There are literally hundreds of great Android phones on the market today, and with more launching daily it can become difficult when trying to choose one. Today, I’m going to take a look at 3 popular models to help find the best for your needs.
The three phones I’ve decided to focus on for this write up are the THL W7, Newman N2 and the Huawei Honor 2. Each phone has it’s own unique characteristics and each comes at a different price point, but which is best for you?
THL W7 $292.99
The THL W7 is one of the new breed of large screen phablet phones, and we mean large! This device offers users a huge 5.7-inch screen with 720HD resolution making it perfect for viewing documents, watching movies and share photos with friends.
Another standout feature for the W7 is the dual-core MT6577 processor which enables the phone to have dual-sim support.
With dual-sim support and the large screen, the THL would be perfect for those who like to mix business with pleasure and allowing you to carry just one phone but have quick access to your personal and business phone contact.
As with similar MT6577 phones, the THL W7 has an 8-mega-pixel rear camera, 4GB of memory, SD card readers and an impressive 3.2 mega-pixel front camera.
Who do we recommend the THL W7 for?
The THL W7 would be perfect for business people, or those with an active social life and like to be on the go.
Newman N2 $348.99 (Freelander i20)
If the large screen of the THL W7 is too much for you, and you prefer a little more horsepower in your phone, you might want to take a look at the Newman N2.
The N2 is the successor the N1 and as such features some important upgrades including a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 CPU, 13 mega-pixel rear camera and 4,7-inch 1280 x 720 display.
While the screen is smaller than the one found on the THL, the resolution is the same, meaning movies, photos and documents will look just as good, plus the 4.7-inch display should be big enough to do some on the go editing.
But its the extra power the Newman has to offer plus the updated 13 mega-pixel camera which make the N2 such an interesting phone.
Who do we recommend the Newman N2 for?
Gamers and those of you who love to take photos while on the go. The powerful Samsung CPU can handle even the most graphic intensive games, while the excellent rear camera mean you will never miss a photo opportunity.
Huawei Honor 2 $404.99
You might think the Huawei Honor 2 is a bit dated now that the new Ascend D2 has been announced, but not everyone requires a 5-inch display and some users actually prefer the 4.5-inch size of the Honor 2.
The Huawei Honor 2 is the only phone here from an internationally recognised company, and with that you do get some peace of mind, you also are more likely to get frequent updates for the Huawei too which actually ships with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
Like the Newman N2, the Huawei Honor 2 comes with a quad-core CPU, but this time a CPU developed by Huawei themselves, meaning they have been able to make the phone and CPU work efficiently together with Jelly Bean.
As for the specs you get a 1280 x 720 display, single sim standby, 8 mega-pixel rear camera 2GB RAM and 8GB or built-in memory.
Who do we recommend the Huawei Honor 2 for?
With the addition of more RAM we again suggest the Huawei to anyone big in to gaming, but with the self developed hardware and big name brand we also recommend the Huawei to those happy to spend a little extra for peace of mind.
What are your recommendations?
Are their any Chinese phones on sale now which you would recommend? Which do you own and what do you use them for? Let us know in the comments section below.
Previous post 
Next post 
I got the Honor 2 and its just an awsome phone. And most places ive seen it on and where i bought it the price is well under 400 bucks.
I choosed the Huawei Honor 2 as well and I own it now for about two weeks and in these two weeks they already had released Android 4.1.1 for thw Huawei Honor 2.
Its a great phone, great built quality and although I use Nova launcher as launcher, there are still some Huawei software that I think is great, there skin in fact is good as well, but I just prefer more standard.
Also the battery life is quite good as well. But I wrote my own review in Dutch language.
And the camera is also worth mentioning, as it takes really good shots. I’m not sure if the Newman N2 will take better shots, because megapixels doesn’t say anything at all in fact.
http://tweakers.net/productreview/69733/huawei-ascend-honor-2-wit-zwart.html
Could you give me an estimate on the battery duration of this phone, to your personal use?
Yes I can and I wrote it into my review as well. My last last charge before the one I have now lasted more then three days in standby and I have busted Google maps as battery drainer, that you can see clearly from the usage.
I barely use Google maps but it still took 10%, so I have disabled GPS now and made some other changes to stop the draining by Google maps.
See this image below.
http://tweakers.net/ext/f/BJOuTLVm1kAvYQVfh9mzzhFH/full.png
The screen time in these 3 days was about 2 hours, but I think battery life will be much better then this, because Google maps will drain your battery and I think I fixed it now.
