I thought i would get down and dirty to inform the masses about off-brand devices in the market, most of which seem to be made in China in particular. (Nothing against China or the Chinese people, as many name-brand, high-quality devices are made there as well - this is just a warning about the off-brand stuff, and it's simply helpful to note their origin where known.)
There have been a plethora of threads throughout the forums in the past months regarding these devices...
Whether it is regarding buying the device, rooting the device, or simply doing something on the device.
When you look at that price tag and see 150$ for a phone just like the recent flagship that your carrier released and you scream out loud...I JUST GOT TO HAVE IT this thread will make you think again.
These are BAD devices for the average user and I am here to tell you why
No Support: These devices are knock offs of real released smart phones from big manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, and LG, being a knock off makes them look just like their counterpart from the brand name manufacturer but act completely different than the actual device it is copying. Therefore, when you ask the manufacturer, internet, or even us, about the device no one will give you a clear cut answer, in other words, you're on your own. And while it saddens me to have to say that, there is really nothing we can do, trust me we will try but we can only do so much.
Shoddy Hardware: You know this can be termed simply by the phrase, You get what you paid for, and honestly if you are paying a low price for a device the hardware won't be that good either. Read the specs on the device and see what you are actually getting, usually they will all be tiers lower than the device it looks like, because again, it might look like that actual device it is copying but the inside is very different.
A lot of things are made in China, like 75% of iPhone components and 50% of all Samsung parts, so how are these off brand devices any different from the name brand devices we have come to know and love. There's a world of difference between a foreign built and controlled factory and a Chinese one. Quality control in raw materials, design, and production is of a very high standard and that's why they usually cost more. The Chinese copycat factories will resource "b" and "c" grade components - whatever is cheapest this week - and sling them into an assembly workshop with absolutely no concern about anything other than shifting product.
Sketchy Sellers: I have had people come on here complaining that the seller won't email them back regarding there purchase and asking what they should do... It really is a sad situation because even the seller knows what they are selling is a rip off, more red flags...
Software Set-Backs: These devices are running Android because android is open-source, so their devices can run on it freely..However things like the Google Play store are closed-source, or otherwise known as Proprietary software, and cannot be loaded onto these phones without Google giving them consent to do so. So in other words the phones will not come with Google Play, leaving the user the hassle of trying to side load it.
Another thing worth mentioning is every smart phone that is contracted to a carrier whether it be, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or any other carrier is given OTA updates from Google for Android and these updates are released when the carrier wants to release them, only to the devices contracted under those carriers, not ported devices. In other words, these devices will not receive updated versions of Android...ever, no matter how much you yell at the manufacturer or carrier you have. The only way would be to root/unlock the device and load a custom ROM...which brings me to the last topic.
Rooting/Unlocking: I thought this would also be worth mentioning since many people have come to AF with questions or concerns about rooting these devices.
First off please review these threads regarding rooting your device:
http://androidforums.com/faqs/443432-what-root-being-rooted-mean.html
http://androidforums.com/faqs/450904-rooting-best-practices.html
http://androidforums.com/faqs/443075-root-terminology.html
Next thing, if you mess up your root process on one of these devices we will most likely be stumped on how to solve it, we will try and give you all that we know, but since the information on these devices is so limited then we can only go off by what we have experienced on other devices so please, do not get impatient or upset with us.
With this thread, it will be added to as more information on these devices leaks in, but I hope i have answered some important questions when it comes to these devices and turned people against buying them because the price may be tempting but these set backs proves otherwise.
Thanks for reading
-DC
There have been a plethora of threads throughout the forums in the past months regarding these devices...
Whether it is regarding buying the device, rooting the device, or simply doing something on the device.
When you look at that price tag and see 150$ for a phone just like the recent flagship that your carrier released and you scream out loud...I JUST GOT TO HAVE IT this thread will make you think again.
These are BAD devices for the average user and I am here to tell you why
No Support: These devices are knock offs of real released smart phones from big manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, and LG, being a knock off makes them look just like their counterpart from the brand name manufacturer but act completely different than the actual device it is copying. Therefore, when you ask the manufacturer, internet, or even us, about the device no one will give you a clear cut answer, in other words, you're on your own. And while it saddens me to have to say that, there is really nothing we can do, trust me we will try but we can only do so much.
Shoddy Hardware: You know this can be termed simply by the phrase, You get what you paid for, and honestly if you are paying a low price for a device the hardware won't be that good either. Read the specs on the device and see what you are actually getting, usually they will all be tiers lower than the device it looks like, because again, it might look like that actual device it is copying but the inside is very different.
A lot of things are made in China, like 75% of iPhone components and 50% of all Samsung parts, so how are these off brand devices any different from the name brand devices we have come to know and love. There's a world of difference between a foreign built and controlled factory and a Chinese one. Quality control in raw materials, design, and production is of a very high standard and that's why they usually cost more. The Chinese copycat factories will resource "b" and "c" grade components - whatever is cheapest this week - and sling them into an assembly workshop with absolutely no concern about anything other than shifting product.
Sketchy Sellers: I have had people come on here complaining that the seller won't email them back regarding there purchase and asking what they should do... It really is a sad situation because even the seller knows what they are selling is a rip off, more red flags...
Software Set-Backs: These devices are running Android because android is open-source, so their devices can run on it freely..However things like the Google Play store are closed-source, or otherwise known as Proprietary software, and cannot be loaded onto these phones without Google giving them consent to do so. So in other words the phones will not come with Google Play, leaving the user the hassle of trying to side load it.
Another thing worth mentioning is every smart phone that is contracted to a carrier whether it be, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile or any other carrier is given OTA updates from Google for Android and these updates are released when the carrier wants to release them, only to the devices contracted under those carriers, not ported devices. In other words, these devices will not receive updated versions of Android...ever, no matter how much you yell at the manufacturer or carrier you have. The only way would be to root/unlock the device and load a custom ROM...which brings me to the last topic.
Rooting/Unlocking: I thought this would also be worth mentioning since many people have come to AF with questions or concerns about rooting these devices.
First off please review these threads regarding rooting your device:
http://androidforums.com/faqs/443432-what-root-being-rooted-mean.html
http://androidforums.com/faqs/450904-rooting-best-practices.html
http://androidforums.com/faqs/443075-root-terminology.html
Next thing, if you mess up your root process on one of these devices we will most likely be stumped on how to solve it, we will try and give you all that we know, but since the information on these devices is so limited then we can only go off by what we have experienced on other devices so please, do not get impatient or upset with us.
With this thread, it will be added to as more information on these devices leaks in, but I hope i have answered some important questions when it comes to these devices and turned people against buying them because the price may be tempting but these set backs proves otherwise.
Thanks for reading
-DC
