Hey folks! I would like to ask for some advice from you. This is a huge community with people from the whole world, so I expect to find some helpfull tips.

My old Samsung Wave S8500 is broken after 5 years of using (sometimes in hardcore conditions). It had strong metal cover, so it fell a lot of times and just 2 years ago I managed to break the screen, but it was still working! Unfortunately some days ago it fell And half of the screen stopped working, so it's time for a new phone! I'm currently using some creepy, old HTC that is totally not for me.

While my old Wave S8500 had some creepy badaOS it was pretty resistant which was the most important for me. But now I'm looking for a resistant smartphone with Android and these are generally my the most important conditions! if possible also not too expensive :P It just can't broke too easily.

So in last 3 days I was going through a lot of sites reading about phones and their functionality. Phones that I found and would be most suitable for me was Samsung Galaxy Xcover but it doesn't look like it would resist the first fall, Motorola Defy+. Resistant models of Sony Xperia are out of my reach because of their price.

So I'm almost decided to buy Motorola Defy + as it is very interesting phone, but looks like you can't update your android on this phone from 2.3 Gingerbread to anything newer, it's not supported. Additionally looks like Motorola is not supporting EUROPE anymore.

And then I accidently found some Models of cheap Chinese cell phones which are 'strong', has a lot of usefull options and looks solid like nothing else. Phones I'm talking about: Discovery V8 or V9, JEEP Z6, Hummer V5.

Those phones are imported from China, only a few business firms have it available in my country and looks like they give 1 year service warranty.
Here's the main question what do you think about those phones, just if you can write anything useful about pros and cons or anything that would encourage or discourage me to buy it, I would be really grateful :) Or maybe should I choose Defy+ after all? I'm just in 'dead end' no idea what to do.

Or maybe you want to suggest somethine else.. I'm open to suggestions! My main condition: Smartphone with Android that is very resistant! (A must is a good GPS and good range and flash IP67 or 68 would be nice(nothing found about calling range of those Chinese phones yet! if you know please tell :D) Runbo x5 would be perfect but is out of reach because of price :P Hopefully it can work at least 3 years.

There's obligatory giveaway hidden: probably not too well :p

I'm also offering some (not too many) whitelist spots for most usefull people. 2 giveaways are ongoing till Sunday evening.

btw. I'm totally not caring about how it look.
btw2. not interesting in anything too big (over 4''). Bigger screen = easier to break.

8 years ago*

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What would you choose?

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Phone from good company like: Samsung/Motorola/Nokia/etc
Cheap, but pretty strong Chinese phone

Honestly? They're too big for my taste. Any phone i get has to be small enough to fit into the pockets of my jeans.

Granted, I'm not a very outdoorsy kind of guy who needs to crack open nuts and stuff with it, so... bad advice giver here.

Question, how about getting heavy duty phone cases/covers instead? That way you don't have to limit your phone options. (Again, not an outdoorsy kind of guy here, just want you to think about phone accessories, rather than the phone itself)

8 years ago
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Yes, they look too massive and too big, that's why I'm rather not interested in over 4'' screen, I want phone feel good in hand while holding, stable.

But after reading all those comments, it looks like "what is cheap that is expensive" old proverb from my country, means that if you buy something too cheap, you should be prepared to pay more for fixing/upgradeing it or whatever

8 years ago
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I wouldn't recommend those phones - most of the people are very disappointed with them. One of the main issues is the screen glass, which breaks easily and often. The overall build quality is poor - GPS signal gets lost, voice calls break, plugs get loose etc.

As for what to choose - I have no idea =) I was using Samsung xCover a couple of years ago, it had a good protection, but the phone was slow and a bit buggy. After that I was only using overpriced and fragile S-series Samsung with external cover for basic protection (although I never dropped phones for years).

8 years ago
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i would say when u say those ur mainly talking about Chinese phones but not all of them are bad most of them are well worth ur money if u choose the right one though i agree with ur take on samsung

8 years ago
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No, of course I didn't mean all of the Chinese phones, there are very good phones like Meizu or Xiaomi, I meant only those models from the post, like Jeep and Hummer.

