Home » Forums » Amoi Phones Forum » Amoi N820

Amoi N820

This topic contains 1 reply, has 10 voices, and was last updated by  daisyhayseed 5 months, 3 weeks ago.

Tagged: , ,

at how_1#13767

Hi guys,

Seems that the Amoi section is looking a bit dull.

I’ve recently purchased a Amoi N820, or some people call it “Amoi N820 Big V’.

Andi’s done a review of this as well, and I thought that when I received mine, I could answer any questions that anyone would have too.

Good luck to all you enthusiasts :)

Started by: how_1

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 33 total)
1 2 3
  1. daisyhayseed October 1, 2012 at 12:08 pm

    Hey how_1, thanks for opening this section.

    I’ve received my Amoi N820 today. I will share my thoughts with you once I have had a play with it. I got my device through Etotalk and I must say that the service was great. They updated me at each stage of the purchase (processing, address confirmation, dispatch, ect). If the device works accordingly I will post some feedback in the seller section.

    Will report back on my thoughts soon.

  2. daisyhayseed October 2, 2012 at 4:52 pm

    Amoi, Big V, N820, review initial thoughts on my new phone.

    I’ve had the Amoi N820 (Big V) in my ownership for 1 day now. It should be noted that my thoughts are based upon my experience using a custom ICS firmware (ROM) provided by the seller, Etotalk. During the review I will compare my user experience with that of my last Android phone, a HTC Desire (running ICS).

    Opening the box, how does it look and feel?

    I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Big V. Going on my previous (and dated) experience of Chinese made tablets and phones I half expected a flimsy phone which would need to be handled with care. While the back of the phone is clearly made from plastic, it feels solid and doesn’t flex when pressure is applied, as my old ZTE Blade used to do. For what is effectively a budget device, this phone feels very soundly made. It is not luxurious, yet it doesn’t feel like it is cheap.

    Overall I’m pleased with the look, build quality and size of the phone. A couple of my colleagues have already made positive remarks about the Big V, with one suggesting that it looked like a good marriage of HTC and Samsung design. I personally feel that the, 4.5″ screen feels the right size on this phone. I could imagine a 5″ screen device being cumbersome for one-handed use.

    What’s the performance like?

    I expected some lag, but I have to say that none has been forthcoming so far. This is a sprightly device compared to my Desire.

    You can feel the dual-core and 1gb RAM of the Big V put to decent use. I wasn’t a massive fan of the strange Xperia styled home launcher provided by Etotalk so I switched to my favourite launcher, Apex. As stated before, my review is based upon the Etotalk Custom firmware so I can’t give you an opinion on how it performs straight from Amoi. What I can say is that it handles apps such as Netflix, Spotify and TvCatchup perfectly. I have only tried a couple of games so far (Tiger Woods Golf 2012 and Where’s My Perry), and I have no problems to report. I’m quite impressed by this phone, it feels pretty smooth to the user.

    A minor quibble is that the screen could be a bit more sensitive to the touch, but this is something that I have improved using an app from the Play Market. Some people may find issue with the N820 being a tad heavier than a lot of other new phones. I think this due to the large battery of the Big V. I personally feel that the little bit of weight adds to the sturdy feel of the device.

    Does it take pictures?

    As I said previously, I have only been using the Amoi N820 for a day so I haven’t had many chances to take pictures or record video. However, I am pleased with the pictures I have taken so far. I can see the big difference the 8mp camera has made when I compare it to the quality of shots I got from the HTC Desire . I’ve had a quick look at the front facing 3mp camera and it looks like it could provide a decent image when using Skype video. I haven’t tried Skype yet, so I can’t comment on it’s functionality so far. Neither have I tried to record any video to date.

    Overall I am very pleased with my purchase so far. I will update this post as I discover new good or bad things about the phone. The Big V was meant to be an experiment in using the Chinese electronics market with a view on making further purchases in the future. At present it looks like I could be holding on to this phone long into 2013.

    Darren

  3. how_1 October 5, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    Hi Darren,

    Looks like the Amoi N820 turned out to be a good buy for you.

    I also had the same idea as you – I experimented with Chinese phones in Christmas 2011 but found the HDC A9100 to be completely rubbish. Hence, now I’m trying out the supposedly-improved market of Chinese phones/tablets.

