[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

FB and Chrome are huge apps if you have a low internal memory. I have a habit of using a browser (UC or Dolphin) for FB/Twitter needs from my Galaxy Ace days.

Search on xda is all I can say then since you have tried everything else already.

Yeah - that is one good idea - will replace chrome with UC. FB app and WhatsApp are required by wife (this is my wife's phone), so cant do away with them.

Could find only one rom in XDA - next plan is to update the phone to KitKat.

--Anoop

[Added_flavor]

Originally Posted by Octane_Power

Hello Sir. Even I am planning to purchase the phone this 19th if I get lucky.

However, I was reading the user's reviews on gsmarena.com and they weren't quite confidence inspiring. I'd like to know, how is the phone overall? have you seen it 1st hand? How is the build quality and the performance? Is it worth it? Or the phone isn't upto the mark as the hype is created around it?

Thank You in advance.

-Bhargav

Hi Bhargav,

I have replied to your PM and posting the message here so that it helps other prospective buyers too.

I have written some first impressions on my facebook page. Copy pasting the same below. I have owned the phone for a week now.

Please feel free to ask me if you have any specific queries. What I want to tell you is - there is nothing Chinese about this phone apart from the name. Please go ahead and buy it. It's worth every single penny.

First Impressions:

• Crisp IPS LCD display (Nothing beating AMOLED on my Galaxy Note though)
• Nice sensitive touch (Haven't tried the glove mode yet).
• Super smooth UI - No stutter whatsoever even in heavy apps like FB and in games like Real Racing.
• Good Camera in Daylight. Haven't tried in low light yet.
• Storage is a compromise as there's no external memory slot (I had 32GB worth storage data on my Note). But MI Cloud is easy to use and data can be backed up conveniently.
• Regular SIM card is a boon. I didnt have to run to my operator to get a nano/min sim.
• Build quality is good. Aluminum Magnesium alloy feels strong compared to the plasticky Samsung.
• MIUI is a fresh change from Samsung touchwiz. It's a lovely UI and the huge range of themes ensure you dont get bored of it soon.
• Too early to comment on Battery life. But as I type this, the stats say about 8 hours since I unplugged from 100% charge, Whatsapp/FB/News/other apps on 3G full time, 110 minutes of screen time and I am on 73% still. Looks good definitely.
• The battery has performance/Balance/power saver modes.
• No earphones in the box and it will be sold as extra accessory. This is a let down.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

Have sent PMs to both n_aditya and zaveed.

To be fair, holding the phone for n_aditya as he responded first.

Nishant, thanks a ton for reserving the phone for me and facilitating the purchase and delivery process so soon. I cannot thank you enough for this.

I am eager to lay my hands on the phone but will be able to do so only over the weekend as I am traveling at the moment.

Originally Posted by RaguHolla

If you want help in getting for next sale, I can register for 19th sale and try luck again.

Ragu, thanks for offering to help out for the sale on the 19th.

Nishant was more than helpful to direct his purchase to me and I am expecting delivery of the phone tomorrow.

BIG thanks to you both for the much needed help.

[Soumyajit9]

Phew, what a slew of posts for booking the Xiaomi (I hope I spelt it right).
C'mon folks, its not an IRCTC Tatkal Booking, that if you gonna miss it today, your finances / travel / anything is gonna get hampered.

I strongly maintain my stand of going with mainstream phones like, HTC, Samsung, Sony, Moto, Micromax, Apple, etc.
These newbie brands (I call it newbie, since I heard it first, you may be very familiar with them) come and go.
The hype dies after 6 months and the customers are left in a lurch once the warranty is over.

The processor, the RAM, the display may be very tempting, but they may be from inferior manufacturers than those used by mainstream handsets.
What if it conks off after 6 months ? Please think wisely.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

Nishant, thanks a ton for reserving the phone for me and facilitating the purchase and delivery process so soon. I cannot thank you enough for this.

I am eager to lay my hands on the phone but will be able to do so only over the weekend as I am traveling at the moment.

Ragu, thanks for offering to help out for the sale on the 19th.

Nishant was more than helpful to direct his purchase to me and I am expecting delivery of the phone tomorrow.

BIG thanks to you both for the much needed help.

No sweat mate! I'm glad it all worked out peacefully and swiftly! I'm delighted by FK First service too! The phone will most probably be with you by noon time! (it happened in my case!)

