Database Users

Why I hate my Streak so much right now

OK , I used to love my streak, it was cool , unusual , it made a bold statement but over the last few months I've grow increasing frustrated with the device which has now reached boiling point. This include the following points:-
1)Damn Dell Streak PDMI connector, the connection on my phone is duff. Many a time I put the phone in my pocket and the connector has got debris stuck to it. The phone then refuses to connect up to my PC via USB I’ve used compressed air to blow the crap out of the port and this sometimes brings it back to life. However recently its given up the ghost, the port still charges up when connected but the phone does not recognized that its hooked up to the PC. My workaround has been to install dropbox to upload pics etc but there’s no way of me doing anything else. Also the pins on the connector are really flimsy.
I think that either the port or the cable pins are bent and thats why they are not joining up correctly.
2)Low on space message – Phone storage space is low. Somehow I’m using 1.6GB of phone space and only have about 140MB left? I’ve deleted all but the essential apps like whatsapp, google maps, swiftkey etc. Everything else has been moved to the SD card, all my videos and pics are on my SD card. I’ve even deleted all my sms messages but the bloody phone still complains about lack of space. WTF is taking up all the space, is there any way to find out, can I compress or remove the junk?
3)Battery life or the lack of it. Basically I cannot keep my phone running for a full day. I have to reduce the brightness so its barely readable outside, switch off gps and bluetooth. Throughout the day I change the battery like 3 times. One solution that I’ve tried and failed is getting a bulkier battery for ebay that also acts like a stand. The problem is that the hinges on the battery keep sliding off whenever I take the phone out my pocket. The stupid sensors detect that the phone cover has been removed and shut the phone off
4)Lastly I accidentally dropped my phone today, it only fell like 2 foot from the table onto the marble floor, the glass seems to be fine, but there’s inky liquid flowing across the top half of the screen, slowly black lines have appearing that run vertical down the phone.
I used to love my streak but its just become too much a pain in the arse to use. My options are to try and get the phone fix , which is not easy as I’ve working out of Saudi Arabia at the moment and will not be back in the UK for a few months. If the Samsung note was release today I would of jumped for it..
So is its worth the hassle to fix the phone or just bin it and buy something new? Any suggestions.

Don't forget the video recording quality it's awful even old Nokia phones have better quality
And slow in loading games comparing to other 1 GHz phones like Galaxy S series

Man, you have the same hatred I have for yours as I do for mine. I use to love this so much at one time it was the best device I have ever had. Now its more problems and headaches then anything. I can't stand the thing anymore and can not wait till the galaxy note becomes available. Lets just hope its out when I'm able to upgrade and they don't slap some ridiculous price tag on it. I can't imagine spending more then about 200-250 on it. I wish I could help you or had some words of encouragement but I feel the same way about this POS as you do dell dropped the ball on this one I find it funny that instead of trying to work with it and fix the dang thing they essentially tucked their tail and ran by just ending the life of it. I said it before I'll say it again I will never buy another dell product again
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App

I must be about the only one that loves mine.
2.2.2, pretty much straight from the box. I use mine for business, not games, video or music. Got mine because it has a huge screen, which I use for web and email.

Regarding the 'low on space message', have you tried to do a factory reset?

p51d007 said:
I must be about the only one that loves mine.
2.2.2, pretty much straight from the box. I use mine for business, not games, video or music. Got mine because it has a huge screen, which I use for web and email.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not the only one.
OP, I understand the frustration regarding battery life, but to have the GPS chip running all the time is ridiculous unless you use external power. Most apps work fine with cell tower triangulation, such as Google Earth and Google Maps. If you actually navigate using Google Nav or a GPS app, then you turn on the GPS.
For the display, in direct sunlight no display will be bright, even if it's a transreflective one. However, I do find that in most situations, setting the brightness to automatic does wonders.
I can't comment on your PDMI port problems because I haven't encountered any. But for your other gripes I believe your expectations to be a bit unrealistic.

ardkor2thebone said:
2)Low on space message – Phone storage space is low. Somehow I’m using 1.6GB of phone space and only have about 140MB left? I’ve deleted all but the essential apps like whatsapp, google maps, swiftkey etc. Everything else has been moved to the SD card, all my videos and pics are on my SD card. I’ve even deleted all my sms messages but the bloody phone still complains about lack of space. WTF is taking up all the space, is there any way to find out, can I compress or remove the junk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try my app SD Maid it may free up some space for you.

Streak5 Android 2.2.2 KO Constant & random boots
Hello gentlemen,
I really wish I had your problems to contend with.
However, I seem to be in much much worse shape with my steak android 2.2.2:
After forays in Blackberrys & Iphones I decided to take the plunge into Android.
As a first droid device I got a Dell Streak 5 with android 2.2.2 from Ebay. Thought it would be a good little tablet with secondary uses as a phone.
However, after receiving it I quickly noticed the bugginess of the whole device. Without warning the streak will flash the navigator buttons 3 times & then power off. Sometimes it'll happen while browsing the net, other times by launching the pre-installed apps & in many occasions even when I just dial a number in the phone.
Now I've checked the battery/battery cover issues, but all is in order and the flashing buttons prior to reboot do no seem like electric contact related.
The phone is stock Dell issued with the factory installed android 2.2.2 & all apps are the standard pre-installed ones. I have reset to factory settings & recalibrated the screen without any joy.
Any ideas?
Would this be a brutal hardware issue, would switching back to previous os levels help?
Any hints/insights will be greatly appreciated.
Baseband version: GAUSB1A135100-EU
Build number: 15609
As additional info, this behaviour happens with or without SIM/SD Cards.
With or without wi-fi connection.
Does this strange instability I am encountering make you suspect hardware of software issues?
Would downgrading to previous levels OS levels help?
Will now try getting some logs out of the thing & post them hoping someone may help.
Really love this device's phone-tablet form & i'd be a shame to throw it out because of these issues.
However, if it turns oit it is some hardware issue I see a trash can in it's future.... unless some one can refurbish the thing at a decent price. Any thoughts?
Thank you
Beppe

You got your Streak used off ebay, meaning used, correct?
Try upgrading the ROM. Version 360 is available, and may solve your issues. Not because of bug fixes, but because the previous owner may have had a bugged flash when they put 351 on the device, or removed the wrong stuff when rooting it.
In short, for some reason the ROM is unstable, and installing a ROM can fix it.

