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Ulefone Be Pro 5.5" (2GB/16GB) LTE Phablet $147 USD Delivered from GearBest

80
GBAULF

Exchange rate: approx $190.50 AUD delivered.

Cheap Phablet phone with 4G, supports all Aussie telcos. Middling display resolution.

Quick specs

  • 2600mah battery
  • 5.5 Inch IPS OGS Screen, 1280*720 Pixels
  • MTK6732 1.5GHz Quad Core with 64-bit Architecture and MALI T760
  • Band: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz, FDD-LTE B1/B3/B7/B20, Support 2G & 3G & 4G LTE
  • 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM
  • 13 MP Back Camera + 8 MP Front Camera
  • Android 4.4 - upgradable to 5.0

Only 64bit smartphone will be able to upgrade to Android 5.0 OS, Firmware will be available in March, 2015 and Ulefone Be Pro will be updated to Android 5.0 OS then.

For those that don't trust minor brands, should probably wait for the Lenovo A7000 smartphone (announced to be $170 USD). It'll have have a Mediatek Octa-core processor, 8GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, 2900mah battery and Dolby Atmos sound enhancement software built in.

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closed Comments

  • +2

    Ulefone. That's leet for Christmas phone right?

  • Only 64bit smartphone will be able to upgrade to Android 5.0 OS, Firmware will be available in March, 2015 and Ulefone Be Pro will be updated to Android 5.0 OS then.

    I can upgrade my Galaxy Nexus to 5.0?

    • is your nexus a 64bit?

      • That old I don't think so.

  • I'm Chinese and I've been following Chinese IT news daily, I have never heard of this phone in the Chinese market before. From the specs it looks pretty good for the price, but I would think twice before purchasing these unknown brand Chinese phones.

    • +3

      These chinese companies don't sell based on brand recognition, they just offer a low price and high spec — things that only geeks care about if they are on a budget.

      I've been buying a few of these Chinese devices and so far all i can say it's a hardware lottery — sometimes you will get something that is durable and lasts you a while, but sometimes you may end up with a short-lived one that dies after about a year of use.

      • That exactly the point. I had personally owned some Chinese branded android tablet as well, the most disappointing and frustrating thing would be system ROMs and battery life. As these companies does little on maintaining their custom ROMs and cut down on the hardware quality by using cheap displays and batteries. I guess these phones are suitable for geeks who knowns a few things about tweaking and flashing cutomer ROMs or who don't mind a few system bugs. But I guess for everyday use for an average person, brands like one plus one, ASUS, Huawei, xiaomi or meizu would be better choices.
        they also offer budget product lines.

        • As these companies does little on maintaining their custom ROMs and cut down on the hardware quality by using cheap displays and batteries

          Yes, their devices have a very short product lifecycle. They will release one phone now, in the next six months a new phone replaces it with better specs and a different price, and they no longer support or update the previous phone. One model is always trumping another.

          These companies are fixated on pushing out 'the latest model' so they spend very little time on R&D - just copy and paste jobs.

        • There are quite a few people on Ozbargain that have this phone :)
          I have one and from what I can tell its not cheap crap but a great price for what you get, and I have had a crappy chinese tablet before.
          I think it has a Sony camera too (really good photos) but the Auto (white Balance) isnt good, have to turn the white balance to Incandescent but apparently most Chinese phones are like this (oneplus one).
          I dont know the actual using it as a phone quality yet lol as I stated down below its a Big phone to carry around and I dont have a case for it.

        • @AMLagonda: It doesn't have a Sony camera.

        • @mapax:

          No probs still I "think" the camera is not bad and I have a HTC One m7 (Which is a better camera but was a more expensive phone)

          Remember this is really a $147USD phone, not high end.

    • +3

      Clearly you don't follow closely enough. Ulefone is extremely well known. Probably one of the most well known brands outside of the major players like Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo. I believe Ulefone is actually a rebranding of Star.

      • +1

        Based on there official website http://www.ule-star.com. Ulefone is a subsidiary company of Star phone and star phone is a minor player even in the Chinese market. For a company that has only published 6 news articles since its start in Aug 2014, I wouldn't call it popular.

  • they are standard white box generic phones, proceed with caution although in recent years their quality have improved

  • +3

    I've had one for about a month now. Paid US$150. Only real issue for me coming from a Galaxy S3 is the headphone socket. Some headphones don't sit in the socket all that well, but other's work fine. Just requires a bit of testing to figure out which one works.

    Otherwise it's a very solid phone. I get approx 45-50Mb/s on Vodafone 4G, I was using dual sim for a while, but have since let me second sim expire.

    Sure it may not have the resolution of the flagship phones, but i personally find the screen quality good.

    Can't comment on the camera as I barely use it. The few videos i've tried are rather crappy quality, the pictures i've taken were nothing to write home about. But then I don't take many videos or photos on my phone so it doesn't bother me.

    So far there have been 2 OTA updates, and Android 5.0 is due soon (hopefully)

    If anyone has specific questions i'll try answer.

    • what is the battery life like?

      • Good, I havent used mine since I got it a few weeks ago and it was still on 13%, have only charged it once and Ive only played around with the camera(so with no sim card in it) seems a nice phone but I havent got a case/cover for it so a bit worried about carrying it around with me.

    • Agreed about the headphone socket. When I go for a walk and listen to music I have to hold the phone in my hand so that the plug doesn't jump out of the socket. I suppose some bluetooth headphones would mitigate that.

      Camera seems ok to me, screen protectors are pretty weak though - I've scratched my first one up a bit already. Any recommendations for a better protector?

      Doesn't come with Swype so I had to purchase that. It is only just over AUD$1 at the play store so no biggie.

      Anxiously awaiting the lollipop update, hopefully that will drop soon. Otherwise it is a decent phone (although I have 1 sub-pixel that is stuck green, barely notice it though).

  • Will this work fine on Optus 4g?

    • Yes it works. I have one and use it on Optus 4g. In fact I'm using it right now.

  • I have this phone. The camera is a lie read it ulefone admitted it's only like a 8 megapixel after people found out about it. Battery is really meh and also the speaker on the phone is rubbish. Headphone jack is weird and headphones falls out easy and the micro usb socket is wobbly. Final gripe with the phone is that sometimes hadn't hear people when your talking to them. Beside that and the case felt is slowing coming apart even though I've had it for only a few weeks an good solid phone no lag on aps

  • I got this phone about a month ago from Gearbest. Overall the phone works great, no lag and about get 30 Mbps speeds on Telstra, and I think the screen looks pretty sharp. Camera is acceptable for me as I only use it for the old snap of documents and the kids when out and about.

    Gripes:
    - doesn't seem to be easy to root - I've read that a few have done it and others can't so am holding out until there's better info on how to do it.
    - agree on the headphone socket - some don't sit right but others are OK.
    - no wallet style flip-cases (with pockets) available yet

  • Yer the big let down is the headphone socket :o did they not test it? in saying that I can get it to work with a few of the headphones I have (it needs a longer, half a mm, plug) but yes its touchy.

  • is anyone having issues with call volume?
    mine is at the max level yet i can just hear people talking if i'm outdoors i can't hear them at all.

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