2013-11-22, 17:15
I wanted to write this review to give my tiny contribution to this website, since it is the only website I have found dedicated to user experiences and troubleshooting exclusively for Chinese phones and I want to support that 
Some context:
My first smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy S3 which I had for one year and is the ONLY smartphone I've had besides the Star S5 mtk6589T 1G/8G model.
I will therefore compare it directly to the GS3 int.
Build quality:
The build quality isn't great, but isn't terrible either. I was expecting this with chinese phones, but I was also expecting much worse, so I was pleasantly surprised:
- Screen: The screen material feels alright (probably glass), but when you apply pressure (quite a bit, I was kinda worried I would crack the screen), it touches the IPS screen behind and generates those "waves" from the crystals, just like when you apply pressure to a laptop screen.
- The phone looks nice, imo. Comparing it to the S3 it doesn't feel much different "quality wise", and it gets smudged with fingerprints just as easily.
- The wifi antenna is bad, however I found a nice fix by techdolph on youtube, where you can apply an alluminum strip over the antenna, and the reception is now OK. Go more than 3 rooms away from the wifi and it's gone
- The screen is F****ed up while charging and will register a ton of ghost touches and so forth. But is perfect when it isn't charging, so basically the phone shouldnt be used while charging... just a remark...
- Screen (my model) has about 3-4 partially dead pixels, meaning that for example some pixels are dead when displaying a certain color... So I guess that means it has about 4 dead "subpixels"? In normal use however, you don't really notice it, unless your entire screen is one color.
- Sim problem, occassionally (like 1-2 times per month) the sim registers as not present, Just turn off the phone and remove and reinsert the sim to fix... Minor annoyance but still a build quality issue imo.
Final verdict: The wifi is fixable, but the dead subpixels are annoying,and it obviously has some minor quality issues. However, the phone feels good, and looks much better IRL than on pictures imo, and the feel in hand is very close to the S3. this balances out and I would give it a passable 6/10.
Display:
You will not be dissapointed: it blew my mind!
The image is nice and crisp, colors are vibrant (not too oversaturated) and whites are WHITE, not yellow like the GS3. However blacks are grey and not black like the GS3. It is a very nice IPS screen.
Touch works perfectly (though not while charging...).
The screen is very bright, much more than the S3 and is therefore easier to use outdoors.
Verdict: I give it 10/10, since imo, the deadpixels are a build quality issue and should be subtracted there, not here....
Sound:
BLOWS MY MIND. Compared to the S3, the Star has same sound quality but much higher volume! Great Headphones also work very well (the ones that come with them). I am a complete sound noob, so don't expect an expert oppinion, but for me, they sound just as good as the samsung ones i got with my S3.
Verdict: 9/10, despite being same speaker quality as the GS3, it isn't great I've heard better, it's slightly "tinny", but It's so loud! So i would give 8/10 for quality and 10/10 for volume -> 9/10
Connectivity:
The 3G (in denmark) and phone signal is F****in awesome! Kicks the S3's ass by far. In my appartment I've never had signal on my S3, while the Star has 2 bars....
Speeds are H+ and also beat my GS3, despite being the same connectivity...
Verdict: 10/10, beating the GS3 by a mile, it deserves it... Again the sim issue is build quality imo, and It never randomly looses connectivity or has any other problems
Performance:
I have read the whole A7 vs A9 architecture debate, and I understand the whole theory behind A9 being 40% faster than the A7.
However, this is not what I've observed.
Comparing mtk6589T (1,5ghz A7 x4) vs Exynos 4412 (1,4Ghz A9 x4):
The Star pounds the GS3, and I have no idea why. I assume, The samsung obviously has better firmware (they have a much higher budget, and Star is just some generic brand!). Yet, the Star wins in almost every way (YES, I did do a factory reset on the GS3 when i observed this, and it made no difference)
The Star just feels faster (Probably because the sgx544mp1>mali400mp4) But also videos load faster, applications open slightly faster. Overall, the Star FEELS faster and superior to the GS3 and this really still has me puzzled.
I was very pleasantly surprised...
Verdict: Definitely exceeded all my expectations, and gets a well deserved 10/10.
