NEW SUPER SLIM 6.5mm MTK6577 PHONE SPOTTED ON FASTCARDTECH

Hey guys, check out this beauty. Only problem is the price which is $399 and Dual core processor and non-IPS screen.
The specs cut and pasted from fastcardtech:
You can view this on the fastcardtech site HERE

Model: ViVO X1

Carrier: Unlocked Android smartphone
Phone Style: Bar, touchscreen, 4.7 inch multi-touch capacitive screen
Operating System: Android 4.1 OS
Processor: MTK MT6577, 1GHz dual-core

Display
Screen Size: 4.7" touchscreen
Display reulotion: 960*540 pixel
Color Support: 16 million colors
Screen Technology: Multi-touch screen, capacitive

Camera
Camera Resulotion: 8.0 megapixel CMOS, 720P video record, auto focus, digital zoom, LED flashlight

Connectivity
Connectivity Technology: GSM + WCDMA 3G network
Network Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz & WCDMA 2100 MHz
Data Technology: GPRS / EDGE / HSPA+
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1
WLan: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
USB: USB 2.0
GPS: GPS/A-GPS

Features
Video Player: AVI、MP4、3GP、MOV、MKV、FLV
Audio Player: FLAC、APE、MP3、OGG、AMR、AAC
Image: JPG、PNG、BMP、GIF
Ringing Tones: Downloadable
Message: SMS, MMS, Email
Phone Book: More than 10000 contacts
Brower: HTML
Game: Downloadable, Google Market
Radio: FM Radio
G-sensor: Yes
Interface/Port: 3.5mm earphone jack / mini USB

Battery
Battery: Li-on battery, 2000mAh
Standby Time: 100-150 hours

Impressive thin Phone. Comments please?

NEW MTK6577 CHINA JELLY BEAN MTK6577 PHONES ARE HERE

Recently a slew of Android Jelly Bean phones have been released. Although Jelly Bean is a minor update to Ice Cream Sandwich there are some improvements I wondered how I got along without them. Go Jelly Bean and you will never go back. Three things I enjoy about Jelly Bean are project butter which makes the phone smooth and responsive, Google now & voice search and the new notification pull down panel. Here are some links to Real Jelly Bean phones I found on Fastcardtech.

1) HDC Galaxy Note 2 S7100
2) HDC Galaxy Note 2 S7100 Lite (512mb ram)
3) ViVO X1-6.55mm Thickness body Android OS Mobile Phone
4) Star B94M
5) UMI X1 (ICS with JB firmware upgrade android 4.1.2)
6) HDC Galaxy S3 G9300
7) HDC Galaxy S3 G9300 Lite (512mb ram)
8) Jiayu G2S
9) Haipai Galaxy Note 2 N7200 (512mb ram, real 8mp camera interpolated to 12mp IPS HD screen).
10 HDC Galaxy Note 2 H7100 (512mb or 1gb version available)

Update: 11) HDC Galaxy Note 2 Ultra

I confirm all these phones to be Jelly Bean Phones. Fake Android 4.1.1 phones were detected and not included in this list. Now is time of the arrival of 1gb Jelly bean phones. 512mb ICS phones will be left to the lower end market segment.

HOW TO SELECT A GOOD CHINESE MTK6577 PHONE

With a plethora of Chinese dual core phones on Fastcardtech and numerous online retailers, how do you choose a phone and be sure that you have made the correct choice? This article will show you if the phones are properly advertised and are not just lies. Let's begin with an example on Fastcardtech. Fastcardtech usually does screen grabs of system info from the Antutu benchmarking program so it is good for us. I don't know why they are using an old version of this program. Perhaps the old version omits certain information or show dual core processors at 2ghz. Those who are not tech savvy might just fall into this trap and buy due to high specs. The first example I will be using the phone from this LINK

Description:

HDC Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7100 S7100- MTK6577 Dual Core 1.2Ghz 5.4 inch HD Screen Android 4.1.1 Phone

REAL BUILD IN STYLUS PEN LIKE SAM NOTE2

Super slim body 8.1mm only

Real 5.4 inch HD screen

Dual core CPU over 5500 scores tested by benchmark

Android 4.1.1 newest version OS

Firstly, the Note 2 stylus included with this phone is not the same as the Samsung styles as the built in one has a giant rubber/plastic knob for writing and the Samsung one is using a Wacom pen with a sharp tip. Those who have used a Wacom tablet on their Macs or PCs will know this. This built in one is a really cheap regular one which you can buy for a buck and it is difficult to use due to the fat rubber tip. If you have been watching my other reviews, all these screens are 5.3 inches.

