Hi all,
I like to have some of you guy's opinion bout wich phone to buy. I do this work where i constantly need 2 phone's, and have a high need of fast GPS connection.
At the moment i'm using 2phones, one is an old school nokia for my work, the other one is my main phone, Galaxy S i9000.
I fixed the i9000 with a hardwaremod so i have superfast gpslock (bad connection back cover)
So now you know what my priority's are, i like to know what Cellphone you guys choose of the two:
Galaxy S duos (Price in my cellphone shop 300euros)
- 1 GHz Cortex-A5 processor
- resolution: 480 x 800 pixels (4.0inch) 230ppi
- ics pre installed, upgradable to Jellybean
- 4 GB storage, 768 MB RAM
- Camera 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels with flash
- 1500 mAh accu
--> easy rooting, i know samsungs interface and love the fastness of the gps.
Alcatel 997D: (price in me cellphoneshop 220euros)
- 1 GHz Dual-Core Cortex-A9 CPU
- resolution: 480 x 800 pixels (4.3inch) 217ppi
- ICS installed
- 4 GB storage, 1GB RAM
- Camera 8 MP 3264 x 2448 pixels with flash
- 1800 mAh accu
--> no root know yet cuz this is a brand new phone, dunno bout gps speed etc.
My max is 300euros for this phone, so i would like to have some opinions from other people, cuz i'm a bit of a samsung fan
i love to play with my phone, so rooting is prefered, but i dunno if the dualcore rapes the samsungs single core
kind regards,
Robin
robin-sips said:
Hi all,
I like to have some of you guy's opinion bout wich phone to buy. I do this work where i constantly need 2 phone's, and have a high need of fast GPS connection.
At the moment i'm using 2phones, one is an old school nokia for my work, the other one is my main phone, Galaxy S i9000.
I fixed the i9000 with a hardwaremod so i have superfast gpslock (bad connection back cover)
So now you know what my priority's are, i like to know what Cellphone you guys choose of the two:
Galaxy S duos (Price in my cellphone shop 300euros)
- 1 GHz Cortex-A5 processor
- resolution: 480 x 800 pixels (4.0inch) 230ppi
- ics pre installed, upgradable to Jellybean
- 4 GB storage, 768 MB RAM
- Camera 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels with flash
- 1500 mAh accu
--> easy rooting, i know samsungs interface and love the fastness of the gps.
Alcatel 997D: (price in me cellphoneshop 220euros)
- 1 GHz Dual-Core Cortex-A9 CPU
- resolution: 480 x 800 pixels (4.3inch) 217ppi
- ICS installed
- 4 GB storage, 1GB RAM
- Camera 8 MP 3264 x 2448 pixels with flash
- 1800 mAh accu
--> no root know yet cuz this is a brand new phone, dunno bout gps speed etc.
My max is 300euros for this phone, so i would like to have some opinions from other people, cuz i'm a bit of a samsung fan
i love to play with my phone, so rooting is prefered, but i dunno if the dualcore rapes the samsungs single core
kind regards,
Robin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 997D and I'm very satisfied. It has much better specs than the Galaxy S duoS and it is also cheaper. Go with the alcatel.
I had the same doubt and I've finally gone for the Alcatel, but I can still understand people who would choose Samsung Galaxy S Duos instead. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each one:
Alcatel OT 997 D:
Pros:
Dual core processor
1 Gb RAM
Cheaper (around 100 euros cheaper than Galaxy S Duos)
Splash proof coating (called P2i)
Cons:
Low resolution for such a big screen, Although, as in Galaxy Nexus, since it has onscreen buttons for home, back and menu on the bottom, resolution is a bit less than the stated 480x800
Worse camera and led flash, although not bad at all
Samsung Galaxy S Duos:
Pros:
Awesome screen quality
Samsung has already included this phone in the list of phones which will get an upgrade to Android 4.1
Awesome camera and led flash
Cons:
Very expensive, too much in my opinion, given the specs
Single core processor
Just 768 Mb RAM
It's really up to you, but well, I don't have to tell you I'd go for the Alcatel, since I have already done so.
