3 pro instead. If you need a bigger battery, then the ulefone is the one for you. I'm really happy with the xrn3 though. Batt is 4050 mah so still good for 2 days. It's also another £50.
BM12
31 Mar 16#6
Voucher code actually inflates the price to £132
spademode to BM12
1 Apr 16#60
Good
Brabus_Duddy
1 Apr 16#59
Wow ok I left it for few minutes and now down to £112......that is weird LOL
Brabus_Duddy
1 Apr 16#58
£169 now.........
ismaildeals123
1 Apr 161#55
avoid this company
sent me a broken mini pc and made me pay to send it back to china and for a repair and not money back
now gear best is messing round with my courier service and it all just a chaos.
Save your money with a reputable brand and company.
Babbler to ismaildeals123
1 Apr 16#57
Yes Im surprised they arent banned from HUKD's! Too many bad posts about them here...
sotomonkey
31 Mar 161#41
Is anyone else getting bored with smartphones? Nothing that groundbreaking has really changed for about four years.
I'm eagerly anticipating phones becoming self-aware, indicative of projects like Project Tango but overall somebody really needs to come in and innovate, do something completely different and take a risk.
Speaking of which modular smartphones look pretty interesting but look at the price of the Envirofone 2. A great concept but a bit pricey for the specs.
reddeviluk to sotomonkey
31 Mar 162#43
Mine has a camera AND a compass.
I know exactly what you mean, polishing the same turd great after year, a few more megapixels here, some more gigabites there, but essentially the same thing.
Comes in any colour.... As long as it's black. We need some new ideas.
sotomonkey to sotomonkey
31 Mar 16#51
oops, I meant the Fairphone 2.
Babbler to sotomonkey
1 Apr 16#56
LG G5 is modular... ish... but its an LG... so I wont be getting it.
FTCom
1 Apr 16#53
Nice find OP, have some heat. I've actually got a Umi Touch on it's way, but would be all over this otherwise, a fantastic phone for the money.
Jimmyboy
1 Apr 164#52
If battery technology isn't improving then it's definitely time to start using bigger batteries. I don't care how thin a phone is I just want decent battery life.
sirlukas
31 Mar 16#38
Great price! If only it had dual sim + memory card slot I'd be all over it!
Can anyone recommend something with dual sim and card slot? I guess LG G4 818N?
grantem2000 to sirlukas
31 Mar 16#50
Re dual SIM + microSD, I got a Moto X Play Dual sim from Amazon.fr when it was approx £235. A lot more than a direct import from China, but still a lot of phone for the money. Disappointing performance and battery life initially but upgrade to Android 6.0.1 came over the air last week, and both battery life and performance are now everything I had hoped for.
McHotpoon
31 Mar 16#48
Wonder when the mainstream big names will pay attention there is massive demand for larger battery capacity. My next phone, battery capacity will be on the top of the list. 3 days should be minimum average run time, I find daily charging a pain the the butt. Current phone lasts two days tops, I got a 22500mah power bank so think I'm gonna duck tape it on the back :-) It will be like when my old Nokia needed charging once every two weeks!
rev6 to McHotpoon
31 Mar 16#49
It's improving but it could be much better. Once one of the big names starts marketing for long battery life (not just a 100mAh increase) the rest will follow I'm sure.
That or we get extremely efficient displays and SoC's in the future.
10 hours screen time sounds very tempting!
den169
31 Mar 161#19
I know you can stick an sd card in with the sim.But then its either a dual sim or a single sim i want dual sim with seperate sd card slot,Been looking at a umi touch myself.
pnyachow to den169
31 Mar 162#47
Try win Blu.. Works like that for me..!
kg1986
31 Mar 16#45
you guys are making me want to sell my iron :disappointed:
sotomonkey to kg1986
31 Mar 162#46
I'll give you 10 quid for it, as long as it's a steam one.
harryftm1
31 Mar 162#42
I've had this phone for two weeks and its absolutely brilliant for the money, much better than my htc one
joetipper to harryftm1
31 Mar 161#44
I upgraded from a Nexus 5 which I loved but just couldn't match my expectations for battery life. Got it set up more or less the same as the Nexus 5 launcher and it's brilliant - get about 3 days with average to heavy use. Was going to get a Nexus 6 but took a punt on this and not looking back. Highly recommended :-)
smelladeal
31 Mar 161#40
6050mah is the King Dong of batteries :confused:
Alex_
31 Mar 162#39
What part of 5.5" phone is phablet?