i agree with most of your points... I am running a Dell Venue Pro with wp7 on it and I can't get over how much of a better experience I am getting off of that phone then android and my streaks... I have pretty much retired my streaks and only going off the dvp now.
I was able to easily load mango and I am really digging the phone with the keyboard. I don't think Android is primetime.. I will wait for jelly bean before I go Android again.
I had used the streak just for gps for a few days, and it still had issues... Using Garmin for WP7 now.
I only had necessary apps running on my streak, no games, no widgets, no updating backend programs. It was so frustrating...
Ohh and all that time waiting for a damn website load on the streak...wtf. Everything comes up right away on the dvp.. only issue it has is no flash.. but i don't really use flash on the phone anyway.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
You got your Streak used off ebay, meaning used, correct?
Try upgrading the ROM. Version 360 is available, and may solve your issues. Not because of bug fixes, but because the previous owner may have had a bugged flash when they put 351 on the device, or removed the wrong stuff when rooting it.
In short, for some reason the ROM is unstable, and installing a ROM can fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Strephon,
Tnx for the reply & tip.
Yup, got it used. The guy I got it from (on the cheap side so I guess I shouldn't complain too much...) claims he used for 6 months & then had Dell update it in july. According to his story they did & they found no hardware faults on it. He's supposed to send me some official docs to prove those claims.
Also says he's not techy & never messed around with the roms .... but the superuser app is on it so I'm a bit sceptical.
I'm in the process of documenting myslef so I can do a proper rom install, will try 351 then 360 as you suggest. Wanna get all the info right as this is my first dab into android - nice OS but gives u so much wrope to hang yourself with!
However, before flashing I was checking out the phone & services; I noticed some notifications about GPS & OVOO errors. I turned the services off & removed a few extra apps I found lying arround. After this step It's been going for an hour of use without the berserk ultra frequent boot cycles. Gonna dig a bit to figure out if one of those apps disagrees with this version of 2.2.2 that is on.
Will see what I can do & post the results here. Hope I can sort it out, such a sweet phone & fab 5 inch screen. If I have to surrender, gonna sell it to those phone recyclers on the net, get ye olde Bblackberry out of storage & patiently wait for the Samsung Note. Can't go back to sub 5 inchers after the brief experience with this Streak.
Bye & tnx again for the tips.

p51d007 said:
I must be about the only one that loves mine.
2.2.2, pretty much straight from the box. I use mine for business, not games, video or music. Got mine because it has a huge screen, which I use for web and email.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you used it for music, you'd hate it more than you now realize. It has one of the worst audio playback systems I've ever heard in ANY media device. The radio noise and signal noise is so terrible that it's almost beyond words.

Using it with headphones, it's about on par with my old iphone 3g.
But I dont use the bundled ones (i havnt ever tried them)

I use my Streak for music nearly everyday. Mostly over BT in my car and with the bundled headphones. I find both methods to work fine for my. I am no audiophile but I find the Streak's music performance fine.

The speaker on the back is pretty dissappointing as far as music and sound. But seriously who would use it like that and expect for it to be good/great.
It can put out a fair amount of power and at lower volumes it's pretty acceptable. It's a matter of being it's nearly physically impossible (for it's price range) to make great sound come out of a single speaker it's size.
Over bt it should be all digital until it finally hits the headset so it's merely the quality of the media player.
My point still stands about headphones, I have no complaints at all with my current earbuds. Though as mine are in-ear, normal ones might be a bit quiet.

For the back cover problem i have done this and now i can remove the card with the phone turn on.

Awwwwwwe! C'mone now... Dont go hate'n on the Dell Streak like that. Putting it in the pocket and getting lint in the port aint the Streaks fault... You gotta give it a little credit there. I get good pics and vid quality from my baby!
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marvin02 said:
I use my Streak for music nearly everyday. Mostly over BT in my car and with the bundled headphones. I find both methods to work fine for my. I am no audiophile but I find the Streak's music performance fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Marvelous Marv, I do the same! Plug my Streak into aux in the car. Which mp3 app do u use? Anything better than PowerAmp?

My main problems have been the earpiece not working from new, intermittent then finally didn't work at all, has had to go to hungary for repair, and the battery cover seems to come off quite easily even when in my Otterbox Defender case.

Rico ANDROID said:
Marvelous Marv, I do the same! Plug my Streak into aux in the car. Which mp3 app do u use? Anything better than PowerAmp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Player Pro and PowerAmp are the two that I like best. I like the internal interface for Player pro better, but the lockscreen widget for PowerAmp is better. I am using Player Pro right now. Also, IMO, the response to the BT buttons seems to be better with Player Pro. They are very close overall.
Staying on topic - I hate my Streak because I don't have two of them.

IKWEAR IK8 MTK6577 Smart Phone Watch 1.54 Inch Android 4.0

This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
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I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC

Thanks for the small review! Runkeeper or other runner's app work on it?

dcrisis said:
This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
​
I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I own a ZGPAX s5 and I see this watch on ebay as well.
For the processor they are the same :MTK6577 1GHz Dual Core
Both IK8 and s5 actually run the same system as well (android 4.0.4)
They look different just because of different default launchers.
I just root mine and use Launcher 8 instead.
The real difference should be the position of the camera.
Both camera are 2MP and 5MP interpolated.
s5 is better for selfies and Skype while IK8 is better for taking photo shots.
Both are 2G as well.
They even share the same battery!!! ZGPAX s5 got 500mAH and 700mAH and IK8 should be 700mAH
You can take a look of this
http://www.ikwear.com/wangzhanjianshe/1.html
It should be a rebrand product.
The best solution is to mix the two products' camera into one LOL
Then I can selfie and take normal shot!!! :laugh:
Cheers!
---------- Post added at 09:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:30 AM ----------
dcrisis said:
This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
​
I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the Google Now, Just refer to the last two pages in [GUIDE] ZGPAX SmartWatch::1/22::Embedded more Videos/ OP
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=51806814&postcount=764

dcrisis said:
This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
​
I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got a couple of quick questions if you don't mind. I find some interest in this smartwatch
1 How do you like this smartwatch now?
2 I noticed on a youtube video that this smartwatch seems to have a sort of hidden menu button and back button located at the bottom of display. Am I correct?
Any thing else you would like to comment on would be appreciated.
Thanks

sny11 said:
Got a couple of quick questions if you don't mind. I find some interest in this smartwatch
1 How do you like this smartwatch now?
2 I noticed on a youtube video that this smartwatch seems to have a sort of hidden menu button and back button located at the bottom of display. Am I correct?
Any thing else you would like to comment on would be appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It is stand-alone watch phone, android v4.04 system, high definition touch screen, high resolution camera, you can use it smoothly and freely like a smartphone.
2. There is menu button and back button on the side of the watch, not at the bottom of display. And you can touch the screen to get what you want...
See more @ watchphonechina.com/watch-phone-china/

Zwatch said:
2. There is menu button and back button on the side of the watch, not at the bottom of display. And you can touch the screen to get what you want...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using the IK8 for a few days now, and I discovered that there is definitely a menu- and back-button located directly underneath the display. In fact, they often get in the way while trying to touch lower areas of the screen .

Is this $120 the same one on AliExpress?
it gives notifications when connected to a phone?
It says 700mah battery. .. many days use do you get from it?

