Huawei X3 $69 Back Again at Woolworth from 23 May

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Huawei X3 $69 Back Again at Woolworth from 23 May
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skytree on 28/05/2012 - 10:01 files.ozbargain.com.au (925 clicks)

I know the weekly special was published here but people might overlook this within flood of specials so just highlight it.

An entry level 256m RAM Andriod 2.3 mobile at $69 price tag, very nice price.

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100
Announced 2011, February
Status Available. Released 2011, July
Body Dimensions 110 x 56.5 x 11.2 mm
Weight 104 g
- Touch-sensitive controls
Display Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 320 x 480 pixels, 3.2 inches (~180 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes
Sound Alert types Vibration, MP3 ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
Memory Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal 512 MB ROM, 256 MB RAM
Data GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps
Speed HSDPA, HSUPA
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
USB Yes, microUSB v2.0
Camera Primary 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus
Features Geo-tagging
Video Yes, 480p
Secondary Yes, VGA
Features OS Android OS, v2.3 (Gingerbread)
Chipset Qualcomm MSM7227
CPU 600 MHz
GPU Adreno 200
Sensors Accelerometer, proximity, compass
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
Browser HTML, Adobe Flash
Radio Stereo FM radio
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support
Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
Colors Black, Silver, Red
- SNS integration
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail, Talk
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
- MP4/H.263/H.264 player
- Organizer
- Document viewer
- Photo viewer/editor
- Voice memo/dial
- Predictive text input
Battery Standard battery, Li-Po 1200 mAh
Stand-by Up to 250 h (2G) / Up to 300 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 4 h (2G) / Up to 4 h 10 min (3G)

Woolworths

Related Store: Woolworths

Comments (Closed)

  •  
    peterlong1952 on 28/05/2012 - 10:23

    The advertisement states

    3.2MP camera
    Powered by Android 2.1
    Wi fi
    Bluetooth

    So is it upgradable to Android 2.3?

    •  
      JLove on 28/05/2012 - 10:39

      It's not android 2.1, it's 2.3. Typo in ad.

  •  
    brucefromaustralia on 28/05/2012 - 10:41

    Also $69 at DS & Vodafone.
    Comes with Android 2.3. See previous deals for details.
    Just received email - get 10% off 1x $50+ purchase with my Everyday rewards card this week.
    May be because I haven't used the card for a while. Only double points on other EDR card. (Thats why it is handy to have several Rewards cards!)

    I unlocked for free on Vodafone https://unlock.vodafone.com.au/voila/handsetunlock/self-serv...

    •  
      wolfenator87 on 28/05/2012 - 13:42

      Had mine for a month. Great phone for the price. However, Vodafail want $50 to unlock it!

      •  
        sw on 29/05/2012 - 04:00

        Wow! Did you try to do it for free via the Voda website? I got codes for two Woolie's bought $69 X3 handsets with zero problems…!

        •  
          JLove on 29/05/2012 - 09:57

          The free voda unlock doesn't work for every x3 voda phone. They wanted $50 from me to unlock too!

        • +3 votes
          sw on 31/05/2012 - 13:45

          Aware of this, however the handset IMEI number needed for the unlocking process is also printed on label on the outside of the box - so with the two that I bought from Woollies I processed the unlock code request on the Voda website and printed it before I took off the plastic wrap. Thus if the website had failed to give me an unlock code for either handset I would have returned it and purchased another.

  •  
    g12345567 on 28/05/2012 - 10:42

    Specs mention Android 2.3
    http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_u8510_ideos_x3-3840.php

    Also says VODAFONE Huawei IDEOS x3 so locked.

  •  
    skytree on 28/05/2012 - 10:52

    Edited and put Andriod 2.3 in, yes it's locked to vodaphone.

  • +4 votes
    mattgal on 28/05/2012 - 11:02

    i think telstra-locked lg optimus spirt p690f for $49.50 at coles is a better deal http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/68542. US$1.50 unlock on ebay

    •  
      swings on 28/05/2012 - 11:11

      the X3 used to be unlocked for free from Voda(at least the most of them),
      that's what it made it a great deal.

      i got my X3 at the first sale and i'm happy with it,
      i have problem rooting it, but even out of the box is still a very functional phone.