I have LG G3 I am trying to upgrade from as I want bigger screen. There is no way 5.5" phones are phablets.
Give me 6"+ then maybe yes but describing 5.5" as phablet is just misleading.
adsham
31 Mar 161#2
6050mAh - Wow!
TeamMCS to adsham
31 Mar 161#37
It's made with Chinesium, you need to deduct at least -50% conversion factor.
Proveright
31 Mar 16#31
Thanks OP, I looked at this one before and finally pulled the trigger.
Though the site is in £ when you pay through paypal in ends up in Dollars and they add another £3 on for the conversion.
I know it has been posted on here before , but can someone remind me how to order through paypal without them adding more money to the price ?
Crapweasel to Proveright
31 Mar 16#35
I'd be interested to know the answer to this too, if anyone can help?
With the payment method, it gives you the options to pay via Paypal or 'Pay by credit card via Paypal'. If you do the latter, is that the workaround? (I only have a debit card, not CC, but assume it'd be fine to use). You'd still be getting Paypal's protection if you use this method, I'd assume?
It comes with a clear rubberised case, after market bespoke case are thin on the ground to none existent, though there's anew breed of semi-universal wallet type cases that are allegedly compatible.
On the phone itself, I've lived with mine for a month and have no issues to speak off. stock camera app is a bit naff, but there's plenty of options on play store (I've opted for "camera FV-5")
fingerprint is useful, unlock & open specific apps with each finger. and the battery, oh my god, I don't have to charge at tea time, infact, I've gone 3 days without charging.
Also has infra -red, so the peel remote app for tv's etc can be used, save's so much time when the missus has hidden the remote again!.
I was wary of gearbest at first, but have ordered a few items now & only had issue with one (a solar power bank) they replaced that with little fuss & didn't insist on return.
westonborn
31 Mar 16#32
I am assuming the reason why the Chinese don't directly sell these handsets in the UK is they are not entirely compatible with our networks? On this basis I see the value for money and kit you get but it seems hit and miss, unless I'm misunderstand or there's something I'm missing, happy to be educated.
Gavin01
31 Mar 161#29
hmm im after a new phone but had enough of extortionate uk prices
mk-donald
31 Mar 16#28
Just be wary with ulefone of ANY promises of future firmware or even actual fulfilment of currently advertised firmware! Our Be Touch 2 phones sold as being delivered with Android 5.1 still only have a mostly working 5.0 falsely masquerading as 5.1 after 2 updates over 4 months but then no updates in last 5-6 months (and none of the other firmwares originally offered). Bargain hardware but their firmware attitudes stink!
RichH6109
31 Mar 161#27
I bought this phone a couple of months ago to replace a terrible Elephone P3000S. I can't recommend it highly enough, the only drawback is that it's pretty weighty.
I purchased from Banggood on Feb 3rd and it was delivered on March 5th - just in case anyone hasn't dealt with delivery from China before.
drkdeath5000
31 Mar 16#24
Looking to upgrade my Motorola Razr MAXX HD and this is pretty much the only phone that has caught my attention because of the big battery.
How is the ROM support for this phone, can it be rooted and bootloader unlocked?
topazz
31 Mar 163#23
Ordered one of these from Gearbest five days ago. Basically a phone strapped onto a big battery. Great spec, good build quality, better than decent reviews on youtube. Appears excellent value for money. Ulefone promised an upgrade to Marshmallow in March but it's delayed. I read on a forum somewhere that it's due to Ulefone waiting for the updated Mediatek drivers. I generally go for the free delivery even though it can take weeks. Mainly due to having the best chance of avoiding any import duty and secondly because i'm a tight ****. There's also a month's worth of entertainment wondering whether it will turn up. Just be aware that the Gearbest guarantee is more or less worthless so i always use Paypal. Hot deal.
