[Onetouch Idol 3 General] famewolf:
Everyone seem's to be looking at phones like the idol 4..the oneplus 3...but all the phones I saw mentioned were in the $200-$400 range and the $200 model was rather barebones...now I'm not a gamer and I originally purchased the idol 3 because the phone was CHEAP and had the features I wanted. I decided to review a couple of phone...both cheaper than the $200 I paid for my idol 3 but can still be considered prospects.

The idol 3 has come a long way with marshmallow but the development community is still tiny and alcatel provides zero support. The removal of fastboot when installing marshmallow is another example of their ....I want to say ineptness because why cripple a phone that is sold unlocked.....if you use the marshmallow 6.0 radio you lose band 12 lte....if you flash the 5.0.2 radio you get it back.

The first phone I tested basically came across as an Idol 4.7 except it had a 5.5 screen. The ZTE Zmax 2 is currently selling for $60 at bestbuy [ http://slickdeals.net/f/8791267-at-t-gophone-zte-zmax-2-bestbuy-59-99?v=1&p=85689931 ] as an "AT&T Go Phone" but is easily unlocked to run on other carriers. It comes with Lollipop but folks have already found "soft roots" for it and I imagine before to long marshmallow will be available.

The basic specs are:

Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410 [ Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 ]

16GB Internal Memory

2GB RAM

MicroSD Card Slot (up to 64GB)

5.5" 1280x720 Display [720p]

8MP Rear & 2MP Front Cameras

4G LTE

Removable 3000 mAh Battery

Android 5.1 Lollipop

Full specs available at: http://www.gsmarena.com/zte_zmax_2-7572.php

You might like: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/zte-zmax-2,review-3582.html

For unlocking, see the Wiki board in thread [ Everything in the wiki was NOT written by me so when you see "I tried this" in there it's the original author. ]:

http://slickdeals.net/f/8851267-16g...ct-smartphone-60-free-shipping?src=SiteSearch

For case:

http://slickdeals.net/f/8791267-at-t-gophone-zte-zmax-2-bestbuy-59-99?v=1&p=85689931#post85689931

Tempered glass:

http://r.ebay.com/eiSfaR

Low light pictures using Open Camera with Expsoure adjustment:

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=85985455&postcount=472

Recommended apps to get *as close as possible* to LG double knock feature.

-- Nova launcher prime -- Has double knock to turn off the screen

-- Gravity Screen (Plexnor) -- Comes with tons of useful features like keeping the Screen on by motion, turning the screen off by placing it flat on a tablet, pocket sensor etc.. But I am only using the Wave to unlock (proximity sensor to unlock)

Double knock to turn on the screen -- I did tons of research.. Not possible. So don't waste your time..only LG has implemented this without draining the battery (that is, without having to keep a black screen On waiting for user input).

Rooting -- not available at the moment because no one has been able to crack the ZTE's locked Bootloader.. so don't fall a prey to fictitious links that claim a root of this phone. On the +ve side, haven't felt the need to root till now. I read a post that on XDA there is some way to disable even system apps without rooting, but haven't felt the need or tried it so far.

How to unlock this phone:

1. Do not turn the phone on, don't even open the box.

2. Go to this web site: https://www.att.com/deviceunlock/?#/

3. Check I have read and agree to the eligibility requirements to unlock my device.

4. This is super important, check Non-AT&T Mobility Customer

5. Fill out the form, including the IMEI number which is located on the Box

6. Submit

7. You will be sent an email with a link to confirm

8. Open your email and confirm

9. Anywhere from 1 hour to 48 hours you will be given an unlock code. It took 8 hours for me to receive mine.

10. Open up the box, put in your SIM from your Carrier and turn it on.

11. You will be prompted for the unlock code

12. Put it in and continue.

This post can be edited by most users to provide up-to-date information about developments of this thread based on user responses, and user findings. Feel free to add, change or remove information shown here as it becomes available. This includes new coupons, rebates, ideas, thread summary, and similar items.