Battery:
Well I was again very pleasantly surprised:
My GS3 gives me about 2-3 hours screen on time (I'm a very heavy user and don't do any power management at ALL! so keep that in mind) But this obviously pissed me off, so the Star again kicks the S3's ass by far: giving me between 5-6 hours screen on time (keep in mind that is WITHOUT power management), so definitely doubling the S3's battery life. Plus a free spare battery!
Verdict: Obviously 10/10, If you don't play games for 5 hours/day you will not kill the battery in one day. Period.
I think that was all, this is my first review, so sorry if i forgot anything and sorry for making it so long, I just wanted to share my experience.
Summing up:
PROS:
This device exceeded all my expectations, with a superb display, great battery life, fast + SMOOTH performance, low price (I paid 220 $ incl DHL for this vs. 800$ for my GS3) and fantastic connectivity (in Denmark at least).
CONS:
Finding the right shop/seller is kinda a pain in the ***... I always feel slightly nervous when I order "expensive" products from china.
The troubleshooting! If problems occur, I found it slightly hard to find good relevant information for how to fix them + you have to fix them yourself, so if you hate fiddling with tech and reading forums DO NOT BUY chinese products. That is why we pay a premium for buying products from stores... the savings come at a price. However, that is why I wanted to support forums like this one!
Quality problems: the dead pixels and etc... Is to be expected as far as I understand and is always a risk in these products (as far as I can read they are getting much better, so I don't think you should be afraid that your product arrives Dead On Arrival, however it will most likely come with minor issues). Can you live with some minor issues? YES: then good, This phone is for YOU! NO: then stay AWAY! The phone will most likely NOT be PERFECT.
I can live with the minor compromises in quality perfection and I will happilly spend a little more time on the internet if I need to find a fix for any issue (i.e. the wifi fix), because this phone delivers a just as satisfying (if not superior) experience/performance as a phone at 4x the price. so I give this phone:
9/10
I guess I forgot to mention camera:
It's not great, but it will deliver shots comparable to the iphone 4, which has a 5mp.
I do not care, since I don't take pictures that often, however, lowlight performance is BAD! Daylight performance is OK/Good
I would say 6/10, a passable performance. Just don't expect 13mp shots: expect 5mp, and you'll be happy.
Some context:
My first smartphone was the Samsung Galaxy S3 which I had for one year and is the ONLY smartphone I've had besides the Star S5 mtk6589T 1G/8G model.
I will therefore compare it directly to the GS3 int.
Build quality:
The build quality isn't great, but isn't terrible either. I was expecting this with chinese phones, but I was also expecting much worse, so I was pleasantly surprised:
- Screen: The screen material feels alright (probably glass), but when you apply pressure (quite a bit, I was kinda worried I would crack the screen), it touches the IPS screen behind and generates those "waves" from the crystals, just like when you apply pressure to a laptop screen.
- The phone looks nice, imo. Comparing it to the S3 it doesn't feel much different "quality wise", and it gets smudged with fingerprints just as easily.
- The wifi antenna is bad, however I found a nice fix by techdolph on youtube, where you can apply an alluminum strip over the antenna, and the reception is now OK. Go more than 3 rooms away from the wifi and it's gone
- The screen is F****ed up while charging and will register a ton of ghost touches and so forth. But is perfect when it isn't charging, so basically the phone shouldnt be used while charging... just a remark...
- Screen (my model) has about 3-4 partially dead pixels, meaning that for example some pixels are dead when displaying a certain color... So I guess that means it has about 4 dead "subpixels"? In normal use however, you don't really notice it, unless your entire screen is one color.
- Sim problem, occassionally (like 1-2 times per month) the sim registers as not present, Just turn off the phone and remove and reinsert the sim to fix... Minor annoyance but still a build quality issue imo.
Final verdict: The wifi is fixable, but the dead subpixels are annoying,and it obviously has some minor quality issues. However, the phone feels good, and looks much better IRL than on pictures imo, and the feel in hand is very close to the S3. this balances out and I would give it a passable 6/10.
Display:
You will not be dissapointed: it blew my mind!
The image is nice and crisp, colors are vibrant (not too oversaturated) and whites are WHITE, not yellow like the GS3. However blacks are grey and not black like the GS3. It is a very nice IPS screen.
Touch works perfectly (though not while charging...).