matth5182
31 Mar 16#22
I ordered one last week from gearbest in the pre-sale and quidco tracked at 10%. paid 114 less 16.42 quidco, so less than a ton for what looks like a brilliant phablet. Paid for European shipping with Belgium post (forgot about the airport being shut) but today the tracking number says dispatched from Shenzhen! Really not happy as site stated European stock delivery within 7 to 10 days. No way it will arrive in time for my holiday now. Amazon have em with Prime delivery for 139
xxxSimoneBxxx
31 Mar 16#7
Telling me the 'flash sale is over' when added to cart and the promo code then takes off 9% xoxo
Theorist to xxxSimoneBxxx
31 Mar 161#18
Sorry, I've amended the price to reflect this.
den169
31 Mar 16#14
No seperate sd card slot kills it dead for me why are these companys doing away with the sd card slot it must cost very little to add it.
rev6 to den169
31 Mar 169#15
You mean this?
If you do, then it has one. If you need dual-sim as well as expandable storage then it's no good.
Theorist to den169
31 Mar 161#17
It has dual sim one of which can be used as SD expansion. I suppose if you want dual sim and SD extension you'll have to look elsewhere...
kta93
31 Mar 161#16
if a was buying it from anywhere a would get it from aliexpress,got my redmi note 3 pro from there and was excellent service Only took 5 days to arrive from china and they even installed Google play and got rid of all the Chinese apps etc for me I didn't even have to install Google keyboard.
reddeviluk
31 Mar 16#13
Really wanting one of these, due an upgrade in two weeks, think it'll be sim only and make the purchase. Thanks for the post OP. Heat added.
mikthe20
31 Mar 16#12
OK, thanks.
Theorist
31 Mar 16#11
I think paypal is the best option definitely.
philjstephenson
31 Mar 161#5
bamboo back is the best looking one, lovely bit of kit for the price!
steviegodlike
31 Mar 16#4
Quidco cashback also. 4% for new customers 3% for existing.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
Bought one of these pre-sale and I'm really impressed. The battery life is incredible, and can even be used to charge other devices. Quick as any other phone I've tried (S6, iPhone 6) - great screen too. Little bit heavy due to the battery, but not unreasonably so. Update to Marshmallow expected soon - we'll see! Camera is ok - not as good as LG G4 or iPhone 6 but the hardware is great, so (again hopefully) an update may make it even better.
In stock now and should take about 2 weeks to arrive. I had no extra charges and the tracking worked well.
I know that some people prefer the security of a UK seller - if it goes wrong the onus is on you to pay the return fee - my view is that supporting these companies will pressurise the big names to reduce the prices of their premium phones over the next few years.
Ulefone Power Android 5.1 4G Phablet 5.5 inch 6050mAh MTK6753 64bit 1.3GHz Octa Core 3GB RAM 16GB ROM 13.0MP Camera
Display: 5.5 inch FHD 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Screen
CPU: MTK6753 64bit Octa Core 1.3GHz
System: Android 5.1
RAM + ROM: 3GB RAM + 16GB ROM
Camera: 5.0MP front camera + 13.0MP back camera
Bluetooth: 4.0
GPS: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Digital Compass
Features: Fingerprint Scanner, OTG, Hotknot, quick charge
SIM Card: Dual SIM dual standby, Micro SIM and Standard SIM
Network:
2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
3G: WCDMA 900/2100MHz
4G: FDD-LTE 800/900/1800/2100/2600MHz
Both SIM slots are compatible with 4G, respectively. When they work at the same time, only one of them can receive LTE service and the other GSM. You can choose in settings which one for 4G.
Top comments
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/smartphones/galaxy-s/SM-G920FZKABTU
If you do, then it has one. If you need dual-sim as well as expandable storage then it's no good.
I order from Gearbest (have ordered at least 6 items from them without issue) and it was here 8 days later.
For those who are concerned, be smart! Use PayPal and you have total protection.
