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I have been keeping an eye out for a reasonably priced large screen android smartphone and in the end I decided to take the risk and buy a Chinese pseudo clone of a Samsung S3 i9300 from Shenzhen via Ebay for £114.00. (Hai Pai S3 i9377)
I quite expected to be taught a lesson with a what did you expect for £114.00 but when the phone arrived I discovered it wasn't half as bad as I had feared. Of course it doesn't come anywhere near a genuine Galaxy S3 but they are at least twice the price even on a super discount deal.
So this is what you get for your money:
Model
GT-i9377

OS Version Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean
CPU Chipset Dual-Core MTK 6577, GPU:Power UR SGX531
Processor
Dual-Core 1.2GHz ARMv7 Processor

Memory 4GB, Micro SD (TF) Card Slot Support Up to 32GB
RAM
512M

Network Unlocked 2G-GSM:850/900/1800/1900mhz,Unlocked 3G-WCDMA:850/2100mhz
Display
4.7-inch Capacitive Screen

Display Resolution 854 X 480 pixels(WVGA)
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
Camera 5.0 Megapixel Rear Camera , 0.3 Megapixel Front-Facing Camera
Bluetooth Yes - Bluetooth v2.0+EDR
GPS Yes - A-GPS (Navigation needs network support)
Gravity Sensor Yes
Google Play Yes
FM Radio Yes
Audio Out Port 3.5mm
Internet WAP/GPRS/Wifi 802.11b/g/n
Sim Card Slot Dual Sim Synchronously Standby - Standard size sim card. (one for 3G SIM, one for 2G SIM)
Video 3GP, MP4, WMV
Audio MP3, WMA,WAV
Ebook PDF, TXT
Input Android Standard
Available Colors As listed
size 143*78*10.8mm
Net Weight 150g
Talk Time Up to 4 hours
Battery Rechargeable Li-ion battery 2200 MAH
Language English / French / Spanish / German / Italian / Chinese ...
Package included
1× GT-i9377 phone
1× Charger
1× USB Cable
1× 3.5mm Earphone
1× User Manual
1× Screen Protector
2× batteries
1× Protector PU Case

I will tell you my experiences of the good points and then the bad.

Good, the 2 batteries arrived marked as 2,500 MAh rather than the 2200 MAh advertised.
The rear camera interpolates up to 8 mega-pixels and provided the light is good you can take some very respectable snaps.
The panorama photo mode takes a series of 6 shots and stitches them together for you. There are two arrows, one dotted the other solid and each time you align these (having taken the first shot and then panning to the right) the camera automatically takes the next shot for you with perfect alignment. The finished result is very good for a phone - as we all know most phone cameras take poor photo's but these are unexpectedly satisfactory.

Taking photo's is easy and competent - point the camera, touch an area on the screen you want in focus and a box appears, the autofocus does what is needed and then the box turns green, touch the blue dot to take a single photo which immediately appears in the lower right hand of the screen, or hold the touch momentarily for amazingly rapid continuous shooting. I took 7 shots the first time I used the camera by simply touching the blue dot and then releasing, it is amazingly fast. Touching the photo's thumbnail in the lower right hand corner takes you straight to the gallery

The phone comes rooted straight out of the box so if you've got the balls you can flash whatever you want on it.
The 4.7" screen is crisp and clear despite it only having a resolution of 854 X 480 pixels(WVGA). There do not appear to be any dead spots, the touch-screen responds right up to the edges although without a quality screen protector (which I fitted at unboxing time) I feel it would damage quite quickly. The tablet side of the phone works every bit as well as my Scroll Excel and can handle anything I have thrown at it so far. It does a reasonably good job of pretending to be what it isn't - ie a genuine S3. What I do like is when you insert a (max) 32Gig micro SD card it automatically blends with the internal storage making it a genuinely large storage device without having to make any special settings or file tree commands. It simply and beautifully extends the phone's own inbuilt nand SD storage by automatically adding to it the value of your Micro SD card.



Bad Points The micro USB socket in the base/bottom edge of the phone is of poor quality ( I bought a second phone for the wife on the results of my first purchase) my first purchase which is less than a month old has failed with the micro USB socket connections becoming detached inside the socket and scrunched up inside making the phone unconnectable for charging or direct linking to a PC. I understand from the internet that many people have had a similar experience with their Blackberry phones and I have adopted a solution to the problem which many Blackberry users have found before me.