I got mine from Aliexpress It's super fast for me just two days to arrive to Hong Kong! I ordered another one earlier before from Chinavasion to Scotland and it takes me four days.
Sent from my PadFone using XDA Premium HD app

IK8
simple1i said:
Is this $120 the same one on aliexpress.com/item/IK8-Smart-Watch-Phone-154-Inch-Screen-MTK6577-Dual-Core-50MP-Front-Camera-OGS/1851182462.html ?
it gives notifications when connected to a phone?
It says 700mah battery. .. many days use do you get from it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like the same device to me. Just be cautious since this seller has only received feedback once. I'm not sure if this deal is legit, especially since the price is incredibly low. The IK8 usually sells for about $135 - $145.
Since it's a standalone Android device, you don't need any additional phone running a companion app in order to receive notifications. Just insert your SIM card (regular SIM) and you're ready to go. If you'd like to pair the IK8 to your smartphone and receive notifications over Bluetooth, maybe it is possible to install the Osmart app which is originally developed for the Omate Truesmart. I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth giving it a try. XDA user 'KOAO' already had some success using this app with his ZGPAX S5, which is not that different from the IK8;
KOAO said:
I am successfully able to receive notifications from Emails, and texts. i haven't tried to reject a call yet. However, i used the Osmart Companion app from the omate truesmart. You download the companion app to you watch by loading the Ostore app on your watch(i might ....might link the APK file i extracted from the Truesmart OS)Then you go to the post at the bottom, join the group and then download the master app to your Andriod based smartphone. Then you pair them up and test. If successful, WIN if not then try again.
Osmart Master app:
plus.google.com/109641424466258907138/posts/8PrkrDdUsR4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The original battery supplied with the IK8 is 500mAh in contrary to what is promised on most websites/shops, it's exactly the same type of battery as used in the ZGPAX S5, but I'm not sure if they are interchangeable since the plastic 'mounting clips' look a bit different. With WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS turned off and the screen set at the lowest brightness I get about 7 - 8 hours of battery life. But I haven't been using the device a lot yet, so I think battery life will probably increase.
I ordered my IK8 from Aurabuy and received it within 1,5 week (to the Netherlands with SingPost).
Edit: I came across several 'relabeled' versions of this watch lately. They are all exactly the same, but simply indicate different brand-names. For as far as I know, the IK8 Smartwatch is originally known as the TCW-006 and is being manufactured by Tecomax Electronics. This also explains the build-number visible in Android; TECO_V2.0_20140420.

haven't posted in xda for a while..let alone in the smartwatch section...but here we go. was in hong kong for a conference and decided to drop by the it shop. came across a host of smartwatches and just for fun picked up the ik8 for $90. haggled it down to $80 and figured i'd ditch it sooner or later. didn't play around with it until like 5 days later after i got back to melbourne. lo and behold, was actually quite surprised and impressed with it. my 2 cents worth:
display/interface
- not bad, quite responsive though i replaced the screen protector with a matte (anti-glare) one
- the small keyboard takes some getting used to but once you've used it you'll get around the limitations. i still make the occassional mistake but that's only when i'm using playstore
hardware
- camera is quite good though i have no plans of using it as i have my note 2
- speaker is surprisingly loud for such a small device
- one con i have is the lack of a 3.5mm jack. the built-in micro usb (for data transfer and charging) is also the plug for the earphones which comes with the watch. thus you can't really plug your own set of earphones...unless of course you use bluetooth
- quite light, watch strap is quite sturdy
- took in my 32gb microsd with no problem. pretty easy and straightforward in mounting the card
- same with the sim, but no plans on using the phone function
- don't think its "water proof" as some smart watches that claim to be (e.g. omate). but i'm not complaining.
internals
- i installed adw launcher which spiced up the homescreen (better than the default launcher). no hangs or whatever
- installed a bunch of widgets, just have to be careful as some are obviously built for larger screens. example, clokr (time widget) tends to not fit due to the length
- installed button savior to avoid using the hardware buttons. no need for root as i only need home, back and power off
- mx player works well, can actually watch a movie on it. no plans though as i have my note 2
- not planning on using this for music but poweramp works well on it. though there is sometimes a tendency for some icon labels to overlap given the small screen
gps
- i had to put a separate review on gps as i'm quite impressed with it
- installed navigon, apk had no problems loading. through wifi, the additional data and maps were installed
- also installed gps tester as well as other apps for cycling
verdict: gps signal takes around 1-2 minutes to get a good fix. the watch is able to lock on 4 satellites. accuracy is quite good but tends to be a little off when it's cloudy. the gps is not as spiffy as the one in my note but i'm not complaining. for a device this small, i was quite impressed how good the gps works
- strapped on the watch on my bike, used bikemate app. speed was quite accurate as well as keeping it locked on the satellites. didn't lose a signal as i cycled away
- had no issues with navigon. plotted home and the watch took me back to my house with no problems
haven't really tried out the full extent of the battery but without using wifi and gps, i was able to use it for 3 days before having the charge. with gps, battery went down to like 50% after riding for an hour or so. not bad in my opinion. overall, quite happy with it and i've now removed the speedo on my bike. no more wires and no more replacing batteries. this watch has now taken over the speed indicator duties for my cycling.
cheers

I got me one of these too, ordered from a Dutch guy who'd better pay back the import taxes caused by him drop-shipping it while pretending he had it in stock, or he'll be getting some negative publicity. Having to wait 3 weeks was bad enough.
I already had a ZGPAX S5 which I damaged, which is why I got this as a replacement. This is almost exactly the same hardware, as evidenced by the ability to restore a complete TWRP backup from the IK8 on my S5 with everything functional except the cell phone system. The IK8 is definitely the better of these two watch phones though: better build quality, no buzzing during calls, better cell signal reception, better clock & launcher system, no dead zone on the touchscreen. Definitely not waterproof with the gaping hole of the microUSB port, but it looks not as vulnerable to a few raindrops as the S5, whose screen doesn't even seem to be glued tight.
For the rest I concur with Robson, very good loudspeaker, the GPS is indeed impressively good and seems better than on the S5, at the condition that one does the usual dance of enabling EPO etc.

Can't login to Google PlayStore
The problem is that the teeny tiny keyboard is just too hard to navigate and when I try to switch the keyboard from alpha to numeric I get an "Android Framework has stopped" error message and the Google setup/sign-in app crashes and reloads.. Arrrggghh..
I tried installing two different Bluetooth keyboards to get around this problem but when you link the keyboards and go into the settings it will say "Use as input device" great, but when you go into "Languages and Input" to set the default to the Bluetooth keyboard the Bluetooth keyboard is NOT shown as an option just the default AOSP keyboard.. Can one of you guys help?? You know what a PIA it is to return anything to China so I just may be stuck with this which sucks because I can't use any of my Google apps (e.g. Gmail) which is why I bought this thing in the first place!
Any and all replies are appreciated!
Chris R.

crodgers79 said:
The problem is that the teeny tiny keyboard is just too hard to navigate and when I try to switch the keyboard from alpha to numeric I get an "Android Framework has stopped" error message and the Google setup/sign-in app crashes and reloads.. Arrrggghh..
I tried installing two different Bluetooth keyboards to get around this problem but when you link the keyboards and go into the settings it will say "Use as input device" great, but when you go into "Languages and Input" to set the default to the Bluetooth keyboard the Bluetooth keyboard is NOT shown as an option just the default AOSP keyboard.. Can one of you guys help?? You know what a PIA it is to return anything to China so I just may be stuck with this which sucks because I can't use any of my Google apps (e.g. Gmail) which is why I bought this thing in the first place!
Any and all replies are appreciated!
Chris R.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried to get Bluetooth keyboards and mice to work with two different phones that use this same chipset and Android version. My conclusion is that it is impossible. The devices pair, but the phone does not react to them. It looks like a fundamental bug in this Android release. If anyone has more success, I would certainly want to hear about it.
Your best option would be to install a half-size keyboard like Slidy Press, that has much bigger keys. Of course, installing the official version would require logging into the Play store first Your only option is to download the APK and install it from the file manager. I have made a customized version of Slidy Press available for download. I would post the link here, but for some reason the forum forbids this, so you will have to Google for this exact phrase between quotes: "I recommend installing Slidy Press" and you'll find the download link.

