Poll: Which Chinese phone would you buy?

I’m in a conundrum and would like the assistance of the excellent Gizchina audience to help me out. Which Chinesephone would you buy?

Im in dire need of a new phone and I just cannot decided which fantastic Chinese Android phone to choose from. I do have a short list, but I would really appreciate input from you guy’s! The choice are:

Xiaomi M2
Meizu MX2
Oppo Find 5

Why the Xiaomi M2?

The Xiaomi M2 offers amazing performance at an equally amazing price. 1999 Yuan for the base model 16GB version (slightly more if you go the unofficial route) will give you access to a quad-core Qualcomm S4 Pro CPU, 2GB RAM, fantastic 8 mega-pixel camera and wonderful screen.

Should I buy the Xiaomi M2?

[One_Half] For

Cheap
Powerful
Great cameras
Great screen
Perfect size (for me personally)

[/One_Half] [One_Half_Last] Against

A little on the fat side
A little more money can get me a larger and more modern phone.
Difficult to buy

[/One_Half_Last] Meizu MX2

I’m a closet Meizu fan, and thats even after my awful experience with the Meizu M9! I love the Flyme ROM, and after testing the MX2 with it’s narrow borders I appreciate the extra screen size without the added girth. The MX2 is slightly more than the Xiaomi M2 but has a larger screen, feels a little better quality and offers equal performance thanks to the Samsung Exynos CPU.

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Should I buy the Meizu MX2?

[One_Half] For

Cheap
Powerful
Great design
Thin
Great quality
Easily available

[/One_Half] [One_Half_Last]

Against

Bad experience in the past
My wife will kill me.

[/One_Half_Last] Oppo Find 5

The Find 5 is the newest, latest and most expensive of the 3 phones I have shortlisted and it will go on sale in just a few short days. The 5 has a 1080 5-inch display, Qualcomm S4 Pro CPU, 2GB RAM but best of all a 13 mega-pixel Sony Exmor Pro camera which can capture 100 photos in just 60 seconds! (perfect for mountain biking!)

Should I buy the Oppo Find 5?

[One_Half] For

Drool worthy camera
Large screen
Latest, “bleeding edge” flagship phone
Powerful
Great looking

[/One_Half] [One_Half_Last] Against

Expensive (when compared to the rest)
A little on the large side for my tastes.
Possibly difficult to buy
My wife will probably steal it from me.

[/One_Half_Last] Which Chinese phone would you buy?

So with those details and your own opinions please help me decide which phone to buy, and if you can leave a reason for your choice in the comments section below.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[poll id=”2″]

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About the author

Andi

January 26, 2013
Ascend D1 XL (D2 if you wanna wait a little)?
LG Nexus 4?
ZTE Grand S/Nubia Z5?
Lubach W.J
January 26, 2013
I think that one of the new quad core phones , should be an better option.
And perhaps that Gizchina can not only show us the rumors, but can find a trustworthy company that can provide the mentioned phones .
There are a few addresses but their prices are most of the time much higher then in the articles mentioned
- - paul
    January 26, 2013
    thaks andi, you’re right. i think the reason why the prices of these chinese phone becomes much more expensive on the link is because the vendor needs to have a bigger profit. ^_^ thats why most of the apple phone is expensive even though the materials on it is cheap. ^^,
  - paul
    January 26, 2013
    i think xiaomi and meizu is a good choice. i think most of the phones today is big and bulky. atleast xiaomi and meizu is just above 4″(4.3″vs.4.4″) and i think that is enough for a phone. ^_^
  - otto
    February 25, 2013
    where is the best place to buy china phones at wholesale prices. like were does android sale and fastcardtech and other site get there phones from so that they are able to sell them a low cost if anybody has a good supplier please let me know. There could be some money involved for you or even a couple free phones. We are just looking for a different supplier ASAP

Yener
January 26, 2013
- January 26, 2013
  I have one on my desk too. It’s an awesome phone for the money, but I didn’t get a Christmas gift and Spring Festival is on the way so feel like treating myself 😉
Kelzen
January 26, 2013
Huawei or ZTE, depends on price and availability. Don’t think that Oppo will be much cheaper and Huawei and ZTE are better known brands.

alexander
January 26, 2013
i buy a week ago Jianyu G3, is very nice, good and fast phone!
in future, if i have the money, my choose will be Oppo 5