Latest comments (166)
ive just bought this. takes a couple weeks to get here but looks pretty decent[/quote]
cheers , have just ordered :smiley:
ive just bought this. takes a couple weeks to get here but looks pretty decent
Thanks
Did you buy this from gearbest and if so how long did it take to arrive,
Another phone I came across is the oukitel k6000 from gear best,
It has very impressive specs but got voted cold mainly because it was from gearbest so would like to know your Experiences with them.
Please tell us how your phone performs, battery life, charging, fingerprint scanner etc. The good and the bad.
Much appreciated
Having had a bad experience with another Asian phone (DooGee F3 Pro) i wasnt expecting much.
But wow , this is a belter!
Excellent build quality on a par with any top shelf product available in carphone warehouse.
I am very happy with my purchase and have no hesitation recommending this to anyone , if your debating buying one just go for it , you wont be disappointed
Still looking for a clip in case although the silicon one supplied is quite good
A detailed review wiuld be most welcomed.
Pros and cons
Thanks in advance
Mine arrived this morning and all looks good except for the WiFi signal that keeps dropping off! Cannot see the 5g option at all in the searches! Is the band for it not available on the phone?
Im looking one that clips in
Cheers,
Rich
Seems like yes but at least it will be covered by amazon warranty
Too much choice.
Rich
Genuinely interested in this phone, I think it ticks a lot of boxes.
Would be an amazing phone at £300 never mind £120
I'm very impressed with the specs especially the large battery, fingerprint scanner etc.
Thanks in advance.
Rich
I'm drawn to the battery on the Ulefone, but don't mind paying a bit more if the Honor is the better phone.
There were meant to be multiple other OS too - none of them ever got released as far as I can find, which given they can't be bothered to even issue the Android it was allegedly sold with 8 months ago isn't surprising!
Nice hardware but marred by the software and ulefone's attitude to truth and ongoing (lack of) support.
.
If it arrives, then a few weeks something breaks, granted you might have to be prepared to take the hit. But (a) Reviews thus far are very good, no reports of DOA or any major issues, and (b) Don't forget you're getting a hell of a lot of phone for £120 or whatever. The likes of Apple/Samsung etc. have huge markups so they have the profits to be able to replace any faulty ones relatively quibble free (and also keep their shareholders in nice fat dividends...)
It is a slight gamble but it's great seeing the reaction to some poncey iPhone 6/Samsung sheep who looks at the uleFone and goes "That's a good looking phone, what is it?" And you tell them it cost £120 is priceless. :sunglasses:
It's a small premium to pay for Amazon back up and near instant delivery.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ulefone-FDD-LTE-Smartphone-Android-Lollipop/dp/B01AY2Y0SQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1459509777&sr=8-2&keywords=ulefone+power
Also, I was watching a Youtube product review yesterday, where in the comments people were complaining about Gearbest manipulating the reviews on their site.
Having said that I've never had any trouble with gearbest.
I order from Gearbest (have ordered at least 6 items from them without issue) and it was here 8 days later.
For those who are concerned, be smart! Use PayPal and you have total protection.
Looks a good powerful phone, would consider it.
The Ulephone Power is very well put together and IMO looks and feels far superior.
FWIW the AnTuTu Benchmark Scores are:
Vodaphone Smart Ultra 6: 24960
Ulephone Power : 37249
(Although neither are slow in real use.)
The Wifi antenna in the Ulephone Power is not as good and it drops in areas where the SU6 still has a signal.
The camera is excellent on the Ulephone, there's far more detail captured and the colours are more natural. Its low light capabilities are excellent.
Gearbest... It was ordered on the 19th February and it was delivered on the 18th March. :neutral_face:
For anyone wavering on this phone I'd say go for it, GearBest are box shifters but if you pay with paypal, and get pay for tracking you can see where your phone is. They even send a photograph of your parcel as it leaves gearbest.
Great things about this phone:
1) Great built quality, feels very premium. Some say it's heavy, well it may be but I prefer it. Not like I have it in my track suit pocket swingling like a pendulum. :smiley:
2) Great software (ROM) No lags, annoyances, everything works out of the box. It's vanilla too, no bloatware.
3) Battery is amazing. Charge overnight on Sunday, you can forget about it till Wednesday. Quick charges in 2 hours.