Unfortunately Google Framework Services has stopped
DrLex said:
I have tried to get Bluetooth keyboards and mice to work with two different phones that use this same chipset and Android version. My conclusion is that it is impossible. The devices pair, but the phone does not react to them. It looks like a fundamental bug in this Android release. If anyone has more success, I would certainly want to hear about it.
Your best option would be to install a half-size keyboard like Slidy Press, that has much bigger keys. Of course, installing the official version would require logging into the Play store first Your only option is to download the APK and install it from the file manager. I have made a customized version of Slidy Press available for download. I would post the link here, but for some reason the forum forbids this, so you will have to Google for this exact phrase between quotes: "I recommend installing Slidy Press" and you'll find the download link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!!! I installed Slidy but I'm now finding that if I touch any key that appears in the lower left corner I get a "Unfortunately Google Framework Services has stopped" error and the app crashes. Any ideas???
Thanks again!!!
Chris R.

crodgers79 said:
Thanks!!! I installed Slidy but I'm now finding that if I touch any key that appears in the lower left corner I get a "Unfortunately Google Framework Services has stopped" error and the app crashes. Any ideas???
Thanks again!!!
Chris R.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, regardless of the keyboard you're using, it always crashes when you touch the lower left key? That is extremely weird. Do you also get strange things when you touch that location without keyboard? Maybe your screen is defective and you'll have to send it back anyhow…

i concur with lex, i've never had this problem despite installing multiple apps on the watch. in your posts you mentioned that the error message first came up when you tried switching from alpha to numeric. and again the message comes up when you touched a key in the lower left. coincidentally, both areas you touched are on the lower left portion of the screen. there might be something wrong with your device/screen. unless of course another app is somehow causing this issue? though somewhat related, i once installed usb toggle in my note 2. though rooted, it seems that my note didn't like the app and frequently crashed. i had to fix it up it to the point of going to the bootloader to wipe out the cache. in any case, uninstalled it and now my note functions well. the same could be for your watch. again, unless of course there's something wrong with your screen/device...in which case you should have the watch replaced.
at first in setting up my wifi connection, playstore id/password, etc..it was quite a burden. though the keyboard is small, you'll eventually get the hang of it. i still get the occassional mistake of pressing the wrong letter. but i rarely do this anymore since the watch has been set up to what i need it to do (which is mostly for gps).
the one thing i'm looking around for is trying to either deactivate or change the watch face. i noticed that this can be done for the sony smartwatch...i'm still trying to find a way for the ik8. no luck at the moment though...

Returning
Guys,
Thanks.. I've done a Factory Reset and the problem persists. I think the digitizer is faulty in that one spot so I'm sending mine back for another.. Will let you know if the next one acts up! Thanks for all of the replies!
Chris R.

IK8 Review
I wrote a review about the IK8 (I think I should be allowed to post links by now). Because I already had a ZGPAX S5 and the IK8 is very similar, the review mostly focuses on the differences between the two. The general conclusion however is that the IK8 is noticeably better in most aspects.
The review also contains a list of tweaks and hacks, and custom versions of the clock screensaver and launcher. Enjoy!

DrLex said:
I wrote a review about the IK8 (I think I should be allowed to post links by now). Because I already had a ZGPAX S5 and the IK8 is very similar, the review mostly focuses on the differences between the two. The general conclusion however is that the IK8 is noticeably better in most aspects.
The review also contains a list of tweaks and hacks, and custom versions of the clock screensaver and launcher. Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey lex
thanks for sending that link to your review. I rooted the phone to change the watch face lock screen. I think somewhere along the line I sort of did something wrong because now the lock screen watch won't come up....which is a good thing! what I did was installed ADW Launcher and used a live wallpaper for a nice watch face. I kept the home screen free of any widgets. Swiping to the right then brings up a whole bunch of short cuts and widgets which I use.
cheers

crodgers79 said:
Guys,
Thanks.. I've done a Factory Reset and the problem persists. I think the digitizer is faulty in that one spot so I'm sending mine back for another.. Will let you know if the next one acts up! Thanks for all of the replies!
Chris R.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have you tried change the launcher and see if that spot keep faulty, my motoactv had a faulty spot on screen related to massive battery discharge, factory reset didnt work, but the problem was zeam i changed to adw, smooth as silk, i think it woth a shot

[Review] ZGPAX S28 Review!

