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F003 / N2 Chinese GSM Phones Unofficial FAQs

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Version 0.13
Copyright © 2009 by Zack Smith.
All rights reserved.

Disclaimer

The information on this web page is provided AS-IS. Use it at your own risk. I cannot guarantee that it is 100% accurate, for two reasons.
1. Chinese phones such as those bearing the generic brand Sciphone, Miphone, Ciphone, Hiphone or CECT can vary substantially in the hardware and software provided. For example, it is known that there are 60+ hardware variants of the Sciphone i68/i68+.
2. I have owned the Sciphone i68, i68+, and the CECT M88 and M89, and played with another person's P168, but not the 100 or more other types of Asian GSM phones in existence.
3. I am not affiliated with the manufacturers of these and cannot provide any support or personal advising.
Buying and using an Asian phone involves accepting some risk. In my humble opinion, the payoffs are worth it, since these phones are cheap, they work with prepaid SIMs, and they have lots of features.

Introduction

The F003 is a Chinese GSM phone. The N2 is a related phone, most likely using the same processor and mainboard.

While these phones bear some physical resemblence to the iPhone, the circuitry and software are very different from that of an Apple iPhoneTM. It's only the housing (the plastic enclosure) that looks similar and in the case of the N2, really not even that.

What is appealing about the F003 and N2 is that, for about $150, they may provide several important features that other cheaper phones such as the Sciphone i68+ and P168 do not.

In particular:

  • The MTK processor's speed is relatively high at about 208 MHz.
  • The N2 phone has high resolution displays according to the ads (320x480).
  • The F003 sometimes has a high resolution display but it depends on which variant of the F003 you end up receiving. It can be either 240x320, 320x480, or 240x400.
  • They have Wifi for web browsing.
  • They have an antenna for the FM radio and analog TV functions.
  • They have a built-in headphone jack.
  • They run Opera web browser.

Other than these new features these phones are basically similar to the previous clone phones, such as the Sciphone i68+. They are quadband GSM phones that you can use the phone with T-Mobile and AT&T in North America and other GSM providers elsewhere.

Features

These phones are still new and I have seen variation in the features lists in ads, so the following are my best guesses.
  • Quadband 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM
  • Dual SIM slots
  • High resolution display: up to 320x480 pixels / 65536 colors
  • Fast MTK processor around 208 MHz
  • 802.11b Wifi for Internet access
  • Java MIDP 2.0 support
  • Opera Mini web browser compatible
  • Expandability up to 16 GB MicroSD
  • Video player
  • Audio player and headphone jack
  • Low-resolution camera
  • Low-resolution camcorder
  • Audio recorder
  • FM radio
  • SMS text messaging
  • MMS multimedia messaging
  • Text file "ebook" reader
  • Calculator
  • Bluetooth
  • Built-in analog TV (recently became useless in USA)

Note, I have seen ads in China where they list the F003 as a dual-band phone, which is useless in North America. Make sure your reseller confirms it's a quadband phone.

FAQs

Is there more than one kind of F003?
Unfortunately, yes. Some of them have 320x480 displays, some do not.

The F003 sold by Yeeway has a screen that is only 240x320.
The F003 sold by Fly-Ying is reported to be 320x480.
Who makes the F003 and N2?
MTK makes the processor and mainboard. The different housings (plastic enclosures) are made by different, unknown companies and probably assembled by yet other companies.

As for the firmware (i.e. the built-in software) the operating system used by these phones is Nucleus Plus OS from AMD. The phone user-interface is thought to be from MTK. The GUI is improving over time and appears to be better than that of the Sciphone i68+.
Which firmware version does the phone have?
One of the F003 was found to have the "MAUI" firmware designation, which again is believed to originate with MTK of Taiwan, the company that makes the processor.
Are there any problems with this phone?
One person reported a number of problems with his F003 in the P168 forum:
FLY-YING F003 error.

Another person reported that their F003 came with the Chinese manual. When a phone is new on the market you can expect some dumb mistakes.
What are the technical specifications of the F003?
  • The MTK processor is an ARM9-compatible runs at 208 MHz.
  • 3.2 inch screen offering 16-bit color and up to 320x480 resolution.
  • Two SIM slots.
  • MicroSD slot that accepts 8 gigabyte cards.
  • Bluetooth.
  • Headphone jack.
  • Java MIDP 2.0 and CLDC 1.1 support in firmware.
  • Testing with my "Rectangles" Java program on the F003 ( here ) indicates (I am told) that the phone can perform 2.7 million math operations in Java per second.
Where can I buy one?
A handful of websites are considered good. Some website resellers and many Ebay sellers are dodgy. I personally avoid buying phones from DealExtreme and Fastcardtech.

As a rule of thumb, if an Ebay reseller or website doesn't answer emails or if they make wild claims about important details, then don't buy from them.

As a general rule, always check an Ebay seller's previous sales in their feedback to make sure they have sold lots of actual phones, and not entirely different stuff.
What is included?
Typically you get:
  • Phone
  • 2 lithium ion batteries
  • Charger
  • Earbuds with microphone
  • Manual
  • USB cable
Does it work with encrypted Wifi?
Yes. It is reported to support WPA, WPA, WEP, TKIP, CCMP.
Where can I rate web-based resellers?
At ResellerRatings.com.
Where can I take a look at one?
Unless you know someone who has one, or can find one for sale on Craigslist and meet up with the seller, the main way to become familiar with these phones is via YouTube and similar video hosting services.

All of the F003 videos that I've found so far have annoying music and are thus difficult to watch.

Example video:
What web browsers work?
Opera Mini runs. It has also been reported that the Bolt browser works.
Does the TV work?
Outside the USA, yes. In the USA, we no longer have analog TV transmission but rather we have digital over-the-air TV.

Conclusions

These phones are relatively new and I don't have one. My suggestion is to exercise caution since the new phones and variants of phones will be more risky than something tried-and-true. The fact that multiple versions of the F003 exist and resellers are being vague about features is worrying.

Probably it is wiser to pursue the new Android based Chinese phones that are as of late 2009 just becoming available. More information here.

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