Storm in a teacup: Wileyfox does Android cheapie, British style Wileyfox is the first new British phone brand in over a decade, and it’s hoping to cash in on the Shenzhen economic miracle. Not so long ago, cheap Android phones were synonymous with “Landfill”. There was usually something lacking. But rapid advances in component manufacturing and packaging have seen companies enter the …
I bought a Wileyfox Storm when they first came out but ended up returning it after a couple of days. There were strange problems when using the phone with two SIM cards - the phone would detect the wrong SIM in the wrong slot for some reason requiring a power off and re-seat of the SIM tray. The battery also seemed a bit weak and I didn't really like losing the SD card slot to the second SIM card.
On the positive side, the camera is good and with Cyanogen installed out the factory - it's bloat free. Wileyfox tech support also seemed pretty good as well.
I opted instead for the Wileyfox Swift which I'm really pleased with and would recommend to anyone looking for a cheap but very capable Android based phone.
Mine arrived this morning and the standby power use was baffling at first.
It turns out that things improve a great deal if you're rooted and can change the governer from interactive to something more reasonable and drop the minimum processor speed from the insane 900MHz it's pegged at by default.
A major issue with Chinese (and too many non-Chinese) branded phones is the firmware/os is what you get and that's it. With a Nexus you are probably good for at least the next two iterations of Android and all the updates n'between.
Where are we with Cyanogen? It isn't CyanogenMod for geeks where ClockworkMod and the nightlies are all part of the fun. No we are talking about a consumer product that relies on an OTA requiring no more skill or judgement than accepting the update. So where does the OTA come from - Cyanogen themselves or Wileyfox? And good for how long?
That I need to know before it goes on a very short list of people who provide supported phones. Their website appears to be silent on this.
I didn’t know about Wileyfox until I read about them here on el Reg. On the back of that review I purchased the Wileyfox Swift. I’m using it as PAYG but I’m usually tethered to my desk and most of the time there is Wifi so I don’t have a mobile data plan.
With dual sim I’m still looking for a PAYG mobile data provider for ad-hoc use... I tried EE but they deceived me with a top-up meaning "add-on" instead of top-up + data... so the second slot is now going spare. Any suggestions for PAYG data?
The Wileyfox Swift works well, and I have no complaints although it would be more helpful if Wileyfox upgraded their web site to provide useful hints and tips, such as how to upload your own ringtones.
I supplemented my storage with a "Samsung Memory 32 GB EVO Plus MicroSDHC UHS-I Grade 1 Class 10 Memory Card" so overall purchase price was £142.70 including delivery.
I like the feature that unlocks my phone when location is detected as one of my 'safe zones' and I’m happy that app crashes have so far not materialised at all. Build quality is good. I tend to leave my phone face down because the back is curvy and smooth, and will slide off a surface a bit too easily.
I am happy to recommend this phone.
As for a recommendation for PAYG data, I'm using a giffgaff gigabag in my Wileyfox Swift. (Shameless affiliate link, in case you are feeling generous: https://www.giffgaff.com/orders/affiliate/richbogle). I like giffgaff a lot and have a couple of their SIMs.
I use the Swift as my data-only phone and the dual SIM was particularly useful when I was in France recently. I was able to put a Le French Mobile SIM in the second slot and didn't have to worry about fiddling about with the SIMs after that.
Something that can seriously last 48 hours would be ideal.
Obligatory Non-removable Battery Moan:
Longer battery life would be good, but our household experience is that about one in three smartphones need a battery replacing at 14-18 months - either due to a graceful quiet loss of capacity failure, or a sinister swelling up and running very hot failure. I was almost salivating as I read the article, and then I get to the deal-breaking line "non-removable 2500mAh battery".
I would be interested in buying into this British badge on a Shenzhen phone - it's been a long time since Microsoft killed Sendo. But alas it's another bloody Android thing. Even CyanogenMod doesn't improve it much.
Sigh. There's a little bit of hope for Sailfish, is the de-embargoed remains of Nokia get behind Yolla.
That's very similar in spec to the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 (a ZTE unit I believe and unexpectedly well built it is too) only nearly twice the price. Or, for a few more shekels, the OnePlus 2 gives you the absolutely phenomenal grunt of the Snapdragon 810 with its Adreno 430 GPU.
That's a hell of a rock and a hard place to be between when trying to eke out a living.
Cue downvotes from the assembled hordes of Wileyfox shills hereabouts.
@ Murphy's Lawyer
Probably no help at all, as I'm pretty sure they won't ship outside NZ, but there's this:
http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?z=p&p=MPHOPL0465I&name=ONEPLUS-2-64GB-Global-Version-SANSTONE-BLACK-Oxyge
On the plus side, the dollar figure quoted is in our funny South Pacific money, so 344.26 of your pounds. (or so).
Parallel importing rules here mean that manufacturers exclusive deals can be routed around with a better deal for the consumer.