      •  
        oz-dxer on 28/05/2012 - 11:17

        Both my voda X3's had to be "ebay unlocked" (easy and cheap) as the voda site did not work for me for either phone:(

        http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Unlock-code-all-Huawei-mobile-pho...

      •  
        sw on 29/05/2012 - 04:28

        Caution re the LG Optimus. There are comments on the other X3 thread (the CJ's $62 offer) suggesting that the LG at Coles can not access data via the 900MHz frequency which is one of the two mains frequencies used by Optus for 3G data. So if you want a handset to use with 3G data on the Optus network the LG may be very limited for you.

    • +3 votes
      sonic2011 on 28/05/2012 - 11:30

      Yes I agree with you. LG optimus is better deal & better performance. I got both of these mobile phones. but I like my LG, perform better and the battery is last longer than huawei. Also it's cheaper to unlock.

      If anyone interested with my huawei, I'm selling it and it's rooted but I haven't unlock it.

      •  
        gilbarc on 28/05/2012 - 12:04

        What's the battery life like for each of them?

        •  
          swings on 28/05/2012 - 12:38

          out of the box,
          using wifi for 4-5 hours of active browsing will drain the battery,
          same if u are using a couple of heavy app for the same time(photo editing, loading pdf etc)

          normal use on a day around will last one full day

          if u root is said to improve

        •  
          King Tightarse on 28/05/2012 - 12:45

          Can easily get 3 days using it mostly as a phone.
          Hint: turn off data toggle when not using.

          Battery life definitely improved using the non-bloatware stock Huawei ROM. Guess some of Vodas stupid apps suck some juice.

      • -1 vote
        brucefromaustralia on 28/05/2012 - 12:29

        I unlocked for free on Vodafone - can't be cheaper than that!

        •  
          brucefromaustralia on 31/05/2012 - 20:21

          sonic2011 claimed 'Also it's (LG optimus) cheaper to unlock.", but you need to pay!

    • +1 vote
      smartshen on 28/05/2012 - 13:20

      LG is much much better than this one and cheaper

  • +2 votes
    King Tightarse on 28/05/2012 - 11:05

    $69 = bargain!
    Love this little phone. Best bang for buck out there IMHO.

    I have rooted mine and upgraded to generic Huawei ROM no voda bloat.
    Check the X3 thread at Whirlpool for instructions.

    Can unlock via Ebay for ~$7 but many of the Woolies ones get free unlocking from Voda's unlocking page.

    •  
      swings on 28/05/2012 - 11:14

      when i try to root it with autoroot(following the thread instructions), it get stuck in the restart at the Huawei screen, then i have to remove the battery and restart the phone, but the rootin is failed…
      do u have any idea to help me out? tried to post around but didnt get any reply

      cheers

      • +1 vote
        sonic2011 on 28/05/2012 - 11:35

        Use win 7 to root it. I got failed as well when I used win xp.

        •  
          King Tightarse on 28/05/2012 - 12:02

          Yep. The XP driver is missing.
          You can work around it but easiest solution: just use a Win7 machine.

        •  
          swings on 28/05/2012 - 12:03

          what usb driver did u use? cause i installed the huawei usb driver from their website on win7 (tried xp and vista too), and got stack in the restart step of the mobile

          i suppose i am doing something wrong but cant figure out what,
          and the only part not detailed in the tutorial is when u install the usb,

        •  
          gilbarc on 31/05/2012 - 14:17

          Any suggestions for those of us without access to a Win 7 machine? (Stuck on XP)

    • +1 vote
      theedge on 28/05/2012 - 20:52

      Can confirm that you can unlock for free if purchased at Woolworths. I purchased this handset at lunchtime and was researching how to unlock as I hate VodaFail with a passion and decided to just give the unlock a go via their website, low and behold it worked I haven't even put any credit on to it yet either :) I was just after a cheap handset to transfer all of my Telstra Pre Paid starter pack credits to my iPad as my old Sony Ericcson K750i was becoming tiresome to use.

