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  • nathanddrews - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    This review wins the "glod metal".
  • protomech - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Pedantry:

    "with the first SIM for 3G/4G requiring a full-sized SIM card and the second microSIM for 2G (basic data/SMS)"

    It looks like the first SIM slot is a mini-SIM slot. There's actually a non-mini SIM card, which is about as large as as credit card. It was introduced first, but it was replaced by the mini-SIM before most people (including me) started to use cell phones.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_identity_...
  • Ryan Smith - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    You are correct sir!
  • leexgx - Monday, March 14, 2016 - link

    little update been using the phone for 3 months now nearly and works brilliantly get 2 days normal use or 1 day if using TomTom Go for 8-9 hours screen on time

    another Note You can Use 3G and 4G in Both sim slots, just not at the same time
    the sim with active data enabled has 3G and 4G access the sim with data off only gets 2G, ( when you enable data on the other sim the phone disconnects both sims and flips the radios around to the opposite sim and enables 3G and 4G on the sim with data enabled)

    voice on loud speaker seems to not be reliable, but i use Bluetooth so does not bother me
  • leexgx - Wednesday, December 30, 2015 - link

    well i got the phone and its impressive for just £110

    first day full charge i got 2 days of use out of it (8 hours of Screen On Time, not 15 hours but i had over 3 hours of google navigating so 8 hours is outstanding, as navigation uses mobile data, GPS and screen, GPS is norm especially a power hog, the phone did not even get hot)

    second charge seems to be longer, 1 day 25% battey drop (phone is saying 4 days approx remaining, i expect it to be 2 due to my useage) charge time is very slow thought (something like 4 hours but not sure when i started charging it, but that's fine due to how long phone lasts)

    battery drop is something like 1% every 10 or more ish minutes when watching 720p video

    speed wise everything seems responsive spec wise it should be slower then my M7 but seems more snappy, and it seems that they also made sure that the OS knows its a 5.5in phone(needs a new ROM installing on it as i just reset the phone and there is no google apps installed on the phone) not fully used to having a 5.5in phone thought but battery life is very nice
  • protomech - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    (woops, meant to be a top-level reply)
  • Ikepuska - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Seriously though, the original SIM card was just a particular Smart Card. Which is still using the Credit Card form factor.
  • leexgx - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    as well as gold award, it comes in gold as well
  • Robalov - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Bought a similar knock off phone from Amazon before, battery Amazing, and typical use of the phone was fine.

    Camera was laughable, but the killer was the call quality. Unusable to make phone calls.

    I bought a bluetooth headset to temporarily get round the issue, but eventually the phone starting falling to pieces, with Bluetooth failing 50% of the time.

    With no mention of call quality here, I can't see this being any different. I hope to see an update in 6 months, with this phone in the bin.

    No free lunch, as they say.
  • Ian Cutress - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    > With no mention of call quality here

    Third page: "Phone call connection quality is also good, despite the fact that I live in an area that seems to have lead paint in the walls."
  • shabby - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Perhaps we should stop calling these phones since only one sentence is used to describe its calling ability.
  • Mushkins - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    To be fair, what else do you need in a review of a voice call? Either it sounds like you're talking through a tube full of muddy squirrels or it sounds like a cell phone quality voice call (aka tolerable but not great). Getting into technical metrics of sound quality for a voice call is overkill for a consumer-focused review of a smartphone.
  • aggiechase37 - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    See I have to disagree here. If I want drive by, non specific reviews I would go to something like PCmag, where everything is, "seemed fine to me." Drivel. I come to Anandtech because I want in depth reviews. I do wish the call quality portion of the review was more in depth. I use my phone for a lot of business as well, and having the other person perceive my call quality as being crapola is a very important consideration for me. Dear Anandtech, please spend more time on call quality in your reviews. Please!?!?
  • raja_jagadeesan - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I might agree with aggiechase. I actually find anandtech's cell phone reviews pretty outstanding. But adding more technical metrics or objective measures of call quality would really add value, I think. Partly because it is so hard to find elsewhere. My wife complains about her call quality and I sometimes wonder how to differentiate whether we need a new service or a new phone or if it is the Wi-Fi calling that is at issue, etc. More technical analysis of actual call quality and calling experience would be very useful.
  • Ian Cutress - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Hi aggiechase37,

    I'm not the typical smartphone reviewer, as you might imagine from this review. It was originally going to be a hands on piece, like my previous One max piece (link below), but 750 words quickly became 3000 as I explored more aspects of the phone. It wasn't intended to be a full blown expose such as what we normally do, especially given the scale of the device, partly because I don't have the tools but also it's more an experiential test than anything else.

