[chbot] THL phones

[Volker Kuhlmann]

An esteemed member of the group emailed me privately (I don't mind)
about sourcing these phones, the answer may be useful to others too.

The THL models I had contact with:

W100, which became the W100S
W200, which became the W200S (like 2-3 months ago)

The manufacturer pages are
http://en.thl.com.cn/product/thl-w100.html
http://en.thl.com.cn/product/thl-w100s.html
http://en.thl.com.cn/product/thl-w200.html
http://en.thl.com.cn/product/w200s.html
(As you see, they failed to put up specs for the W200S.)

I have the W100, with android 4.2.1, from an Aliexpress seller I
recommend not to use, and the W200S with android 4.2.2, from
chinavasion.com.

I can not unconditionally recommend chinavasion. Yes they have some
customer support and are probably able to process a warranty claim, but
they're still not that competent. They claim that the URL of THL's
website is a trade secret. I know for a fact that the dimensions in
their specs for all 4 of those models are bogus! In plain English,
chinavasion is too stupid to copy the text from the THL-supplied specs
(highly confidential...) onto their product page. When I'm friendly and
tell them to check the dimensions of those models, they need to ask *ME*
for details...

Compare pricing with Aliexpress and make your decision.

The case dimensions became important when looking for a flip case.
Eventually I found that the W100 and W100S are exactly the same size,
ditto the W200 and W200S. So the cases are interchangeable, but sellers
don't seem to know that or say that on their product pages.

Chinavasion pages:
http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Android_Phones/Large_Screen_Android_Phones/ThL_W200S_True_Octa-Core_Android_4.2_Smartphone_-_5_Inch_1280x720_Gorilla_Glass_IPS_Screen_MT6592_1.7GHz_CPU_32GB_ROM_White/
(includes illegal adapter for supplied EU plugpack - use superglue or
buy a legal one)
http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Accessories/White_Case_for_ThL_W200_5_Inch_HD_Android_4.2_Phone/
http://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/Accessories/Screen_Protector_for_ThL_W200_Black_for_5_Inch_HD_Quad_Core_Android_4.2_Phone/

I haven't tried the screen protector because the one shipped with the
phone (probably ex THL) is very good.
The W200S is supplied by THL with a 2000mA battery, which is longer than
the 1800mAh one in the W100 and W100S.
I don't know for sure what battery the W200 uses.
The shorter W100 batteries are supposed to fit the W200S, but it needs a
bit of extra push I found, and it may slide loose unless you fix it.

Chinavasion sells a "Power Supply for ThL W200S" battery but fails to
give capacity. Other sources have the usual "cheap lithium from dodgy
source" problem.

The W200S is good hardware for the money. I am unsure about the software
though. Still working on that.

HTH,

Volker

-- 
Volker Kuhlmann
http://volker.top.geek.nz/	Please do not CC list postings to me.