Please download the screen grab above. It is in PNG format. Most likely this is an unmodified screen grab. I have not modified it as well and you can download it and measure it in Photoshop. It will show 540x960 pixels which is QHD and not 720p HD as advertised. The 3D GRAPHICS score is 1156.
I have benchmarked many MTK6577 phones and 720x1280 resolution in 3D GRAPHICS will show only 800-900 due to the CPU and GPU having to move more pixels. Conclusion, this phone is QHD 540x960

CPU frequency shows 1600MHz. The MTK 6577 processor is 1GHz and never at 1.2GHz. There are no China phones with a MTK6577 running at 1.2GHz. Moving on to Android version.

Antutu shows Android 4.1.1 above. Android Jelly Bean is running on a 3.4.0 kernel and the date should be in December. Kernel version 3.0.13 is Ice Cream Sandwich kernel. Conclusion, this phone is running ICS
Moving on to the camera...

Look at picture size. It says 4.9 MP.  This means this phone has a 4.9mp hardware cmos sensor. 8 MP is in the supported picture size section. 8 megapixel is software scaling. Supported sizes=software/hardware scaling. Conclusion, 5.0 megapixel camera. If I need it to be 8mp I'd scale it in Photoshop.

As you can see above, picture size is 1600x1200 1.9 mp and supported size is maximum 1.9 mp as well.  Conculsion, front camera is correct at 2.0 mp 

Finally,
Super slim body 8.1mm only
I doubt this phone is 8.1mm. The Original Samsung Galaxy S3 is only 8.6mm and the UMI X1 is 8.5mm and also there is a lack of photos on the website, so the specs are all wrong. It may have been shipped in a box for a different phone. I wouldn't take the risk and buy this phone. I have some readers who bought this phone so we'll see what they receive.

Next, Here is an example of a phone that I am confident of buying.  LINK HERE.

As usual, Fastcardtech has the Antutu score benchmark screen showing at full resolution and un- modified. I also measured this with Photoshop and it is QHD.

The Antutu used is a new version so it shows the resolution at 540x960. CPU is showing correctly at 1000MHz  x2. Next is the Android version shown below.

Check out the board version: e1920_v77_zlh_9p017_asx
This motherboard model is now used for all jellybean phones. The N7100+ that I have now also has this board number. The kernel version is 3.4.0 and Dec 3 date are all Jelly Bean properties so this is real Jelly Bean. Moving on to the camera.

Front camera is 0.3 mp or VGA and back camera is 5.0 mp so the advertising info 1.3mp front and 8mp back camera and is wrong but now you guys know what to look out for. 

I now know exactly what I am getting with this info, not to mention the many pictures of the phone on the webpage, so I will be ordering this phone to do a review. As I have written before, The MTK6577 chipset struggles a little with a 720p HD screen so a QHD screen with Jelly Bean makes things really fly without comprising on resolution too much. QHD screen on a 5.3 inch screen looks fine so it should look even better on a 4.7 inch screen. You can buy this phone HERE. The price is great at just $170. Lookout of the Jelly Bean Phones in my next post.

HDC S7100 Note 2 is now renamed HDC N7100+ running JELLY BEAN

UPDATE: This phone has been renamed back to S7100

If you go to the Fastcardtech site and do a search for HDC S7100, you will no longer be able to find it. It has been re-named HDC N7100+ which shares the same name as the UPAI N7100+ or the STAR S7100 / N7100+. The price has also been dropped to $195 with free shipping.
You will never find a company that switches names like that in the western world or even in Singapore. Perhaps the brand HDC is just a name created by Fastcardtech.
Anyway, these phones are all identical and I ordered one for testing and my findings are in my previous post. This is the first MTK6577 phone running Jelly Bean and I want to see for myself how good Jelly Bean is. I found the phone to be unstable but still useable when all the functions are working. It gets frustrating when you turn off a switch only to find that you are unable to turn it back on and have to try several things to try to get it to work like hold your breath while turning on the phone or standing on your head while you activate the switch.
I managed to find a rom from a Spanish forum and flashed it and everything runs correctly except that the compass is not working. The compass was already not working in the first faulty ROM.
So here is the youtube video that I just finished. Sorry if I left out testing some features but I had to make the video as short and as comprehensive as possible so you will know what you are getting when you buy this phone.

There is another version of this phone with a HD 720p screen (link here) but I will not be testing that as I already know now that the MTK6577 SOC is being pushed to its limits when driving a 720p HD screen and therefore will introduce some jerkiness.  I am very skeptical of this HD version because the main advertising in the listing do not coincide with the pictures and details. I am sure the screen is QHD and not HD. I measured the size of the screen grab and it is QHD unmodified. If fastcardtech resized the picture it will be in JPG format and not PNG which is the screen grab format. That phone is the HDC N7100 (without the +). If you want to buy the phone then go ahead, don't let me stop you.