Hey guys, I recently acquired a ZGPAX S28 and figured I'd share it with you. Some of you may have been around for my development work on the MotoACTV and the Omate TrueSmart smartwatches, among various other phones and tools, so I figured it was time to try my hand at a product review for something that not too many of you have heard of yet.
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Let's get down to business! What is it? Well, it looks an awful lot like a Gear 2, but it doesn't run android. However, that's not a bad thing, when you consider its $50 price tag from http://www.gearbest.com, where mine came from. It shipped in a generic "smartwatch" box, as shown in the unboxing video below:
Specs:
- CPU: MTK6260 360MHz
- 1.54 inch Touch Screen 240x240
- MicroSIM slot
- MicroSD slot
- Bluetooth 3.0
- 450mAh Battery 3.7V Li-ion (Reported: 72 Hrs Standby, 6 Hrs Talk, 8 Hrs Music)
- Micro USB port
- Size 58x39x12.5mm
- Weight 55g
- Accelerometer
- Vibration
- Microphone
- Speaker
- MicroUSB Earphones Included
Features:
- Pedometer
- Anti-Lost Alert (both for connected phone and watch)
- QWERTY keyboard with both T9 and handwriting prediction
- MP3 Player
- Sleep Monitor
- SMS
- Phonebook
- Music Player
- Remote Camera
- FM Radio
- Calendar
- Ringtones
- Multiple Language Support
You can either watch the video (I'm not a thespian or read the review right here. I decided to wear it for around 5 days prior to writing this, to get a feel for how I'd use it in the real world and how it stacks up to the competition that I have at my disposal. The watch is surprisingly comfortable, as well as stylish. It's very similar in design to the Gear 2, which I enjoy. For reference, I very much dislike wearing my Omate TrueSmart because it is so uncomfortable, but sometimes forget that the S28 is even on my wrist. I plugged it into the wall to let it charge for a little while, with the included microUSB charger, and then connected it to my HTC Desire 610 via bluetooth. I then downloaded the free companion app to my phone, which was also painless due to the QR download code being right on the watch. I basically scanned it with barcode scanner, then sideloaded the APK after it downloaded onto the phone.
Once up and running, you can select which apps from your phone you wish to display on the watch. I used everything from LINE Messenger to my iSmartAlarm home security system. Everything came through to the watch perfectly, and at the settings I selected. If you don't want an app to show up anymore, block it. Simple as that. I found myself blocking Facebook after receiving many many notifications at once and being distracted at work when I didn't need to be. Again, it was all very painless and I was pleasantly surprised. This is something that many Android based watches have problems with. They try to be both a watch and a phone, and can't be the best at either one. I've also had many issues with them not receiving notifications properly, or not receiving ALL notifications that you want to receive, which was not at all the case with the S28.
The watch itself is hard plastic with a metal faceplate and capacitive touch screen that's very responsive to touch, despite what my clumsiness in the video may lead you to believe . I LOVE that it's capacitive for only $50. I was actually expecting much less than I got for my money, to be honest. The screen is bright and relatively easy to read outside. It's not the greatest in direct sunlight, but to be honest, I've yet to find one that is. The only things I noticed myself really wishing for were a shake-to-wake feature of some kind, so I didn't have to press the button every time I wanted to see the time, and a way to remove the analog clock, or at least change it. I much prefer digital myself.
However, again, for the price, you simply can't beat it. My friends were in awe as I showed them the differences between this watch and my usual daily drivers, and I may have even convinced a few of them to give it a try. The watch has 2 functions in particular that I'd not used before, the remote camera and the "anti-lost" function. The first lets you use your watch to actually control the camera on your phone. You can see the viewfinder through the watch and walk around the room to take a picture. Not going to lie, I took a few full body selfies, and no, you can't see them. It worked well, and if you weren't taking a picture, it was also neat just watching the phone's viewfinder through the watch, like a remote security camera. The other feature was called "anti-lost", but is essentially a "find my watch, find my phone" feature, that will let you find the other if you have one of the two.
It has many features you'd find in a typical feature phone, such as SMS, phonebook, calendar, mp3 and mp4 player capability, and an FM radio. The pedometer works well, but you have to physically start it before walking, similar to most fitness apps you'd find on your phone. Again, I was spoiled with my MotoACTV's always-on pedometer. It has a sleep monitor, but I've yet to play with it. Soon, friends, soon. The on-screen keyboard is small, but works well and has many options including predictive text (T9) and handwriting recognition.
I did have one issue with the watch or the phone disconnecting and reconnecting with my bluetooth every so often, but in all honesty, I'm blaming that on the phone more than the watch. It was a cheap phone after all. I will be doing some more testing on that part when I replace the power button on my GS3.
3 things this watch has, that everyone else making watches out there needs to take note on: Built-in microphone, built-in speaker, and vibration function. It's literally a mini phone on your wrist, with decent battery life and talk time. Color me impressed.
If you want to order from the same people I did, here is a direct link. And after speaking to their staff (who are also very nice by the way), they gave me a coupon code for you guys: S28GM, which brings the price down to just under $44. I hope you guys liked the review, and again, if you need to know anything else about it, don't hesitate to shoot me a message! Thanks for reading/watching!

ClearD said:
Hey guys, I recently acquired a ZGPAX S28 and figured I'd share it with you. Some of you may have been around for my development work on the MotoACTV and the Omate TrueSmart smartwatches, among various other phones and tools, so I figured it was time to try my hand at a product review for something that not too many of you have heard of yet.
.....
If you want to order from the same people I did, here is a direct link. And after speaking to their staff (who are also very nice by the way), they gave me a coupon code for you guys: S28GM, which brings the price down to just under $44. I hope you guys liked the review, and again, if you need to know anything else about it, don't hesitate to shoot me a message! Thanks for reading/watching!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the review. There's a review for it already by st7ler, but its good to get a second look, how many days battery are getting from it? Its similar to the U8 Pro, not sure which to buy.

I keep mine turned off at night, and I got 4 days before I recharged it. Not sure exactly how many it'd last though, because I never let it run completely down lol

Thanks. And your typical use for the 4 days was...?
Could you do me a favour and try bluetooth tethering please? [emoji106]

I used it for between 12 and 16 hours each day. And tethering how, specifically? It doesn't do internet pass through, if that's what you mean, but it does receive all notifications through bt tethering. And receives them rather well at that lol

Thanks for the review. Looks good smart watch. Its app connection is stable?

It was stable for the most part, and if it disconnected, it quickly reconnected all by itself. I think my phone was the unstable part.

ClearD said:
I used it for between 12 and 16 hours each day. And tethering how, specifically? It doesn't do internet pass through, if that's what you mean, but it does receive all notifications through bt tethering. And receives them rather well at that lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Shame it can't do bluetooth tethering, it would have not needed a data plan.
http://vifocal.com/zgpax-s28-watch-...-1-54-inch-screen-smart-bluetooh-sync-fm.html $43 and $3 off if you like them on farsebook or google+

ClearD said:
I used it for between 12 and 16 hours each day. And tethering how, specifically? It doesn't do internet pass through, if that's what you mean, but it does receive all notifications through bt tethering. And receives them rather well at that lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@ClearD - are there any functions to control the phone from the watch?

I don't believe so, it's sort of like a standalone watch phone that also reads notifications from your primary phone

It's possible to add new analog look? Or change shortcuts on descop?

K8 Android 4.2, 3G - applewatch design

For those that do not like the design of the imacwear, Z01 and all the other Omate clones... this looks a little better.
http://www.gearbest.com/cell-phones/pp_181139.html - $122 on GearBest.com
Black, silver and champagne
450 mAh battery
12.5 mm thick
2MP camera
MTK6572 Dual Core 1.0GHz 512MB RAM 4GB ROM
3G, Wifi, GPS , BT ... etc
No sensors mentioned though?

I ordered this new K8 smartwatch in Aliexpress 2 weeks ago but my smartwatch seems to be lost in the way.
I will give sellers link once I receive the smartwatch because don't know if it's a reliable seller.
I read good info about this watch in G+

PichaLatigo said:
I ordered this new K8 smartwatch in Aliexpress 2 weeks ago but my smartwatch seems to be lost in the way.
I will give sellers link once I receive the smartwatch because don't know if it's a reliable seller.
I read good info about this watch in G+
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am really interested in the 450mAh battery life. Hopefully you'll get it soon [emoji41]
Where did you read the good review?

simple1i said:
I am really interested in the 450mAh battery life. Hopefully you'll get it soon [emoji41]
Where did you read the good review?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly a review. An owner in G+ talking about it and now another Spanish owner in htcmania.
According to the tracking mine is already in Spain but not received yet.

review?
PichaLatigo said:
Not exactly a review. An owner in G+ talking about it and now another Spanish owner in htcmania.
According to the tracking mine is already in Spain but not received yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When The watch arrives, don't be afraid to shout loud and post, ITS HERE!!
Will you do a review? I'd like know two things, the battery life and what sensors it has please. :good:
As a guess, the battery life will be similar to the GZPAX S8

PichaLatigo said:
Not exactly a review. An owner in G+ talking about it and now another Spanish owner in htcmania.
According to the tracking mine is already in Spain but not received yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did it arrive?

