Yup, but all 5 reviews are from Vine members who got the item for free for an unbiased review :wink:

​yea those paid for reviews are all over amazon now, pretty much all new products have 5 star reviews from these 'experts'. Amazon reviews mean sweet fa now

HEAT!

Brilliant price for a good solid performer, this is very similar to the Blu Win HD Lte which
is again a fanatastic handset for the spec V cost..

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7990&idPhone2=7205

Comprehensive and very informative review [unlike the biased vine/i will give you
a review in exchange for a product that can be flogged on the Bay cheap like!] on
youtube covering the whole phone.. if only manuafactueres would go to as much
trouble making a hands on video like this chap has.. they would sell a lot more!!

https://www.youtube.com/v/watch?v=GM7GClRmwXo

Info:


Correct user guide for this deal:
http://s536785483.onlinehome.us/salesguides/images/salesguides/life-mark-sg.pdf

>>>>>uniquegeek opinion:
The *only* thing about this particular model from Blu, is it is a bit of a fatty at nearly 10mm
thick.. this is not an issue for most, but if you have smaller hands, it tends to sit up out of
your palm if you are one hand texting or swiping etc etc.. not a big issue, but compared to
the Blu Vivo @5mm this one needs to go on a slight diet to make it perfect for the price and
market that blu are targeting with it.. :man:

has anyone tried this.
http://60marshmallow.net/tips/upgrade-blu-life-mark

well, I received mine yesterday, initial thoughts are pretty good, I haven't tested the call quality as yet as I haven't received my new sim. Hopefully will test it tonight, if as you say the problem with low volume then I will also be sending mine back.

I received mine today. It came with an empty battery and it took between 3 and 4 hours to fully charge (first downside over the Moto G). After that it was pretty good. An improvement on speed for sure. However, when it came to voice calls the maximum volume was pretty low and in itself could be a deal breaker for me.

The options on the dual SIM are voice calls - always use SIM 1 or SIM2 or always ask. Therefore there is no 'always use this SIM for this contact' as there is on the Moto G. The same goes for texting. I would imagine that this means my handsfree in the car won't work using voice commands as I think the Blu will want to know what SIM to use (as I need to have mine set to 'always ask').

The phone seems to have GLONASS as it picked up a similar number of satellites as the Moto G.

The brightness seemed a bit better than the Moto G on 'auto' setting.

Then came the big issue for me - which I doubt will affect anyone here.... but I use an app called MMTracker for hiking. It won't run properly on this phone for some reason. The menu button doesn't come up and after a while crashes. It works fine on the Moto G (and all mainstream phones as far as I know). It looks like it's going back.

​It beats me why manufacturers obsess about thickness. When will they wake up to the fact that users would rather have that 10mm thickness and a battery that lasts for 3 days.

At the very least they should release a business version with long battery life.

​well I don't have a problem with vine reviewers they server a purpose and are clearly marked as vine reviews. But now any tom Richard or harry gets offered a free item for an impartial review. It's pure deception to anyone looking to buy an item. Often these people only mention right at the end of the review that they got an item free and this won't show unless you click on their specific review to expand the text. Vine is fine, bribery is not.

It's not great but then I've never had a phone that was. It seems no better or worse that my ex Motorola or HTC.[/quote]I've got mini sim in mine do i need to ring virgin mobile and get them to send me a micro sim?

I also took the plunge, as stated above if not great then sending it back.

I went for one too. I plan to do an initial review on Amazon and if it passes the intial test cf my Moto G it will be tested on a hiking trip this weekend. I can't see how it can sustain the £140 price tag especially when there are a couple of sellers on ebay at the £100ish mark. The main benefit is that it is Amazon selling it though and the peace of mind you get with that should it give up the ghost.

I have the nexus 5 is this an improvement or similar?

Up to £140 now. I am looking to find out whether this phone lives up to my expectations.
I took that plunge and am hoping that I got a bargain. Fingers crossed. :smirk:
Thanks OP btw! :smiley:

There's the blu win HD late
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7990&idPhone2=7205
No fingerprint, but very similar. Difficult to get hold of now though.