So please watch the video to find out if this phone is for you. Rooted stable ROM and CWM recovery Links Below the video.





Buy this phone HERE

Essential software list:
CWM RECOVERY
N7100+ROOTED ROM
BIN4RY ROOT METHOD
FLASH TOOL FOR WINDOWS
MTK6577 and MTK6575 DRIVERS
Dec 29 2012 update: Engineer mode
*#*#3646633#*#*

UPDATE: A reader received the phone without the instability problems so it appears that the phone has been fixed. If anyone has the phone with the old unstable rom, the rom here will fix those problems.
If you get the phone without any problems, you just need to add CWM recovery and use the rooting method by bin4ry.

Get this excellent Jelly Bean phone here:

Star S7180 or HDC S7100 or UPAI N7100+ Galaxy Note 2 Clones Review

So I received the HDC Note 2 S7100 from Fastcardtech few days ago and have been using this for the past 2 days. This phone is also known as the Star N7100+ because of there is a label N7100+ under the battery. Star has 2 versions of this phone. A cheaper 512mb ram version and a 1gb version.

I experienced some deficiencies with this product. The rom is really Jelly Bean which makes the phone buttery smooth even when viewing a heavy flash loaded page but the rom should be called Beta at most. In notification panel, auto rotation will get disabled after a while and will not be active even after you restart. UPDATE: In the notifications panel switches on top, some switches do not work properly. Here are the problems I faced in the past 4 days:

Auto Rotation switch: it works once then it gets stuck in that mode till battery is pulled. (the switch gets highlighted or un-highlighted so you think it is in effect)

Flight Mode: After switching to flight mode it gets stuck in flight mode till battery is pulled. Touching the icon switch does nothing after that. After phone is turned on, you need to go to SIM Management in the Settings to re-enable the sim card.
(the switch gets highlighted or un-highlighted so you think it is in effect)

Data Connection Switch: After I disabled connection, I cannot re-enable it. After battery is pulled I still cannot re-enable it. After several battery pulls and reboots, it comes back. (the switch is highlighted all the time even thought data connection is not activated). I dare not disable it now since I don't know when I get it back when I want to enable it.

Proximity sensor flickers on and off all the time so you get a flickering flashing screen when you make or answer a call. Fixed. In Settings>Display, there is a proximity sensor calibration feature.
Wifi signal is good. I was at a place with unstable wifi signal before, so it did not give me a good signal. GPS is good with the phone discovering 12 satellites in less than a minute and locked on several seconds after that. These issues puts it into the DO NOT BUY category until they fix the rom. All the bugs seem to be in the connectivity switches. The rest of the phone is very very good, fast and responsive, and I mean iPhone smoothness, which is a real pity. I have just found a rom and hopefully it will fix these issues. I will release a youtube video of this phone in a day or 2 after I have tested the new rom.
The newer batch may have already been fixed but I will not hold my breath.

So still in number one spot of my recommend Note 2 clones is the HDC Note 2 Ex.


This post has been updated on the 19 Dec 2012

New Update 19 Dec 2012 6pm:
Stable ROM found and tested. Everything is fixed and is great. Go ahead and buy it. Another reader reported good rom on a more recent order.
Youtube review up.
Link HERE

Will post ROM and recovery (english) links tomorrow.

HDC Galaxy S3 EX / Star B92m Evaluation / Conclusions

After reviewing then using the HDC Galaxy S3 EX for 2 weeks, here are the pros and cons in my opinion.

Pros :
Lightweight
Decent quality construction
Very good quality home button
Very sharp real IPS HD screen
Very wide viewing angles
Good quality Speakers
Good Call Quality
Good Wifi Signal
Good phone signal and 3G / HSPDA
The Slimmest Galaxy S3 Dual Core clone available
Responsive Games Performance
Stable Android Firmware
Bright Flash
Cheap with full hd and 1gb ram

Cons:
No notification LED
Only 512mb program install space (Can be increased to 2.5gb by rooting and flashing)
Average battery Life due to point below
Higher Wifi / Data power consumption especially when low signal.(can be fixed with software I think)
Less saturated screen colors
Camera 8mp upscaled to 12mp with over tuned noise reduction algorithm.
Slight graphics jerks when scrolling around or when using browsing internet on certain websites. ( not very obvious and Jelly Bean OS could fix this.)
Slower GPS fix.
In consistent Bluetooth uploading when paired with certain phones but not all (e.g. broken uploads with UMI X1 but good uploads to Neo N02-m). Downloading (receiving data works fine)
Stiff power button (may be a positive thing for some people)
Deep recessed USB port
Bad direct sunlight readability

See my earlier review here:









Now you can still get this nice phone at fastcardtech here

REVIEW, ROOT and PLAY STORE for your NEO N02-m or NO2-m China Android Smartphone.