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Phew, what a slew of posts for booking the Xiaomi (I hope I spelt it right).
C'mon folks, its not an IRCTC Tatkal Booking, that if you gonna miss it today, your finances / travel / anything is gonna get hampered.

I strongly maintain my stand of going with mainstream phones like, HTC, Samsung, Sony, Moto, Micromax, Apple, etc.
These newbie brands (I call it newbie, since I heard it first, you may be very familiar with them) come and go.
The hype dies after 6 months and the customers are left in a lurch once the warranty is over.

The processor, the RAM, the display may be very tempting, but they may be from inferior manufacturers than those used by mainstream handsets.
What if it conks off after 6 months ? Please think wisely.

I'd suggest you read Xiaomi's story and then comment (it is fondly called the Apple of China, by the way). I'd not recommend any other Chinese brand, but I have a lot of respect for startups who are actually out there to add value, rather than make a uick buck and exit the scene. This company falls in that category. There has to be some good reasoning behind the huge success of this brand - and its definitely not just good hardware/software. Moreover, Hugo Barra wont really be stupid to quit Google (he was VP of Android Dev there) to join Xiaomi I suppose?

And FYI, please dont even get me started on the mainstream brands. Samsung is perhaps the biggest money sucker of all, not to mention the bloated and unfriendly TouchWiz. I have a lot of praise for HTC though.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

I'd suggest you read Xiaomi's story and then comment (it is fondly called the Apple of China, by the way). I'd not recommend any other Chinese brand, but I have a lot of respect for startups who are actually out there to add value, rather than make a uick buck and exit the scene. This company falls in that category. There has to be some good reasoning behind the huge success of this brand - and its definitely not just good hardware/software. Moreover, Hugo Barra wont really be stupid to quit Google (he was VP of Android Dev there) to join Xiaomi I suppose?

All I am trying to say is Wait, Watch and Buy. Why the craze to buy on Day 1 ?
Wait - For the sale to open up. You don't have to stay awake all night to login and start buying.
Watch - Watch the review in Indian Market. Ofcourse it is fondly called the Apple of China. But who knows that the camera turns out bad. Who knows that the phone is actually jet fast. Who knows that people may start facing problems like they had with IMEIs' of Moto G. Just saying possibilities.
Buy - Buy in a months time, or may be in 2 months. Who knows, the price may further drop.

And FYI, please dont even get me started on the mainstream brands. Samsung is perhaps the biggest money sucker of all, not to mention the bloated and unfriendly TouchWiz. I have a lot of praise for HTC though.

I ain't stop you from ranting on Samsung. Being a Samsung owner, I also don't have a butter smooth experience. It gets slow at times, it has bloatware, it is expensive. But I have a peace of mind, and that is I can throw the phone at a store which is conveniently a 100mts from my house, and any tom dick and harry can fix it.
Its like, Splendor vs Bullet. I hope you get the trend I am trying to explain.

PS: I am not against Xiaomi or Celkon or Lava or any such brands. Its the hype and craze which I dislike, rather hate.
I would love to buy a Moto G or a Moto E today (If I need to), but I kept clear of even seeing what it is on the day it went on sale and people were like sleepless and logged in to buy the phone. A week later, they had issues with IMEIs' not being registered. Had to go through updates, wait for Moto to update operaters, etc etc.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Phew, what a slew of posts for booking the Xiaomi (I hope I spelt it right).
C'mon folks, its not an IRCTC Tatkal Booking, that if you gonna miss it today, your finances / travel / anything is gonna get hampered.

I strongly maintain my stand of going with mainstream phones like, HTC, Samsung, Sony, Moto, Micromax, Apple, etc.
These newbie brands (I call it newbie, since I heard it first, you may be very familiar with them) come and go.

Micromax over Xiaomi? Really?

The processor, the RAM, the display may be very tempting, but they may be from inferior manufacturers than those used by mainstream handsets.
What if it conks off after 6 months ? Please think wisely.