    -Ian

    My previous One max road test: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7551/a-month-with-th...
  • jjj - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    The most important metric would be signal strength and nobody can be bothered to test that since blaming the carrier for dropped calls instead of the phone maker is easier.. The most reliable public info is this (in danish) http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/penge/kontant/saa-daarlig... or in English try this http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_6s_reception_...
  • saratoga4 - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    That would be an extraordinarily difficult test to perform accurately and in a way that was fair to devices with different types of radios. Even simple antenna testing (disconnected from a radio) is complex, testing an antenna, a radio, and firmware is probably beyond the means review sites.
  • jjj - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Yes and no, you can try to do your best and achieve reasonable results with limited resources.
    A little data is a lot better than no data at all.
  • jjj - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Nowadays it helps that you can buy very cheap Chinese tools from places like Aliexpress. Sure a 100$ tool is not as good as a 5k$ tool but can be decent in many cases.
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    It would still be very useful information!

    Keep it simple, test each phone in a number of fixed locations, at a specific time of day for each handset (to keep the network load 'fixed'), and run your call / data tests.

    Repeat all the above on a 2.5hr+ train journey (similar to how the Japanese test theirs) to monitor call hand-off etc too...

    A pattern will nevertheless emerge of who makes the most sensitive receivers, and as you allude to - how the total package ends up working.
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    Signal strength! Possibly the most important aspect!

    Despite living in Denmark for years, I have little Danish - everyone spoke English to me. But I understood a little. So jeg taler ikke Dansk, you see.

    But nice to see my trusty S5 in 2nd place. I feel I've still no reason to change my phone, but seeing a battery like the one has on this phone, has me looking at reviews again.

    If I use my S5 as a GPS, and connected to the cars hands-free, I can *burn* up my battery in hours. And I can't have an extended-back battery, because I have the Qi-wireless-s-view case on the back... so I've no option. I did however, buy one of those 2.4A car chargers, so it can be used, and charged in a timely manner...
  • Alexvrb - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    That's only really true if your wireless is the limiting factor. If you're in an area with good LTE signal quality and you're using VoLTE, yes there IS such as thing as better than tolerable voice quality. At that point you may very well find out you're being held back by the phone. Good speakers and mic(s) can make a difference. Especially when using it on speakerphone occasionally.
  • buxe2quec - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    For example, mics can be really different. Mz iPhone 4S can tolerate up to (arbitrary scale) 101 dB before saturating, while my LG G2 only 81 dB. I measured with the two phones next to each other, even if the absolute values are off, the 20 dB difference stays.

    This can mean a lot in loud environments.
  • Robalov - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    That'll teach me I guess.

    But I would've thought call quality would deserve its own heading.

    I still believe it won't have the longevity of your previous phone, however.
  • leexgx - Friday, December 25, 2015 - link

    Ian Cutress (not sure if you would like a follow up on my useage as well)

    i cant use my HTC One M7 without a Mophie battery case and it turns the phone into a brick as only lasts short time without the morphi and has to be plugged in constantly when navigating (even when the HTC one M7 it was in good condition the battery it still lasted as long as i expected and that was 2-3 hours of constant use/SOT) 2400 is yes good for maybe the first 6 months to a year but due to battery not holding as much capacity after 1 year it ends up like a iphone (unless you can replace the battery)

    well hopefully it's a good phone as i own it on 27th december (2015 assuming the shop is open so i can do my collect location) see how it goes,

    i know it's slower then a HTC ONE M7 and no boomsound speakers, but slower CPU should mean less heat when navigating and same with screen, a slim phone with a 5200mAh battery, it be like using the Old Motorola RAZR Maxx again (just this time its a 5200mAh, quad core, 720p and 2GB of ram and 16GB + the 32GB SD card i got at the same time)

    i only paid £110 so worth it to try any way (its from amazon so can send it back if its not fit for purpose, why i got it from amazon not ebay, as amazon is there to make customers happy and sellers unhappy, ebay not that far off really but amazon have better return policy and how they handle it as well),

    HTC need to pull there finger out and start making phones that last more than half a day
    3200-3500 battery size needs to be the minimum so to last more then 2-4 hours of SOT (not benchmark SOT time or phone with nothing installed) and the battery needs to be replaceable as my HTC ONE M7 is now turning off at 50%, if i could of changed the battery in the M9/M10 i might consider it (M10 hoping replaceable battery) we don't give a dam about Thin phones (as it turns into a iPlug device like where lots of iphone users are hunting for the nearest USB socket to get a small boost) going from 2400mha battery to 3400 might not sound like much but it has so much a dramatic effect on the day use of the phone, most phones nealy Suck More than 1A when phone is in use at times, phone makers need to add 1000mAh on top of there phones if its works fine on light loads (or what Stupid way they test there phones) so if think they can get away with a 2200 2400 2600 battery they should fit a 3200-3600 battery
  • Notmyusualid - Saturday, January 16, 2016 - link

    The battery life (and the slow charging off too), of the M7 is the ONLY reason I changed it.