Here are the softwares that you would need to root our Neo N02-m RIO :

1) 91 Assistant Chinese software (neo driver)
or go to the main software site to download.

2) Gapps Package by AROMA ( XDA FORUM)
or go to the XDA forum here.

3) MTK6577 USB Drivers

4) ROOT with RESTORE by Bin4ry

So this phone is actually meant for the China domestic market but it has a nice simplistic design along the lines of the HTC ONE series. This phone does not strive to be slim but to be functional and comfortable in your hand. I must say that it really does feel solid and robust in my hand and the matte finishing plastic casing has a premium feel, just like the HTC ONE X and the new 2012 Sony Xperia series. This phone is very affordable and has excellent performance and the 1GB of ram shows that the 512mb Ram phones are getting dated. However, to enjoy this phone, you will need to have access to a PC and be brave enough to perform the modification. The phone only has some Chinese apps and includes a Chinese Play store (not compatible to google play store) and ZERO google apps and NO Play Store. The video tutorial below shows how to do this. Flashing a latest update ROM will require rooting and prtforming the steps all over again so make sure to flash the latest update before you fix everything up. Flashing the latest rom is the same steps as installing the Gapps package.



PART ONE


PART TWO


Get your Neo N02-m here at fastcardtech. Now only $175 with free shipping!


Translation for the Neo N02-m built-in Chinese CWM Recovery menu.

THE INS AND OUTS OF BUYING A CHINA PHONE FROM FASTCARDTECH

I can't really remember when was it when I bought my first knockoff clone phone from Fastcardtech. It was the iPhone first version that had a slightly warped screen called the Sciphone. The shipping was reasonably quick and everything was in order. After that, I did not buy any other clone phones because the specs and quality was not up to par with the branded phones at that point in time.

After having used the Motorola Milestone, the iPhone 3GS, Samsung Galaxy S, Sony Xperia S, I knew what I wanted in an Android Phone. In 2012 when Mediatek released the dual core MTK6577 and the single core MTK6575 ARM SoC, these cheap Chinese phones became an attractive option. Until now these phones only came with 512mb of ram with WVGA screens which is actually enough for everyday usage. The big breakthrough Samsung made was with the Galaxy S with 512mb ram and WVGA screen which is very much like the Chinese phones of today. So in 2012, I started to buy some of these phones. These phones no longer have warped screen, cheap plastic, irritatingly loud low quality speakers. They now rival the build quality of the branded phones. Only one thing is still lagging behind and that is the implementation of the Android firmware which can be buggy on certain devices.

Being a huge country with over a billion in population, China is seeing a huge growth in population of phone users as more and more chinese move into the cities and becoming part of the middle income group. New phones are being churned out every week to fuel this demand and one of these online distributors / retailer is Fastcardtech.

Overall, Fastcardtech is a decent online store but they have some bad practices which keep them from being a totally trusted company. After buying several phones ( 5 phones now) I can now list down my observations.

On the whole I like Fastcardtech because they have many payment options including PayPal. Any company that does not have PayPal as a payment option is dubious and could be a scam company because you will not be able to get your money back if you receive a lemon ( i.e. Chinaecarts )

Another good thing is the shipping option. They have FEDEX, TNT, DHL, EMS, and regular airmail which is often Free Shipping. Now the bad thing is (not necessarily that bad ) they try to keep the shipping cost down so even using EMS or Fedex or DHL will still take a longer time between 7-14 days. Fastcardtech is located in a place that is far from a major city like Beijing so they use a shipping agent to pick up their packages and I am quite sure that the shipping agent do NOT come round everyday to pick up the packages. So when you place your order and you receive your tracking number by email, do not get the idea that your package has shipped. It is packed and assigned the airwaybill number and sitting in the store waiting for the agent to pick it up and that can take up to several days.

Another bad practice is they claim to ship out your order in 3 business days but that is just bullshit. They usually take about a full week to prepare your order ( they actually do check the phone which is a good thing ) after which you get your tracking number.
So, from making payment to actually receiving your package will take about 2-3 weeks using FEDEX or EMS or DHL. Free shipping will take 3-4 weeks using registered airmail.