Firmware Update (credit: jchu14)

If you're using the Zmax 2 on a non-AT&T network, don't throw away the ATT GO prepaid sim card! You can use the sim card to obtain software update for free.

The most current version is b17. Usually if you have a non-ATT sim card in the phone, when you check for sofware update in 'settings', you won't be able to see updates available. You need to have an active sim card in the phone to activate.

To activate the sim card, go to att's website [att.com] and enter the sim card number printed on the sim card itself. Go through the activation process (need email address and zip code). When it asks you to put in an IMEI: put in all zeros. When it asks you to choose a plan, it doesn't matter what you choose. I picked the 25 cent/min plan even though all other plans should work (you don't have to pay anything regardless of what plan you pick).

Go though the activation process and eventually you'll assigned a phone number and your sim is activated! Stick that sim card in the phone and then check for a software update in 'settings'. You should be notified of an available update. If it tells you to wait 24 hours before you can check again, you can manually change the date and time of your phone in 'settings > date and time'. Set it forward a day, then you can again check for software update. Generally the phone will update to b16 first. After b16 is applied, you may have to check and roll the date forward twice before it'll see and apply the b17 update.

There is no need to actually put any money into the account attached to the sim card. However, this sim card will expire in 60 days if you don't put in any money into the account. So maybe it's not a bad choice if you want to hold on to the sim card inactivated until a major update is available.

Confirmed in AT&T Forums, these conditions MUST be met.

For the Update to proceed automatically, the phone conditions have to be as follows:

1. 100% Battery Capacity

2. Charger Connected

3. Active AT&T SIM

I use Cricket MVNO and followed these steps in the wiki to successfully update. (lowprice)

#####

T-Mobile Network compatibility:

* 4G LTE Band 4 (primary) AWS 1700/2100 - YES

* 4G LTE Band 2 (secondary) PCS 1900 - YES

* 4G LTE Band 12 (new primary/upcoming) 700-A - YES!

* 4G HSPA+ Band 4 (deprecated) AWS 1700/2100 - NO

* 4G HSPA+ Band 2 (new primary) PCS 1900 - YES

* 2G EDGE Band 2 (primary) PCS 1900 - YES

T-Mobile Features:

* WiFi Calling - NO

* VoLTE - NO

* RCS - NO

* Tethering/HotSpot - NO native, YES use 3rd party app (ES File Explorer)

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The second phone is a bit of a special deal...currently Amazon is selling the BLU R1 HD for $60 [I'd get the Zmax 2 over the BLU which is smaller and has ads for the same price ] and the Moto G4 for $155. Both of those include a $50 price drop (and a 2nd $25 off for the Moto G4) because they are ONLY for prime members and they show ad's on the lockscreen. Would you let amazon display ad's if it saved you $75 off a phone? I decided I would...here is the deal: https://slickdeals.net/f/8881879-pr...-50-moto-g-4th-gen-from-125-more-free-s-h?v=1

Basic Specs:

Moto G (4th Gen) Specs:

5.5" 1920x1080 IPS display

1.5Gz Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 Octo-Core CPU

2GB RAM

MicroSD Card Slot (up to 128GB)

13MP rear + 5MP front cameras

3000mAh battery

Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Compatible w/ AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint & Verizon

16GB OR 32GB (+$30)

Detailed Specs: http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g4-8103.php

Final out the door price on these: $125 for the 16gb G4 and $155 for the 32gb g4. I opted to pay the $30 extra to get the 32gb..but will also be dropping in a 128gb microsd. Both beat the original sale price of the Idol 3......I'm curious to see what others think. Please don't turn this into a flame war. This is just to compare how the idol 3 stacks up to recent phones at or below it's original price range. What was flagship a couple years ago is now seen as a "bargain phone".

You might like this review: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/mobi...6-review-the-best-budget-smartphone-ever-made