jman0 said:
I had the same doubt and I've finally gone for the Alcatel, but I can still understand people who would choose Samsung Galaxy S Duos instead. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each one:
Alcatel OT 997 D:
Pros:
Dual core processor
1 Gb RAM
Cheaper (around 100 euros cheaper than Galaxy S Duos)
Splash proof coating (called P2i)
Cons:
Low resolution for such a big screen, Although, as in Galaxy Nexus, since it has onscreen buttons for home, back and menu on the bottom, resolution is a bit less than the stated 480x800
Worse camera and led flash, although not bad at all
Samsung Galaxy S Duos:
Pros:
Awesome screen quality
Samsung has already included this phone in the list of phones which will get an upgrade to Android 4.1
Awesome camera and led flash
Cons:
Very expensive, too much in my opinion, given the specs
Single core processor
Just 768 Mb RAM
It's really up to you, but well, I don't have to tell you I'd go for the Alcatel, since I have already done so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i bought the 997D to, and i'm very happy with it, i came from a i9000 galaxy S, and seriously, why is samsung so slow at starting up???
now i'm looking for a way to root this thing any topics about it yet?
robin-sips said:
Well i bought the 997D to, and i'm very happy with it, i came from a i9000 galaxy S, and seriously, why is samsung so slow at starting up???
now i'm looking for a way to root this thing any topics about it yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is waiting at the Post Office at the moment (I live in Spain and it came from Germany) so I guess I'll be able to get it today or tomorrow. I'll try to root it right away, and I'll post to report if I can get something from it.
I haven't been able to root the phone yet. It looks like it's rootable if you keep the stock firmware it comes with, but if you install the latest firmware via OTA update (as I did) there's still no known method to root it.
I tried SuperOneClick, Unlockroot 3.0 (recently updated) and "Root with_Restore by Bin4ry v15.7" (which can be found here at xda) and none of them worked. I guess we'll have to wait. If we had a working Clockworkmod recovery, maybe we could use Chainfire's SuperSU zip, which I succesfully used in the past on other phones. I tried signing it, and then tried to flash it using the stock recovery, but there's no way to do such a thing, since the signature verification always fails.
Another good reason to buy Alcatel OT-997D and not Samsung Galaxy S Duos: the battery.
On the Alcatel, battery can last up to 2 days of my normal use (1hr. talking, around 2 hrs of music and 1 hr. of playing every day), and, according to people I know who have purchased the Samsung, on that one, battery lasts a little longer that 24 hrs. with a similar usage pattern.
Is 997D able to move apps to SD Card
Just purchased a Galaxy S duos with ICS, and finding it has some severe SDCard memory limitations. Had seen some people complaining about this on Forums and GSM Arena, but didn't realise how serious the limitation was until experiencing it myself:
1. 4G internal SD specified, only 2G available
2. Mass storage mode not available, only MTP and PTP. I see from the 997D Q&A that it may still have this feature.
3. Unable to move apps (and therefore associated data) to SD Card without rooting.
4. The pre-installed Navigon maps stores maps on internal SD card, which will preclude use in US or Europe where maps are much larger than my home country Australia.
5. Only apps that appear to use external SD card are inbuilt music and camera. Presumably many larger apps or games will not be useable on this phone. Sony music unlimited will not offline sync with the external SD card, have read that spotify won't either.
6. Seems to be a general issue with latest Samsung phones, but at least the likes of S3 and Note 2 have minimum 16GB of memory to play with, 2GB is just not enough.
7. As an aside, I'm also wondering if the 997D supports DLNA out of the box ?
Wondering if the 997D has the same memory limitiations ? Thinking of returning the galaxy s duos and trying to source a 997D (not easy from Australia).
I'm generally happy with the galaxy s duos, performance is as expected, size, screen and dual sim function are good. However, getting somewhat concerned that I will run out of SDCard storage very quickly with these limitations. Already consumed more than half just by installing basic applications I need for my job.