Since I monitor the Fastcardtech site often I know what are the new arrivals. When I spot a brand new phone and it says "IN STOCK" I suggest you wait for 2 weeks before ordering because what they have is a sample phone and they have placed the order with the factory and still waiting for the stocks to arrive. The good thing is, if they have the physical stock, the shipping will go smoothly and quickly. Also, after a week or 2, the price will usually be adjusted downward.

 I recently ordered the NEWSMY Newman N1 and it is listed as "IN STOCK" but guess what? After waiting for almost 2 weeks and I checked my account. It was still not shipped and they told me that I have to wait because it is difficult to get that model, so this means it is not in stock. I changed it to a Neo NO2-m and it came within 2 weeks even though I selected free shipping.

I get emails saying that Fastcardtech does not answer emails but actually, they do. You log in to your account and send them an email and then log out, expecting an email back from them but you receive an auto respond email with no details. They need to fix this system. They actually do respond but you need to log in to the fastcardtech site and check the response.

The last thing I would like to point out is when you make your order and order additional accessories and select your phone color, make sure you get it right the first time because when they pack your phone and whatever else you've ordered, they check your original order and may miss out any other email you sent to them later about color change or accessories. They will miss out your additional email 50% of the time.

I would advise anyone buying from fastcardtech to read all their info right on top of the page.

Keeping all the points I wrote about in mind, you can go ahead and enjoy shopping at Fastcardtech as I would still recommend them.

One last last thing: Their English sucks!

MTK6577 with PowerVR SGX531 Ultra Screen Resolution 3D Games Test

The GPU on the MTK6577 SoC is now standard on many Chinese phones, clones or originals alike. Here we take a look at how the SGX531 GPU performs at different screen resolutions running 3D games. It has been published that the MTK6577 SoC can drive a maximum of QHD resolution ( 540x960 ) but many manufacturers have paired the MTK6577 / SGX531 Ultra GPU with 720x1280 HD screens. Games tested are N.O.V.A. 3 and NFS (Need For Speed ) Most Wanted. Because these CPU/GPU are now the highest specced chips in the Chinese budget phone market, one needs to know which combination is best for their needs. For me, I seldom play games but I appreciate high resolution screens and productivity / utility software so hires large screens are what I need. This section will help you decide what kind of phone you need without breaking the bank and tearing a hole in your pocket. Watch the video to find out more...




My recommendations for  MTK6577 phones UNDER USD $200:

If you need fastest game performance and screen resolution is secondary, get the
HDC Galaxy S3 Plus ( click link to fastcardtech ), now discounted at $180 with Free Shipping to selected countries.

If you are an occasional game player and need balanced performance with QHD higher resolution, you have several options:
HDC Galaxy Note 2 at $192 with Free Shipping!
Neo NO2-M at $174 with Free Shipping! 1GB RAM!
Star Xperia TX at $170 with Free Shipping!
Newsmy Newman N1 at $185 shipping charges applies.

If you absolutely need highest resolution 720 HD screen and play less games:
HDC Galaxy S3 EX at $195 shipping charges apply. 1GB RAM!
UMI X1 at $199.99 shipping charges apply. 1GB RAM!

NEW GALAXY NOTE 2 EX on Fastcardtech

I spotted 2 new additions to the Galaxy Note 2 collection on fastcardtech this morning. There are now a total of 4 different versions on Fastcardtech now.  So to help buyers choose their phone, here is a breakdown of the differences.

1) HDC Galaxy Note 2

This version is the one that I have and very happy with it.
It is a 512mb version and this phone is now on super promo at $179 with free shipping (11dec) to several countries.
This is identical to a Zopo ZP900S or Zopo ZP900 Lite and the ROM can also be used on this phone as I am using now. Build quality is top notch. Zopo promises Jelly Bean update sometime later.

I have made a video review earlier here on youtube. Watch here
Click here to view or buy the phone from Fastcardtech.

2) HDC Galaxy Note 2 EX (extreme version)

This version is identical to the version above except that it has 1GB RAM and that is the reason Fastcardtech appended the EX to the name. I can confirm that they are identical as the microphone is on the left of the USB port and the USB port hole is on the metal bezel and both power button and volume rocker on the right side of the phone. This is identical to the Zopo ZP900 Leader and can also use the Zopo ZP900 Leader ROM. Jelly Bean is promised from Zopo. Advertising on the website showing android version 4.1.1 is wrong. This has Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich or ICS. This phone cost more at $239 also with free shipping to some countries. Again, view my video to find out more here 
Please browse this phone or buy it here at Fastcardtech. Pics below.

