Help Bad News, the Triumph may be a rebadged low quality Huawei

[903Tex]

I had a look at MIUI awhile back (because I wanted to have it on the Ascend and Optimus V) and IIRC, the whole reason I couldn't get it is because their source isn't open. There's probably no doubt that the Triumph will run MIUI, but it's up to the MIUI devs. It's a shame they won't release the code.

Yea i know they were like that, but i figured giving it a shot wouldnt hurt. I dont know why they like that? Guess we play the waiting game!

 

[xbrokdikdogx]

I'm kinda surprised there is so much discussion about this being the Huawei since it has been known for a long time that the new Virgin Android was going to be Huawei. All this talk about different chipsets and so on is kinda irrelevant since Motorola is only putting their name on this device. Cricket is supposed to get this phone also, though I haven't heard of them using the Motorola name.

One thing you guys mentioned was the capacitive buttons being different on this than the Huawei, but the problem with that argument is that all Virgin Mobile US Android phones use this button layout. It is Virgin that has the Manufacturer switch this, not Motorola. Also, anyone thinking that Motorola will make significant improvements to this phone are dreaming. Huawei made the design and Motorola ordered the phone from them. Motorola isn't going to make significant redesigns on a phone they are ordering from Huawei and selling for $300.

As shown in that photo from a previous post Huawei has been rebranding this phone all over the world for a number of different companies. Also Motorola has a history of buying and rebranding Huawei technology as it states in the link posted below.

Motorola and Huawei agree to drop legal battle, Huawei gets a bit of cash

The worst part of this being a Huawei is that they are known for not releasing the source code.

 

[Gmash]

Actually, though, if you really dig into it and look at all the message boards, etc for the various versions, it seems like all of them, including the Huawei were made by Foxconn. This stuff happens all the time, you just don't hear about it because the companies don't really want you to think about it. The only reason this one has come to light is because there are so many almost identical versions that people couldn't help but notice.

 

[xbrokdikdogx]

Foxconn is just the factory putting it together for Huawei. You don't buy a foxconn iphone, you buy an apple iphone that had components made by companies like samsung that are assembled by foxconn. The design team still is huawei. This is just like buying a t-mobile comet. It is really a huawei...

 

[Gmash]

Op

Foxconn is just the factory putting it together for Huawei. You don't buy a foxconn iphone, you buy an apple iphone that had components made by companies like samsung that are assembled by foxconn. The design team still is huawei. This is just like buying a t-mobile comet. It is really a huawei...

Thats true. I was just throwing that in there because everyone seems to be so hung up on who is "making" it.

P.S. If anyone would like to see some interesting videos, search "Spice mi410" on youtube.

 

[compulady5]

Not to hijack this thread but all I keep thinking of is a quote from 'Armegeddon'... "American components, Russian components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!!!"

As a computer geek, I don't think of Dell, or Gateway, or even Toshiba as being better than any others. All the internals are made by the same round of companies and labeled with the corporate name. The only difference is lower end to higher end parts.

I hope this made sense.... I just woke up and the brain hasn't kicked in yet.

 

[septembersrain]

Seriously, Now that I'm working here at Virgin/Boost Mobile I want to get this phone. Either way I'm getting the $25 dollar plan and I am content with the idea that I can have this phone on that cheap service. I don't know about you guys but, I'm going to get the best android they have for Virgin. I'm certainly not buying the Optimus. NEVER EVER NEVER....

 

[Gmash]

Seriously, Now that I'm working here at Virgin/Boost Mobile I want to get this phone. Either way I'm getting the $25 dollar plan and I am content with the idea that I can have this phone on that cheap service. I don't know about you guys but, I'm going to get the best android they have for Virgin. I'm certainly not buying the Optimus. NEVER EVER NEVER....

Don't you mean you're never buying the Optimus AGAIN? LOL

 

[cutterjohn]

Foxconn is just the factory putting it together for Huawei. You don't buy a foxconn iphone, you buy an apple iphone that had components made by companies like samsung that are assembled by foxconn. The design team still is huawei. This is just like buying a t-mobile comet. It is really a huawei...

Actually just read an article the other day on shanzai.com that Huawei was contracting with a BUNCH of Taiwanese ODMs to produce products for them, including Foxconn. I'm beginning to wonder if Huawei even has the capabilities to design a phone or if they just order ODM designs and re-brand them given the shanzai article.