Can fit almost all types of batteries
VE pin slides easily
Comes with a USB port
For use with mobiles, pda & cameras


http://tinyurl.com/knwoayq

For less than a £5.00 I am well pleased with this external charger.
It has no instructions but allegedly (mine works OK) it intelligently detects polarity as you insert a battery
Lights up red/pink when charging - lights up sexy blue when charged.
The cradle spins through 360 degrees for large or small batteries and you pull it down against a spring to load the battery.

Phone Bad Points continued
If you use this phone as a game-playing tablet you will need to re-charge it after about 5 hours use (perhaps this is why you get 2 batteries) The protective flip case you get (as a gift - lol) is very basic and only protects the screen when closed leaving the camera lens open to damage. Not surprisingly, genuine Galaxy S3 screen protectors won't fit as they are image reversed on the light sensor and camera lens and flash layout, being completely reversed.
Similarly, I purchased 2 Galaxy leather cases which do the job but dubiously as the i9377 is slightly thicker than a genuine Galaxy S3 i9300 and instead of the phone fitting snugly it can pop out if handled carelessly.

The S3 i9377 is definitely not compatible with Vodafone sims which Vodafone operate on the GSM 900MHz band.
I actually had quite long discussions with the seller about this and eventually they admitted there are problems on Vodafone - so I had to switch service providers from Vodafone to Everything-Everywhere (T mobile/Orange) who operate on the GSM 1800MHz band which the phone responds to very well going from no bars on Vodafone to full bars on EE at home.
Incidentally, my experience so far with the E.E phone shop is much better than what I received in the Vodafone shop.

Having this phone not working on the GSM 900 MHz band is a bit of a downer in fact because according to the science of it all the lower frequency should be less affected by building obstructions hence giving greater coverage but so far I have not been anywhere where I can't get a E.E signal. Finally, the touch-screen is only 2 point although they try to make you believe it is 5 point which it isn't.

To sum up, this phone seems to prove the old adage that you get what you pay for but even so you get a lot of tech for your money, its just a shame the manufacturing quality isn't to a better standard.
If you were to ask me would I recommend this purchase to you I would have to say - wait a bit and look at what is coming...........




..............
I am blown away with this little beauty from "Zopo" (again Shenzhen China)



http://tinyurl.com/pu7bn26

Specifications:

BRAND and MODEL
Brand: ZOPO
Model: C2 16GB Platinum
Carrier: Unlocked
Sim card: Dual sim dual standby
Multi-Language:English, Chinese Afrikaans, Amharic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bhasa Melayu, Catala, Cestina, Dansk, Deutsch, English, Spanish, French, Hrvatski, Italia, Latviesu, Lietuviu, Magyar, Nederlands, Norsk Bokmal, Polski, Portuguese, Romana, Rumantsch, Slovencina, Slovenscina, Suomi, Svenska, Swahili, Tagalog, Tieng Viet, Turkish, Zulu, Greek, Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Bengali, Thailand, Korean,日本語


OS and CPU
Operating System: Pre-install Android 4.2os View video show
CPU: MTK MT6589T 1.5GHz, Cortex-A7 quad-core process
GPU:Power VR SGX544
Support OTA Update
NETWORKING
Dual sim dual standby, WCDMAGSM+GSM Sim1 Mini Card,Sim2 Normal Size View picture
2G:GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
3G: WCDMA 850/2100 MHz
Network speeds: HSDPA 42.2Mbps，HSUPA 11.5Mbps
Data Technology: GPRS、EDGE、HSPA、HSPA+
Check here your sim provider http://maps.mobileworldlive.com

CAMERA and VIDEO
Rear camera: 13MP, AF, LED Flash
Front-facing cam: 5.0MP
Video capture: 1080P(1920*1080, 30FPS)
Video Play：MPEG-4 1080P@30fps，Or @15fps,16Mbps

ENTERNAINMENT
Video play formats: MP4/3GP/MOV/MPEG/MKV/FLV, ...
Audio play formats: MP3/AMR/AAC/ASF/Ape/Flac ,...
Ring Tone: MP3/AAC/ASF,...
Picture formats: JPEG/PNG/GIF/BMP,...
CONNECITIVITY and COMMUNICATION
USB support: Micro USB v2.0 
WiFi:Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
WiFi Hotspot functionality, Tethering & portable hotspot - Synchronization via Exchange ActiveSync
Bluetooth technology: Bluetooth v4.0
VPN
GPS satellites: GPS,A-GPS
Sensor: Gravity Sensor, Compass, proximity sensor
Support OTG