Airyl
January 26, 2013
I voted other, and the phones I would recommend to you are the Umi X2 and the Newman N2 because of two simple reasons. Battery and expandable memory. One of my main problems with smartphones were the lack of expandable memory, because I’m the type of guy who installs tonnes of songs on his phone and also a lot of games. Battery life is also important to me, and also the problem if the battery is removable or not.
I picked the Umi X2 because of it’s specs which are similar to the Oppo Find 5, the fact that it has expandable memory and the design which is quite reminiscent to the LG Nexus 4. It also has a removable battery, and is pretty cheap because it is using an MTK processor.
The Newman N2 is mostly the same like above,(expanable battery, removable battery) but it has something that most other China phones don’t have. Good support and firmware updates. Although it is pretty lacklustre against the other phones you have listed, it does have it’s advantages.
Also, I know that the Xiaomi Mi2 has a removable battery and a memory card slot, but that battery is pretty small at 2000 mAh, and as you said, it is quite hard to get.

- January 26, 2013
  I switch between a few. Oppo Finder 3, HTC One X and iPhone 4, then there are the phones we review too 🙂
PeteP
January 26, 2013
Shame it needs to be Chinese, Sony Z is waterproof.
Finder 5 looks very nice.
Lenovo K900
Huawei D2
ZTE Apache
Either buy now or wait for Spain, hmmm how to wangle a press pass?

January 26, 2013
Xiaomi M2: Against: hacked up version of Android. Low-res screen
Meizu MX2: Against: hacked up version of Android. Low-res screen
Oppo Find 5: Against: who really knows, nobody’s seen a shipping version yet! Bait and switch on the online order reservations (they gave everyone FAKE reservations so they would come down on launch day at 10am and make a scene the could photograph!), reports from CES that they hacked up their version of Android…
So… maybe the upcoming rumored Nubia Z7 would be a better choice. Or if you’re in a hurry, then a ZTE Grand S.
I’m a bit sensitive to manufacturers lying about their specs or pulling stunts at their customers expense, so I’m irritated with Oppo and Huawei currently (after the Ascend Mate was “shown” in 1080p dress, and came out as a 720p device with a slower than expected processor.)
- January 26, 2013
  I don’t mind either MIUI or Flyme, and having used both the M2 and MX2 I feel the screens are really very impressive even at 720p. But, for just a little extra the Find 5 offers quite a bit more… Z7 is far too huge for me, but the Grand S could be a contender.

Michael
January 26, 2013
I would go for the Xiaomi M2. For the low price, 2G RAM too. 720p screen isn’t really low res for me. It gets to a point when your eyes cant really differentiate the pixels on the screen so the resolution dont matter anymore. I saw my friend’s LG Optimus L9 with 960 X 540 pixels screen and it still looked super cool to me. The idea of 1080p screen is just for bragging rights and hype to me.

January 26, 2013
Hey Andi,
how about assisting us Gizchina members with purchasing these super awesome Chinese phones? Maybe you can setup some kinda purchase assistance for us. Anyone of us that wants to purchase Chinese phones, you can help purchase it for him with a little added amount for your services. Since you are over there in China, it will be well worth it to get it for us.
Just a suggestion though … what do you think?

Scorpion
January 26, 2013
Hi Andy… i’ve voted for other. I would buy Umi X2.
I ask you A question (little ot)… have umi X1 a good Camera/Flash for photos in the dark??
- Chris
  January 26, 2013
  I could do the test, if I see the phone in the store … let me some time ,)
  - Scorpion
    January 26, 2013
    Thanks man. The last two chinaphone.i had bought, take really bad photos in only 1m in the dark (sorry my bad english)
Eddy
January 26, 2013

Chris
January 26, 2013
Actually. it is not difficult to buy Xiaomi because you can get it in Shenzhen on the market.
But.. i also choose oppo find 5 and i hope that i can get one on 29th – i got 4 reservation codes 🙂
Thumbs up!
- January 26, 2013
  I’ve seen them on sale here too I think a 32GB was only 2300 Yuan, not sure if they have any left now though
  - Chris
    January 26, 2013
Tom VB
January 26, 2013
JiaYu G4 afcourse! have pre-ordered!

sam
January 26, 2013
the ones you listed are all expensive, i’d rather have a jiayu g4 or that tegra 3 phone from the company that announced it for $160. These low cost phones are much better value. If i was going to spend these prices i’d want them from a bigger brand that had a uk warranty like LG, Samsung, Alcatel etc.
The nexus 5 will probably wipe the floor once it is released as it will probably have a tegra 4 chip and be about the same price as these phones.
LBDV
January 26, 2013
THL W7.