Looks to me like Samsung should not be selling these ICS+ android phones with anything less than 8GB of available internal memory if they're not able to install apps onto the external SD Card.
bradmini said:
Just purchased a Galaxy S duos with ICS, and finding it has some severe SDCard memory limitations. Had seen some people complaining about this on Forums and GSM Arena, but didn't realise how serious the limitation was until experiencing it myself:
1. 4G internal SD specified, only 2G available
2. Mass storage mode not available, only MTP and PTP. I see from the 997D Q&A that it may still have this feature.
3. Unable to move apps (and therefore associated data) to SD Card without rooting.
4. The pre-installed Navigon maps stores maps on internal SD card, which will preclude use in US or Europe where maps are much larger than my home country Australia.
5. Only apps that appear to use external SD card are inbuilt music and camera. Presumably many larger apps or games will not be useable on this phone. Sony music unlimited will not offline sync with the external SD card, have read that spotify won't either.
6. Seems to be a general issue with latest Samsung phones, but at least the likes of S3 and Note 2 have minimum 16GB of memory to play with, 2GB is just not enough.
7. As an aside, I'm also wondering if the 997D supports DLNA out of the box ?
Wondering if the 997D has the same memory limitiations ? Thinking of returning the galaxy s duos and trying to source a 997D (not easy from Australia).
I'm generally happy with the galaxy s duos, performance is as expected, size, screen and dual sim function are good. However, getting somewhat concerned that I will run out of SDCard storage very quickly with these limitations. Already consumed more than half just by installing basic applications I need for my job.
Looks to me like Samsung should not be selling these ICS+ android phones with anything less than 8GB of available internal memory if they're not able to install apps onto the external SD Card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 4GB you talk of also include internal storage, so you'll never get the full 4GB for user data, and the same applies to 997D and almost any other Android phones. Galaxy Note II doesn't let you use the full 16GB, either.
And now, the other questions:
997D has mass storage, MTP and PTP modes.
Apps are moveable to the sd card, regardless of the root status
The external sdcard is directly mounted under /sdcard, so no problem with GPS navigation software or any other apps.
I think 997D does support DLNA, but I can't be sure, since I haven't tested it myself.
jman0 said:
The 4GB you talk of also include internal storage, so you'll never get the full 4GB for user data, and the same applies to 997D and almost any other Android phones. Galaxy Note II doesn't let you use the full 16GB, either.
And now, the other questions:
997D has mass storage, MTP and PTP modes.
Apps are moveable to the sd card, regardless of the root status
The external sdcard is directly mounted under /sdcard, so no problem with GPS navigation software or any other apps.
I think 997D does support DLNA, but I can't be sure, since I haven't tested it myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the information. While I realise a lot of cheaper android phones have restricted internal SD card space, now that Samsung or Google (and assume other vendors will follow suit) are restricting ability to run apps from the external SD Card with ICS and above, 4GB (less whatever the system takes up) is no longer enough for even the most basic android phones. Shouldn't have to root the phone just to load a few apps, maps or synchronise some music offline from a streaming service.
If available, 997D is looking like a much better choice at this point than the Samsung S Duos.
Hello guys !
After searching the online shops for a new android phone i found this dual sim Alcatel, really nice hardware for this kind of money , unbeatable i´ll say ..
I have some questions for you about this phone because i never used a dual sim phone before .
So , can you tell me if the dual sim thing affects the batery usage more than a non dual ?
Another question is about the ´´onscreen buttons for home´´ .. how is it compared to the ´´standard´´ hardware/touch sensitive buttons ? i´m wondering about touching them by mistake when you´re using the phone on browsing/gaming etc .
Thank you in advance .
Of course, having two sims takes more battery power than only one, but I can confirm, since I've been using this phone for a month now, that battery life in the 997D is more than adequate. I'm using the two sims everyday, and with moderate use (2 hrs. of music playback, some 3G browsing and about 1 hr. talk time everyday) mine lasts for almost two days.
Anyway, are you gonna use one or two sims? If you just use one, it doesn't matter how many slots the phone has, since it will only be operating one sim.