3) HDC Galaxy Note Plus

I do not have experience with this model but it should work fine. Performance should be similar to the other MTK6577 dual core phones. This phone has the shape closer to the real Samsung Galaxy Note 2 as you can see that the top of the phone is straight and the back camera and LED flash has the same design and position of the Original Note 2. The home button is shaped like the real thing as well. Since I do not have this phone I do not know the stability of the firmware or camera performance. RAM is 512mb and price is $199. Shipping charges apply.
Browse or buy it here at Fastcardtech.


4) HDC Galaxy Note 2 Pro

Finally we have the Galaxy Note 2 Pro version. I really don't know what is so Pro about this. Probably because of the 1gb ram version which did not materialize. Processor is the same MTK6577 so performance should be similar to the other phones. Firmware stability and camera is unknown as I do not have this phone. This phone has a very pronounced curve at the top and looks very much like the Galaxy S3. Rear camera, LED flash and speaker grille has the same design as the galaxy S3. To me, this looks like a giant version of the Galaxy S3. RAM is also 512mb. Price is $199 with free shipping to selected countries. Browse or buy the phone here at Fastcardtech.

Recommendations:
I highly recommend no. 1) Galaxy Note 2 because of the high quality build, stable rom and fairly good quality camera. Price is reasonable with free shipping. Get it here. HDC Galaxy Note 2

I would also like to recommend the 1GB version even though the price much higher. For those who want all the good qualities of the original HDC Galaxy Note 2 and 1GB Ram for faster operation, you can get it here at $239 with free shipping to selected countries. Get it here. HDC Galaxy Note 2 EX

UPDATE: Thanks to a reader that pointed out to me that fastcardtech has another 2 models that I may have missed.

5) HDC Galaxy Note 2 S7100
This seems to be running a real version of Jelly Bean with QHD screen and 1gb of ram but only 5mp camera. Will order this soon to review...update: received this today. Real Jelly Bean and real 5.32 inch almost IPS screen but lacking camera quality. Go ahead and order this. (10 dec 2012)review coming soon.

6) HDC Galaxy Note 2 N7100
This seems to be dubious and I do not recommend buying this until things are clarified. The size of the phone seems to be too small for a 5.4 inch LCD screen and the weight is 120gm. The lightest phones are already 130-150gm and definitely not 5.3 inch. This phone looks tempting due to it's 1GB ram and full HD 720p screen. The Antutu info shows the processor running at 1.6ghz which is impossible for a MTK6577 processor. Also there are pictures of just the Antutu screen captures and no real pictures of the phone itself. I downloaded a png picture file which I believe is a direct screen grab and the size is exactly 540x960 which is QHD only. The S3 EX with real 720 screen did have the Antutu screen grab at full 720x1280. Download and check to see what I mean. All pictures are generic and copied from the S7100 model. Buy at your own risk. UPDATE: Nothing has changed on the site. I still will not recommend this. 4th December 2012
UPDATE(10 DEC 2012):This is the same phone as the S7100. I ordered the S7100 and has the label N7100 under the battery (phone arrived today). Could be a fake 720p screen modified in build.prop software.

GPS FIX for your phone based on your country

Below is a list of servers to fix the GPS of your MTK6577 phones. You will need to be rooted to fix your GPS if it can't lock

Using Root explorer or other applications browse to /system/etc/gps.conf
Edit it and set any of the following servers based on your individual location.

For more details you may visit the link provided.

http://www.pool.ntp.org/zone/@

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Global — pool.ntp.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Europe — europe.pool.ntp.org
Asia — asia.pool.ntp.org
Oceania — oceania.pool.ntp.org
North America — north-america.pool.ntp.org
South America — south-america.pool.ntp.org
Africa — africa.pool.ntp.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Europe — europe.pool.ntp.org

Austria — at.pool.ntp.org
Switzerland — ch.pool.ntp.org
Germany — de.pool.ntp.org
Denmark — dk.pool.ntp.org
Spain — es.pool.ntp.org
France — fr.pool.ntp.org
Italy — it.pool.ntp.org
Luxembourg — lu.pool.ntp.org
Netherlands — nl.pool.ntp.org
Norway — no.pool.ntp.org
Poland — pl.pool.ntp.org
Sweden — se.pool.ntp.org
Slovenia — si.pool.ntp.org
United Kingdom — uk.pool.ntp.org
Finland — fi.pool.ntp.org
Ireland — ie.pool.ntp.org
Russian Federation — ru.pool.ntp.org
Belgium — be.pool.ntp.org
Portugal — pt.pool.ntp.org
Greece — gr.pool.ntp.org
Hungary — hu.pool.ntp.org
Bulgaria — bg.pool.ntp.org
Romania — ro.pool.ntp.org
Czech Republic — cz.pool.ntp.org
Yugoslavia — yu.pool.ntp.org
Estonia — ee.pool.ntp.org
Belarus — by.pool.ntp.org
Slovakia — sk.pool.ntp.org
Ukraine — ua.pool.ntp.org
Lithuania — lt.pool.ntp.org
Macedonia — mk.pool.ntp.org
Moldova — md.pool.ntp.org
Latvia — lv.pool.ntp.org
Croatia — hr.pool.ntp.org
Republic of Serbia — rs.pool.ntp.org
Bosnia and Herzegovina — ba.pool.ntp.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asia — asia.pool.ntp.org