Waris Choy
January 26, 2013
I would be against the MI 2. My previous experiences of miui are not great. It drains the battery like no other rom. Looks nice but I prefer other launchers to be honest. MIUI tend to be on the slow side even compared to flyme.
One great question you want to ask is aftermarket support. If it broke where can you get it replaced. That’s why it is better to buy from an established company such as Huawei or ZTE. OPPO and Meizu are also established but i am not to sure on MI.
Also aftermarket developer support. Of youlike to install custom roms and kennels then only chance is wait until MWC for the HTC M7 or the P2 from huawei.
Don’t mind the crap UI from oppo. Just download apex launcher from Google play (another OPPO positive over the others, its international).
Oppo find 5 is the best build quality Phone Ever made in China .

GIJoe
January 26, 2013
Huawei Honor 2
Scorpion
January 26, 2013
Thanks man. The last two chinaphone.i had bought, take really bad photos in only 1m in the dark (sorry my bad english)
How are you finding the G3?
oleg
January 26, 2013
amoi 828
robredz
January 26, 2013
Oppo Find 5, I would love one of those myself, no doubt my I-Phone fanatic son would try to “borrow” it.

Mite
January 26, 2013
Exynos 4412 and Mali400 is your best bet with highest performances
so Newman N2 or any with those CPU and GPU
btw i would like to buy a phone for myself but for around 200-230$ with shipping
what is happening with the Yeezone S3 Mini from Rhythm company (Exynos 4412)
and the Little Pepper Q1 (Tegra 3)
are they released yet ?
- January 26, 2013
  Little Pepper Tegra 3 was launched and sold all 20,000 of their stock a few days ago 🙁

teja
January 26, 2013
umi x2 if price doesn’t exceed $ 300 else JiaYu G4 .
Josete
January 26, 2013
-Jiayu G4
-K-Touch V9
-Deovo V5 Neptune
-Sheng X7
-Hisense HS-T958
-Big Cola (MT6589)
-Micromax A116 canvas HD
-Beidou Big K
All they are great chinese phones and cheaper but I’ll preffer the Jiayu G4, I think…
January 26, 2013
Airyl +1 for Umi X2, I’m waiting for it.
likos
January 26, 2013
newman n2 of course the best phone with exynos and 13mp camera

Bas
January 26, 2013
I’m waiting for a phone which is 4.0″<=4.5", 720p, mtk6589, 2GB ram, dual sim, stock Android, easily rootable.
That's all I need. I'm hoping for a big brand like ZTE or Huawei to build something like it.
I want to spend max $350 on it.
Lexey
January 26, 2013
- January 26, 2013
  The Honor 2 seems like an amazing bargain at the moment. Some online resellers have then price up at 1800 Yuan!! I’ve not had chance to use one yet. How is it?

LieDanG
January 26, 2013
I’ll buy a Newman N2/Freelander i20, I wanted a Jiayu G4 but I don’t think I can wait too many months unitl it’s released, and probably it will be delayed like the G3
Airyl
January 26, 2013
Don’t get the Meizu MX2 Andi. I don’t want you to die, especially by the hands of your wife.

rianto
January 26, 2013
In the mean time i’m using lg nexus 4, the non removable battery sucks and my hand not big so i think need smaller screen. I bought xiaomi 2 with extra battery and batterycharger so i can play while charge the other battery, but my friend will give it to me in march. the reason i choose over oppo find 5 the removable battery and color option and still a limited app for 1080p screen and finally i get blue color without buying wp8. meizu is not option because i only want gpu adreno or tegra, based with my experience with xperia play both better in compability with most game app (yeah i’m using illegal apk so the gpu is crucial)