4) Good Wifi. Not too bothered about how many bands it has, I want fast, reliable wifi. This detects devices no other device in my house can, wifi never drops, I set it to turn on/off with screen on/off and it always does it instantly.
5) Fingerprint unlock - is amazingly useful and works ~95% of time, if not just use pin.
6) Auto power on/off at allocated times, saves even more battery
7) Good camera (Sony IMX-214, f/1.8 which means good in low light)
8- MediaTek Engineer mode :sunglasses:
9) Good call quality, you can tweak mic/speaker levels in [8] above.
As others have said, I've seen the light cos this is the equivalent of a £400/500 'big brand' phone. Ulefone will probably be the next HTC.
Perfectly good phone for the money, a few annoying features missing or not working correctly but nothing serious.
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/smartphones/galaxy-s/SM-G920FZKABTU
More info here: How ROM Works
Also re the Gearbest thing - I'd agree that it's not as safe as through Amazon, but it's personal choice whether someone takes a gamble; for me (and paying via Paypal) it was worth a go.
And as I mentioned supporting these phones will hopefully have a big impact on the price that Apple / Samsung can get away with charging!
In the case of the Ulefone Power, if the Marshmallow upgrade was a deal breaker for me i would have waited until it was released. I can believe that Ulefone would like to do the update but being realistic, if it doesn't happen in the next few months it probably will not happen at all. Because by then, if not already, Ulefone will be focussing their limited development resource on the next 'big thing'.
I've had the exact same issues on returns with gearbest as comment #65...not good
Phone did not work, they ignored my messages.
When PayPal got involved I was asked to return phone to China
at my expense even though I paid more to get it from their European warehouse.
GearBest then refused to accept phone and faulty phone was eventually returned to me.
Paypal refunded me but not for postal costs.
Using GearBest is not worth the hassle.
sent me a broken mini pc and made me pay to send it back to china and for a repair and not money back
now gear best is messing round with my courier service and it all just a chaos.
Save your money with a reputable brand and company.
I'm eagerly anticipating phones becoming self-aware, indicative of projects like Project Tango but overall somebody really needs to come in and innovate, do something completely different and take a risk.
Speaking of which modular smartphones look pretty interesting but look at the price of the Envirofone 2. A great concept but a bit pricey for the specs.
I know exactly what you mean, polishing the same turd great after year, a few more megapixels here, some more gigabites there, but essentially the same thing.
Comes in any colour.... As long as it's black. We need some new ideas.
Can anyone recommend something with dual sim and card slot? I guess LG G4 818N?
That or we get extremely efficient displays and SoC's in the future.
10 hours screen time sounds very tempting!
I have LG G3 I am trying to upgrade from as I want bigger screen. There is no way 5.5" phones are phablets.
Give me 6"+ then maybe yes but describing 5.5" as phablet is just misleading.
Though the site is in £ when you pay through paypal in ends up in Dollars and they add another £3 on for the conversion.
I know it has been posted on here before , but can someone remind me how to order through paypal without them adding more money to the price ?
With the payment method, it gives you the options to pay via Paypal or 'Pay by credit card via Paypal'. If you do the latter, is that the workaround? (I only have a debit card, not CC, but assume it'd be fine to use). You'd still be getting Paypal's protection if you use this method, I'd assume?
e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7QDgqYJYpI
Monstrous battery though!
On the phone itself, I've lived with mine for a month and have no issues to speak off. stock camera app is a bit naff, but there's plenty of options on play store (I've opted for "camera FV-5")
fingerprint is useful, unlock & open specific apps with each finger. and the battery, oh my god, I don't have to charge at tea time, infact, I've gone 3 days without charging.
Also has infra -red, so the peel remote app for tv's etc can be used, save's so much time when the missus has hidden the remote again!.
I was wary of gearbest at first, but have ordered a few items now & only had issue with one (a solar power bank) they replaced that with little fuss & didn't insist on return.
I purchased from Banggood on Feb 3rd and it was delivered on March 5th - just in case anyone hasn't dealt with delivery from China before.
How is the ROM support for this phone, can it be rooted and bootloader unlocked?
If you do, then it has one. If you need dual-sim as well as expandable storage then it's no good.