It's not great but then I've never had a phone that was. It seems no better or worse that my ex Motorola or HTC.

thanks how's the brightness on phone few people mentioned it's not great in sunlight,how would you rate it.

Yep... in one of the reviews I saw it said it wasn't reat in bright sunlight. My old Blade was particularly poor - and this is one area that the Moto G is very good in

Thanks again. On the Moto G each you can't set a ringtone per SIM (which I'd like as I want to differentiate work calls from personal) but you can set a ringtone for each contact. When you go in to edit a contact on the menu button there is an option to 'Set ringtone'. I hope this is standard across phones.

The option to choose which SIM is used by default when you dial a number is very useful too.... but if you've never used dual SIM you won't know if that's an option on the BLU.

I'm just going to have to buy one and see.... I'll have 30 days to test it out and send it back if it's not up to scratch.

In one of the video reviews screen brightness is at max and doesn't seem overly bright to me, not sure how well it would do in bright sunlight?

I don't use dual SIM at the moment buy will when I go on holiday as will buy a separate data SIM. I dunno if you can have separate ring tones as not something I'd need. I looked at the instructions but they're very basic and nothing there. I check the options on the phone and nothing jumped out about dual SIM usage.

It's sounding more like a goer. Do you use it as a dual SIM phone? If so - can you have different ring tones for each SIM and/or each person in your address book?

I've answered in the thread. I reviewed it. I own it. I use it daily. I rate it. It has notifications. It comes with a case and a screen protector. It's a stylish phone that I like to use. The reception seems better that my Motorola in that it holds calls in my office while the Motorala used tor egularly cut out.

I was also wondering how good the GPS is? also does it have led notifications,have you actually used this phone,any feedback would be appreciated

GPS is good AFAIC

Whilst I still have my reservations about it, apparently, they are invited to join the Vine programme based on the quality and helpfulness on reviews they've already submitted (for products I assume they have bought). Yes, they then get free products, but the positiveness or negativenes of the review is apparently not judged, just whether they maintain a good helpfulness rating.

I get they probably have to be of a certain length/detail, but separate from the statement "this is an honest review for a free product", I do often find the wording of some of these in itself puts me off.

Im just looking for something to replace my LG G2 with a good camera and better storage.

Okay.... so I've seen the YouTube videos and looked at the specs on the various links in this thread... some of which conflict... and have some questions to anyone who has one.

1. Is there a notification LED?
2. Does this phone have GLONASS?
3. Can you set a different ringtone for SIM1 to that of SIM2?
4. Can you set a default SIM to use for your contacts?
5. Does it have a compass (pretty sure it does but one spec says it doesn't)?

I may well give this a go - partly because it's from Amazon and if it doesn't beat my Moto G 2nd Gen dual SIM it can go back quite easily.

EDIT : I've found out it does have a notication light from here : http://gadgetstouse.com/faq/blu-life-mark/44066 It looks like the screen isn't as bright as the Moto G - which could be an issue for me as I use it for GPS outdoors a lot. It also says it has a compass.

Questioning the integrity of people you've never met on the internet. How big of you.

There's always a difference 'tween a review posted by someone who bought a gadget with their hard-earned at full price having bought it for a real need, vs a sponsored review. Sponsored reviews might have their place especially for new products but then I'd like to see in Amazon a real-world feedback score on the reviewers own record!

Yeah right,in return for FREE product to play with and review,honest as the day is long honest guv.

Can't get excited over this for the price, personally. OK it's from Amazon which is good, but there's better specs around for the money.

Android Pay is likely to come out in the UK between in the summer of this year and autumn.

​totally agree with you I won't buy anything from Amazon with these type of reviews

Don't blindly believe those 6 reviews from Amazon. Non of them are for a verified purchase. So could be fake or from the ones who received the product free ( Unbiased review ;-) )

I'm also a Vine reviewer and have been for many years. I give bad scores for bad products and good scores for good products. Amazon don't criticise or penalise for reviews that don't praise a product. For me I can say I am fair. I reviewed this phone expecting it to be a bit rubbish but it is great. It's the best phone I've had to be fair. It replaced my Motorola which had also had many great reviews. You can add memory of course and it's very cheap. It allows 2 SIMs to be fitted which is valuable for me. It is also a slim Android install so not lots of junk to clear. The fingerprint access is awesome and so quick and easy to access the phone now. It doesn't have NFC which is a real pain!