    It’s good to hear that the processing, memory and camera functions seem to be of acceptable quality.

    I have seem many pictures of the Amoi N820 live, and the back panel plastic does seem to look cheap but sturdy – will update this also when I receive mine. One thing that should differ between the two of our same models, is that apparently my supplier is sending me a factory direct model – without any Build modifications. Will also test out Skype, and more camera functions, and really put out some benchmark testing (if have the time).

    Hoping that around 1 week’s time, my Amoi N820 will be in my hands to inspect :)

    how_1

  4. how_1 October 12, 2012 at 10:29 pm

    @Daisyhayseed: did you root your Amoi N820? If so, how did you do it, and how successful was it?

    Cheers.

    P.S. Will do my review when finished tinkering around haha

  5. how_1 October 18, 2012 at 5:11 am

    Just a quick few notes, as @Daisyhayseed has already covered most topics.

    Bought my N820 from aliexpress.com thru UGoodBuy store.

    First impressions: Wow!!

    Seems like good build quality, and very nice finish. Nothing as nice as an iPhone 4′s metal rim and glass, but I was still impressed (since the price was only ~$206 USD).

    Speed was unexpectedly fast, seems MTK6577 can really be trusted. No lag either, showing that the 1gb RAM is helpful. Played only Angry Birds, so can’t really comment on the GPU, but it went smooth. Screen was very crisp, and I mean, I own an iPhone 4, and this 960 by 540 was actually good enough – you don’t really need a Retina. Wifi worked great, and tbh, iPhone 4′s 3.5″ just CANNOT compete with 4,5″ of Amoi’s. Got me thinking now of getting into the 5.3″ league.

    Phone didn’t come rooted, so Google Play wasn’t installed. Instead it came with the 360 Store (sorry, I am not completely fluent in Chinese). However, after hours of searching forums, and trying all sorts of different methods, I finally installed an updated Build of 6.0 with Play Store installed. So I’m all smiles.

    Final note: This Amoi N820 has gotten me pretty excited about what’s in store for us in the future. I mean, it’s cheap and it runs fairly well – dual SIM too, which I really want. And I can recommend Amoi N820 to ANYONE – so far, it’s great quality, and even the packaging box, etc. looked great. Also Antutu of ~5500 points.

    (If anyone needs a hand rooting this phone, just comment)

  6. psilo110 October 18, 2012 at 8:59 am

    what networks are you two using and how has the 3g been ?

  7. daisyhayseed October 19, 2012 at 8:17 am

    psilo110, I’m from the UK and I use the 3 Network. I haven’t had any problems with 3g connectivity. I use a lot of data through the Netflix app and Spotify and it has been good for me.

    Hey how_1, pleased to see that you received your Amoi safely. Even more pleased to see that you found a way to root it and install the Play market. Did you follow the advice on the XDA forums or did you find the rooting information somewhere else? I only ask as I understand that the”Big V” should have Jellybean available soon and I would be interested in upgrading but not without root functionality. As I said before, my device is running a Mod Rom provided by Etotalk. I found a way to access Clockwork Recovery, which has been useful to back up the current firmware. Now I have made a backup I’m eager to try out Jellybean.

    Now I have used the phone for a couple of weeks I have one small gripe to report. The GPS on my device seems to be broken. I don’t know whether this is a problem with the phone or with the Etotalk firmware. I’ve been experimenting with different GPS.conf files but with no luck. I don’t know whether this is a common issue with all N820′s? Still loving the device regardless, excellent value for money.

     

  8. how_1 October 20, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    @psilo110: I’m from New Zealand, and I’ve been using 2degrees and Vodafone networks. Tried the 3g on 2degrees, and it was amazingly fast – so I assume good 3g connectivity components.

    @daisyhayseed: Yes, I followed the instructions on XDA forums.

    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1846892

    Read the instructions and download info posts by user “Retteren”. I installed the latest 6.0 Build, and it came rooted, with Play Store.

    Me too, keen to try out 4.1 JB soon :) Will update on this, when it comes out, and if I am able to root it. I haven’t tested the GPS functions, but if I find any problems/fixes etc., I’ll update on that also.

