Hi - this is my first post other than saying hello.
I searched for the Star A5000 on here and couldn't find anything in the way of a review, so I thought I'd let people know about my experience with it. I'm completely new to Android phones (though I have an Android tablet) and have no idea about rooting, new OS installation or anything else. I just want to use a phone out of the box, do a bit of surfing and play "Cut the rope"...
I wanted a dual SIM phone because I have an old Nokia with a really poor battery life. My O2 pay up front for life (PUFFL) contract has no upgrade path and no data associated with it (50 mins inclusive calls/month, which is fine for me) but doesn't cost me anything. I thought a second SIM with a cheap data plan would be ideal.
I ordered this phone after a fair bit of research into various options, including potentially buying directly from a Chinese supplier. Eventually, I bought it from a UK-based ebay seller, as I didn't fancy guessing what import/customs duties I may end up paying. Mine came with a 4 GB micro SD card rather than the 2 GB included in most ads.
Out of the box, the A5000 charged quickly and was happy to accept my O2 PUFFL SIM. I made and received a couple of voice calls, no problem. It has a reasonably intuitive interface and quite a few apps preinstalled. I tried a couple out of idle curiosity, but needed to link up to my Google account to activate, so I backed out.
The second SIM I'd ordered to handle my data requirements hadn't arrived yet, so I linked the phone up to my home network via wifi and went straight for a browse. I got a couple of page unavailable messages, so disconnected and reconnected a couple of times, then the browser woke up and Google was at my mercy. I also linked up to my existing Twitter account using the app that came preinstalled. The wifi connection was a bit in and out, even though I was sitting about 6 feet from the wifi aerial with an excellent signal.
I next tried setting up Android Market. It wanted my Google account details, which I provided, but it wouldn't recognise the password. (yes, it was the right one!). I had a bit of a hunt about on Google, and decided that rather than mess around with verification codes and what have you (I told you I was new to Android), I'd take out a new Google account via the phone, and link the two together later.
Once the data SIM arrived (
I searched for the Star A5000 on here and couldn't find anything in the way of a review, so I thought I'd let people know about my experience with it. I'm completely new to Android phones (though I have an Android tablet) and have no idea about rooting, new OS installation or anything else. I just want to use a phone out of the box, do a bit of surfing and play "Cut the rope"...
I wanted a dual SIM phone because I have an old Nokia with a really poor battery life. My O2 pay up front for life (PUFFL) contract has no upgrade path and no data associated with it (50 mins inclusive calls/month, which is fine for me) but doesn't cost me anything. I thought a second SIM with a cheap data plan would be ideal.
I ordered this phone after a fair bit of research into various options, including potentially buying directly from a Chinese supplier. Eventually, I bought it from a UK-based ebay seller, as I didn't fancy guessing what import/customs duties I may end up paying. Mine came with a 4 GB micro SD card rather than the 2 GB included in most ads.
Out of the box, the A5000 charged quickly and was happy to accept my O2 PUFFL SIM. I made and received a couple of voice calls, no problem. It has a reasonably intuitive interface and quite a few apps preinstalled. I tried a couple out of idle curiosity, but needed to link up to my Google account to activate, so I backed out.
The second SIM I'd ordered to handle my data requirements hadn't arrived yet, so I linked the phone up to my home network via wifi and went straight for a browse. I got a couple of page unavailable messages, so disconnected and reconnected a couple of times, then the browser woke up and Google was at my mercy. I also linked up to my existing Twitter account using the app that came preinstalled. The wifi connection was a bit in and out, even though I was sitting about 6 feet from the wifi aerial with an excellent signal.
I next tried setting up Android Market. It wanted my Google account details, which I provided, but it wouldn't recognise the password. (yes, it was the right one!). I had a bit of a hunt about on Google, and decided that rather than mess around with verification codes and what have you (I told you I was new to Android), I'd take out a new Google account via the phone, and link the two together later.
Once the data SIM arrived (