I agree it's a difficult segment to be in but..... the Vodafone Smart Ultra will obviously be locked to Vodafone (yes I know it can likely be unlocked for a couple of quid but many people might not want to take the risk). The One Plus phones are not exactly mainstream being only available after receiving an invite. Wileyfox are selling on Amazon and sold out very quickly of the Storm model so must be doing ok.
I bought a couple of OnePlus phones over the last year... both without an invite and both directly from OnePlus... and very happy I am with them too.
I believe the invitation thing is only done for the first months of the life of a new phone, either while they ramp up production or as a marketing ploy, I'm not certain which.
I understand the Vodafone Smart Ultra 6 is locked to Vodafone and has an encrypted bootloader so you will never get unofficial updates, and face it you'll never get official updates either.
At least Wileyfox's handsets will get CyanogenOS updates and if they don't you can just flash Cyanogenmod or Paranoid Android or whatever.
The "low or zero margin business model" is really the only way anyone other than a multi-nation corporation can get a foot in the door, particularly as the big boys don’t really pay much in the way of tax as profits are shipped around the globe until they find a suitable low rate.
I wonder how long it is before the big boys pursue them with very lengthy court battles "coz you nicked our round corners!!" just to put them out of business.
I might be talking through my arse, as I don't own this brand and even if I did, I wouldn't be able to figure it out, but my imporession is, that the "Wiley Fox" actually IS one of the Chinese wave boys. The difference (in price) v. those grey imports comes from this UK-based support, possibly some customisation (English by default? lol), UK warranty and knowledge that you don't need to pay tax and / or VAT on top, as you might when you order one of the Chinese mobes.
So I don't see anything remarkable about the "UK" bit of Wiley Fox of. I mean, it's not like it was designed here, or a breakthrough design in any way. They just ordered a stock Chinese product and made it into a local (UK) friendly purchase and customer service (and good for them!)
p.s. If you want something grey from China, the same specs will cost you £120 - £160, but with (potentially) above strings attached.
For the paranoid amongst you, I'd suggest staying away from any CyanogenOS phone (note, this is different from CyanogenMod - COS is the commercial software found here, and CM is still fully open Source).
CyanogenOS contains a fair bit of what some may consider bloat, including "Truecaller" dialler - which uploads all your contacts to their server to provide you with a caller ID service. So if your friend as Truecaller, then your name & phone number (& possibly other details) are on their server. Nice, eh?
Ditto. There are things I don't like - but on balance, it's an improvement on my four(?) years old S3, albeit a marginal one.
The main things that let it down for me are the battery life, and the awful email client, which isn't a patch on the one on the S3. I assume (but don't know/haven't tried to find out) it's just the standard client that comes with Android (or CyanogenOS) which has been (ahem) "improved" since the version on my S3. There are a few other little niggles as well, but those are the main things - if it wasn't for them, the improvement wouldn't be just "marginal".
The main apps I use regularly - for keeping track of business mileage, time spent on particular jobs, etc, continue to work as before, but now on a larger screen.
Thanks for the tip. I've just installed it and set up one of my email accounts to try it, and it seems pretty good. It lacks one of the features I liked in particular about the mail client on my old S3 - but it appears to have others that I benefit from in desktop clients but didn't have on my phone, so makes up for it.
And most of all, the interface isn't what I've started to think of as a "cartoon gui".
All in, it's much better than the one that came with the phone - a big improvement.
The trusty Galaxy Series 2 (owned from new) was starting to glitch and I wanted to turn three phones in to two. Dual SIM looked useful.
I am very happy with the Swift. I use it as a phone, for getting txts (no one ever expects one back) and Gmail and Google Maps. Both SIMs work fine and the battery life is fine.
I like it.
Steve Cooper - both the Swift and the Storm take micro SD cards, 32 and 64GB respectively.
As for getting rid of the Google search bar on the stock desktop, press and hold a blank bit of screen to get the wallpaper / widgets / settings bar at the bottom, touch the three dots at the top of that, and select Search Bar to off.
I'm the one on the Storm, and I'll be here all week. Try the fish.
Am I the only person who wants enough battery life to make it through a day, not just now but in two year's time?
Does anyone make a phone with an excellent screen, enough CPU and memory to browse the modern, inefficient web comfortably and a big, removable battery? Ideally without too much data slurping.
Don't care about flash (if it has an sd slot), don't care much about cameras, fingerprint readers, NFC etc. GPS and a gyro are nice. Working bluetooth would be a bonus (I.e. not like Android where a broken keymap renders it unusable).
There are complaints about bubbles on the screen. Turns out there are two screen protectors. The easy-rip-off but another which appears to be more closely stuck on.
My colleague has a Storm and his has a bubble but it is at the edge so for the price, he isn't bothered. There has been a dirth of Storms lately so who knows; maybe a gap while they sorted that out?
Not much info on the web site, and the 020 goes to another country, who had wrong information; that it could only be bought on Amazon when there are, I think, six sellers in the UK including eBuyer (spit), Clove, and a few others. However, Wileyfox themselves responded to me on Facebook within the day and gave the details that I was short of.
