Hisense A5C, A5 Pro CC, color e-ink phones

[norweger]

Appreciated, Dave. I wrote to CECT shop now, asking if they think they'd manage to make a Google Play Services version. That'd be something special, but they'll prolly not reply.

UPDATE. Someone beat me to it. They've answered five questions, three of which on whether they'll make a version with Google Play Services (found in the tab Customer Questions & Answers). The answers are for the pro model, but it's safe to say their answers are prolly the same for all models: It took 6 months to make a Hisense A5 with Google Play Services, so ... it would take time.

So unless I can live with no Google Play, I'll have to settle for a Hisense A5 or maybe I'll get the upcoming Onyx Boox phone, but it has no colors though.

[Question Mark]

Originally Posted by norweger

So unless I can live with no Google Play, I'll have to settle for a Hisense A5 or maybe I'll get the upcoming Onyx Boox phone, but it has no colors though.

The more I see of the current colour screens available, the less inclined I am to get one. Although I'm very partial to the retro muted colours, most of my reading is still in black and white. And although I enjoy manga, I suppose I don't read enough of it to make the current colour screens a necessity.

I'm very glad that they are marketing such devices commercially now as I hope that will drive innovation in this field. However, the current implementations seem very underwhelming. Perhaps if I were to experience such devices firsthand, they might be more compelling. But the current video reviews don't impress me.

As for Google Play, I have learned to live quite happily without it on my A5. Sideloading the apps I need has proved quite easy.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by Question Mark

As for Google Play, I have learned to live quite happily without it on my A5. Sideloading the apps I need has proved quite easy.

Kingrow k1 user here, i hate all alternatives to google calendar, all the rest is fine
If those new displays can keep the black and white DPI and provide less optimal colour performance, that you can turn on just when needed, like an a2 mode, i'm in for *next* phone and 8 inches reader.
On the phone, if just for the picture/video people occasionally send on whatsapp.
On the reader, for the usual graph on the pdf, with the yellow line and the red line..

[Philju]

Here it's said that Hisense is supposedly " ... looking at a possible feature firmware update that will give Google Play, not only to this [A6] phone, but all of their devices running Android 9.0, but it will take around six months of testing."

Source:
https://goodereader.com/blog/reviews...rtphone-review

I myself will believe it when I see it.

[pdurrant]

I'll believe it when a reputable news source reports it.

[cartz]

If you look up to the first post on this page you'll find Good E Reader's "source" that they have decided to attribute to Hisense. Six months makes sense for a hack, it would take no time if Hisense were doing it themselves.

[norweger]

That's funny if it's true cartz!

So what you're saying is that me writing that CECT shop said in the comments that it would take 6 months to get Google Play Services, if they decided to go for it, has morphed into:

Hisense did reply to a customers comment in their website and said that they are looking at a possible feature firmware update that will give Google Play, not only to this phone, but all of their devices running Android 9.0, but it will take around six months of testing.

After reading that I actually checked the Hisense website, to see if there were any such information there, but alas, they didn't have a comment section.

[norweger]

On top of that, CECT shop is also decidedly vague on whether someone buying a phone running Android 9 will in the future get a Google Play Services firmware update, if CECT shop decides to make such a version. I think they're decidedly vague because the answer is a definite no.

[kova4a]

Did anyone else see this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdruTt3Otkc? Around the 6:40 mark they enter the phone's app store and google play store is actually available there.

[orebmur]

Originally Posted by norweger

[...], CECT shop is also decidedly vague on whether someone buying a phone running Android 9 will in the future get a Google Play Services firmware update, if CECT shop decides to make such a version. [...]

CECT-Shop is just a reseller and doesn't "make" any version. They offered the A5 with an international ROM because some other supplier provided them with a hacked version of the A5. That's all.

[norweger]

Originally Posted by orebmur

CECT-Shop is just a reseller and doesn't "make" any version. They offered the A5 with an international ROM because some other supplier provided them with a hacked version of the A5. That's all.

I know.

So when a CECT shop customer asks:
If an international firmware like the A5 becomes available, will previously purchased A5 Pro CC's be able to change to it?

Then CECT shop should say sorry mac. But instead they're vague, answering this:
Hello Mike, thank you for your message and inquiry about the HiSense A5 Pro CC with Color Ink screen. That depends! The HiSense A5 Pro CC is not available yet and it also took nearly half a year until the multi-language firmware version for the HiSense A5 was available. Also, until now, we are not in possession of the ROM and are charged for every single phone by the supplier. Thank you and see you soon, your CECT-Shop team - Since 2006.

[elhnad]

Originally Posted by norweger

Appreciated, Dave. I wrote to CECT shop now, asking if they think they'd manage to make a Google Play Services version. That'd be something special, but they'll prolly not reply.