The Triumph is also listed on Corning's gorilla glass page which further tends to quash the Huawei rumor, although I suspect that it was started by people who cannot afford the Triumph, didn't want to admit it, and so are attempting to make it a cheap China phone so that they can feel happy about not getting one...

...and a guy on howardforums has one, posted pix of the phone & box but not much else at this point yet. It has 2GB onboard storage with .94GB available which already makes it at least 5X better than the OV to me. (So long el cheapo OV...)

 

[Gmash]

Actually just read an article the other day on shanzai.com that Huawei was contracting with a BUNCH of Taiwanese ODMs to produce products for them, including Foxconn. I'm beginning to wonder if Huawei even has the capabilities to design a phone or if they just order ODM designs and re-brand them given the shanzai article.

The Triumph is also listed on Corning's gorilla glass page which further tends to quash the Huawei rumor, although I suspect that it was started by people who cannot afford the Triumph, didn't want to admit it, and so are attempting to make it a cheap China phone so that they can feel happy about not getting one...

...and a guy on howardforums has one, posted pix of the phone & box but not much else at this point yet. It has 2GB onboard storage with .94GB available which already makes it at least 5X better than the OV to me. (So long el cheapo OV...)

[OFFICIAL LOUNGE] CSL Mi410 aka Mia (OEM by FOXCONN) - Kaskus - The Largest Indonesian Community

I don't think you need to be able to read this to understand what it means. Or is it a worldwide conspiracy now?

 

[cutterjohn]

[OFFICIAL LOUNGE] CSL Mi410 aka Mia (OEM by FOXCONN) - Kaskus - The Largest Indonesian Community

I don't think you need to be able to read this to understand what it means. Or is it a worldwide conspiracy now?

great a bunch of Indonesian with some pictures... sure... I'll buy that for a $1. (Oh and wait it's on some unknown forum from Indonesia. What a hotbed of technology... )

It'll take a motherboard with IDENTICAL layout(minus CDMA/GSM changes) to make me believe that it's the same thing buddy.

 

[Cavemansol]

Wow, a bunch of whiners and criers in here...Who cares who makes it if it works? Im more interested in the 25/month plan than i am the phone. As long as it works as advertised it could be made by nike for all i care

 

[cutterjohn]

Well I've got one charging as I type... feels every bit as sturdy as the OV, and has a better type of battery cover as well... On the OV mine would always pop off easily IF poked right or ... oops ... dropped(did it once slipped out of case)...

waiting for it to charge. 0.98GB storage. will attempt phone swap once it's charged up and then really start poking it...

 

[Cavemansol]

How sturdy is it as compared to the Droid X? I keep hearing that its basically a smaller version of the X. Pretty accurate?

 

[Bob Maxey]

It is very common for large manufacturers to do this like what Motorola and Huawei are doing.

One very good example is Foxconn, who actually makes the iPad for Apple.

Just because Huawei 'makes' the Triumphant does not automagically make it a bad phone.

I would at least wait until the reviews come out, once the phone is 'in the wild'.

At one time, we manufactured PCMCIA moderns for almost every laptop computer manufacturer. Right here in Salt Lake City, Utah, near the airport. We used Fox for some manufacturing, like LCD screens/Digitizers for Palm Pilots and we manufactured Apple Newton Modems for Apple.

We manufactured every OEM Palm Pilot PDA. Lower costs in some cases, higher in others... same product with basic cosmetic differences like logos.

The really inexpensive modems we manufactured for one company, were the more costly modems offered by IBM and Toshiba. Same production lines, different cases and packaging, same general tech specs.

No telling what is made where or by who or how good they will be.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Not to hijack this thread but all I keep thinking of is a quote from 'Armegeddon'... "American components, Russian components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!!!"

As a computer geek, I don't think of Dell, or Gateway, or even Toshiba as being better than any others. All the internals are made by the same round of companies and labeled with the corporate name. The only difference is lower end to higher end parts.

I hope this made sense.... I just woke up and the brain hasn't kicked in yet.

We manufactured modems for Dell, Gateway, and Toshiba. No real difference between them except covers and some software. My Megahertz PCMCIA Modem was every bit as good as the more costly version sold by IBM.

You are correct, lots of manufacturers use the same components they re-brand.

