InnJoo Fire 16GB 3G Smartphone Review

[MickZA]

Will be reviweing more in terms of rooting, extensive app running, some rigorous tests some time during the week.

Sounds like good value for money thus far but early days yet

 

[NeonNinja]

Thanks bond,

Am following your review very closely,

My questions;

Toughness/stability of the phone?
How solid/strong is it? Does it look like it survive a good few years?
Screen protector? And pouch,
Included? Worth anything?

Also as its possible to root, Roms like cm avalible for it?

Also FM radio, able to record?

Toughness/stability of the phone?
Build isn't something you'd expect from an equivalent Samsung (then again equivalent would be R2500 vs R1200) or your well known brand, plasticy feel all round, but it doesn't phase me off thogh.

How solid/strong is it? Does it look like it survive a good few years?
I think good care, should be good. I can get 2 years, I'm good with that.

Screen protector? And pouch,
It come swith a custom made one, although it's a "loose" case. Has a card/notes pocket. Screen is protected at least, and it doesn't slip or move around in the pocket.



If you want more you can buy a universal 5" case I guess.

Also as its possible to root, Roms like cm avalible for it?

Oh yes, the Innjoo series is big in Nigeria and I saw lots of ROMS based on 4.4.2 on different Naija forums, excited, will be trying some.
Although no mention/hope of 5.0+ yet.

Also FM radio, able to record?
Yes it can record, it's your normal FM Radio app which comes with most Android phones.

 

[NeonNinja]

Sounds like good value for money thus far but early days yet

Yeah, I'm very happy with it. Although coming from and having 538 ppi spoils you too much as the screen looks dull at 220 ppi, this being my biggest gripe.

And pics are really nothing to write home about, doesn't feel and perhaps look like how 5MP shoudld be, but hey, I've a DSLR and a mirrorless camera for that, couldn't be more concerned.

When I'm doing the camera review, will post some.

 

[NeonNinja]

Oh yes, what I complained about is true. Off the bat, it looks like you can't have 3G on both slots (bug?). Limited to only 1 slot/sim. But a custom ROM gives you full access to 3G/WCDMA on both slots/SIMs concurrently.

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

How solid/strong is it? Does it look like it survive a good few years?

You're spending the equivalent of next to nothing on a phone (regardless of which of the 3 you get) so NO it will not last you many years. All the same problems you have with your current phone will rear their heads sooner rather than later (app storage running out, app compatibility, resolution support, slowness). Survive perhaps, but just as pathetically as your Pocket so there's little point. That said the Innjoo, thanks to it's power, is the most likely to keep you happy for longest.

 

[MickZA]

Re your pic of the case, is it possible that "shiny" strip on the right is removable exposing the adhesive?

... that's the way the Gobii case ships, I don't use it but my sister has it installed (her phone lives in her bag with lots of junk - typical woman ).

 

[NeonNinja]

Re your pic of the case, is it possible that "shiny" strip on the right is removable exposing the adhesive?

... that's the way the Gobii case ships, I don't use it but my sister has it installed (her phone lives in her bag with lots of junk - typical woman ).

Nothing. Not adhesive.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

You're spending the equivalent of next to nothing on a phone (regardless of which of the 3 you get) so NO it will not last you many years. All the same problems you have with your current phone will rear their heads sooner rather than later (app storage running out, app compatibility, resolution support, slowness). Survive perhaps, but just as pathetically as your Pocket so there's little point. That said the Innjoo, thanks to it's power, is the most likely to keep you happy for longest.

fair enough, Im looking for a phone that lasts, at least a good 5-6 years at the very least, dont think thats unreasonable (especially if no planned obsolescence subroutines loaded)
I usually keep my phones going for as long as they still work, I buy on Prepaid so no contracts yet for me, although the ebucks story might tempt me for a LG leon,
only thing Im worried about is build quality, and how it will fare going on the longish term

if it comes with a casing, and screen protector, Im happy as thats usually my first purchase.
standard USB charger? so I dont need to buy anything new WRT to chargers and the like.

battery life? and avalibility of batteries? is it easy to get batteries for this phone? who else stocks batteries besides takealot?

also music app any good? equalizer loaded anything similar to that?
tempted to ask, but not sure what its called, "that thing that moves according to the music", my pocket has that, on the ROM that is.

but thanks so much Bond, I Really do think this is the phone for me, looks like it will work very well for many years yet....

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

fair enough, Im looking for a phone that lasts, at least a good 5-6 years at the very least, dont think thats unreasonable (especially if no planned obsolescence subroutines loaded)

Completely unreasonable. Especially in the budget sector. And it was even so in the Nokia days. One can maybe get 4 years out of a phone.
The battery WILL give out at some point in that time and no one will be carrying replacements any more by that time.

Also once 2K phones become completely mainstream then 1080P will become the new minimum standard which means that apps will be broken on phones running non-standard resolutions (they already are in some cases, I have a Galaxy S4 Mini and a Sony Z3 so I can see the difference).
And CM development for low-end junk phones stops much sooner than for former flagships.