Eric
January 26, 2013
UMI X2
Airel
January 26, 2013
Vote you wait for Umi X2. Everything seems perfect about it. Also, mind giving that Newman N2 on your desk?:)

mike
January 26, 2013
I already bought the Meizu MX2 because it’s the only one we could test before buying.
It’s important for me to try the phone before buying it. I want to feel it, i want to see how is the screen, i want to test the camera and bla bla bla… 😉
The other reason i bought it, is because there are plenty of meizu store, if there is something wrong with it, i just have to bring it to a store. For other phone (except the oppo), you have to send it back by mail, which is pretty boring.
Last reason, i have the Meizu M9 so I know I can’t be disappointed. Even if I don’t like much Flyme ( I would prefer the original android rom), the quality of the phone is really amazing.
And i am not a typical “meizu fan”. Actually i was ready to try another brand, but as I said : If I can’t test it, I don’t buy it.
- January 27, 2013
  You bought an MX2 after owning an M9!!! Are you sure you’re not a “Typical Meizu Fan” 😉 haha I hated my M9 but strangely still have a soft spot for them, and the quality of the new phone is fantastic!! Do you find it crashes often? What about the camera and app compatibility?

Trag
January 26, 2013
Dear Friends, I like the Xiaomi Mi2, but as i live outside China the advantage of cost is sort of gone. The phone Mi2 32GB are sold at around 450usd+Shipping+Customs, Now i can get a Samsung S3 (with some +’s and -‘s) out here with a little more money.
How is Newman N2, appears to be selling for 300+shipping+customs but does it have a Gorilla Corning Glass? Does it have OTG.. Is it reliable enough?

Armando
January 26, 2013
Hi Andy,
Funny post! I had to make the exact same choice this week haha! I also choose between 1 of the 3. After 3 weeks of thinking I choose the Meizu MX2. I had the exact same pro’s and cons but the reason I choose the MX2 is because the Oppo is just to damn big for my taste. The Camera is beautiful indeed just as the screen but it’s also the most expensive choice.
In the end it was this video that helped me making my decision:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM4ZuhF8910
The Xiaomi has the best screen size for me to but the difference between quality, screen, processor and looks is just to big. Like you sad “it’s hard to get” to and in the end it’s not that professional looking as the MX2.
That left me with the Oppo and the MX2. The Oppo has the same processor as the Xiaomi so that would be a big minus for me. Like I sad before the screen is to big for me but it’s bloody beautiful. But the price made my decision easy.
The MX2 is slightly bigger than the Xiaomi so I guess thats okay. The phone is so fast and thats a big + It looks great and professional. The screen is not 1080P but can you really see that on such a small screen? The specifications of the screen are almost similar to the Iphone 5 and that screen is superb. The camera makes great pictures and the rest of the specs are almost similar (then accept for the Oppo with NFC). 64GB is to much so I choose the 32GB.
Succes with making your choice!
Greetz,
Armando
Felipe Fajardo
January 27, 2013
I buy a newman n2 (I’m hoping to reach)
flamencoguy
January 27, 2013
UMI X2

Alen Carnojevic
January 27, 2013
Andi you need to start shop. I will buy from you. I need trustworthy seller in which i can believe.
Ike
January 27, 2013
I have just received my Lenovo K 860 and I love it! But I’m looking forward already to get new Lenovo K 900. I do like the design of both Lenovo models. And I’m curious of new Intel cpu possibilities. Hope you will make a review of K 900 when they start selling it.

Tibor Kovács
January 27, 2013
I like this idea.
Tibor Kovács
January 27, 2013
I’m waiting for the Jiayu 4G advanced. It will have a large battery and I don’t have monde for a Motorola RAZR MAXX. And the cortex A7 cores eat less energy, so maybe it will be my last phone. If one doesn’t arrive with a smaller but stronger battery.

Hsin Yang Ho
January 27, 2013
I thought that the Jiayu G4 was very tempting, but now that I’ve seen the Umi X2, I think that my heart has just swayed the other way.
Andi, can you comment on the build quality for Umi devices, and also, I’m looking around the net, and some sites list that it has wifi 802.11 b/g/n, where as others just b/g.
Can you confirm on this? seems weird to hit 2013 without wireless N

Bas Roset
January 27, 2013
I think we will get devices:
I now own a Huawei g500, which is mtk6577, 1gb ram, dual sim, 4.3″ qhd, stock Android and easily rootable. Battery life is excellent. Only minor issue is that it’s somewhat bulky. Other than that, top knotch.
If the Honor 2 was Dual Sim, I would’ve bought that..
velvetfinger
January 27, 2013
Huawei Honor 2, meizu mx2, but at the same time the new 6589 based phones are tempting too but i just heard yesterday that the mt 6589 will only be available AFTER the Chinese new year, so march i guess… Do you have similar information from your side?