This image below shows the screentime.
http://tweakers.net/ext/f/kHEBGahmoQYs25vkZpJeETLs/full.png
First i prefer the honor 2 because of its more known brand and maybe service for it even here in Germany cause of service centers. But now i have ordered the newman N2 cause of its better camera. Hopefully it will arrive this week…
i will choose n2- and i know how to get it from taobao for $250!!!
uredeal is very expensive.
Can you share with me the agent used for taobao for N2. Thanks!
in china are 2 prices -240 or 255. using mistertao.com lowest price would be $275, but on mistertao is one good thing. for first order they give you 10% money. so you need add 250, then they will give you another free 25 dollars.
i have used mistertao for 2 years and all was smoothly.
Yes Uredeal are a little more expensive but they are good if you have problems plus I am confident in them. They do not lie and take orders for phones they do not have and answer emails very quickly.
I bought 3 phones from them before Christmas. 2 Jiayu G2 and 1 UMi X1.
I wanted Jiayu G3 but it was not available.
All arrived quickly to Europe (3 weeks).
Now I have a problem with one of the phones and Uredeal have agreed to fix all my problems. The problem is not with Uredeal but with the phone, I think it is badly made. Of course I have to pay to send the phone to China.
Hello Andi,
The biggest problem I find with almost every Chinese phone that I examine is the LACK OF ANDROID UPDATES OVER THE AIR.
The makes the cautious buyer turn away from a purchase.
Is there a solution to this problem.
Is there a solution to this problem.
Yes, buy a Meizu MX2. Problem solved.
Thanks for your comment.
My ‘target’ Chinese smartphones are the 5.5 inch to 7 inch smartphones and tablets … and regrettably the Meizu MX2 does not fit.
However, it’s great to hear that Meizu subscribe to the OTA concept. I’ll look to see if they also meet my target devices..
Hi again ….
Regarding the lack of OTA updates on ‘low cost Chinese products’ …
There could be a relatively simple solution to this issue …
I strongly suggest that the SECOND TIER MANUFACTURERS group together to establish an organisation which could support the development of OTA solutions for subscribing manufacturer’s selected devices.
Personally … I would be very satisfied to pay a premium price (perhaps up to $20 per device) for products which offer this obvious benefit.
Membership of this ‘scheme’ should/could be featured in the manufacturer’s advertising – and supported models and manufacturers should be published for all to see.
I realise that the MAINSTREAM MANUFACTURERS might whinge at such a movement – but they seem to have accepted the existence of the SECOND TIER without a murmur, so far, and my guess is that this step will not cause them a big problem.
Any comments will be very welcome.
Great idea. Try to sell the idea to the Chinese phonemakers. Then they will copy your idea really fast i think..
Thank you, Stefan,
Your comment is appreciated.
I’m hoping that GizChina and Andy might take up the same cudgel as I am wielding !
Ask your friends to join in, please !
By the way …
My researches suggest this OTA (or rather, lack of OTA …) issue may have something to do with the CPU used in many SECOND TIER DEVICES.
Anyone care to comment ….
If that is the case; perhaps all we need is patience – and a better CPU – to resolve this matter.
However … we might benefit from my ‘OTA co-operative’ idea too ?
Actually, I was just showing a bit of partisanship. A lot of companies do OTA: ZTE, Huawei, Xiaomi, Meizu, Oppo, BBK (Vivo)…don’t know anything about those fighting it out at the lower end of the market, though.
Does anything ever get a negative review on GizChina?
…Or is everything “awesome”?
IMHO the biggest problem with Chinese phones is the general ‘shadyness’ of the online retailers. Anyone expecting anything approaching UK/US/EU levels of customer service should prepare to be disappointed.
I’ve had the Freelander I-20 on order since mid-December with antelife.com and have now decided to cancel, but they appear to be ignoring my emails. They are still posting on the product page that they have stock (in response to questions that always get posted in the review sections), despite it still also being listed as a pre-order, with a date they have pushed back 3 times.
I should have perhaps been suspicious when I ordered and didn’t get a confirmation email, but they responded quickly to me query with a screenshot showing it. They told me I would get another email once it had been dispatched, and that was nearly a month ago.
I’m no stranger to ordering from China (I love DX.com) and was prepared for some delay, but once I saw pictures of stock and claims to the same effect, I didn’t feel that the company seemed trustworthy any more. I get the feeling they are happy to encourage people to pay up front for items that they have no idea when they can ship (they have also dropped the price by about $30 since I paid). I’ve seen other sites start listing phones like the Jiayu G4 for order and I don’t think a release date has even been announced.