DISPLAY
Screen Size: 5-inch
Color Support: 16 Million Colors
Screen Technology: FUll HD Corning® Gorilla® Glass 2 Multi-touch capacitive Screen
Display resolution: FHD Super Retina Display 1920*1080 pixels
PRE-LOADED APPLICATIONS

MEMORY
Internal phone storage: 16GB ROM
RAM: 1GB
Memory card support : MicroSD Card up to 64gb

BATTERY
Battery:Li-Polymer, 2000mAh
Standby time: 130-200 hours
SIZE
Dimensions: 143.3 x 70 x 8.5mm
Weight: Phone:150g(with 1 Battery)
IN PACKAGE
1 x ZOPO Phablet C2 16GB Quad Core
1 x Travel Charger
1 x Usb Data Cable
1 x Headphone
1 x Battery
1 x User Manual

You can order this phone with Aliyun OS which is a Chinese developed mobile Linux - there is a video of the Aliyun interface here:


I am saving spending money for a holiday in September but when I get back I just don't know how long I can resist giving this little beauty a try-out. I have been in touch with the manufacturer and they are doing everything they can to promote the quality of their products. Although Zopo only launched in 2012 they are already China's number 1 mobile phone manufacturer with Chinese nationals all aspiring to own a Zopo. The specs are truly amazing for less than £250.00 and it seriously looks like a true challenger to Apple's iPhone. You can order which OS you want either android or a custom Chinese built mobile Linux.

Amazingly detailed review full of great information TC! Thanks so much!

Just an update for those who want to track the Zopo C2 Platinum - a comprehensive review including video's can be found here

For anyone interested:

Further to my mobile exploits preceding this post - I've now joined giffgaff mobile service provider, run by its members.
I get 250 mins, unlimited texts and unlimited broadband for £12.00 for 30 days no contract to opt in or out of as it is pay as you go. They even help you unlock your mobile phone. If you would like a free sim then use the link below and they will credit you with £5.00 for using my link and I also get £5.00 for introducing you.

All mobile calls between giffgaff users are free for up to 60 mins then you can hang up and redial (so long as you don't abuse the service)..... so if you want to stay on-line with your mobile with unlimited internet for 30 days for just £12.00 then click the link below to order your free sim card now: http://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/trashcooky

Hi all,

Just a follow up on the ZOPO C2 Platinum 16Gb phone I said I might buy, well I got one, imported it direct from china and with a total cost of £209.00 which makes a modest saving on theAmazon deal:

Here is a pasted copy of my review I decided to put on Amazon even though I bought it direct from the manufacturuer.
Hope this is of some use to anyone who might be tempted like I was.




4.0 out of 5 stars Zopo C2 16Gb Platinum, 5 Sep 2013
By "QuickBrew" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: ZOPO C2 Platinum - 5.0 Inch FHD (1980 x 1080px) 1080P Screen Android 4.2 Smartphone quad core 1.5GHz MTK6589T 16GB OTG OTA 13MP GPS Gorilla glass (Electronics)
I recently bought one of these (mine is in white) direct from Zopo but to be frank the few quid I saved on a personal import I might just as well have gone through Amazon and had the benefit of their great replacement and/or refund policies.

I have had the phone for a week now and my initial feelings are favourable.
Certainly, this is a lot of phone for the money but as with most phablets there are downsides, usually relating to battery performance which is true of the C2 Platinum Zopo too.
If you like apps on your phone and are a constant Facebook fan then you may be stretching things to last a whole day on just a 2,000 mAH battery. You will certainly need nightly charging. My battery is new so the life-cycle may improve with a little cycling charge/discharge over the next few weeks. I do feel though that I would like to be able to purchase at least one spare battery and the only source I have found for this so far is direct from the ZOPO mobile shop.

When in use just as a phone then you will probably get several days use from the battery between charges but then if you only wanted to use it as a phone you would probably have bought a simple Nokia handset.

In the box is the usual set of so-so earphones, 1 very physically large 2,000 mAH battery, a micro USB lead, charger, spare screen protector and in mine also a little sucker device for accurately placing the screen protector and an in car USB adaptor charger. My phone also had a screen protector already expertly fitted and I also got a miniature capacitive stylus/pen for texting etc. There is also a very small booklet of user instructions but unless you read Chinese this is useless as it is only in one language, that of the country of manufacture. I did like the free gift that was supplied of a leather (? still not certain if it is) book type case with a soft clamshell holder affixed to the flexible magnetically locking case which doubles as a stand in a very similar fashion to the iPad flip cases but of course much smaller.