    I loved that handset too...
  • leexgx - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    you say knock off phone so not a real cubot H1 phone
  • f0d - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    if you want to get crazy there is this 10000mah monster (its a bit ugly)
    http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_204428.html
    or this more sane 6000mah (not so ugly)
    http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_253010.html

    im loving these phones that are coming out now with super batteries, battery life is much more important than speed or a lot of other things in a phone for me
  • SunLord - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    That's more of a battery with a phone built on it...
  • phoenix_rizzen - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    The Cubot H1 has the same size battery (10,000 mAh) as the Oukitel. In fact, just about every spec is the same between the two phones. They're almost identical.
  • phoenix_rizzen - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Whoops, seems I misread that. There are Cubot phones with 10,000 mAh batteries, just not this specific model.
  • f0d - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    thats awesome, 10000mah batterys should be the norm :)
    do you have a link to a cubot phone with one? my googlefu is failing me and i cant find one anywhere
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    And no 'Edit' function, right?

    Lord knows why Anandtech will not switch to Disquss.
  • beggerking@yahoo.com - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    those are non-removable.

    the one in review has removable battery >>>>> non - removables.
  • f0d - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    yes true
    BUT 10000mah.!!!
    these devices are cheap enough that if the battery does die you can just buy another phone

    removable batteries "should" be on the more expensive phones like iphones and galaxy but its the complete opposite and the more expensive phones are non removable

    i do prefer removable batteries but if it was a choice between 5500mah removable or 10000mah non removable on a super cheap phone then the 10000mah one wins in my eyes
  • Notmyusualid - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    Cool devices - thanks!
  • alexdi - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I'll never understand the drive to cheap out on a device that's practically tethered to you and is, here, a primary work device. Take the phone away from anyone under 30 and you'll see something approximating heroin withdrawal. But hey, megabucks for a few extra frames in a device you use for play in evenings? Sure, why not.
  • Ian Cutress - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I would argue and say my PC is my primary work device. Having a smartphone I can type on (without worrying about about the battery) is secondary, and that allows me to fill in potential wasted down time.

    And yes, there are people who won't spend $400-800 on a device, even if you can justify the cost to yourself. You have to convince others against some argument of increased productively. Because ultimately if you are campaigning on the business route, it's primarily about the productivity (then arguably security, product deal or image).
  • LukaP - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    One doesnt have to convince anyone about ones choice of spending money. I for one completly agree with Ian's priorities. My computer is my primary device, meaning i will invest in it, even if it seems silly to others. On the other hand my phone is merely used for contacting people and occasionally taking notes. That means i dont need the latest and greatest Snapdragon 820 with 8GB of ram, all rendering 4K for the curved screen. I need a good looking screen, 720p so all the stuff can be displayed on it, and a capable enough SOC so that it doesnt bog down when im listening to music while typing on the go, and someone calls me. Im not going to be spending more than about 100-150€ on a device that to me, doesnt deserve such an investment. But its perfectly understandable that some people desire/need more, and will also invest more there :)
  • ssj4Gogeta - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Though mention a couple of times that you were using black text on white. But that shouldn't matter for LCDs. Or are you referring to content-adaptive backlight saving you battery when using white on black?
  • beggerking@yahoo.com - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    you don't understand because you are hard glued to the mentality " more expensive = better"

    well, news flash, you are WRONG, most of the time.

    people get this device for its battery longevity, not to cheap out. I'd trade this over a $1000 device with 1/3 the battery any day any time.
  • zeeBomb - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    gg
  • Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Best of both worlds - get an LG G4 with the big zerolemon battery.

    I used to have THL's W8s which was an S4 clone. great phone, but lack of updates, small battery and slow charging killed it for me.

