Cubot MAX 6-Inch SIM-Free Smartphone - Black

A few years ago I had a Samsung S3. It was slow, and frustrating, despite its reputation. I decided to buy a Cubot X12 as a backup, having read good stuff about it. Having got that working, I played with the S3 and managed to root it. Once I removed some of the bloat applications, it was really quick and nice to use. But the Cubot suited me better and I stuck with it and sold on the "freed" Samsung. My girlfriend was having all sorts of problems with her Samsung phone, and I showed her mine and told her I'd get her one. But I couldn't. By then the X12 had gone off the market and was dearer second hand than I'd paid for it new, which tells you what a good phone it is. So I ordered another cheap Chinese phone (but not a Cubot) and gave her the X12, which is still in use and she's very happy with it. The new phone was very frustrating to use, so I did what I should have done earlier, tried another Cubot, the Max. I got it "Used like new" for £99.99. It arrived in perfect condition and working order.All the frustration was gone! The 3Mb RAM ensures that there are no bad holdups (except when receiving slow internet). The 32Gb internal memory removes another source of frustration, in that, despite Android 6 merging the internal and SDXC card memories, apps are by default loaded onto the internal memory and have to be manually moved one at a time to the SDXC card. Not all will move, and some will but won't work properly. Now I don't have to worry about running out of app space and I can leave them all on the internal memory. All the files and media I add automatically goes onto the SDXC card. With the other phone, the 8Gb internal memory was a royal pain in the backside.Generally I have noticed the prices of Cubot's phones sneaking up, and to be honest, if they are all as good as the X12 and the Max, it's hardly surprising. They are still much cheaper than the big brands. They contain a basic set of software, so you might need help setting them up in terms of having enough software installed for your needs, if you know what you're doing, they are a much better alternative than some main brands full of bloatware that you don't need.Specifically, the Max has a good touchscreen, the resolution is as good as my old eyes can use, the battery lasts all day and more, it seems to pull in a weaker wireless signal with fewer problems, and it's hard to fault. Of course this may need to be revised as I've only been using it a couple of days, but everything seems fine.Not too impressed with Amazon's delivery on this occasion though. It was left on my doorstep when we were away a few days, even though the message I got said I had signed for it. Fortunately a neighbour with our spare keys saw it there and put it inside the house.UPDATE: Nerd's Corner — This phone proved to be easy to "root". I won't go into details here, find stuff on the net. However a slight disappointment in that I couldn't get Xposed to run properly on the rooted phone. But there are plenty of useful rooted apps available, plus a few standard ones that work better if root is available (including the Nova Launcher).

Right, my overall feeling first: this is a lot of phone for the money, and I am generally very happy with it. My criteria for purchasing included a good-size screen, a removable battery, a micro SD card slot and a headphone jack. So, this phone ticks all those boxes, and at a very good price for what you get. So, overall, yes, I would recommend it. Now, more detailed opinions on each notable aspect follow.Display: I wanted a phone with a decent size screen, without paying a fortune for a Galaxy Note or similar. I was initially a little put off by the "low" screen resolution of 1280x720, when there are higher-res options out there. Then, I got a grip and realised that I remember when 1024x768 was considered a perfectly adequate resolution on a 17" monitor, and this is a 6" panel. In real-world usage, the screen looks just fine - I don't see individual pixels or anything, and I think a higher resolution would just add cost and decrease battery life for very little real-world benefit.Build quality: perfectly adequate - feels solid and well put together - in fact, feels like a more expensive phone.GPS / location: this is my biggest criticism so far. GPS performance seems a lot worse than my previous phone (a Sony Z3). I use RunKeeper to track runs/walks, and it's not unusual for the same route to return much different distance, and looking at the maps, there'll be some spurious points where the location wandered. Using Google Maps in the car, it will periodically think I'm in a field, or on a road next to the road I'm really on - I didn't have that problem with my last phone. Also, this phone has no compass, so navigation-type apps don't know what direction you're facing in.Battery life: generally good - I use several apps fairly heavily during the day, and it doesn't have a problem making it through the day on one charge.Performance: generally good, although sometimes a little laggier than I would expect from a phone of these specs; need to troubleshoot a bit further to see why.Dual SIM: handy stuff - I have an EE 4G SIM and a Vodafone 4G SIM in. Only one of them can use 4G data at a time, though. You can set which SIM is the default for outgoing calls, or can be prompted to select each time. Unlike some dual-SIM phones, you can have two SIMs *and* a micro SD card in at the same time (I've seen some where the second SIM slot shares a location with the micro SD card, so you can't have both in).Wifi: holds on to my home wifi network with no problems at all, and returns decent performance.Bluetooth: good - holds a Bluetooth connection to my headphones from a different room, seems to have much better BT range than my Z3 did.Software: Android 6.0, minimal added bloat. As with all my Android devices, I immediately installed Nova Launcher. I've had a few problems with certain apps refusing to run: The Simpsons Tapped Out, Skype, and one or two others, which just get the standard Android "Unfortunately, $name has stopped" error when I try to open them. I've not yet figured out why, sounds like some ADB debugging may be needed there. The vast majority of the apps I use run fine, though.There doesn't seem to be an official LineageOS (formerly Cyanogen) build for this device yet. I've not yet received any OTA updates. Cubot provide firmware downloads on their site, albeit a download link to Mega.nz which is a touch shady.

Great product for the price.The phone is something of a behemoth and certainly isn't for anyone but those with large hands or weak wrists. It is by far the heaviest smartphone I have ever used at a little over 200g.The display, whilst not HD, is still pretty good and colours are fairly bright and vivid.Camera is average, at best and front facing selfy camera is quite poor but at the phone's price point, I didn't really expect anything different.The (removable) battery is the main place where this phone comes into its own. The 4100mah battery lasts a full day with almost constant use and should easily last a couple of days with moderate use. (I wouldn't know the latter for sure, though, because I rarely use my phone moderately). ;-)The phone doesn't have a full accelerometer but, given its huge size, it won't fit into any VR headset anyway, so that isn't really a deal breaker.The 3gb of ram means that the phone does everyday tasks swiftly and efficiently.In short, whilst this may not be a phone that will worry the flagship brands, if you are wanting a very cheap, huge screen phone with fantastic battery life and good performance, you really won't be disappointed.

Mi chiedo come si possano spendere 1000 euro in uno smartphone quando con neanche 150 si ha il solito risultato sia come prestazioni che per esteticaIncredibile ma vero, è un smartphone paragonabile ai top di gammaProvare per credere

Ottimo prodotto !!!