I would be very curious to find out the following:
- does it have the Google Play store and/ or can you side load applications?
- what is the battery life like?
- where do you install the SD card?
I thank you in advance for any information you can provide.

probstc said:
I would be very curious to find out the following:
- does it have the Google Play store and/ or can you side load applications?
- what is the battery life like?
- where do you install the SD card?
I thank you in advance for any information you can provide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My smartwatch is retained in Central post office in Madrid for one week so sadly I guess it's catched by customs.
Other k8 spanish owner says it has play store and of course you can load any .apk.
Spanish owner said had some problems with notifications and data when screen is off, and he solved it with some software.
American owner didn't have any problem with notifications when screen is switched off. He said smartwatch has been updated 5 times since the the smartwatch was released one month ago.
Only problem American has it's related to pulsometer heartband which is detected but he can not pair/connect it because it seems smartwatch Bluetooth it's not BLE and it is announced as it is.
It seems it doesn't have microsd slot:
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Hope it arrives soon

Can anyone upload the rom k8?

Received last week from seller Shenzhen GagaKing Technology Co.,Ltd reliable seller who solved my problems with lost smartwach.
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6629385771.html?orderId=66935146402922
They messaged me saying apple opened a claim against Aliexpress because they are selling a copy of their Apple watch and Alliexpress ordered to close the announcement. They will continue selling for Chinese market and will continue selling contacting by email/ message but they are not allowed to announce it anymore.
Nice and cheap smartwatch.
Good aluminium finishing, light (59gr) and clear micro and speaker.
Didn't have any problem with my Movistar MicroSim. Some people wrote received the k8 with invalid IMEI and they had to generate a new IMEI with chamelephon. Not my case. I didn't have any problem and I receive 3G/H+ in Spain even having 2100 3G here.
Google play was not preinstalled but I downloaded Last play store 5.6.8 and no problem.
After that I downloaded some apps from play store and another apps just installing .apk like endomondo pro.
GPS and Bluetooth are working great. I did have many problems with umeox watches relating to Bluetooth. I like the watch because I want to use the smartwatch principally for training and k8's GPS and Bluetooth are working fine without interruptions. I didn't have any problem pairing with my Zephyr HxM BT heart rate chest band. The same for Jabra sport wireless headphones and chines cheap monocular. All working continuously.
320x320 is good for some things and bad for others. The characters are smaller than in 240x240 res and I can access to some setting I couldn't access in umeox smartwatches but sometimes letters are too small for my eyes.
I don't like the launcher because it's very simple and limited.
Don't like the fact of swiping from top to down for going back. It limits or makes impossible the using of other launchers like nova.
I didn't try other launchers. I didn't try rooting for extra settings. I didn't try because I have no idea... :silly:
About battery This morning, an Endomondo tracking of 50 minutes with 3G, GPS and Bluetooth chest heart monitor and headphones connected battery went down from 97% to 74% not switching on the screen too much because I received partials by Bluetooth headphones every kilometre.
Right now after 9 hours battery level is 29% not using too much the watch so I guess it can not stand the whole day without charging with a intense using.
Anyway very good smartwatch for its price.
Sorry for my English.

Thanks for the quick review PichaLatigo, very interested in this watch. Looks a lot like what I'm after.
After more time with it, can you give any more details about the battery life? Any problems you've found since your last post?

would anyone reccomend this over the omate or inwatch?

PichaLatigo said:
Received last week from seller Shenzhen GagaKing Technology Co.,Ltd reliable seller who solved my problems with lost smartwach.
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6629385771.html?orderId=66935146402922
They messaged me saying apple opened a claim against Aliexpress because they are selling a copy of their Apple watch and Alliexpress ordered to close the announcement. They will continue selling for Chinese market and will continue selling contacting by email/ message but they are not allowed to announce it anymore.
Nice and cheap smartwatch.
Good aluminium finishing, light (59gr) and clear micro and speaker.
Didn't have any problem with my Movistar MicroSim. Some people wrote received the k8 with invalid IMEI and they had to generate a new IMEI with chamelephon. Not my case. I didn't have any problem and I receive 3G/H+ in Spain even having 2100 3G here.
Google play was not preinstalled but I downloaded Last play store 5.6.8 and no problem.
After that I downloaded some apps from play store and another apps just installing .apk like endomondo pro.
GPS and Bluetooth are working great. I did have many problems with umeox watches relating to Bluetooth. I like the watch because I want to use the smartwatch principally for training and k8's GPS and Bluetooth are working fine without interruptions. I didn't have any problem pairing with my Zephyr HxM BT heart rate chest band. The same for Jabra sport wireless headphones and chines cheap monocular. All working continuously.
320x320 is good for some things and bad for others. The characters are smaller than in 240x240 res and I can access to some setting I couldn't access in umeox smartwatches but sometimes letters are too small for my eyes.
I don't like the launcher because it's very simple and limited.
Don't like the fact of swiping from top to down for going back. It limits or makes impossible the using of other launchers like nova.
I didn't try other launchers. I didn't try rooting for extra settings. I didn't try because I have no idea... :silly:
About battery This morning, an Endomondo tracking of 50 minutes with 3G, GPS and Bluetooth chest heart monitor and headphones connected battery went down from 97% to 74% not switching on the screen too much because I received partials by Bluetooth headphones every kilometre.
Right now after 9 hours battery level is 29% not using too much the watch so I guess it can not stand the whole day without charging with a intense using.
Anyway very good smartwatch for its price.
Sorry for my English.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder if the zgpax or other battery fits in here

k8
I received the same watch, but I have still a few questions:
1) did you find the way to install other Widgets on the right side of the clock?
2) is there another launcher that you were able to use? I tried goole now launcher and zeam launcher, but I cannot configurate the options and I had to go back to the standard one
thanks

k8 how to solve a few problems
when I received the phone I was not able to root it and I was not able to call with the sim card, I discovered that there was no IMEI number
0) I had to activate developer mode touching 7 times the BUILT version in phone status
1) I used ROOT GENIUS on the pc, connecting with the usb cable to finally root it, I tried other programs but they didn't work, I also cancelled with it a few chinese apps that I didn't need
2) once it was rooted, I downloaded from the playstore the "MTK engineer mode", it was the only one that worked with me
3) i went to connectivity, cds, radio, phone 1, and finally I tipped the +AT =EGMR=1,7”xxxxXXXXXXXXXXXX", but act to put only one " after the 7, because it you do not do it, it says "AT command failed" , after reboot. The dimension of the letters is so small that you do not notice it
with these 2 actions I was able to have the sim card working and it is perfect
I still do not know how to insert other widgets on the right side of the clock

How is the battery life?

batterylife
suunnittelija said:
How is the battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if roughly no use: 16 hours
intensiv use : 4 but with 1 hour charging the battery is full

I can not recommend it anymore. Bluetooth and GPS are not working anymore after one month using very happily.
I tried to use Nova launcher with "All in one gestures" app recommended by another user but not so practical. I am used to its simple launcher but missing some functions like application manager (I had to use and alternative from play store).
My sim card didn't have any problem. Calls and data work fine. But without GPS it is useless for me.
Moreover my seller can offer an spare charging dock and I would like to get another one just in case... and I didn't find anywhere

I just got the watch yesterday. UI is great and it comes with pre-installed playstore. Battery life i still need to monitor , if i use wifi and bluetooth, seems it drains quite fast. GPS and bluetooth working fine after testing...
As for notification while pairing with phone, it seems that it does not really work...