      •  
        wolfenator87 on 28/05/2012 - 21:34

        Didn't work for me. It is a bit of lucky dip aye?

  • +1 vote
    wolfazrael123 on 28/05/2012 - 11:11

    Got this around 45 days ago. This phone is not so good but cheap. When u touch the screen quite ofthen it just does not recognize that, not really a big deal but may drive someone crazy. Not so fast, no 3g I think.
    Thanks to my mum who lost my galaxy s2, I may be using this for one more year.

  • +1 vote
    swings on 28/05/2012 - 12:15

    what this mobile phone does well(out of the box):

    • browse internet
    • use email , with dedicated apps too(yahoo app, hotmail etc)
    • photo editing(collage, basic tuning, text adding etc)
    • basic photo(reference, silly moments etc)
    • video, standard web and mobile videos, and some bigger movies
    • ebook, pdf, comics (resolution is low, and screen is small, but the mobile is very portable size and light which make it very good to carry around for quick reference)

    what is not so great for:

    • skype(voice is ok, but many times get very slow when u start and it tries to sync)
    • games, 3d games dont work, 2d games are very limited
    • performances limit the number of app u have running, i cant have Viber on cause it slow all down, and i keep most of the app on a NO PUSH setting to not slow all down
    • it crashes once in a while
    • taking pics is slow process(but cant pretend better for the price)
    • i find the screen hard to read if on sun condition(but could be my screen protector or brightness settings)

    hope this can help someone to make a decision
    keep in mind if u root and change rom everything is suppose to improve

    • +1 vote
      King Tightarse on 28/05/2012 - 12:40

      Agree.
      Calls/browsing great.
      Gaming? Nothing too complex but hey $69!
      GPS locks quickly.
      Dont forget it doubles as a USB modem and WiFi hot spot.
      Its slim and dare I say "elegant" - well constructed and fits nicely in the pocket.

      Lovely little screen too. Rich colors/good density vs size etc.

      •  
        sw on 29/05/2012 - 04:20

        Hotspot is quite good however I find the hotspot on my $99 Optus MyTab ZTE V9 to be much better - so for serious sessions I generally swap my Woolie's sim card out of my X3 and into my ZTE (and can still make and receive calls on it).

        GPS on the X3 is good - though haven't found if there is a way to download or cache Google maps on to it without having to root the device and to go off Google-Play/Android-Market.

        I switched to this X3 after the burglar took my three-years-old Nokia E71 - and boy am I missing the Nokia - what a great machine (for its time) AND it included off-line maps and GREAT voice guidance! In the same burglary he also took my wife's MyTab - and boy is she missing it.

        •  
          brucefromaustralia on 29/05/2012 - 09:00

          To set up cache in Google maps: in Maps, select More in the middle button at bottom, Labs, Precache map area.

        •  
          wolfenator87 on 29/05/2012 - 15:12

          E71 is very cheap to buy 2nd hand. You should be happy with Android once you get accustomed to it.

        •  
          wolfenator87 on 29/05/2012 - 15:12

          E71 is very cheap to buy 2nd hand. You should be happy with Android once you get accustomed to it.

  • +1 vote
    King Tightarse on 28/05/2012 - 12:38

    Here is the Whirlpool thread re installing the Huawei plain vanilla ROM. Rooting instructions are a few pages back.

    http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1637091&p...

    •  
      wolfenator87 on 28/05/2012 - 13:56

      Thanks mate, I'll check out the instructions regarding this.

  •  
    theedge on 29/05/2012 - 07:55

    Not doubting you but did you follow the instructions? I put in my Telstra sim then entered the unlock code said it failed so re entered again, it said it failed again but then kicked me out to main screen and bingo!

  • +1 vote
    craigau on 01/06/2012 - 00:01

    I bought one today from Vodafone store. Seems like many places sell for $69 (eg Crazy Johns, Dick Smith, Vodafone), but the Woolworths I went to didn't have them. Before I paid I asked the sales staff member to check the IMEI on the Vodafone website to see if it would unlock for free. He got the unlock code and he even printed it out for me. IMEI is on the outside of box, so you can always check before buying, if it will unlock for free…

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