UPDATE. Someone beat me to it. They've answered five questions, three of which on whether they'll make a version with Google Play Services (found in the tab Customer Questions & Answers). The answers are for the pro model, but it's safe to say their answers are prolly the same for all models: It took 6 months to make a Hisense A5 with Google Play Services, so ... it would take time.

So unless I can live with no Google Play, I'll have to settle for a Hisense A5 or maybe I'll get the upcoming Onyx Boox phone, but it has no colors though.

what apps or services wouldn't you be able to get via something like f-droid? im a beginner to this but that's what i hear ppl using

[norweger]

Originally Posted by elhnad

what apps or services wouldn't you be able to get via something like f-droid? im a beginner to this but that's what i hear ppl using

I have two devices:
• A productivity device for studies
• An exercise and communication device

A snappy fast color e-ink phone could fill either role. But ...

For my productivity device I need these apps:
• AnkiDroid
• YouTube
• Listen Audiobook Player
• FBReader
• Quizlet
• Docs To Go
• Dropbox
• Dropsync
• Gmail
• Chrome
• EchoHacks
• Super Sound
• Camera

The problem. YouTube. I don't know if it loads. It doesn't matter if it's somewhat laggy, as long as there's colors. Dropsync, I don't know if it loads. EchoHacks, I know that it doesn't load, as it doesn't on Android nine and above.

For my exercise and communication device I need these apps:
• Deezer music app
• Nike Run Club
• Zombies, Run! (yeah!)
• Polar Beat
• Myfitnesspal
• GymRun
• Chrome for browsing boards like these
• Facebook Messenger
• Snapchat
• SMS messages
• Calling
• Easy Voice Recorder
• Docs to Go
• AnkiDroid
• Quizlet
• Gmail
• Dropbox
• Dropsync
• A decent camera

The problem. Many services require Google Play Services framework. So even if you copy from F-Droid or UpToDown or use your old backups, you can't run the apps. It's pretty much like a computer lacking NET framework can't run certain programs. You can read about it here. To keep in touch with friends, I'd need Snapchat. But it won't run without Google Play Services. Could very well be that's the case with the other mentioned apps as well, though I haven't checked.

As it looks now, I could get the upcoming Onyx Boox Phone to serve as the new exercise and communication device. But I'd have to live with monochrome Chrome (fine!), monochrome Snapchat (not fine!). But if the Onyx Boox Phone was released, I think I'd buy one, and just have Snapchat on my productivity device, even though that would entail interruptions.

[elhnad]

so basically you just have to try an app and if it doesn't work, it's possible to probable that it needed play services

[Yoko22]

I saw some guys talking about calling home and spying software on the A5 thread, one guy said that phones which target Chinese territory often have spying software or the likes. Those things seems clearly visible from guys who program or hack android device. I wonder who does more spying though, the Chinese or the US/Europe countries. While the Chinese spying stuff seems clearly visible to programmers I wonder if what we have currently in our smartphone or computer isn't worse but less visible. I see a lot of guys who points finger at the Chinese but not many have a deeper understanding of each countries, (why things are the way they are), and that's because most official media are censored to different degrees. If you think the USA or Europe countries aren't censored you are clearly blind in my opinion. What kind of censored is used though, that is hard to say if you haven't studied each country. I tend to think our censorship (west) is less heavy than the Chinese but that is a wild guess as I don't speak any Chinese so I don't have much experience with them.

I haven't read much about that but I have seen a few articles saying that Intel chips has integrated hardware function dedicated specifically to spying to a degree that they can even take complete ownership of the device remotely. I think it was on the Richard Stallman website that I seen that mentioned first but I haven't checked if any of this was true and I don't have time for it either. A few other source also confirmed at least the possibility that chip manufacturer actually does implement spying software. I once heard the US was specifically annoyed by that since most things are build in China.

So I wanted to know if any guys here know about this kind of spying. Because from what I have read this kind is not detectable from the OS as it is hidden inside the hardware.
Also since the pro version comes with the less known processor, I wonder who manufacture that one.

All of this is so complicated and take so much time that I personally don't try anymore to prevent any spying activity unless it is easily done. I certainly don't want to end up like Richard Stallman who use a "15 years old" computer with an OS that is even less practical than Debian. I use windows and many think it has a lot of spying inside that stuff. Linux is too much of an hassle though sometimes I spend a few year on it but when I come back on Windows it is way easier and faster to get things to work, So sometimes you simply cannot do and don't have the time to mess with that.

On smartphone the situation seem even worse than windows, so I'm not even trying anymore. Maybe someone who spend a lot of times developing software can hope to achieve or can pretend to use an hardware without any backdoor.

One of the few good things about that worldwide spying is that to is use spied data from those huge database is supposedly very hard to do on a large scale population, and the data is probably often inaccurate.

Back the main topic of this thread:
If anyone have the new A5C or CC can you provide a good review about it ?