Luckily I paid via PayPal so am currently giving them another chance to respond before disputing the charge.
I’m contemplating ordering an older dual-core phone that’s in less demand (and more likely to really be in stock) and then try to order something like the G4 when that comes out.
Well said, Ed …
I’m looking to import QUALITY phones and smartphones, in the 5.7″ – 7″ range, from QUALITY CHINESE MANUFACTURERS with QUALITY MARKETING COMMITMENTS.
So far, that’s proving to be a BIG ASK … and this OTA issue is a particular case in point.
However, I’m encouraged by the fact that I have ‘trial’ imported, and am using, a very good ‘no-name’ 6″ device which is working very well.
Everyone I’ve shown it to, has asked me to get one for them … and I have a growing backlog of ‘orders’. I will make a sensible profit, it appears – and still undercut the conventional UK channels by a significant margin.
That is … when I have found a supplier or two who meet my QUALITY standards. Please wish me luck.
I hope you resolve your issue – with or without PayPal. You were right to use them.
Try Googling simply … ’70plus-feeling50′. and you’ll find my website.
I intend to ‘grow’ it to include segment for smartphones and tablets ‘ideas and tools’ for ‘Seniors and their families and friends…’
Think about that… it’s code for ‘everyone’ … grin!
Hi
Are you using a Triton Pad Android 4.1 Dual Core Smartphone with 6.0 Inch Capacitive Touchscreen(WIFI,Dual SIM,GPS,3G)?
Price: £159.99 in U.K £129 from china
If so what is it like ? I am trying to decide on that or the :-
NEW 2013 5.7″ THL W7+ 1280*720 HD CAPACITIVE MTK6577 DUALCORE CPU 3G DUAL-SIM GPS 8.0MP BACK CAMERA 3.2MP FRONT CAMERA HIGH END SMARTPHONE IN WHITE BY DIGIMAXONLINE (UK) LTD
I am trying to decide which is the best??
Just thought I should post a quick update, the phone turned up out of the blue on Saturday. I wasn’t in at the time so couldn’t refuse delivery, but as I hadn’t been charged any additional fees I decided to have a play.
First impressions are good, the screen quality is amazing although a small amount of light bleed noticeable for a split second when waking the phone up.
The biggest problem initially was a lack of a full google account sign-in when using the phone for the first time. The Play store is there, and you can install gmail and maps etc… but there was no ability to sync contacts and no way to add this under settings and accounts.
The solution was to root the phone (can be done already using a GS3 Exynos4 exploit) and then install the missing google features via Titanium Backup from my old phone.
Some people have already managed to install the Newman N2 firmware and noted improved performance. Apparently Newman are preparing an update shortly as well, and I’m hoping eventually they will bring Jellybean to the phone too.
I still think the phone supplier was lacking, but it seems to be that they simply ignore all emails so I wouldn’t use them again.
Hi Ed
I recently took delivery of a Newman N2 and find I have the same problem with syncing contacts. In your post you said that ” The solution was to root the phone (can be done already using a GS3 Exynos4 exploit) and then install the missing google features via Titanium Backup from my old phone.” Rooting the phone was the easy bit. Can I ask what files you copied across to the Newman and where you placed them.
Thanks
Chris
@millgate you should check out the ascend mate,it’s 6 inches.
The HUAWEI Ascend Mate D1 and D2 … very interesting !
I’ve never given much thought to the issue; and as things are likely to stand these devices will be outside my plans – price-wise !
But people are beginning to get emotional about the HUAWEI’s ‘humungous’ screen. So, I decided to test my ‘eyes + spectacles’ combination by looking really closely at the screen on my 6 inch ‘no-name’ Chinese smartphone.
Compared to the 6.1 inch HUAWEI Ascend Mate D1 screen; my device has a 6.0 inch screen which is diagonally a tiny 0.1 inch smaller than that of the HUAWEI device.
Put another way … the HUAWEI Ascend D1′s screen is 1.6% larger, diagonally, than my 6 inch device.
Now … I’ll allow that haven’t handled the HUAWEI so I cannot comment on the respective bezel sizes of the 2 devices. But bezel width does matter … ‘pocketability-wise’ … trust me, I know!
Looking at my 6.0 inch device, held at a normal working ‘wrist length’ in my left hand … I CANNOT DISTINGUISH THE SEPARATE PIXELS ON THE SCREEN.
But I am 74 years young, and it is only fair to say that I’m used to noticing that some of my physical capacities are showing distinct signs of wear … and it’s also true to say that I have worn spectacles for over 45 years.