By the way, my usage also includes having the mobile data on 2G most of the time, since things like whatsapp don't need much bandwidth to work. When I really need the speed to browse the web or get an app from google play, I switch to 2G and then back to 3G when I'm done.
Yes, you can press the onscreen buttons by mistake, but that happens rarely. And they are as good and sensitive as the screen, and the screen on 997D is very good.
Enviado desde mi ALCATEL ONE TOUCH 997D usando XDA Premium HD app
e-compass
sbaragnaus_ said:
Hi, does the 997d e-compass works well? I've read in other forums it has a lot of problem.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think e-compass have that much issues. If you're talking about erratic orientation to the north, most phones and especially tablets get this prob due largely to the magnetic covered cases on their devices, just like the protective case I have with my Galaxy tab, doing away with my magnetic case when navigating solves it. You can also fix its orientation by getting a compass app with orientation calibrating features.
Hi,
Anyone there have problem with download app more then 2m with mobile network data?Alcatel OT997D:crying::cryingownload fine with wifi any size of the app.Thanks
I bought the 997d, and I'm very happy.
toysnic said:
I bought the 997d, and I'm very happy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can someone put a picture with the led notification for this phone?
sergiuhusca said:
Can someone put a picture with the led notification for this phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LED notification ?
BTW I had the exact same problem as the OP.
I already have a Samsung Galaxy S3 I9305 with 2 GB ram and now in the end I bought the Alcatel for my GF since she wanted dual sim. I don't regret at all, I can assure you it's a great phone!
The screen is of course not as good as the Samsung flagship phone, but it's very decent. If I had to choose again between the Samsung Galaxy S Duos and the Alcatel, I would not hesitate a second! (And I'm more used to Samsung for everything: phone, tv, microwave etc)
The Samsung Galaxy S Duos is a rip off and a huge mistake IMHO (Too expensive, not enough ram and only single core). The Alcatel clearly wins compared to the Samsung. It boots very fast too (even faster than my S3). The battery is fine too for a smartphone and will of course always depend on what you do with it.
Furthermore the Android version running on it works very well and fluid overall. The stock contact/call apps seem to work faster than on the S3 and have all needed features (On the S3 sometimes there is a slight hesitation to open them). Crazy if you think about it. The Samsung own added software isn't that great actually if you look at the performance (feature wise it's fine of course).
I'm really a fan of Samsung in general, believe me! But the S DUOS is not what it should be at all!
EDIT: Now I think of it, there is one advantage of the S DUOS: the physical buttons. The virtual buttons make the usable screen a bit smaller unfortunately My S3 is clearly better in terms of available space on the screen.
But this is a non issue for this class of phone and I suppose on the S DUOS the screen size would disappoint a little as well when I compare it to my S3. Using the buttons however is not a problem in my experience, it's only the screen space that it takes away that "bothers" me.
sbaragnaus_ said:
Hi, does the 997d e-compass works well? I've read in other forums it has a lot of problem.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
compass is fixed on latest vBF4-0 rom version.
Opinion after two months of use:
-smooth operation
-very good job dualsim
-very good job GPS;
almost all tested navigation
-battery with an average load can withstand two days
-seems immune to injuries
I hope the updates to JB 4.1
Value for money and work performance seems very beneficial.
This is my next dualsim, and I definitely recommend it.
I very eagerly await the next dualsim Alcatel Idol X
This is a new 2048x1536 clone from Best Buy. It has Rockchip RK3288 processor with a Broadcom BCM4350 WiFi AC/BT4.0/FM radio. It came with Android 5.0.1. As usual from the Chinese, the SW leaves much to be desired. In fact the Regulatory Information page is for the N9. It went the FCC as MID7802 and pictures and user manual are post there. I grabbed one for $150. I was interested since it supports HEVC/H.265. It plays them flawlessly. It scored 785 on AnTuTu video test v3.0. The speed test was 38005. Screen looks good. Now for the bad.