    I doubt I'd go back to China phones, but I may be forced to as it seems almost no new phones have a battery that I can swap zerolemon or similar into. I love not having to charge my phone for days when I travel.
  • Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Forgot to say nothing can really replace my 10,000mah battery Note 3 except for the Note 4.
  • devione - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I'm actually using a Note 4 on CM with the stock factory battery and that gets me about 5/6 hours of screen on time on one charge, just a little under my now deprecated Z2. What 10,000mah battery would you recommend?
  • Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    The zerolemon batteries are fantastic. I get 15-20h SOT with mine depending on what I'm doing with CM13
  • devione - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Thanks.
  • bernstein - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    well to each his own i guess...

    after years of bashing (my) iphone for it's tiny battery i realized that i have adapted enough (e.g. plugging it in when coming home, getting in the car/train, arriving at the office. taking a battery pack when trekking - all "trained" to the point where i don't even think about it) that in years i've never been with a dead phone. no more angst there. :-)

    same goes with the price... including music playback i use it at least a few hours daily, whereas my desktop gets love at most twice a week, same goes for the tv or notebook... and don't even get me started on the tablet... so for me $900 for a smartphone isn't too much, especially if your only other electronic device is a $500 dell laptop...

    and when i think about it, for an iphone
  • jjj - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    IHS iphone 6s teardown
    Pricing: $649 US
    Total cost (direct materials and manufacturing): $183.58
  • KPOM - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Apple's margins are about 38%. Still high, but they aren't making $500 per iPhone. There are R&D, shipping, marketing, retail, and other costs that those bills of material don't consider.
  • jjj - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Retail price vs cost is the easiest way to measure and the point is that ratio is much much better with some Chinese phones while Apple is pretty much the worse. You can get a Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 that has a retail price close to cost or a Nexus at about 2x, the iphone is at 4x or worse.
    The reported margins are slightly misleading but not getting into that here. As for costs after the factory's gate, that's not exactly the buyers problem if a device maker chooses to be less efficient than others.
  • Daniel Egger - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    3 letters from me: LOL. The requirements and expectations driving this article are a solid start but give it a few more years and even journalists will become sane.

    Anywhoo: My last pre-smartphone phone (Nokia 6310i) regularly lasted north of 3 weeks. My current Moto E (2015) with its small 2390mAh battery typically lasts 9 or 10 days in my usage pattern which is the first smartphone since I'm using smartphones which I find acceptable in that regard since I stored my trusty Nokia in the drawer. I'm certainly not going to accept any less for any successor.
  • yannigr2 - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    It is amazing what the Chinese companies offer in the smartphone market. It is also amazing how much time it took most western tech sites to start exploring those devices.

    If you don't need the best of the best in every category, there is no reason today to spend more than 100-150 euros/dollars/pounds for a dual sim smartphone with one of the latest versions of Android and a pretty nice IPS screen.
  • pSupaNova - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    Not only smartphones but tablets too.

    Chinese manufacturers look like they are going through the same path as the Japanese in electronic goods.
    First the cheap copies then the real innovations.
    Can Anandtech start reviewing their Windows and Android tablets?
  • Yaldabaoth - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    "The 16GB storage model is pretty basic, and the microSD compatibility is only at 32GB, rather than something bigger, and I know it will fill over time with the consistent photographing of my cats."

    More pictures of Summer and Cici, please.
  • KPOM - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I take it you rarely travel to the US, Ian? That phone is practically useless even for voice here. It doesn't support any US 3G band (much less LTE). AT&T and T-Mobile are rapidly turning off their 2G networks to make room for LTE. They expect to be finished on January 1, 2017.
  • yannigr2 - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    This is not planet USA.
  • Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Who cares if it doesn't work in the USA? Don't buy it
  • beggerking@yahoo.com - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    every gsm phone work in USA.

    most works with 3/4g as well.