  9. techpunk October 22, 2012 at 4:10 am

    Can’t wait to receive my N820 now :) Jelly Bean on it’s way to it, easily achievable root, big screen, big battery!!! I am so happy I cancelled my Jiayu G3 order and got this.

    Have you heard about the new Amoi N821?!?!? IPS HD screen?!?

     

  10. Pounder October 24, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    how_1,

    I just received the N820 today.

    Great phone so far.
    Unfortunately I am new to Android (previous iPhone owner).
    Could you please explain how to root the phone?
    Does everything still work after rooting (I read some lost camera function)?

    Thank you!

     

  11. how_1 October 24, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    @Pounder: Follow this forum

    I am also an iPhone owner – but all OSs are similar. For me, everything worked; I think you lose the camera function if you flash Build 5.x onto Build 6.0 maybe?

    Read this forum and specifically, read “Retteren” posts:

    http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1846892

    And also, copy the below link and download the package:

    pan.baidu.com/share/link?shareid=64032&uk=4130302605

    This will give you Build 6.0 according to user “Retteren” instructions:

    0) Back up all data on cellphone, charge it to at least 60% battery, do not connect it to the PC yet, and TURN IT OFF. Plug in USB end of the USB – micro-USB cable into the PC.
    1) Unpack the RAR package
    2) Rename directory to remove all Chinese characters
    3) Unpack the N820_V6.0_ROOT_GMS.rar file (unpacks to N820_V6.0_ROOT_GMS).
    4) Go into the ‘USB驱动’ directory, unzip and install the USB VCOM driver.
    5) Go into the ‘刷机工具’ directory and double-click on the Flash_tool.exe file. Click on “Scatter-loading” and point to the N820_V6.0_ROOT_GMSMT6577_Android_scatter_emmc.txt .
    6) Hit F8 or click on ‘Firmware -> Upgrade’.
    7) Hold down the Volume Down button and connect the phone to the PC. The button can be released when the red bar starts moving.
    8) After “Firmware Upgraded” window shows, unplug phone, reboot, install and enjoy.

     

    Note: do this at your own risk, if anything screws up, don’t blame me :D .

    These steps worked fine for me, and everything works fine on my Amoi. There’s also Google Play now :)

     

  12. Pounder October 25, 2012 at 1:54 am

    @how_1,

    Thanks. Will do this this afternoon.
    What else will rooting give me?
    Can I get rid of the remaining Chinese language/functions still on the phone?

    Thx.

  13. how_1 October 25, 2012 at 2:13 am

    @Pounder:

    Rooting gives you “superuser” functions. This means you can take full control of your phone.

    For example, you can installed root apps from Play Store. I installed one which allows me to control how fast the CPU runs.

    You can also install custom ROMs and there are many more things possible – sorry, I am more of a jailbreaker/unlocker haha, so I don’t know much about rooting. I only rooted to get Play Store working, and to control the CPU.

    You can get rid of the Chinese apps by going into the Settings, and uninstalling them.

  14. Pounder October 25, 2012 at 2:19 am

    @how_1,

    Thanks again.
    If I root, will I keep the Amoi “android” operating system, or will I have to install a new version (I suppose this is a ROM as well)?

    On my keyboard, I still have some Chinese signs. Can I turn that off?

    (sorry for the newby questions, but this is also my first China phone and I must say it rocks!)

    Thank you.

  15. how_1 October 25, 2012 at 2:26 am

    @Pounder

    It’s all good, no worries – this is what forums are for.

    The Build (ROM) you will be updating to is Build 6.0 . You may want to check what build you are currently on, just for interest. It’ll be in the Settings.

    When you update to Build 6.0 via those links, it’s still the same Android OS 4.0.4, but it’s been modified to be rooted, and have Play Store. The layout looks exactly the same.

    HOWEVER, the internal memory will change; forgot to tell you this. The initial internal memory was very low…but once updated, I think it goes up to 1.8GB? I’m not too sure about this, ‘cos I rely on micro SD cards.

    Yes you can turn that off, play around in the Settings section. There should be a Language and/or Keyboard option, where you un-tick the Chinese keyboard, and set the default keyboard as the normal Android one.

    Haha, not bad aye, Chinese phones these days do seem pretty awesome :)

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 33 total)
1 2 3

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.