>>>>>
Which makes it worth more than the £99 they are asking for it! ;-)

difficult to decide either this phone or pay.more for an LG? any advise?

I wonder what the price will go upto after the deal is over - £129 maybe?

It's quite nice to unlock your phone without a pin or pattern. That's all it seems good for on my iPhone.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/vine/help

Also http://www.amzreviews.co.uk let's you buy products at a discounted or free price for a fair review on Amazon. I've done about 4 or 5 reviews fairly, however you could falsify reviews if you wanted to.

is it one for £99?

.

Anything similar to this available in the UK with Windows Phone?

Thanks I will check it out.

The Moto G 2/16GB is a little expensive for what it is
WileyFox seems good but apparently customer support is no good, and I want proper android

This has good specs, metal build and a fingerprint reader! Would be extra awesome if you could buy extra batteries for this Blue phone.

Any ideas on battery life? Talk time figures don't seem too great

I'm an Amazon Vine Reviewer. I've been doing it for maybe 8 years now. I've always given an honest opinion and strive to make helpful comments. Thanks for your feedback.

I need a new phone, the grey looks good and specs are pretty decent. Now to look at reviews online

Another 16gb. Why do they keep making it so low internal HD ? The MINIMUM should be 64gb these days.
It's like putting a stainless steel, futuristic, state of the art superstructure on a thin wooden hull of a ship

I was also looking at the wileyfox, dose anyone know what the gps is like on this? also does is have led notifications.

>>>>>
See info above ;-)

Not a lot in it, other than the Blu Life is a lot newer and it runs Android as opposed to CynaogenMod's version of Android..on the Wiley..

HEAT!

Brilliant price for a good solid performer, this is very similar to the Blu Win HD Lte which
is again a fanatastic handset for the spec V cost..

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7990&idPhone2=7205

Comprehensive and very informative review [unlike the biased vine/i will give you
a review in exchange for a product that can be flogged on the Bay cheap like!] on
youtube covering the whole phone.. if only manuafactueres would go to as much
trouble making a hands on video like this chap has.. they would sell a lot more!!

https://www.youtube.com/v/watch?v=GM7GClRmwXo

Info:


Correct user guide for this deal:
http://s536785483.onlinehome.us/salesguides/images/salesguides/life-mark-sg.pdf

>>>>>uniquegeek opinion:
The *only* thing about this particular model from Blu, is it is a bit of a fatty at nearly 10mm
thick.. this is not an issue for most, but if you have smaller hands, it tends to sit up out of
your palm if you are one hand texting or swiping etc etc.. not a big issue, but compared to
the Blu Vivo @5mm this one needs to go on a slight diet to make it perfect for the price and
market that blu are targeting with it.. :man:

how does this compare to the WileyFox, also currently £100?
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/wileyfox-swift-4g-dual-sim-free-smartphone-99-99-both-black-white-amazon-2440767
I'm thinking of replacing my Samsung Galaxy mini 2 S6500, I think either would be a good upgrade?

I've heated, given the specs that are stated, direct from Amazon and includes case and screen protector, but am cautious without trusted reviews.

​yea those paid for reviews are all over amazon now, pretty much all new products have 5 star reviews from these 'experts'. Amazon reviews mean sweet fa now

Five 5-star reviews from Amazon's top reviewers. A relatively unknown brand in the UK but fairly recognised in the US.

I've voted hot. Good deal.

BUT

What annoys me about all of these budget smartphones is the lack of info about specs. Like has this got NFC or a gyroscope? Doesn't even say on official BLU specs sheet on their site. Fingerprint scanner without NFC seems entirely pointless as isn't it designed for tap & pay? Gyroscope is a little miss on my SU6 because of lack of ability to take photospheres or use a VR headset.

I noticed the other day that specs wise the Amazon Fire phone I have lying around has these things but it's garbage software renders it pretty useless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsXkwsQxUAw

Twin sim AND Micro-SD slot.

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/blu-life-mark-3352