    some works with LTE (only because we SUCK and STUPID and use different band than the rest of the world).
  • KPOM - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    @beggerking, on January 1, 2017, AT&T plans to turn off its 2G GSM network. The phone in question does not support AT&T or T-Mobile's 3GSM bands. As for LTE, apart from the iPhone 6S there aren't many "universal" LTE phones out there (and even that isn't universal), since China, Australia, the US, South America, the EU, etc. all use different bands. It's a matter of available spectrum. Heck, each of the carriers in the US use different LTE bands.
  • KPOM - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Part of the reason Ian gave for wanting a dual-SIM phone is that he travels for business. If he travels to the US, he should be aware that AT&T is shutting down its 2G network on January 1, 2017. After that, he'd be limited to T-Mobile's 2G network (which is pretty awful). Hence, my question.
  • But1er - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Yeah, that's just something you have to pay attention to before buying any unconventional phone from overseas.
  • Ian Cutress - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I did travel to the US while testing this device, but I did not get a SIM card while I was there due to time. My current UK ISP is a steaming pile when it comes to international, so I didn't bother with them (they want $100 for 500 MB or so and charge near $3 a minute on calls). But it's good to know.
  • Pissedoffyouth - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Giffgaff? On Three its hit and miss bit usually if its in Feel at Home its fantastic
  • KPOM - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    To clarify, AT&T is shutting off their 2G network on January 1, 2017. T-Mobile is keeping theirs on for another 3 years. So, for that matter, are Verizon and Sprint, but they are CDMA networks. So after 1/1/17, if you are here, just pick up a pre-paid T-Mobile SIM.
  • KPOM - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    I checked again and it does support the PCS (1900) band for 3G in the US, which AT&T uses, though coverage and strength of signal vary.
  • Fiah - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    well to each his own, I got an LG G3 and an extended battery for it
  • xaueious - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    This review has limited usefulness without Androbench IO benchmarks
  • Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I like the size and the resolution. But that SoC is jsut garbage. I wish they would take some surplus S810's and throw them into a device like this. Given how much of a flop the S810 has been, I bet supply wouldnt be an issue. And that SoC would flourish in a device like this.
  • jjj - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Good that AT is starting to broader it's horizons.
    Maybe you could compare the wifi range vs some metal flagship, chances are the result would make that plastic a plus.
    Are you aware of Innos D6000 or Oukitel k10000?
    Anyway, maybe in 1-2 years you'll give us a similar article about a phone with great price, battery and CPU perf since that's about to become more and more doable.
  • raja_jagadeesan - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    Fascinating review. Thanks for exploring one of these no-name knockoffs. Amazing what can be had at this price point, and even more amazing that it can offer a surprisingly good experience, and even some things - like crazy battery life - that the high-end phones can't.

    A very useful review - thanks anandtech for doing things like this.
  • benedict - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    The Chinese manufacturers provide phones with amazing value for the price. I bought a Meizu M2 Note for 150$ and I'm amazed how good a 150$ phone can be. Also in that price range are Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 and Lenovo K3 Note. All of those feature great midrange specs and unless you really stress your phone those 8-core Mediatek cpus do a great job.
  • ruthan - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    I looked for new phone 2 month ago, i wanted 4 inch phone with not more weight that 115g, i ended with Galaxy S4 mini.
    I didnt care about money - but more powerful phone with same form factor doesnt exist - or doesnt exist in PhoneArena database.. It was big compromise - performace is limited, 8 GB storage is pain in ass and MHL is missing, but still better than 200 gram brick in my pocket..
  • PrinceGaz - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    Fellow S4 Mini user here; great small and light phone whose main drawback I find is the 8GB storage. Even after rooting and using something like Folder Mount to link app folders to an SD card, as well as moving the apps to SD using the normal method, that 8GB is still a squeeze.

    I reckon its performance is pretty good actually; its 1.7 GHz dual-core Krait 300 will outperform the 1.4 GHz or thereabouts quad-core A53 you'll find on similar small phones in most real-world situations, though it's probably better not to use it for demanding games as the GPU is rather lacking.

    Weight as well as cost was a major factor in my going for the S4 Mini, but if your weight budget extended slightly to 130g, then nothing currently available beats the Sony Z3 Compact-- an absolute beast, albeit at a much higher price.
  • Sttm - Wednesday, December 23, 2015 - link

    3-4 day battery life just doesn't seem as important now that we have fast charging, wireless charging, and in a lot places now convenient charging ports.
  • amdwilliam1985 - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    speak for yourself, I take extreme battery life (3 to 7 days) over fast charging any day.
  • blzd - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    Not if it means 5 year old performance and phone quality.

    A Moto G with 2400mAh or so already lasts 2 days easily with 5+ hours SoT, but doesn't have quick charge.

    2 day battery life with quick charging is more than enough. How often do you go 2 days away from an outlet?