That is the business model of Xiaomi, top specs at budget $$. Check how many phones currently in the market offer a Snapdragon 800 and at what prices.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

All I am trying to say is Wait, Watch and Buy. Why the craze to buy on Day 1 ?
Wait - For the sale to open up. You don't have to stay awake all night to login and start buying.
Watch - Watch the review in Indian Market. Ofcourse it is fondly called the Apple of China. But who knows that the camera turns out bad. Who knows that the phone is actually jet fast. Who knows that people may start facing problems like they had with IMEIs' of Moto G. Just saying possibilities.
Buy - Buy in a months time, or may be in 2 months. Who knows, the price may further drop.

Why the craze for Ecosport? Swift? dZire?
Because people see value in these products that they can't get anywhere else. The hype is partly fueled by the supply constraint.

Xiaomi have gone on record to discuss their business model - one of the key aspects being keeping the batch sizes small - that ensures they don't have a inventory pile up. Since they are selling these devices so close to the cost, they can't afford to block up their investment in dead inventory.

[RaguHolla]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

The processor, the RAM, the display may be very tempting, but they may be from inferior manufacturers than those used by mainstream handsets.
What if it conks off after 6 months ? Please think wisely.

I agree with your thoughts. I don't like to jump to 'hipe' bandwagon.

Till Now I am advocate of going with Nexus!I know other phones do lot more, but Nexus is always best as it gets lots of updates. And If Google doesn't provide other ROM vendor do.

However I have adopted Motorola E and Mi3 as soon as they announced. Both haven't disappointed.
After using Mi3, I say either go with Nexus or Xioami! Didn't adopt Xioami for its hipe. Considering how many phones are adopted in worldwide over a year, Its simply good enough. Telling they are selling it cheap is rather wrong, on the other hand it shows how much margin other vendors have.

I am waiting now for their 49" Ultra HD TV, for Rs 35K, its steal!

[NetfreakBombay]

Cell phones have changed a lot in last 3 - 4 years. All brands are just "Assemblers" they buy the same CPU/ Display/ RAM and package it.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

going with mainstream phones like, HTC, Samsung, Sony, Moto, Micromax, Apple, etc.

These "mainstream" brands have the same internals as Xiaomi in expensive phones. Samsung/HTC do use inferior CPUs in cheaper handsets (MediaTek).

These brands do have larger service and support network, but quality is same as others.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

The processor, the RAM, the display may be very tempting, but they may be from inferior manufacturers than those used by mainstream handsets.

Xiaomi specs:

CPU and chipset : Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 8274AB
Camera : Sony Exmor sensor, Sapphire 28mm lens with f/2.2 aperture + Philips dual-LED flash
Display : LG 5" 1080p IPS LED


Basically same components as used by "mainstream" brands

[void_001]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

All brands are just "Assemblers" they buy the same CPU/ Display/ RAM and package it.

Agree with NetfreakBombay to a large extent. The "big" manufacturers spend a lot of money on the ad spin and pass on this expense to the end consumers - basically it's the same OEM components packaged under their branding.

I've had phones from both end of the price spectrum - a sub-3k Lava & a 30k HTC - and when it came to repairing for an issue (yes, both had issues) I had to go through the same painful experience. Which is the reason why many people consider it hassle free & easier to replace a phone rather than repairing it.

What this does to the growing e-waste is a topic for discussion on another day I suppose.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

All I am trying to say is Wait, Watch and Buy. Why the craze to buy on Day 1 ?

My dear friend you clearly need to Google on this company. It is not a Day 1 craze! Xiaomi has been around for close to 4 years now. Only recently have they come to India. I was pining for this model since they first launched in Dec 2013!

Please see this - http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyols...rtphone-maker/

Outstanding for a startup eh?

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Wait - For the sale to open up. You don't have to stay awake all night to login and start buying.

There is no 'staying awake the whole night phenomenon'. MI3 sales happen at a very comfortable time of 2 PM IST. Registrations open a week prior to the sale.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Watch - Watch the review in Indian Market. Ofcourse it is fondly called the Apple of China. But who knows that the camera turns out bad. Who knows that the phone is actually jet fast. Who knows that people may start facing problems like they had with IMEIs' of Moto G. Just saying possibilities.

The specs of India model aint different from the phone launched and sold (millions of handsets btw) in China, HK, Singapore and Philippines. Its only the minor customization of OS that has happened for India.

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

Buy - Buy in a months time, or may be in 2 months. Who knows, the price may further drop.