Ronnie katsie
January 27, 2013
exclusively Jiayu G4 flagship model no matter the price will be
Nico
January 27, 2013
I would like to buy MT6589 phone. Maybe a TCL Y900 or Umi X2.
Armando Kolleman
January 27, 2013
I’ll send you the pictures when I receive it 😉

Shanos
January 27, 2013
Andy I figure that you will be happy with any of them (until you get bored lol)
If you want to flog the Newman I would be happy to talk money with you.
As a husband myself I know that getting rid of old gadgets to finance new ones is a wife friendly option lol
I think I personally if I were you I would hold out for the next round of new phones coming, better screens, better cpu’s and gpu’s nothing worse than buying slightly older tech and ending up in essence two generations behind in a months time.
Regards shanos

DiWest
January 27, 2013
Yes, now they are the most reasonable chinese phones on 26/01/2012.
Do not buy UMI X2 – GPS is terrible, it will not work (cheap hardware). And screen is pretty dull, you have to pull brightness to 90% for comfort. Battery is weak as well, it is not enough for 1 hr wifi, 2 hr of 3G and 30 min to call per day.
I think the battery of Oppo Find 5 will be weak as well – huge screen + Full HD + strong processor = bad battery.
Meizu MX2 – camera is below average, battery is average, even it is thick, and this chinese site registration thing – you could not sell it easily, Meizu made it very complicated for oversees customers to change the ownership. It is main thing why I am still thinking about Meizu MX2.

DiWest
January 27, 2013
Sorry, I meant UMI X1 in previous post, not UMI X2.
Negen
January 27, 2013
Nubia z5 should be much better than oppo 5 or mi 2 but that being said I own a mi 2 for less than a week and wife try to steal from me.
- January 27, 2013
  The Nubia would be nice but my budget is 3000 Yuan. The Z5 is 3500+. How are you getting on with the M2?
  - Negen
    January 28, 2013
    Mi-2 is really nice I like it nearly the perfect size. No real issues really unless your a phone hacker. In which kernel sources would be nice since the cpu scaling is quite a bit too aggressive. Custom kernels would be really nice on this phone. But other than can’t really complain. It is by far the nicest phone I have owned and I usually stick with sony or htc. I have the sim card issue with t-mobile that shows the carrier twice sometimes in the status bar kinda annoying. This phone after the markups and fees it took to get to usa due to not being sold directly came to nearly the same price as the nubia z5. So for me it would be in the same price range it only puts the z5 50$ ahead.

hursty
January 27, 2013
You know its got to be the oppo find 5 !!! I had my eye on xiaomi m2 for a long time as it blows most phones out of the water with its specifications. until oppo announced the find 5 , I’m sorry but bigger is better . Although I could be tempted by the ZTE nubia z5 as this has LTE capabilities built in …
- January 27, 2013
  Problem with the Oppo is that all the stores here are telling me they won’t have stock until after Chinese New Year. Thankfully our review phone should be here early Feb 🙂

dani
January 27, 2013
huawei honor 2, quad core, 2gb ram, hd, 1,5 days battery life, nice camera…
Valentin Mastache
January 27, 2013
Still waiting for the quad-core, 1080 screen Zopo phablet. Hope that will be an awesome phone
Lexey
January 28, 2013
So far Honor2 works awsome !! i luv it work smoofly no laging no rebooting etc. i really like it !! quality of sound is very good in my wireless headphones!!! camera is ok so far i didnt found any problems with it !!! exept for the back leed its kinda have a lil bit loose after few take off and on !!! rest is exallent !! using it for almost month and half !!

Yoav
January 28, 2013
N2 vs honor 2. Wanna buy one of them soon just cant decide:/
Allanitomwesh
January 28, 2013
Hey Andi,
I have been weighing my options for a while myself and all I can figure is that the Quad Core S4 Pro processor is the only thing that won’t be ashamed by coming Cortex A15 processors like Tegra 4. I was unimpressed by K3V2 power consumption, it makes the bigger battery necessary instead of an advantage. So that leaves the Xiaomi Mi2 and OPPO Find 5. Like the nexus 4,the Mi2 hits a sweet spot that makes it high demand. That leaves the higher priced OPPO which still undercuts the competition on price and will be more available as people avoid the price tag. So I’m waiting for MWC to fill in the blanks,but I’m going with OPPO if nothing sways me.

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Andi

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