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$34 smartphone Part II - Teardown

Posted on May 19, 2015

In Part 1 of "Inside a $34 Smartphone" we poked at the software side of the dirt cheap Huami H3 smartphone.

Huami H3 Music Player Shortcut

We now know the phone is a Spreadtrum SC6825 passing off as a MediaTek. Using fake branding that combines Huawei and Xiaomi into Huami - something less than either.

Ka-boom …

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Tagged android, electronics, shanzhai | Comments

Inside a $34 smartphone (Part I)

Posted on May 16, 2015

(Speak Russian? Vlad translated this post!)

This Huami H3 smartphone cost me $34US (210RMB) in January. It's sold with a 5 inch screen, Bluetooth, WiFi, 4G cell connectivity, Android 4.4 and an 8 core processor.

Huami H3

I picked it up in the electronics capital of the world - Shenzhen, China. My …

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Tagged android, electronics, shanzhai | Comments

Huawei Sonic U8650 - 10 months on

Posted on June 18, 2012

This is a follow-up to the review I wrote last August of the Huawei Sonic U8650 $189AU Android smartphone.

Someone posted a comment last week:

How is this phone holding up since you bought it last August? Are you still happy with it?

Ten months on and I'm still using …

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Tagged android, huawei | Comments

Debian on Flexiview FV-1

Posted on February 26, 2012

This post is about running Debian GNU/Linux on the Mesada/Flexiview FV-1 "AndroidTV" unit. This post has been a bit delayed, I got very sidetracked with other things this month!

By following these steps, you should be able to use the FV-1 a bit like a normal desktop Linux …

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Tagged android, androidtv, arm, debian, fv-1, linux, shanzhai | Comments

Mesada Flexiview FV-1 "AndroidTV" Technical Review

Posted on January 09, 2012

I'm calling this a "technical review" because I'm not going to spend much time talking about using Android on this device. The reason for that will become apparent.

I recently purchased two "Android TV" boxes from aliexpress, for investigation and general hackery.

Android TV front
Android TV back
Android TV remote

You can buy these from various online vendors …

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Tagged android, androidtv, arm, fv-1, linux, open source, shanzhai | Comments

Huawei Sonic U8650 Review

Posted on August 07, 2011

Last Monday I walked into a Big W store here in Canberra and paid $188AU ($196US) for an Android smartphone, no network lock and no contract. I've had it for nearly a week now. What do I think? I think, with minor qualifications, that it's almost unbelievably good.

Packaging

The …

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Tagged android, huawei | Comments

Smartphone Relapse

Posted on August 07, 2011

When I ditched my iPhone 11 months ago, I promised a follow-up post about the experience. So here it is.

Quitting

Only one thing really surprised me about going back to a "dumbphone." The idle moments. The habit of pulling out my phone to fill them was deeply ingrained, even …

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Tagged android, culture | Comments

Open Letter to Wondermedia Technologies

Posted on November 28, 2010

This letter is my plea and suggestion to Wondermedia, although the theme applies to similar tech companies as well.

(If any fluent speaker can translate this into Chinese for me, I'd very much appreciate it!)

Dear Wondermedia Technologies,

Congratulations on your WM8505 system-on-a-chip. In 2005, a "$100 laptop" was a …

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Tagged android, eken m001 tablet, linux, open source, shanzhai, wm8505 | Comments

Froyo (Android 2.2) alpha for Eken M001 & M003

Posted on November 24, 2010

Update 25/11: Now supports M003 as well, and it appears the M002 may be able to boot from the M001 build.

Update 27/11: New build posted, now with better functioning Wifi!

Android 2.2 on dirt cheap WM8505 tablets. I said it may not be possible. Since then …

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Tagged android, eken m001 tablet, wm8505 | Comments

My no-iPhone no-smartphone experiment

Posted on September 01, 2010

This post is about how I became a self-loathing iPhone owner, and decided to switch to a device that noone has ever described as "revolutionary", "amazing" or "magical".

Separated at birth? iPhone 3GS & Nokia 2323

I've replaced my iPhone 3GS with a Nokia 2323 Classic. A $70AU ($63US) phone based on eight year old technology.

Why?

First …

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Tagged android, culture, iphone | Comments

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Recent Posts

  • $34 smartphone Part II - Teardown
  • Inside a $34 smartphone (Part I)
  • Huawei Sonic U8650 - 10 months on
  • Debian on Flexiview FV-1
  • Mesada Flexiview FV-1 "AndroidTV" Technical Review
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