Are you seriously kidding me? The phone is priced to sell before they launch! That's the whole logic of Xiaomi's business model. They dont overcharge like the mainstream brands, rather they sell at a little margin. FYI their cost of mfg MI3 is around 12k INR and they sell at 14k INR. So unless the co-founder is smoking something highly potent (in which case I want that stuff!) the price aint gonna go down!

Originally Posted by Soumyajit9

PS: I am not against Xiaomi or Celkon or Lava or any such brands. Its the hype and craze which I dislike, rather hate.

I would love to buy a Moto G or a Moto E today (If I need to), but I kept clear of even seeing what it is on the day it went on sale and people were like sleepless and logged in to buy the phone. A week later, they had issues with IMEIs' not being registered. Had to go through updates, wait for Moto to update operaters, etc etc.

The hype is purely because consumers want good hardware are right prices - something which the mainstream brands deprive them of.

Btw, just to put things in perspective, Motorola had bombed in India, despite having a stellar offering such as Defy. It had service support and what not. However, no advertisement! On the other hand, your 'mainstream' brands invest a lot in celebrity endorsements and front page articles, charge you a bomb in return for inferior specs, and uninformed consumers follow the hype (yes, I call THAT as hype!).

[Thad E Ginathom]

It is not a Day 1 craze! Xiaomi has been around for close to 4 years now.

No, that's nothing to do with it: Microsoft and Apple had been around for decades before they hyped people up to queue up to buy the latest OS/Phone/Whatever on release day.

It's just a stupid hype/marketing/publicity game to sell this way, and all the more stupid for the absurdly under-estimated demand.

Or was it under-estimated? Is it a knife-edge game to make desirability win over disappointment? Make the thing hard to buy so that people want it more.

I hate this bullshit. As far as I am concerned, they can stick it ...back in their bull!

[DaiusPitar]

So my company mandates the installation of MaaS360 MDM software in my Moto G as part of its BYOD policy.

My camera is disabled, email is to be address through this app, copy paste is a pain, battery gets depleted. You know the pain with these softwares...

On a lark I discover device administrator option under Settings. I disable this install. Voila, it's gone. Camera is back and restrictions are off.

Then when I setup email through the android default app, I am warned camera will be deleted etc etc.. But nothing happens and email works like a charm.

So then I try to do the same for a colleague... But I am unable to uninstall the MDM. I try setting up office email on the default app on another cell without MDM, camera goes off..

So my conclusion: something wonky in a favorable way with Moto G? I am running the standard 4.4.2 version.

Makes sense?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by DaiusPitar

So my company mandates the installation of MaaS360 MDM software in my Moto G as part of its BYOD policy.

My camera is disabled, email is to be address through this app, copy paste is a pain, battery gets depleted. You know the pain with these softwares...

On a lark I discover device administrator option under Settings. I disable this install. Voila, it's gone. Camera is back and restrictions are off.

Then when I setup email through the android default app, I am warned camera will be deleted etc etc.. But nothing happens and email works like a charm.

So then I try to do the same for a colleague... But I am unable to uninstall the MDM. I try setting up office email on the default app on another cell without MDM, camera goes off..

So my conclusion: something wonky in a favorable way with Moto G? I am running the standard 4.4.2 version.

Makes sense?

Wonky apps

I use Citrix Worx as the prescribed MDM Agent at work, and it disables a lot of features (including screen unlock options, all disabled except password-based). It also makes me encrypt my whole device (which can take hours if your memory is full).

But I noticed once by accident (during a broken client update when I had to re-install Worx from scratch) that I can disable/uninstall the MDM client, and email sync continues to work, but the downside is if I have to re-install the email client, I need to install MDM again or it won't/can't validate my Corp account.

Not to mention that uninstalling the MDM removes all the security blocks your IT Admin deems 'necessary' and you may be liable for any data theft that happens due to your device being non-compliant. I'd recommend you get back on MDM if it's mandatory in your organisation, not worth the risk playing around it.

[myavu]

Xiaomi allegedly sending your info to Chinese servers

RedMi Note was caught red-handed sending private user info to a Chinese server.

User photos and text messages were being transferred to a private server that’s being hosted in China. The phone connects to an IP address automatically whenever it links to a WiFi network and transmits data. It still sends data over 3G, but just at a much lower rate.

Read more here: http://blog.gsmarena.com/xiaomi-secr...inese-servers/

Cheers!

Vinu