So I took my trusty hand-held magnifying glass to my ‘no-name’ screen … and lo! … the pixels became visible. That’s kind of a strike for youth; but, ‘ya boo’ I really wouldn’t want to see them anyway.
So, I guess I can learn to handle it,
The upside is … my personal ‘pocketable’ 6 inch Chinese device cost me £145 ($235) to buy on-line in China, then ship it and Tax it into the UK – and it included a big fat 3000mAH battery … and a spare!
If I add a ‘profit, marketing and administration element’ to arrive at the selling price … I can sell it at well under 50% of the price of a device like the HUAWEI a very reasonable price … anywhere in the world. Good eh ?
Oh yes … there was a problem … it did take 3 days to arrive.
But at my age I’ve learned to wait for nice surprises.
Hello,
GizChina’s doing a great job here. I’m amazed.
@Millgate, good business idea Mr Millgate. I’m thinking of that as well for the Nigerian market. And for your choice of spec, 5.7-6in that’s where tech is going, at least for 2013. Don’t call me a prophet.
Smiles
I’d want to wait for phones with the quad core SoC, 5.7, 1200×600 at least, JB. They should arrive this quarter.
What is Newman like with regards to updates?
Didn’t they promise at least Jelly Bean for the N1? Any news on this?
Comment on the … Newman N1 Smart Phone 4.3 Inch IPS Screen Android 4.0 MTK6577 1G RAM 3G GPS.
Looks nice; but too small to qualify in my ‘project’.
Thanks for your time …
I bought the Huawei Honor at aliexpress last dec 28 and arrived in the philippines by Jan3. I upgraded it instantly to Jelly Bean and then to MIUI 4.1. My initial impression is that it’s great! very fast and responsive and a really nice screen too. But once i tested the camera, my heart sank. My dual-sim dualcore Android phone which i bought for $150 takes better pictures. Honor2 produces a really yellow tinted images due to its flash maybe. i tested it with and without flash, daylight, flourescent light, low light. I’ve also thought that maybe i got a defective camera and someone also posted at XDA that some updates to 4.1.2 will fix the camera issues. i tried the update but the camera is still shit. So I sold the phone immediately. I was also about to order Newman N2 from fastcardtech. Some blogger in the philippines vouched for the site but the bad reviews i read was horrifying. It also made sense to the fact that they don’t allow paypal payments anymore and only thru WesternUnion/Moneygram because they don’t always deliver what they promised. I decided not to risk it and just wait for the MediaTek powered quadcore phones to arrive here in our country. Im buying StarMobile Crystal this week. It’s a rebranded china phone but at least there’s local warranty and support.
Uredeal sell phones $30-$40 higher than other serious competitors and claim that express shipping is currently free..
Well, that’s exactly the reason I won’t buy a Newman again. Don’t get me wrong I’m actually pretty happy with my N1, but their lack of support is so obvious. We’ll most probably never see JB on the N1, and I’m pretty sure the support for N2 will be just as poor.
Does the honor 2 have gorilla glass?
Andi , are you listening ?? !!
Time for a Gizchina store !!!
It will be same old story Amby.
Andi would have to get the goods from the companies who are also not always delivering on time. If you talk to many resellers/sellers you get a general idea that it’s not their fault but rather the brand companies delaying and not following schedules for delivery.
Only positive I see from Andi setting up a store is buyers from here will have their piece of mind buying from a trusted supplier and also phones will be easier to buy for us international customers.
Shortages and delay will still exist as there is
I’m waiting my Newman N2 to come these days. I buy it for 274$ on Alixpress. And yes Andy it’s time for Gizchina online shop
Hi Andi,
Would you say the w7 thl is a better buy than the zopo 950, as they seem very similar,but not sure which one would be better to go for.
Many Thanks
Tony L
They are the same. So buy the one which is the best deal.
New year will indeed be happy for someone in China. What with all the new and cheap phones coming out! Who wants to buy one?
I was going to order newman n2, but… i got unexpected money and today bought xiaomi mi2:) I payed $440 for 32gb version from ibuygou.com. They still have 28 units on stock.
I’m eyeing to see what will be the cheapest 1080p 2GB RAM phone. Won’t buy a phone a long time after that,but my heart is sinking because only huawei remembered a bigger battery for new hardware.
What did you decide and buy? I too looking for a 2GB Ram Phone but Xiaomi Mi2 is still being sold at minimum 430 USD and with shipping i could buy a Samsung S III. So now thinking if Honor 2 is a good buy or not.