1. Won't turn on when off and charger connected.
2. Adaptive brightness doesn't use the control. Really bright and drains battery.
3. SDcard only accessible for stock apps. ES3 or Kodi can't see it. Probably mounted root only.
4. Camera app is really primitive. No option to record as HEVC even though HW encoding supported.
Any thoughts on this tablet and how easy or hard it would be to get a good ROM on it?
Hmm, the bad looks like stuff that could be fixed with a software update. Though I've yet to see an adaptive brightness option that was any good. I almost always adjust manually. I never really use camera functions on my tablets. The part where it won't turn on while charging is a bit disturbing though.
Battery drains while screen sleeps like crazy
decent tab
I managed to pick the flex elite 7.85" tablet up @ my local Best Buy yesterday for a discounted price of only $90 and so far very happy with it for the cost. Not sure I would be so happy at the full $150...maybe so though.
Battery life isn't the greatest even with a good battery saving app. Doesn't bother me to much though because I usually have my tabs plugged into the wall outlet.
Some things I like are the beautiful display and greatly bright lighting, makes it easy to use outside or in. Also like the quick responsiveness and sensitive touch screen. It's not so sensitive that you're accidentally hitting things you don't want to but plenty sensitive to pick up on the intentional hits. I like the thin style (only 0.3" thin, I think). Although it's plastic it feels solid and higher end in the hands. All in all it's just a decent tab for the average user...although maybe not so much for the enthusiast.
A couple things I don't like are that there are no accessories available for it at all. I'm rough on electronics (drop alot) and a good, solid case is near necessity for me. Still ticked off about dropping my Sero 7 PRO and killing it last year...man, was that ever a nice tab?!
Another thing I am a bit disenchanted with is no root instruction yet available and no ROM that I know of...been searching and hoping. I also read somewhere that it's not possible to write to the micro SD card from the tablet...if true, that really sucks! Though I rarely use a micro SD card with tabs, it's nice to be able to use them to keep onboard space freed up. I still need to buy a micro SD to test this last statement for myself, so can't guarantee the accuracy of the statement.
Anyway, decent tab that will probably fulfill my web browsing, shopping and WordPress needs for the next year so can't complain for a $90 investment. I don't expect any updates to the firmware over it's lifetime and really not to hopeful for a root instructional to be written but still pretty decent out of the box so far....I'll let you know about the possible microsd issue once I find out for myself.
OK, so I found out that the microsd card is difficult to get mounted and working correctly on this tablet (unfortunately I'm no geek). But I was finally able to use an app to xfer files after formatting the SD card to ntsf instead of fat32. Still a pita but got it working.
Now if only someone would make an easy root instructional for this thing I might actually keep it for a while
Alrighty, got one of these and so far it's been good for its price.
I can turn it off and on while charging, both sleep/wake and full power off/power on.
The brightness seems fine to me, but again I've not used adaptive as I've never had a tab with a worthwhile adaptive brightness, and I've had Nexus 7 and 9, Galaxy Tabs pro and S, and a half dozen others.
Getting an SD later today for it.
Battery life isn't great, but I'm not seeing the sleep drain I keep reading about.
As has been mentioned the SD is only visible to system apps. Unless you format it NTFS, then it can be found by other apps. Need to figure out how to make shortcuts/symbolic links so it can be reached from areas other than /mnt as I think some apps expect it to show up in the storage folder and other places.
It's fast and snappy. Display is crisp & nice and bright and is the perfect size. I too am seeing unexpected battery drain overnight (losing 50% of battery) while the tablet is sleeping. I wish the battery lasted longer on standby as my needs are to read to fall asleep and then wake up and study - the Tab A has a longer lasting battery than this. Takes a long time to boot up if it's entirely shut down. It refuses to run Netflix either in the Netflix app nor in the browser. I have all the latest updates of the OS plus Netflix but it's not working. It's a shame but I am today returning it to BestBuy due to the Netflix issue which I consider a core app. WINS: Display is awesome and CPU speed is very good! CONS: Won't play Netflix, battery life is weak, takes long to boot up.
still no sign of 4rd party rooms?
in the market for something to replace my POS dell 8 tablet. can anyone say how insignia is on updates? will this get 6?