Phones are growing/jumping at a much faster rate than PCs and the obsolescence curve is much steeper than in the PC field so you can't expect a phone to be relevant as long as a computer.

Your pathetic Galaxy Pocket proves how unreasonable this expectancy is.

Then again maybe I'm just hard on phones but even the Nokias only just made it to the 4 year mark with other family members.

 

[MickZA]

Completely unreasonable. Especially in the budget sector. And it was even so in the Nokia days. One can maybe get 4 years out of a phone.
The battery WILL give out at some point in that time and no one will be carrying replacements any more by that time.

... true this, I've got a perfectly good Nokia 500 sitting in the cupboard that Microsoft obsoleted

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Your pathetic Galaxy Pocket proves how unreasonable this expectancy is.

fair enough, I do think your right,
thing is on the stock Rom my pocket had with stock unmodified ROM it lasted 3 years, as its warranty gave up in 2013
I rooted/Rommed it and that got me until today, yes fair enough with issues and problems, loading apps/apps forcing close ect...
and no FM radio:erm:

but I do see what you mean,
they want people to buy phones as quickly as possible, and new ones are coming out with new features,

what I Really want is something similar to PC/Laptops of today, a Google Nexus would be awesome, but that's Expensive in SA.......
you can upgrade, and load newer apps/ROMS as time goes on, just like a PC/Laptop, load win 10 add RAM/GPU ect....
I dont think its unresonable to expect something as close as possible to that?

but I dont want a iphone, as popular as they are, will hate having to give apple personal information.

would this phone look like it can survive a good few years? reliably that is?
I mean its definetly got the Horsepower and dual SIM that is quite useful, screen is a bit budget, fair enough, cant have everything

but for the next few years, it will soldier on quite nicely, with most apps able to work, and most issues able to be dealt with
with new ROMS/Rooting.

I mean in Nigeria this phone is quite popular, and Im sure many of my wants are what the average 3rd world user would like.
able to keep up with changes, quite reliable and not easily damaged, things similar to that.

thanks again for the review, Its EXTREAMLY Helpful and Informative for the exact thing I want to purchase,
your timing Bond is superb

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

what I Really want is something similar to PC/Laptops of today, a Google Nexus would be awesome, but that's Expensive in SA.......
you can upgrade, and load newer apps/ROMS as time goes on, just like a PC/Laptop, load win 10 add RAM/GPU ect....
I dont think its unresonable to expect something as close as possible to that?

Doesn't exist. There were a couple of Kickstarter funded projects for modular phones but nothing tangible yet. And even if those modular phones become a reality in America it will be forever and a day before they arrive in the 3rd world.

And without modularity even the original Nexus devices are useless now.

Then again we seem to have a hit a bit of a wall so I guess devices with a decent amount of power now will be safer for longer than those growth-period droids.

Absolutely none of this comes cheap either. It's only at this wall that lower devices are getting the chance to catch up a bit. (that innjoo is basically as strong as my sister's old S3)

thanks again for the review, Its EXTREAMLY Helpful and Informative for the exact thing I want to purchase,
your timing Bond is superb

In a couple of days I'll have some hands on time with a LG Leon. Won't be able to do an indepth review since it's not my phone so I won't live with it. But I can at least give you some initial impressions.

 

[NeonNinja]

+-30 mins on the powerbank (Romoss) got me from 10% to now 78%

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

In a couple of days I'll have some hands on time with a LG Leon. Won't be able to do an indepth review since it's not my phone so I won't live with it. But I can at least give you some initial impressions.

that will be awesome, just another , maybe more mainstream option available to me....
if I take it on FNB contract, it works out to R100 to 2 years, definitely affordable but will that last?

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

+-30 mins on the powerbank (Romoss) got me from 10% to now 78%

new phones always have a great battery life
as the battery hasnt had a few discharge/recharge cycles...

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

that will be awesome, just another , maybe more mainstream option available to me....
if I take it on FNB contract, it works out to R100 to 2 years, definitely affordable but will that last?

I'd assume ebay would be more willing to give you batteries at least. I also don't see how it could fare any worse than the Pocket.

 

[MartyMarts]

Thanks for the review, Bond.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

I'd assume ebay would be more willing to give you batteries at least. I also don't see how it could fare any worse than the Pocket.

Ebay? I did manage to find for my pocket at the indian cell shops, gave me the battery for a similar samsung ACE
wnder aout this innjoo, sure batteries have to be shared with some phone.....

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

Ebay? I did manage to find for my pocket at the indian cell shops, gave me the battery for a similar samsung ACE
wnder aout this innjoo, sure batteries have to be shared with some phone.....

Unofficially maybe, but definitely not officially.

 

[satanboy]

View attachment 310505

wtf is going on there at the bottom? Looks like someone used a knife on it.