 

[Gmash]

Another one.

http://detail.zol.com.cn/cell_phone/index278872.shtml

 

[shark974]

Not to hijack this thread but all I keep thinking of is a quote from 'Armegeddon'... "American components, Russian components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!!!"

As a computer geek, I don't think of Dell, or Gateway, or even Toshiba as being better than any others. All the internals are made by the same round of companies and labeled with the corporate name. The only difference is lower end to higher end parts.

I hope this made sense.... I just woke up and the brain hasn't kicked in yet.

This is only true to a point. Would you buy a chinese car, for example (there's no chinese built mainstream cars yet, for a reason, they arent considered capable of quality of manufacturing to that degree yet)? Chinese are still known for low quality in many areas. For a seemingly odd example but one that I recently encountered, when looking for a airgun, I learned that the Chinese made ones are looked down on, whereas a major Spanish airgun maker (made in Spain) is considered good.

Taiwan is not China btw. I consider Taiwanese or Korean made products to be a whole different kettle of fish. I consider many Taiwanese electronics to be great quality.

Having said all that, I made this topic, but so far (it's still early) this phone seems pretty good. Nobody has mentioned any glaring problems with it as it trickles out, so hopefully it's a winner. Hopefully Motorola quality control+China manufacturing was a good combination.

 

[Gmash]

This is only true to a point. Would you buy a chinese car, for example (there's no chinese built mainstream cars yet, for a reason, they arent considered capable of quality of manufacturing to that degree yet)? Chinese are still known for low quality in many areas. For a seemingly odd example but one that I recently encountered, when looking for a airgun, I learned that the Chinese made ones are looked down on, whereas a major Spanish airgun maker (made in Spain) is considered good.

Taiwan is not China btw. I consider Taiwanese or Korean made products to be a whole different kettle of fish. I consider many Taiwanese electronics to be great quality.

Having said all that, I made this topic, but so far (it's still early) this phone seems pretty good. Nobody has mentioned any glaring problems with it as it trickles out, so hopefully it's a winner. Hopefully Motorola quality control+China manufacturing was a good combination.

OK "made in China" is not really the dispute. It's hard to find a smartphone thats NOT made in China. The Droid X says "made in China" right on the box.

 

[Bob Maxey]

This is only true to a point. Would you buy a chinese car, for example (there's no chinese built mainstream cars yet, for a reason, they arent considered capable of quality of manufacturing to that degree yet)? Chinese are still known for low quality in many areas. For a seemingly odd example but one that I recently encountered, when looking for a airgun, I learned that the Chinese made ones are looked down on, whereas a major Spanish airgun maker (made in Spain) is considered good.

Would you buy a Harley made in India? You can and they do. In the 1930s HD had a manufacturing line in China and when I was dabbling in the world of HD suppliers (making promotional Pub Mirrors, long story) They always put American components and suppliers first if you could meet their standards.

Otherwise, they would use a foreign supplier for what they need.

What other company is viewed as pure American and with the pride many have in a solid American Company as HD? Not every part is as American as many people think.

One thing HD does have is the ability to make great products, and that is what is important.

One thing some people are hung up on is where something is made. We used foreign manufactured components for several reasons. For example, cost. When you are selling millions of units, even a dime's difference in cost affects the bottom line. Even a nickle, for that matter.

Then there is delivery issues. Can the American supplier provide parts as required and in the quantities you need? If we needed frames, we went to foreign manufacturers because they could meet a delivery schedule, they offered quality, and the cost was acceptable. Nobody in this country could handle the amounts we required and at a quality/price point we found acceptable.

We even went to a foreign supplier of small screws for MP3 players offered by RIO. The reason was cost and delivery. Nobody in this country could serve our needs.

I know a company that orders foreign steel because the suppliers in this country can't meet delivery schedules, quality, or specs. And there is a huge supplier of steel components right across the street. Their cost was too high.

A 100% American company that provides great parts but has slow delivery or unreliable delivery was in no way a good thing for us.

So I say, pick the devices you like and forget where they are made. If they meet your needs and price, go for it.

 

[agianne]

Hopefully Motorola quality control+China manufacturing was a good combination.

According to regulatory documents filed by Motorola with the FCC in February, the Triumph is manufactured in Taiwan by Chi Mei Communication Systems, Inc. (a majority controlled subsidiary of Foxconn).