Is this smartwatch water resistant?
Hi all, i'm interested in buying this smartwatch and i would know if it is water resistant (ipx7 is enough) thanks

[REVIEW] Meizu M2 Note - impressions and pictures

Meizu has recently presented their new version of their “Note” device and the truth is that after view other releases and announcements like MX4 Pro and MX5, the first impression about the M2 Note is we are facing a mid-range devices.
By the other hand, the M2 Note is presented as the evolution of the M1 Note, however we find some less power inside, although compensated with a lower price, and making of it a very interesting device for many buyers.
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Packaging and Design
It comes on a flat box, reminding us a book (not the iPhone type box) completely white, in the top side we find some Chinese characters (I guess they mean Meizu) and then “note2 FHD”.
In the rear part, just a sticker with a lot of Chinese words and some numbers referred to the specifications.
Once opened, we find the M2 Note, a really tiny charger (although with a 2A output!), the USB cable, a cloud-shapped clip to open the cards slot (SIM/microSD) and a fully Chinese quick guide.
First impressions, it's a quality finish and materials. However, if this brand is highlighting among others and going to global markets, I cannot understand why they have put everything on Chinese.
By the other hand, as we see each time more, no earphones included :-/
When I hold the device on my hand, we feel the same lines we've seen on other models of this brand. Rounded corners and a unique piece made on polycarbonate (which means a non-removable battery, and very pleasant touch.
Going deeper into the details, we'll see on the front (going top-bottom) the secondary camera, the big 5,5” FullHD screen and only one physical button. No other physical or haptic buttons. This button is one of innovations in this device, since when we touch it (without pressing it) once, it works as “back” button, when we press it once it brings us to the Home screen and if we press and hold it, it will show the voice assistant (SmartVoice). It's something strange on the first days (missing the other buttons) but after some time using it, it's very comfortable.
The lock and volume keys are on the left side, so on the right side we just have the slot for the SIM cards (nano or micro) and for the microSD card. Again an interesting concept since there are two places on that tray, the first one will be for a nano SIM and the second can be used either for a micro SIM or a microSD card. Most of Chinese manufacturers go for the dual SIM, even when most of users just put one SIM inside. So with this system we have to choose between more storage or use two SIM cards.
On the bottom part, we have the microphone, the micro USB slot and the speaker. On the top side, we will see the second micro (for noise cancellation) and the jack 3.5 for the (again non included) earphones.
Flipping it, we have the main camera (made by Samsung) with 13Mpx, a dual-tone flash LED and the MEIZU logo on the bottom.
Hardware
As mentioned on my intro, the specifications of this device are not “outstanding”, but mostly mid-range average. It's equipped with a 64 bits octa core MT6753 chip from Mediatek going at 1,3GHz (while other competitors are delivering 1,7Ghz or 2,0Ghz speeds.
On the RAM side, 2GB what are more than enough for an average use of a smartphone, although many other models come already with 3GB as the standard for this season.
To finish the heart of the M2 Note we have a Mali T20 GPU (also well known) which will be the responsible for doing a good work with FullHD videos and games.
Model M2 Note
SO Android 5.1
Processor MT6753 64bits, octa core at 1,3Ghz
RAM 2GB
Screen IPS LCD 5,5” FullHD 1920x1080, with 403ppi with 16M colors
Storage 16GB + microSD
Cameras Main 13Mpx by Samsung with flash dual LED; front 5Mpx; video 1080p @ 30 fps
Connectivity Wi-Fi 2.4GHz b/g/n with Wi-Fi Direct support // BT 4.0 // MicroUSB (Hi-Speed USB)
Dual SIM GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 Mhz ; 3G WCDMA: 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 Mhz; 4G FDD-LTE: B1(2100MHz) / B3(1800MHz) / B7(2600MHz)
Other G-sensor, P-Sensor, L-Sensor, Wifi, GPS, OTG< Multi-touch, Dual SIM, Schedule Power on/off, E-compass, Hall IC, Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Magnetic Sensor, Gyroscope Sensor
Battery 3100mAh by Sony
Dimensions 150.9 x 75.2 x 8.7 mm
Weight 149gr
Price From $139 with Flash sales
Where we can find more effort is on the screen, Meizu has equipped this model with a 5,5” FullHD (1920x1080) panel which uses the new IZGO technology to reach a very high density of 403ppi with a high contrast 1000:1 and it worth it!
Software and multimedia
It runs the latest version of Android 5.1, nonetheless the user experience is different from standard Android, thanks to Meizu's FlymeOS 4.5 (which in 7 days of use has updated to 4.5.1 and 4.5.2A respectively).
A lot can be said about this customization of Android that in my opinion works smoothly and very well. I'm not really a fan of personalization layers, but this one offers a very nice experience and I'm enjoying (and discovering many interesting things) it.
I don't want to spend more time speaking about Flyme since it's not exclusive of this model and there are already a lot of articles and reviews about it.
Some of the main characteristics are the already mentioned way of working in the “Home” button with its 3 different functions (back/home/voice assistant) and some screen gestures, like showing the notification bar when sliding from the top with the shortcuts (Wifi, Bluetooth, Flight Mode, GPS, flashlight,...).
When we slide from the bottom, we will have a new bar with the open apps (quite similar to iOS 6). We can close any app just moving it out of that bar. Simple and fast.
Finally if we slide our finger bottom-up in the middle of the screen, a search screen is open (similar to the iPhone one, again).
Flyme comes with a lot of apps pre-installed. My impression is that they work very well... and at the same time they are useless out of China. Even if the full mobile is in English (there are a few other languages available) since I receive it, those applications are only in Chinese and with Chinese content.
It's not a real problem since you can install other applications to perform those tasks, but why not translated them?
I'm thinking specially on the voice assistant app (called SmartVoice and very similar to Siri), a lot of potential, but no use for the moment.
Another of the applications that has greatly surprised me is the Music one. When I received this mobile, I copied some music to test it, and when I opened the app, it always showed me “Music on the device” and “Online Music”.
So I tried it, and everything seemed to be in Chinese with Chinese artists... but when explored a little bit more, I found international groups and artists. So I browsed it and, you can listen AND DOWNLOAD any song without any copyright issue :-O
The catalog is huge, so if you like music, this is another valuable point, you can stream or download the music without having to pay monthly fees.
Camera
I was not expecting so much from this smartphone camera, because when I saw “13Mpx camera by Samsung” I automatically though in “IMX214 camera manufactured by Sony” that we can see in almost every smartphone nowadays, and which normally means good pictures with good light conditions but very poor results with low light or night pictures (even using flash), and also a slow focus.
Taking great pictures of landscapes during the day, but awful pictures when there is movement (kids, dog,...) or the night is coming.
In the present case, I must say that in addition to Flyme, and the Music app, the camera has been the greatest surprise. It focus and shoots quite fast and if you hold the button, it will shoot a burst of photos. In addition between the photo modes we can find slow-motion and a quite complete manual mode.
Here you have some of the pictures I've taken during a recent trip to Morocco (for full sizes visit the M2 Note entry on my blog).
The front camera, with its 5Mpx also offers quite good results, they could maybe include a flash... but it would increase the costs and anyway the present results are quite good.
Recording video at 1080p shows very good quality and with the option of taking pictures meanwhile.
Last, in the gallery, we have a tab called “Cloud album”, which seemed very interesting. To use it, you have to create a Flyme account (very easy and fast) and link it to “your TaoBao account” which I couldn't create for the moment, mainly because everything is on Chinese and I prefer to know what I'm signing...
Deceiving to see so many features blocked by the language.
Battery
It's a non-removable 3100mAh battery manufactured by Sony, and after a few days of usage I can say much more duration than for example the uleFone Be Touch, even with a heavier use (mainly taking and viewing pictures, WiFi and GPS). Up to now, I never had to charge it before the end of the day.
Conclusions
I've shared good things as well as bad ones (or need to improve) about this model.
In a very first moment, I was sure it's a mid-range device, but after a few days using it, it has make me think if a mid-range from a good brand (even a Chinese one) can be better than a flagship from a new brand... and even now I'm not clear about it, since the user experience has been very good, and I don't know yet if I will start using it more than my uleFone Be Touch.
The pros are very clear, works fast, quality in the materials, light in the hand, an outstanding FullHD screen and very good pictures (even nightly). And with a price under $140 (with current promotions)!
About the things that need an improvement, I'm missing enormously the radio (please why not I use it every day!!) and the bunch of good Chinese applications that make me think continuously “it could be even better, I'm missing some important features of this smartphone”.
We always have to bear in mind the quality-price ratio and keeping to that it's a very good purchase even if it's not the most powerful device.
PS: If you find this info useful, I would appreciate a "Thanks"