When I ran Antutu I got a score of 15301 which puts it above an HTC1x and about par with a Samsung S2 but noticeably below the latest HTC 1 with the snapdragon chipset and trailing the Samsung S3. Nonetheless this is indeed a fast little beast. Several features of the Antutu test return very respectable numbers and the ZOPO C2 can certainly hold its head up in the world of current powerful smartphones.

My phone came with JellyBean 4.2.1 installed, the phone is not rooted out of the box so Super-User can't access the binary file to give you the full administrator experience. However, I don't find this a disadvantage and is probably best as I might otherwise brick it trying to flash a ROM from XDA developers.

My one concern - although this is a subjective personal preference - is the screen colour temperature is too warm for my liking with colours over-saturated as if the gamma is too high. I have compensated somewhat for this by using an app from the Google play store called "Screen Adjuster". I have read that this is a possible issue in JellyBean 4.2.1 which has been addressed in JellyBean 4.2.2 giving a cooler screen colour temperature with more blue.

The screen is very sharp and as a pensioner who needs glasses I can read the small print quite clearly. I am used to using android but I am finding 4.2.1 a little less than intuitive. A for instance, in the about phone menu you will need to fast tap repeatedly on the build number to activate developer options. It counts down as you tap it eventually reporting your are now a developer. Thereafter if you access developer options you will only be able to access 3 of the developer options but if you fast tap repeatedly 3 times on the "android version" you can access another 30 settings in developer options. My previous (HaiPai i9377 S3) android phone has JellyBean 4.1.1 installed and if you fast tap the android version on this it opens the Jellybean's screen Easter egg - so I am not sure if this peculiarity with 4.2.1 is in the stock android build or if ZOPO have customised the build in some way. Talking of which..... you cannot switch this phone on quietly, a noisy and soon to become annoying ZOPO music blares out independent of volume setting during the animated ZOPO boot-screen process.

I bought this phone in an attempt to get something of a feel of an iPhone smoothness, clarity and speed at a fraction of the price and considering this is a 16 Gig purchase (in my case...make sure you check what you are buying before you commit) I certainly have got value for money.

To be honest, I don't think it truly is an iPhone killer but with the poor reviews for the iPhone 5 Apple certainly want to be pulling a new rabbit out of the hat if they want to keep in the number 1 place. In 2013 worldwide sales of android phones are already greater than the total sales of Apple's iPhone.

This phone fits my purpose, I have two Sims installed and a 32Gb micro SD card. My main Sim is on GiffGaff which gives me truly unlimited data for £12.00 for a 30 day pack, no contract worries or penalties. You can see more here if Amazon don't take the link out like they usually do: http://giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/trashcooky

So all in all it suits me but if you want a games machine then choose a full tablet and if you want a phone then choose a phone not a phablet. If you want to keep connected and play games from time to time, skype, video call, etc then this could just be what you are looking for. I would have given 5 stars but I personally do not like the oversaturated colours and the pink hue which should really be bright white.

Thanks for sharing this long but very useful review.. I am trying to get new android phone and I dont have much money to spend.. I will try to get a chinese built mobile and hope it works well for me..

Mod Edit Louis, I have removed the copied review pages you pasted into your reply as it made the thread unecessarily cluttered. If anyone wants to read the review you refer to they know they just have to scroll back to see the original post.

@LouisSteele

Glad you found it of some use.
Just remember that you get what you pay for.
You can pick up a Chinese clone on Amazon for as little as £59.00 but you will regret it.
So far I am very happy with the Zopo C2 16Gb Platinum but the market is still developing.
Apparently soon to be released will be a 2Gb Ram version of the C2 which should be even more impressive.
I get a Antutu score on my C2 above 15000 which rates it a powerful smartphone.
Prices are dropping all the time so keep a sharp eye out on the Zopomobile site.

So, this smartphone is similar spec-wise to an S2.... is there anything similar to the S4 that you know of that's not far beyond this price point?

admin wrote:So, this smartphone is similar spec-wise to an S2.... is there anything similar to the S4 that you know of that's not far beyond this price point?

The Zopo C2 Platinum far outperforms the Samsung S2 - certainly has a higher spec + has Corning Gorilla glass and 1920 x1080 screen resolution (@440 ppi) which I believe is even higher than the iPhone.

I think the S4 is on its own at the moment Stu, particularly the version that takes the 10 times optical zoom.
However, all the excitement following the Chinese market at the moment is looking at this manufacturer. See also this description in good detail. Also video

Excellent, thanks TC!