Philippines — ph.pool.ntp.org
Malaysia — my.pool.ntp.org
Turkey — tr.pool.ntp.org
Singapore — sg.pool.ntp.org
India — in.pool.ntp.org
Hong Kong — hk.pool.ntp.org
United Arab Emirates — ae.pool.ntp.org
Japan — jp.pool.ntp.org
Bangladesh — bd.pool.ntp.org
Israel — il.pool.ntp.org
Korea — kr.pool.ntp.org
Thailand — th.pool.ntp.org
Iran — ir.pool.ntp.org
Taiwan — tw.pool.ntp.org
China — cn.pool.ntp.org
Indonesia — id.pool.ntp.org
Vietnam — vn.pool.ntp.org
Pakistan — pk.pool.ntp.org
Oman — om.pool.ntp.org
Uzbekistan — uz.pool.ntp.org
Sri Lanka — lk.pool.ntp.org
Kyrgyzstan — kg.pool.ntp.org
Cambodia — kh.pool.ntp.org
Qatar — qa.pool.ntp.org
Saudi Arabia — sa.pool.ntp.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oceania — oceania.pool.ntp.org

Australia — au.pool.ntp.org
New Zealand — nz.pool.ntp.org
New Caledonia — nc.pool.ntp.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

North America — north-america.pool.ntp.org

Canada — ca.pool.ntp.org
United States — us.pool.ntp.org
Mexico — mx.pool.ntp.org
Guatemala — gt.pool.ntp.org
Panama — pa.pool.ntp.org
Bahamas — bs.pool.ntp.org
Costa Rica — cr.pool.ntp.org
El Salvador — sv.pool.ntp.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

South America — south-america.pool.ntp.org

Brazil — br.pool.ntp.org
Chile — cl.pool.ntp.org
Argentina — ar.pool.ntp.org
Venezuela — ve.pool.ntp.org

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Africa — africa.pool.ntp.org

Tanzania — tz.pool.ntp.org
South Africa — za.pool.ntp.org
Angola — ao.pool.ntp.org
Madagascar — mg.pool.ntp.org

HDC Galaxy Note 2 Quardrant Standard Scores and Dual Sim operation

On Fastcardtech there are 2 similar phones called the

1) HDC Galaxy Note 2

and the

2) HDC Galaxy Note 2 Pro

The HDC Galaxy Note 2 Pro was supposed to have a 1gb RAM option but that has now been removed. Both phones actually have similar 5.3 inch screens and not the misleading 5.4 or 5.5 inch screens. This makes the 2 phones very similar. The advantage of course goes to the original Galaxy Note 2 because I have been using it for more than a month now and have been very happy with it. This phone is also identical to Zopo ZP900 Lite and is being supported and a promised Jelly Bean update from Zopo. The rear of both phones are different. A user on Youtube requested Quadrant scores so here are the screen captures I did today.

And the screen capures below shows the phone with dual Sim in operation. I was in Vietnam so Google Now detected my location.

SONY XPERIA TX Clone APPEARS AT FASTCARDTECH

So I was browsing the Fastcardtech site can I came across 2 new interesting phones both of which are in stock. Firstly, I am going to introduce the Sony Xperia TX LT29i Clone / knockoff. Here is a picture used on the Fastcardtech online site.

SONY XPERIA TX LT29i CLONE

This phone has decent specs just like the Galaxy Note II Clone that I am currently using except that the Note II has a larger 5.3 inch screen with a bigger battery. If the Note II clone is too big for your liking then this may be the phone of choice for you. I just wish this phone has 1gb instead of 512mb. My Note 2 also has 512mb and works pretty well so this should not be a big problem. The best part about this phone is it is only $169.99 and FREE SHIPPING! You can get yours now at Fastcardtech
Here are the specs:

• General
• Manufacturer: Star
• Model: Star LT29i Xperia
• Phone Style: Bar, multi-touch screen, 4.5 inch Capacitive touchscreen
• Operating System: Android 4.0 OS
• Processor: Dual-core MTK6577 1.0GHz