Oma has made a rom for it at arctablet.com
bbobb said:
Oma has made a rom for it at arctablet.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
link?
cannot post links.
google 'insignia flex elite oma root'
should be top result.
Got to page 4, post 49.
micro sdcard should be formatted ntfs
i just bought this tablet used
i think my rom is hosed, it has a system process kill at startup and it is very laggy. it also shuts down is left to sleep for more then 5min. a factory reset doesnt change anything... but ive seen this before... nothing short of a full rom wipe fixes it. that's the real danger of chinese tablets, if you hose the os there is no way to fix it...
im trying to root it and put oma rom on it, to see if that fixes the software issues. i dont think its hardware, because once im in a game or app it runs lightning quick. even games like mortal kombat with their high end graphics run smooth... its really somethin on this screen.
boot time SUCKS on this tablet. like, 4min or something. what the hell insignia? you cant optimize this rom even a little bit?
I like the tablet. I have seen several software updates (didn't check the build numbers) before I flashed Oma's ROM. It still has a long boot time, but if you go to the developer options, and turn off the animation options, it feels pretty fast (definitely faster than anything that is even close to this price range). Oma's current rom doesn't fix the Netflix app issue. Maybe an update can figure out what the conflict is?
superhumvee said:
I like the tablet. I have seen several software updates (didn't check the build numbers) before I flashed Oma's ROM. It still has a long boot time, but if you go to the developer options, and turn off the animation options, it feels pretty fast (definitely faster than anything that is even close to this price range). Oma's current rom doesn't fix the Netflix app issue. Maybe an update can figure out what the conflict is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just got one yesterday. I didn't update to the December update, but I flashed oma's rom (pretty sure I did?), rooted with king root and then replaced with super su and the boot up time is much much faster than stock. I want to say less than a minute vs. close to 3 or 4 before.
I bought two of these used off eBay, both seem to suffer from sound stutter/slight freeze ups once in awhile. I've reset both and made sure they are running the current OTA update.
It seems to mostly do it for Youtube and YouTube for Kids, but notice it once in awhile during some more graphic intense games. Which surprises me as from the specs at least this should be a pretty decent budget tablet.
I just picked up a "seller refurbished" on from Ebay -- there are a *ton* of them up there at the moment. It actually looks pretty decent. The battery life is *horrible* (about 4 hours of SOT for reading or web surfing), but the rest of the flaws can be worked around.
First off was setting the window animations to zero, as suggested here earlier, followed by KingRoot and SU substitution (also as suggested). Then, from the Store:
- SDFix:KitKat Writable MicroSD and
- Folder Mount
combined to let me store app data on the microSD.
- FlashFire did a great job of installing Xposed Framework and from there I can tweak to my hearts' content (Greenify, GravityBox, and XSSID Indicator so far)!
Right now, it looks like your best bet would be Oma's rom that someone mentioned earlier, which would be rooted and let you do some customization. I don't use KingRoot because there's some report that the software collects data on you without your consent. What with all the rumors about Xiaomi snooping on you and China's officially-sanctioned practices in cyber space, you don't want to assume unnecessary risks. Bad enough that Uncle Sam is looking over your shoulder, but China?? Do the math!
Back to the matter at hand. Looks like your tab will be stuck with Lollipop forever (1) because the sales of this model is low enough not to stimulate any interest in developing custom roms; (2) manufacturer's support is non-existent (I mean literally non-existent); (3) if you get a representative to answer, the person doesn't know enough to say anything beyond what's in the manual; and (4) they categorically refuse to release even a stock rom for the user to restore where the tab is bricked by their own OTA updates!!! What sets them apart is that I know of no other reputable manufacturer that would so adamantly oppose such potential remedies. Unbelievable! The only recourse is warranty - which means if you're outside that period, you're toast, even if the hardware is in perfectly working order.
To recap, absolutely no support and no update. Promulgating a policy that drives away consumers is of course their prerogative, but why they care so much about losing business is beyond me. So think hard before shelling out for their products. Low prices and enticing specs ain't worth crap if the tablet doesn't work at all.