    Currently rapid charging is getting devices to about 50% in 30 minutes of charging or less.
  • MikeMurphy - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    Lenovo recently released some interesting budget options with very large batteries, too. Anandtech should do a battle of the jumbo batteries.
  • NZtechfreak - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    What is your 64gb card formatted to? I expect this phone will take cards of any size if they are formatted to Fat32. For reference I've used 128gb Fat32 formatted cards with things like my old 808, and used a Fat32 formatted 64gb drive with devices as old as my N82 and N95.
  • PrinceGaz - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    I was going to ask that too. My Tesco Hudl2 tablet (a UK-only device) officially only supports up to 32GB cards, and couldn't read my 64GB SDXC card when I put it in, but did provide an option to format it. After doing that, it was FAT32 and could use the whole 64GB. If the Cubot doesn't provide an option to format the card, you could always format it on your PC to the desired FS using something like MiniTool Partition Wizard Free.
  • Mondozai - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    Other than the complaint about a bit more technical and more thorough testing of call quality, I do greatly appreciate this review(glod medal!).

    I thought Ian was an entertaining and detailed writer who went through his daily routines into a lot of depth and adapted the review after it. I also appreciate AT doing these kinds of reviews instead of just the ultra-high end.

    I have an imported Lenovo K3 Note and it's stunning to me that people pay 3-4X of what I paid for a phone which is better but only marginally so for real world use.

    KUTGW, Ian, I hope this is just the beginning of some more unorthodox reviews from you :)
  • failquail - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    Nice to see there is finally starting to be some options for those of us who like sane battery life in a phone...

    My past two phones have had 3rd-party XL battery replacements because that was the only way to get a high capacity phone (currently a Galaxy S3 with a 4600MaH battery replacing the stock 2100MaH one) without resorting to fiddly charging banks/cases.

    The general industry obsession with phone thinness and the move to fixed-battery designs which makes these XL battery replacements impossible was starting to really concern me. But perhaps things are coming around finally.
  • fanofanand - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    Fantastic review Ian, I thought you explained what it was like living with this phone extremely well. My Nexus 5 is nearing it's death (screen is delaminated etc.) and only gets about 2 1/2 hours of SOT, so I am slowly and sadly perusing what's out there. Nothing has seemed overly compelling, and I'm a bit of a tightwad with phones too so reviews like this are pure gold to me. Keep up the great work!
  • Cold Fussion - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    We must different opinions on what is considered satisfactory quality for publication. The quality of photos out of that camera are absolutely abysmal, this is what I would expect from a 2002 point and shoot camera. In 2015 when quality cameras are so unbelievably inexpensive I find it unacceptable that a publication that prides itself on the quality of its content would have such low quality media.
  • Ian Cutress - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    Wait what? I'm confused as to your comment.

    For AT's photos in general, you'll notice that our photos are all resized to 575px with med-high jpg compression to reduce bandwidth when viewing with a slow connection, and you click through for the full image. AnandTech has been this way for at least five years.

    For the images coming out of the H1 itself, they are what they are and I really don't know what you're getting at. I'm not going to change the images coming out of the device I'm testing - that would skew the results.
  • Cold Fussion - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    It's in regards to the images coming from the H1 were you said they were acceptable for publication (the photos from the super computing conference). Obviously changing the images coming out of the camera to showcase what the camera of would be unethical/fraudulent.

    Having looked at the photos you posted from the H1 (in the biggest sized offered from the gallery mode), I wouldn't consider it an acceptable imaging device for publications. The images look akin to hand holding a vaseline covered lens in front of a camera, with poor noise and colour to boot. When a full frame DSLR can be had for less than $300, or any number of mirrorless cameras, it would be disappointing to see future publications be utilising images from the camera in the H1
  • Ian Cutress - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    Ah yes, I see what you mean now. For print publication, I'd agree with you. For our 575px images, they're OK for that at least. When you go deeper into detail, it doesn't have the clarity I agree. There were a number of SC15 pictures I couldn't make out the details on some PCB images, purely because of a lack of finer detail. But that's part of the parcel for this phone; for photos for print publication or detail, I carrying around a decent point and shoot or DSLR.
  • blzd - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    I thoroughly enjoyed your review. Also nice to see some lesser known devices get the AT treatment even if it's not quite as in depth as we're used to.

    As for the H1, it appears the performance is not much of an upgrade to the One Max and the camera appears to be a downgrade compared to your (now ancient) GS2.

    I hate the idea of "downgrading" anything when I buy a new device but objectively, most of our devices are complete over kill for the software they're running.
  • mkozakewich - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    You should mention that it's MicroSDHC. If you remember, SD went to 2 GB, SDHC went to 32 GB, and SDXC should go up to 2 TB. It seems weird that everyone spends so much time wondering about maximum sizes when we've got those three monikers.
  • Coup27 - Thursday, December 24, 2015 - link

    I know it's more than you wanted to pay but you can get a Sony Z3 sim free for £300 with a nice 1080p screen, 3GB of RAM, 801, waterproofing, stereo speakers, micro SD and 3 days of battery life for moderate use and some cool ultra power saving modes for when you're in the sh!t.