The screen is very bright, much more than the S3 and is therefore easier to use outdoors.
Verdict: I give it 10/10, since imo, the deadpixels are a build quality issue and should be subtracted there, not here....
Sound:
BLOWS MY MIND. Compared to the S3, the Star has same sound quality but much higher volume! Great
Headphones also work very well (the ones that come with them). I am a complete sound noob, so don't expect an expert oppinion, but for me, they sound just as good as the samsung ones i got with my S3.Verdict: 9/10, despite being same speaker quality as the GS3, it isn't great
I've heard better, it's slightly "tinny", but It's so loud! So i would give 8/10 for quality and 10/10 for volume -> 9/10Connectivity:
The 3G (in denmark) and phone signal is F****in awesome! Kicks the S3's ass by far. In my appartment I've never had signal on my S3, while the Star has 2 bars....
Speeds are H+ and also beat my GS3, despite being the same connectivity...
Verdict: 10/10, beating the GS3 by a mile, it deserves it... Again the sim issue is build quality imo, and It never randomly looses connectivity or has any other problems
Performance:
I have read the whole A7 vs A9 architecture debate, and I understand the whole theory behind A9 being 40% faster than the A7.
However, this is not what I've observed.
Comparing mtk6589T (1,5ghz A7 x4) vs Exynos 4412 (1,4Ghz A9 x4):
The Star pounds the GS3, and I have no idea why. I assume, The samsung obviously has better firmware (they have a much higher budget, and Star is just some generic brand!). Yet, the Star wins in almost every way (YES, I did do a factory reset on the GS3 when i observed this, and it made no difference)
The Star just feels faster (Probably because the sgx544mp1>mali400mp4) But also videos load faster, applications open slightly faster. Overall, the Star FEELS faster and superior to the GS3 and this really still has me puzzled.
I was very pleasantly surprised...
Verdict: Definitely exceeded all my expectations, and gets a well deserved 10/10.
Battery:
Well I was again very pleasantly surprised:
My GS3 gives me about 2-3 hours screen on time (I'm a very heavy user and don't do any power management at ALL! so keep that in mind) But this obviously pissed me off, so the Star again kicks the S3's ass by far: giving me between 5-6 hours screen on time (keep in mind that is WITHOUT power management), so definitely doubling the S3's battery life. Plus a free spare battery!
Verdict: Obviously 10/10, If you don't play games for 5 hours/day you will not kill the battery in one day. Period.
I think that was all, this is my first review, so sorry if i forgot anything and sorry for making it so long, I just wanted to share my experience.
Summing up:
PROS:
This device exceeded all my expectations, with a superb display, great battery life, fast + SMOOTH performance, low price (I paid 220 $ incl DHL for this vs. 800$ for my GS3) and fantastic connectivity (in Denmark at least).
CONS:
Finding the right shop/seller is kinda a pain in the ***... I always feel slightly nervous when I order "expensive" products from china.
The troubleshooting! If problems occur, I found it slightly hard to find good relevant information for how to fix them + you have to fix them yourself, so if you hate fiddling with tech and reading forums DO NOT BUY chinese products. That is why we pay a premium for buying products from stores... the savings come at a price. However, that is why I wanted to support forums like this one!
Quality problems: the dead pixels and etc... Is to be expected as far as I understand and is always a risk in these products (as far as I can read they are getting much better, so I don't think you should be afraid that your product arrives Dead On Arrival, however it will most likely come with minor issues). Can you live with some minor issues? YES: then good, This phone is for YOU! NO: then stay AWAY! The phone will most likely NOT be PERFECT.
I can live with the minor compromises in quality perfection and I will happilly spend a little more time on the internet if I need to find a fix for any issue (i.e. the wifi fix), because this phone delivers a just as satisfying (if not superior) experience/performance as a phone at 4x the price. so I give this phone:
9/10
I guess I forgot to mention camera:
It's not great, but it will deliver shots comparable to the iphone 4, which has a 5mp.
I do not care, since I don't take pictures that often, however, lowlight performance is BAD! Daylight performance is OK/Good
I would say 6/10, a passable performance. Just don't expect 13mp shots: expect 5mp, and you'll be happy.
Thanks again for taking the time to write it.