Nice @mdabar!

Thanks

clock
I cant find the clock widget. The ones installed from play store dont update times. I need a working clock widget.
Also notification light doesnt work for missed calls and sms

Thanks! Do you have problem with wifi or gsm connection? I read a lot of complains about this issues. Do you try to see in how many hours drain the batherie in 3 or 4G internet surfing?

dont update to 4.5.2a it has microphone bug. there is a sound problem in calls. people cant hear you.
if you stay at 4.5.1a there is a video record bug. there is white noise behind the video.
meizu sucks

Hi, I just updated a video sample to YouTube -> https://t.co/uBq1AQ8XoD
@lancelot0606 why do you say that? I'm really delighted with this smartphone, very surprise about how well it works! I update with every new notification, now on 4.5.3 and no issues wifi, gps,... everything working properly specially as I say on the review above, the camera quality.
The only thing that really piss me off is the podcast play. I have tried all the apps available for podcast and with everyone it stops after some minutes of playing. Finally I decided to use iVox and after some days using (or trying) it, I discovered that it normally stops when I put to play a chapter initially. I mean, what I've done to "solve" the issue (temporary solution I hope) is start playing the chapter then I stop and play several times from the lock screen... and then it normally plays the full chapter and the ones on the playlist without any trouble.
Are you still having any trouble?
Cheers!

after 4.5.3 it look stable but still microphone needs more sensitivity. there are many complaints in chinese forums about this.

I'm getting the microphone problem to. I'm in version 4.5.4A and some people can't ear me at all.
Is there any solution for this?
Regards.

Hi guys! I just picked up my Miezu Note 2 yesterday at the local store in Hong Kong. I'm fairly impressed with it so far for the price. I updated it right away, so I'm now running Flyme 4.5.4I.
But I have a problem with my google apps. I don't get automatic updates of my Gmail. If I log in, it will update, but it does not seem to update in the background when new emails arrive. Suggestions?

Go to security app, permission and give gmail permission.
Regards.
Enviado de meu m2 note usando Tapatalk

You have to go to the security center> power saving >Then click on the 4-squares icon down-right. You have to enable goolgle play services on standby mode.
---------- Post added at 04:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 PM ----------
mdabar said:
Hi,
@lancelot0606 why do you say that? I'm really delighted with this smartphone, very surprise about how well it works! I update with every new notification, now on 4.5.3 and no issues wifi, gps,... everything working properly specially as I say on the review above, the camera quality.
The only thing that really piss me off is the podcast play. I have tried all the apps available for podcast and with everyone it stops after some minutes of playing. Finally I decided to use iVox and after some days using (or trying) it, I discovered that it normally stops when I put to play a chapter initially. I mean, what I've done to "solve" the issue (temporary solution I hope) is start playing the chapter then I stop and play several times from the lock screen... and then it normally plays the full chapter and the ones on the playlist without any trouble.
Are you still having any trouble?
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to security center>power saving>4-squares icon, down-right>enable google play services.
It works!!
You can also make sure that you don't have any saving-batery mode. It stops many apps after a few minutes.

caam14 said:
I'm getting the microphone problem to. I'm in version 4.5.4A and some people can't ear me at all.
Is there any solution for this?
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that you should downgrade back to your initial firmware version. Most of meizu m2 note that are being shipped out from china are chinese version upon which a multi language rom has been flashed on them by the sellers. These roms are not perfect and do have bugs. Upgrading them are clearly not advisable. Have a look on aliexpress sellers webpage.

akshay29999 said:
I think that you should downgrade back to your initial firmware version. Most of meizu m2 note that are being shipped out from china are chinese version upon which a multi language rom has been flashed on them by the sellers. These roms are not perfect and do have bugs. Upgrading them are clearly not advisable. Have a look on aliexpress sellers webpage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is solved with the last update.

Has anyone fixed this issue? I'm using Flyme 4.5.4i and some people can't hear me
lancelot0606 said:
dont update to 4.5.2a it has microphone bug. there is a sound problem in calls. people cant hear you.
if you stay at 4.5.1a there is a video record bug. there is white noise behind the video.
meizu sucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has anyone fixed this issue? I'm using Flyme 4.5.4i and some people can't hear me with MEizu M2 Note

My friend has this phone..for 180€ ihttp://forum.xda-developers.com/index.phps a best buy!! No problems for him..great device

Are you using the A-firmware?

PRO5 said:
Are you using the A-firmware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, i live in singapore but i buy the phone is U firmware then i flash A firmware better because you can download music anything time anywhere but the only thing is you no have play store because is china firmware then you need to download yourself

It's my favorite one! I'm still using it. Have a lot of apps and no lags!

Is there any WhatsApp group for m2 note