Will be heading to upgrade time soon and after a few close calls am looking at getting something splash/waterproof. Upgrade route leaves me with the Sony Xperia range which seem to be prone to screen cracking then repair at your own cost, which I’m loath to do.
The other consideration is going down the Chinese phone route with a sim only deal – thinking BV5000, Cubot X11/12 etc. any real world experiences of these or other recommendations? I’m not too bothered about 4g vs 3g as coverage round the highlands isn’t great for 4g anyway, conversely good signal retention for calls is important.
Current phone is a lumia 1020, don’t use half the capability really – my requirements are basically web browsing, email including exchange, half decent camera, decent gps and sat navy capability, reasonable music storage and playback (5 hours worth), and most importantly coming from the 1020, something that actually works as a phone – the well documented crap call volume has made it a poor actual phone when not using Bluetooth or other hands free calling!

HTC one M9. really like it. Had HTC one M8 before, dropped it, threw it carried it all day on delivery, soaked to skin, didn’t faze it at all.
I think tanks are built like it.
All the boys in our riding group had apples and samsungs, all had cracked screens.

do a search for Jiayu S3 in here.

A few fans (me) and a few converts too.

Had a cubot p9 basically a galaxy s3 copy battery life was ok at first but became poor sound quality on musicplayer was poor but at 20% of the cost of an s3

I have a Huwaei P8 lite and it’s a sorted bit of kit, not had it long to vouch for submerging or impact but seems pretty well made

storming bargain mainly

Jiayu s3, top kit for 120, easily a match for recent samsung

I’ve got a OnePlus 2, it’s a lovely bit of kit – surprisingly good battery life too.

I bought my wife a doogee valencia y100 for Christmas. It was 89 pounds and does everything that my Xperia can do but has a nicer screen and better photos. I like my Xperia mostly because it’s waterproof and I doubt worry about it when it’s in my back pocket when cycling but 89 pounds! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the doogee.

I’ve got a Doogee F1 Turbo min – s’alright, but I don’t get too excited about phones. It does stuff, the battery life isn’t amazing and it didn’t cost much. For VFM I think it’s very good.

Moto G3
Cost me £138. Excellent phone. Not as polished as my S4. 3months in still chuffed with it.

Also much longer battery life. 24hrs heavvvy usage. 48hrs light usage no problem.
As good as a £450 phone any day.

Currently got one of these for work – CAT S50. No idea where it’s made, but it does a decent job as a ‘smartphone’, shockproof, IP67 etc – £287 from Handtec

I think the iPhone is Chinese 😯

Another Jiayu S3 geek here. Great phone for the money (£135).

I’ve been very impressed with my Huwaei that was bought as a temporary replacement. You are right to avoid getting a Sony Xperia by the way, poor quality and very poor support when it breaks. The Huwaei was £30 and whilst it’s a bit slow to respond it’s easily 80% as good as a £200 branded phone, which given the price is great.

I got a Honor 7, which is made by Huawei. It’s excellent, only downside is there’s no proper rugged cases made for it (yet).

Currently Moto G 3rd gen, very pleased with it, great camera, excellent battery life. Previously Xiaomi Redmi 1s, good spec for the money but glitchy and awful battery life.

I too bought a Xiomi redmi. Had good reviews but I found it full of bloatware I didn’t understand and it quickly developed glitches.
Moto G 3rd gen is blummin excellent. The 16gb version has a faster processor. As above, great camera, great battery life. Waterproof. Love mine.

Got a Cubot X17 last week….WOW

Why anyone would spend £400 on a phone is beyond me having used this beauty. Build quality is exceptional, no bloatware, powerful and cost £120

If you want a similar phone but with mo9nster battery have a look at a Cubot H1, the battery lasts 2-3 days easily with moderate/heavy use and it’s still only 9.2mm thick.

I looked at various Chinese smart phones. Plenty sounded decent, plenty sounded a bit hit and miss. Only downside to them was there doesn’t seem to be many with a 5″ or smaller screen. Bought a new Moto E instead for £90. It’s ideal.

Another +1 for the Jiayu S3, though the camera isn’t great. As I don’t use it much, I’m not sure if it was always thus, or it’s since I flashed 5.1. There’s like a 3-5sec shutter lag in all but bright light, even with ‘instant shutter’ turned on.
5.5″ screen isn’t for everyone either.

Yeah, camera can be hit and miss on the S3, sometimes I get great shots and other times not, never played with the settings, but on my Samsung S3 I always got great photos.

The Jiayu takes brilliant video though

Thanks for the input everyone, that moto g does look like it ticks a lot of boxes for me.

I was in the same position as you last year. I actually ordered a phone (I think it was a doogee) then the delivery time was going to be 30 days. I did some more research and had my own doubts on whether the build quality was guaranteed, every phone and then considered what position I’d be in if I needed to take it back. There’s some videos on youtube with people dismantling Chinese phones and examining the quality. I ended up cancelling my order.

I bought a moto g 3rd gen off the high street for 130 quid. It’s been great! I read Kindle books off it in the bath and it’s been fine 🙂

Those raving for the Moto G 3rd Gen – have you been using the 8GB/1GB RAM or the 16GB/2GB RAM version?
The 16GB obviously more appealing but slightly more expensive, also doesn’t appear to be available on pay monthly anywhere if I went down that route.

Can’t speak for the moto but sonys with 8gb are a waste of time. There is so little space after the OS that you can’t get that many apps on there. Obviously you can put as much music and pics and the like on the sd but space in built in memory is a big limit. If the Moto 8Gb is anything like that I’d strongly recommend getting the 16Gb. I doubt it is a bad as the Sony, but I’d be cautious.

I have 8Gb.

I make it work by deleting things but if I had my time again, I’d get the 16Gb.

Haven’t noticed any limits with the 1Gb memory.

I’m seriously considering a Cubot X17 to replace my xperia – how’s the GPS performance does anyone know?

Bought a Doogee y100 pro , less than £90 to replace my broken again nexus 5 ! .. works fine, quad core, 16gb, Gorilla glass , decent spec … happy so far

I have the 16gb/2gb Moto. It runs brilliantly well. Really impressed with it but obviously can’t compare it to the 8gb/1gb.

Best thing about it? A double karate chop turns the torch on…. 8)

sing1etrack

I can test tonight and let you know.

Everything else seems beyond decent for the money.

I’ve got the Moto G3 with 8Gb, it’s absolutely fine for me using it for the usual suite of Google apps plus podcasts, iPlayer radio and playing music. If you’re a heavy app user you might struggle unless they’re happy to run off SD. I’ve got a 64Gb card in mine, mainly storing music and photos.

I picked mine up for £99 and they wanted another £70 for the 2Gb/16Gb version which wasn’t worth it to me.

Retromud – Member
Those raving for the Moto G 3rd Gen – have you been using the 8GB/1GB RAM or the 16GB/2GB RAM version?

I’ve got the new MotoE which is 8GB/1GB I think. Works superbly. For the stuff I need it for; calls/texts/internet. Have barely got any apps installed on it though; most of them are for kids anyway. I’m an adult, so if I’ve got spare time on a journey for example, I’ll read a book or complete a crossword.

I know nothing about Chinese Phones so here is Robyn Hitchcock with Chinese Bones.[video]https://youtu.be/4u2-V-1sivA[/video]