• Display
• Screen Size: 4.5 touchscreen
• Display reulotion: 960*540 pixel QHD IPS
• Color Support: 16 million colors
• Screen Technology: Multi-touch screen
• Camera
  Camera Resulotion: 8MP rear camera + 1.3 MP front camera, digital zoom
  
  
  Connectivity
  Connectivity Technology: GSM + WCDMA(Single Simcard)Network Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz + WCDMA 850/2100MHz
  Data Technology: EDGE, GPRS
  Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  WLan: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
  USB: USB 2.0
  GPS: GPS/A-GPS (Built-in GPS chipset)
  
  
  Features
   Video Player: AVI、MP4、3GP、MOV、MKV、FLV
  Audio Player: FLAC、APE、MP3、OGG、AMR、AAC
  Image: JPG、PNG、BMP、GIF
  Ringing Tones: Downloadable
  Message: SMS, MMS, Email
  Phone Book: 10000 contacts
  Brower: HTML
  Interface/Port:
  Game: Downloadable
  Radio: FM
  G-sensor
  Interface/Port: 3.5mm earphone jack / mini USB
  
  
  Battery
  Battery: Li-on battery
  Standby Time: 150-200 hours
  
  
  Memory
  Built-in Memory: 512MB RAM,
  Memory Card: Support microSD/microSDHC memory card, up to 32GB
  
  
  Size
  Dimensions: 129.4*69.5*9.8
  Weight: 146
  
  
  What in package
  1 * Star LT29i Xperia Android Phone
  1 * Travel Charger
  1 * USB Data Cable
  1 * Headphone
  2 * Batteries(1800mAh)
  1 * Manual
  
  
  

  

  Build quality looks pretty good

  
  
  
  
  

  

  This phone is just 12% slower than my original
  Xperia S with Snapdragon S3 1.5ghz dual core processor
  and it is only running at 1Ghz 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ok, so much for the Sony knockoff. The second phone I want to introduce is the 

  NEO NO2-M MTK6577 Dual Core 1.2Ghz 1G Ram 4.5 inch QHD Screen Android 4.0.4 Phone

  These phones are always advertised as 1.2ghz but they are really 1ghz. The kernel provided by the phone manufacturers do support over clocking so you will need to build your own kernel if you are a developer. This phone also have similar specs to other MTK6577 with QHD IPS screen but this really has 1gb of ram! Looks like all the manufacturers which do not produce clones have started to include 1gb of ram in all their offerings just like the NEWMAN N1 that I just ordered. This phone does indeed look like the HTC One X from the front. This phone is only $179 and also FREE SHIPPING!
  
  
  

  General

  • Manufacturer: NEO
  • Model: NEO NO2-M
  • Phone Style: Bar, multi-touch screen, 4.5 inch Capacitive touchscreen
  • Operating System: Android 4.0.4 OS
  • Processor: MTK6577 Dual Core 1.0GHz

  
  

  Display

  • Screen Size: 4.5 inch QHD touchscreen
  • Display reulotion: 960*540 pixel 
  • Color Support: 16 million colors
  • Screen Technology: Multi-touch screen

  
  

  Camera

  • Camera Resulotion: 8MP rear camera + 1.3 MP front camera, digital zoom

  
  

  Connectivity

  • Connectivity Technology: GSM + WCDMA
  • Network Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz + WCDMA 850/2100MHz
  • Data Technology: EDGE, GPRS
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
  • WLan: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
  • USB: USB 2.0
  • GPS: GPS/A-GPS (Built-in GPS chipset)

  
  

  Features

  • Video Player: AVI、MP4、3GP、MOV、MKV、FLV
  • Audio Player: FLAC、APE、MP3、OGG、AMR、AAC
  • Image: JPG、PNG、BMP、GIF
  • Ringing Tones: Downloadable
  • Message: SMS, MMS, Email
  • Phone Book: 10000 contacts
  • Brower: HTML
  • Interface/Port:
  • Game: Downloadable
  • Radio: FM
  • G-sensor
  • Interface/Port: 3.5mm earphone jack / mini USB

  
  

  Battery

  • Battery: Li-on battery(1800mAh)
  • Standby Time: 150-200 hours

  
  

  Memory

  • Built-in Memory: 1GB RAM, 4GB ROM

  
  

  Size

  • Dimensions: 132.1*65.3*9.5
  • Weight: 139

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  • What in package
  • 1 * NEO NO2-M Android Phone
  • 1 * Travel Charger
  • 1 * USB Data Cable
  • 1 * Headphone
  • 1 * Manual
  •