Got mine from Cect shop yesterday and loving it so far. It came in 12 days (China>UK).
I'm only planning to use it as an e-reader, not a phone (I have an iPhone for that).
Out of the box, I found it a bit tricky to use initially. Although enough is in English to get by, there is a lot of Chinese in the apps, and a little in the settings.
I struggled to use the built in Chinese browser or store with the built in Chinese/Alphanumeric keyboard, so sideloaded APKs of Gboard and Amazon Appstore.
After that, I found the rest of the setup easy. I installed Moonreader Pro from the Amazon store, then customised it to my liking (downloaded Literata font, stripped out all custom formatting, switched off most of the features)
I've deleted most of the pre-installed apps and doubt I'll use anything except Moonreader.
I set the 'E-ink' button to short press back, double press manual front light (thanks to the translations earlier in this thread).
I'm using the 'super power saving mode', which greatly increases the estimated battery remaining time (from 2 to 7 days). How long it actually lasts remains to be seen
This mode has the added benefit of switching the device to an even more minimal layout, with a maximum of 6 available apps. You choose which apps.
Doesn't have warm front-lighting, which I've liked on previous e-readers. But the regular front-lighting on the A5 isn't harsh. On minimum it's comfortable to read in the dark.
The size and aspect of the screen give more of a feeling of reading newspaper columns than a traditional book format. I find it very readable and comfortable to hold.
Cons:
- Resolution noticeably lower than 300PPI e-readers, but ok
- Front-light much less even than modern kindle/boox/pocketbook, but ok
Pros:
- Runs my favourite reading software
- Comfortably fits in my pocket (which means I'll use it a lot more)
- Volume rocker as page up/down buttons