8 years ago
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agreed sir sorry for my assumption there :/ but your on fire u should go get in a lake or something or ur gonna be deer meat

8 years ago
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The more I read about it, the more I'm negative about buying it.
They are cheap, they looks good and have some awesome things in, but looks like there are almost as problematic as fake

8 years ago
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ive added u because i know alot about phones and would like to have a chat with u :3 also i would not recommend any Chinese brand phones trust me unless u have had a good experience with them as i tried couple and they all looked good on video and were bad when i actually got them in my hands :! but if u want chinese cheap phones id suggest go with the good brands like xiaomi or one plus one or Meizu

8 years ago*
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but take a look at xiaomi they are great phones ! i own 3 of them myself ! here they come with dragon trail glass pretty durable also u can root them :D covered in warranty also forums are filled with very nice community and plenty of roms no matter which model u choose :3 also they are pretty cheap considering or where u live also durable i dropped mine couple of times no screen protector or screen guard no scratches yet 1.5 years old D: but i would say it depends model to model

--- would be nice if u could tell us what is ur budget ! and which chinese phone companies are available there

--- xiaomi is nice but they could have heating issues depending on model but easily fixable if u change rom

8 years ago*
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Thank you for advice, but after reading all negative comments on google and here about those cheap chinese phones, I will probably not buy something like that. I know Xiaomi is not the same genre, but as I heard for the first time about such company, I will rather pass :)

8 years ago
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i understand how u feel but i agree that companies like Motorola, Samsung , Nokia does provide quality so can u just tell us ur budget ?
and maybe we would be able to find u a phone ud like :3

8 years ago
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I'm not looking for anything new and too strong, rather decent phone is totally enough ;)
up to 150$ is the most I want to use as next things I'm going to buy are some strong and new this time computer parts. I'm just spent some cash on unbundled giveaways and New Xbox one controller so I'm rather limited, the less it cost the better for me.

That's why I'm rather decided to buy that Motorola Defy + (still reading comments here and check EVERY phone people mantion - checking reviews and what it has in).

the problem is that the more I read about those phones the more I want something newer and stronger :P it's not like I can't buy it, but I will have to wait for computer parts longer (before I collect some money again :p)

8 years ago
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that is the exact reason we keep shoving Chinese phones down your throat :P so u get bang for ur buck ie save money and u also get specifications of those good high priced range phones lol but i see u have added me lets have a chat

8 years ago
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Buy oneplus phone, it is amazing.

8 years ago
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amazing but not durable

8 years ago
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Dont know what you mean by this. My girlfriend has one for a year already and there was not any issue concerning durability.

8 years ago
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she got lucky maybe i do not know my sister has a moto g dropped it for the first time with screen protector and case lost the screen :l i do not know why maybe bad luck

8 years ago
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moto e with a rugged protective case.

Otherwise, look for a phone with good specs and get a rugged case for it. Many rugged phones have less than stellar specs.

8 years ago*
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moto phones are nice for the time being at least but depending on where he/she lives i think he/ she could get better ones or atleast a g

no one considers e a good bang for the buck lol

8 years ago
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I was considering the e's size and price. It's a great choice for a prepaid phone (sub $200) here in Canada. Also, it has a pretty clean Android install (no bloatware!) The g is a step up though.

8 years ago
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i know but it lacks in camera department also there are better alternatives in the market :3 for a much lower price depending on where you live

8 years ago
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8 years ago
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that's right and that's what I mainly read from reviews about them.. I will probably pass and buy something well-known and checked.

8 years ago
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Too well hidden a gib for me :P

I wish I could offer you advice, but I know nothing whatsoever about smartphones. :X
Or.. even phones in general, I guess.
I mean, I'm of the "If it can make calls when I need it to, that's perfect," mindset :P

8 years ago
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exactly! That's my way of thinking!
That's what phones are for... but I need that android mainly for good GPS :p I know one which is the best and works only on android

8 years ago
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Well, don't get me wrong. A portable device that can look up business/emergency numbers, has a map or gps app? super convenient.
No doubt that smart phones aren't awesome and convenient.

Just.. it's like a portable gaming device. sometimes it's super awesome to have, but most cases, you'll either have access to a full system or be in a situation where you'll have decent alternatives.

And that's where the much higher cost of owning a smart phone comes in to play.. :X

I dunno- I guess: I'd totally stock a smart phone if I could, but I don't ever think about it since I can't and the times it'd really be handy are rare to begin with? :)

8 years ago
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8 years ago
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There are "strong" Chinese phones? I thought the only reason they're cheap is caused by the sacrifice of quality...

Can't really give you any advice tho, you might need some googling... Anyhow I think you might find something interesting here

From the list above, consider getting more info about CAT Series (well, Caterpillar Inc. itself specializes in heavy equipments, so no doubt they manufactures some nice rugged phones), have a look

8 years ago
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