    I've had one since they came out and hands down the best Android phone I've seen or used.
  • Death666Angel - Friday, December 25, 2015 - link

    From the "Visual Imspection" page:
    "[...]the 3.5-inch jack for headphones[...]" -> That's 3.5mm, not inch. :-)
  • GeorgeStephanop - Friday, December 25, 2015 - link

    Interesting, but I think I'd rather go with a Lenovo Vibe P1 Pro. Same sized battery (5000mAh), but better overall specs: Snapdragon 615, 3GB ram, 1080x1920 screen. http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7511...
  • Alexvrb - Saturday, December 26, 2015 - link

    I bought a flip phone with an extended battery. It's terrible at everything but, hey the battery lasts over a week! :-D
  • nagi603 - Saturday, December 26, 2015 - link

    I still have an xperia S for emergencies. With stamina mode activated, disabled no mobile data, wifi and bt, only cell service active, it lasts for one to two weeks. I did not mistype that. Two Whole Weeks. It's like I went back in time. Granted, it is slow as hell in stamina mode, and it is in idle most of the time, but it works.
  • bit-razor - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    Thank you for introducing me to progress quest...
  • yhselp - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    What a lovely piece to read. Following your train of thought proved quite interesting.

    I swear, you're just like my grandfather, and I mean that quite literally -- he's a techie and has the exact same purchasing decision process, except he applies it to everything, not just smartphones. The only times I remember him actually buying a video card was when he felt the IGP in his Celeron was no longer up to the task a short while ago, and when I wanted to play GTA 3 back in the day.

    He's even started applying this sort of logic to other stuff like wristwatches -- why buy an expensive or even budget watch when you can get a decent Chinese model for close to nothing at all; and if it breaks -- you guessed it -- just buy a new one, still cheaper.

    Whatever happened to the British saying "not rich enough to buy cheap things"?
  • Coup27 - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    Whatever happened to the British saying "not rich enough to buy cheap things"?

    I'm 30 and British and I've never heard that phrase in my life.
  • yhselp - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    Yeah, I read it on the internet. Don't hold it against me.
  • Pissedoffyouth - Monday, December 28, 2015 - link

    The saying is "penny wise and pound foolish"
  • yhselp - Monday, December 28, 2015 - link

    Thank you. Doesn't that have a slightly different meaning though? Although. strangely, the way I understand it would also apply in this case. If we consider video cards objectively less important than smartphones, of course.

    Such a nice conversation we're having here.
  • Ethos Evoss - Sunday, December 27, 2015 - link

    And nobody from here commentary ppl will buy this
  • jabber - Monday, December 28, 2015 - link

    I have the LG G4 and run it totally stock. If you don't use it like a Gameboy and interact with people like a normal human being you can get 2-3 days+ out of it easy.

    I don't get folks who can spend 5+ hours a day looking at their phone. Get a job, some friends or a real hobby!
  • phoenix_rizzen - Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - link

    If I put my LG G2 into airplane mode and stuff it into a drawer, I can get several weeks out of a single battery charge.

    Why spend money on something you won't use? What's the point of having a 1440p screen if you never use it? If all you need is something to make voice calls on ... then why spend the money on a G4? You'd get better service out of a flip phone ... and better battery life to boot.

    I don't get folks who spend $500+ CDN on a flagship smartphone ... and then never use it for anything but voice calls.
  • adriangb - Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - link

    Very nice review. I suffer every day from my phone's (OnePlus 2) battery life, and while I think the industry has realized this is a major problem now (hopefully Qualcomm's 820 will aid in this respect), for now larger batteries are a nice solution.

    I would GLADLY drop $400 on a phone with a large battery/efficient SOC combo that gets me 5h+ SOT, granted the camera, screen and software stack up to the likes of $300 phones like OnePlus and Moto's. If anyone knows of this mythical device, please chime in.
  • phoenix_rizzen - Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - link

    LG G2. You can still pick them up new, and they're only around $200 US. So long as you aren't a heavy gamer, gettting 5+ hours of SoT is easy. I've cross the 7 hour mark using mine for mostly Facebook and Kindle/Kobo reading.

    Although, now that the battery is 2 years old, I tend to only get 3 hours of SoT (I also do a lot more gaming and less reading on my phone these days).
  • JimmiG - Friday, January 8, 2016 - link

    I didn't manage to get more than ~4h of SoT with my LG G2. Still better than most smartphones I've used. My current OnePlus One tops out at around 3h 30m. The best one was probably my Galaxy S3 with the original Samsung extended battery.