The FCC OET TCB electronic filing site doesn't support linking, but you can search on the Triumph's FCCID of IHDT56MS1 and read up if you'd like. (The docs are in PDF format.) https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm

 

[shark974]

OK "made in China" is not really the dispute. It's hard to find a smartphone thats NOT made in China. The Droid X says "made in China" right on the box.

It must not be that hard, because I just checked the only smartphone I have, my Captivate, and it says made in Korea.

 

[shark974]

Would you buy a Harley made in India? You can and they do. In the 1930s HD had a manufacturing line in China and when I was dabbling in the world of HD suppliers (making promotional Pub Mirrors, long story) They always put American components and suppliers first if you could meet their standards.

Otherwise, they would use a foreign supplier for what they need.

What other company is viewed as pure American and with the pride many have in a solid American Company as HD? Not every part is as American as many people think.

One thing HD does have is the ability to make great products, and that is what is important.

One thing some people are hung up on is where something is made. We used foreign manufactured components for several reasons. For example, cost. When you are selling millions of units, even a dime's difference in cost affects the bottom line. Even a nickle, for that matter.

Then there is delivery issues. Can the American supplier provide parts as required and in the quantities you need? If we needed frames, we went to foreign manufacturers because they could meet a delivery schedule, they offered quality, and the cost was acceptable. Nobody in this country could handle the amounts we required and at a quality/price point we found acceptable.

We even went to a foreign supplier of small screws for MP3 players offered by RIO. The reason was cost and delivery. Nobody in this country could serve our needs.

I know a company that orders foreign steel because the suppliers in this country can't meet delivery schedules, quality, or specs. And there is a huge supplier of steel components right across the street. Their cost was too high.

A 100% American company that provides great parts but has slow delivery or unreliable delivery was in no way a good thing for us.

So I say, pick the devices you like and forget where they are made. If they meet your needs and price, go for it.

This is true to an extent, but again, would you buy the first chinese car? I'm going to say no.

Foreign vis a vis America is a whole nother ball of wax. In many cases extremely restrictive environmental regulations now keep Americans from competing. A company can go to China where these regulations dont exist (for example, billions in smokestack anti pollution equipment) and make all those things you speak of, much much cheaper. Any factory making anything out of metal, yeah good luck with that in America today...what with CO2 caps. So there's lots of reasons things may be sourced from China, (oh and not to mention, wages are a bit cheaper over there and certainly they're "good enough" at making lots of things, like DVD players. But they havent advanced to the point where they can make extremely complex things like fighter jets.

Also, the "Harley made in India" thing doesn't matter, because it's not a "Harley made in China"...

Anyways it does look like people in this thread are experiencing quality issues: http://androidforums.com/motorola-triumph/374744-some-people-already-have-2.html Several have already returned units. Hopefully with time the issues get sorted.

 

[compulady5]

^ I can relate- my Triumph had NO juice yesterday when I tried to turn it on for the first time. I even used a battery from a working phone and the contacts on the phone were bad or there was some other hardware failure going on.

Luckily I was able to exchange it right away and no problems to report.

*though my only complaint is WHY is there such a sucky battery*??

 

[cutterjohn]

According to regulatory documents filed by Motorola with the FCC in February, the Triumph is manufactured in Taiwan by Chi Mei Communication Systems, Inc. (a majority controlled subsidiary of Foxconn).

The FCC OET TCB electronic filing site doesn't support linking, but you can search on the Triumph's FCCID of IHDT56MS1 and read up if you'd like. (The docs are in PDF format.) https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm

Vm box says:

PHONE(CHINA), BATTERY(JAPAN), CHARGER(CHINA), CABLE(CHINA)

So while this Chi Mei Communication Systems, Inc. may be building them, they're obviously building them at a factory in China.

As to China quality, yeah it's sh!t usually if it's purely a Chinese company, but if a western, Korean, Taiwanese, or Japanese company is involved they usually rider their a---s on QA so it's MUCH better than what you'd normally get out of China...

Batt life: I'm not a "heavy" phone user, but I seem to be getting at least close to what I got with the OV... my SMS messaging is down ATM, going to wait until Wed before taking any firther action which is the official availability day, Tier 2 had very little info so far on the Triumph so I speculate it may be that their network isn't fully configured to support it yet.

GPS is slower to lock on than the OV, but not by much...