    Battery life will definitely be a top priority when I buy a new phone the next time.
  • Badelhas - Tuesday, December 29, 2015 - link

    Great budget option indeed. But what is the OS version on this smarphone?
  • p51d007 - Wednesday, December 30, 2015 - link

    I've been using a Huawei Ascend Mate2 for the past 1 1/2 years. SD400, 6.1" screen, 4,050mAH battery. 2-3 days per charge. I'm not a gamer, but I do a lot of phone, web, text, mp3's, video etc.
    It's screen is sharp & clear, snappy, no lag. Best $300 I spent in a long time, and now it has an even better price.
  • ktkps - Thursday, December 31, 2015 - link

    What about comparison with lenovo Vibe P1?
  • Mugur - Monday, January 4, 2016 - link

    For the same amount of money I would probably went with a Lumia 640 XL... Anyway, nice review from Ian. I like those "down to Earth" reviews, although, in this case I feel than the phone is a downgrade from a One Max (with the exception of the battery life - but Max also has an above average battery life). BTW, One Max has 2 GB/16 GB or 2 GB/32 GB, so it must be a mistake from Ian's part when he said something about 1 GB...

    I'm also a big fan of battery life and dual SIM (although I went last August from a Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Dual to a Samsung S6 Dual :-) ). Sony's 6" 720p screen was great and battery life was 3-3.5 days for me always - what killed the experience for me was its 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage...

    I spent a couple of months last year looking for the same thing Ian was searching for and I took into consideration a lot of factors and reviews. I only went with an S6 dual SIM because I wasn't able to find something like the T2 Ultra I had but with 2-3 GB of RAM, 16/32 GB of flash and (upgradeable to) Android 5.1.1. Note 5 or Edge+ dual SIM weren't available at that time (and when they were, the price in my country were 30% or more over that of the S6 dual SIM - not to mention that I payed for the S6 more that I was planning initially to spend on a phone).

    All in all, I believe that there are a lot of other (better) options in my opinion, that what Ian choose. Probably a bit more expensive, but not by much.
  • Tushar11684 - Monday, January 4, 2016 - link

    I saw that most of the commenters here do not own Cubot H1, so, for a change, consider this comment from someone who owns this device and coincidentally ordered it on same date as of this review for 130€ (received it in 5 days during holiday season).

    Last one week, I played a lot with H1 and got (average on one full charge) more than 13 hours of screen on time. I mainly bought it to do home automation using Tasker, Google Now and AutoVoice. Slowly, I am thinking to switch to this phone permanently (currently, I am waiting for the nano-sim to normal sim adapter, so that I can use the nano-sim from my iphone 5s).

    For normal usage, there is no lag. everything I tried until now works except one thing. I want Google-now on screen off but until now, I was not able to make it work.
  • arigajoe - Friday, January 15, 2016 - link

    Just bought that thing. after afew minutes of using it I have to say that the typing experience on this phone is horrible ...its not responsive when typing ..I have to press again and again for one character to register..Ian try to get in touch with the guys at Cubot so that we get a patch/fix or something..
  • escoltajuverf - Friday, January 15, 2016 - link

    just a warning for those who purchase phones from this brand, they use cheap touchpanels, typing is difficult and gaming is a mess, not only this unit model but also most of their top lineup phones have touch screen issues
  • hp79 - Monday, February 1, 2016 - link

    I feel sorry for you. I mean you are a tech writer but you will be stuck on a sad device for the next two year. The company that made this phone should pay you well (I'm not implying you got paid or anything).

    Thanks for spending the time writing in detail the state of modern cheap phones. I know high end phones are way overpriced and I hope they go down in price even further. I have a Galaxy S6 but the battery is just too short. At least it charges quickly, otherwise I would have switched to something else already.
  • Asherlying - Wednesday, March 2, 2016 - link

    looks a pretty smartphone, but the resolution is a big fault, and I prefer the Cubot x17, which has a smaller battery, but the higher resolution and 3GB RAM is a big advantage considering the price.
    http://www.tinydeal.com/cubot-px347wp-p-156821.htm...
  • Asherlying - Wednesday, March 2, 2016 - link

    looks like an impressive smartphone, but the resolution is a big fault, I prefer the Cubot X17 more, it has 1080p resolution and 3GB, though the battery is smaller,
    http://www.tinydeal.com/cubot-px347wp-p-156821.htm...

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