I've already been burned with the Ubuntu Phone and the Jolla, so I'm reticent to dive in to another phone which isn't proven yet, particularly as it feels so light; so I'm wondering about battery life... but... give it time.... I might bite eventually
Out of the box, the screen protector is already in place. I pulled the tab expecting to remove a protective film and put the plastic down on the table. Then I realised I had removed the screen protector as well. Once speckled with dust I couldn’t get it to go back on without bubbles so I ditched it. An honest mistake but with a bit of user testing Wileyfox ought to have fixed this simple mistake.
I pre-ordered one just to try something different and get off the large monthly direct debit. The Storm is much bigger than I expected and I'm not too familiar with Android so it took me ages to work out how to install a custom ringtone (obviously the most important thing).
Battery life was shocking until I turned off all the notifications and I can get a couple of days out of it now. Well worth a couple of hundred quid I reckon.
I got an invite to buy a one+ 2 but then I read the specs. If you're a "Flagship killer" then why leave out things that people are used to having in the flag ship phones, things like NFC and quick charge. I use quick charge a lot with my Nexus 6, it is incredibly useful. As for NFC it seems it is starting to finally happen here in the UK and I have just started to get used to using it for getting free stuff from Greggs :-)
So close but no cigar. I want to get off the large direct debit drain too like the above poster but there's always something that they miss out on these otherwise great looking phones that makes you stay where you are.
I beat Andrew to the headline (a shameless plug here):
http://gnoughts.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-storm-in-teacup.html
One thing I disagree with: focus lag and uncertainty cannot be lived with - the main reason I returned it.
I also experienced problems with two SIMs in, also with Three UK SIM + uSD, but Virgin UK + uSD seemed to work fine.
Finally, and another reason to send it back to Amazon: the backlight under the offscreen buttons (Back and Home) started flickering randomly (and annoyingly).
Not a good showing for Wileyfox...
My S3 broke the other week (power button sticks resulting in constant reboots) so I was torn between the Wileyfox Swift (which I could buy) and the Storm (which I couldn't buy as it was out of stock everywhere).
Ended up finding an LG G3 for £200 though and that's been pretty good apart from the manufacturer's bloatware (McAfee, pleugh) and seems to have reasonably good community/third-party ROM support for when LG get bored and stop providing updates. With competition like that around I think Wileyfox might have trouble at the ~£200 price point.
Anyone checking out the Wiley Fox Storm should also consider the BQ Aquaris M5.
BQ are an established Spanish company doing a similar thing to Wileyfox, designing in Europe and manufacturing in China.
The BQ Aquaris M5 has similar specs to the Storm, but with Dual SIM and Micro SD Card and NFC. The battery is non-removeable but a bigger 3120 mAh. Vanilla Android rather than Cyanogen though.
I have got one, and have been impressed so far. Amazon occasionally has them in stock, but its just as easy to order direct from bq.com. Delivery to the UK turned out to be only 10 euros. Makes it about the same price as the Storm. Worth a look.
The Aquaris X5 Cyanogen version does have Cyanogen OS and as it's been made for Telefonica, O2 will be selling it in the UK. Unfortunately it's a bit nobbled, the non-Cyanogen version is available in a 3Mb RAM/32Mb storage version, the Cyanogen version is limited to 2Mb RAM/16Mb storage.
Got my Storm a couple of weeks ago and am very happy with it but then I'm coming from using a 4 year old Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S (yes bangernomics can be applied to phones).
I must be a pretty light user (few texts, bit of browsing, the odd call and Book reader) so I'm getting through 9 hours at work with 70% charge left even with Wifi and notifications left on.
The screen is lovely. I'm surprised how quickly I got used to the extra size.
The camera's good but a little slow to focus.
It didn't take me long to get use to the Cyanogen OS and now I like it. The orderly alphabetical organisation of apps is a blessing for me.
For £200 I think it's a bit of a bargain.
Forget the Elephone P8000, it comes loaded with malware straight out of the box and the hardware is solid-feeling but ultimately flakey, my screen failed after a fortnight, returning is an absolute nightmare and you will incur costs.
I bought the Swift from amazon as soon as I noticed it was available. Unfortunately the compass didn't work at all and generally pointed in a random direction. So I returned it and the replacement was no better, I rotate one way and the pointer rotated in the other direction so I have returned it as well.
I guess I was just v unlucky but I've been put off ordering another one for now. It's a real shame as it was a nice phone.
" I rotate one way and the pointer rotated in the other direction so I have returned it as well."
If you are holding a compass in your hand and you rotate left the needle will appear to rotate right but will still be pointing north.
Or am I missing your meaning here.
I've had mine since Nov 3rd (as Amazon couldn't get it to me earlier) and I'm VERY pleased with it; although I agree a removable battery would be better.
I don't mind having recharge it too much - I'm usually sat at a desk with a charger and if not I just remember not to use the battery-munching services...
Overall it knocks spots off my old HTC and I'm hopeful that Cyanogen will provide OS updates fairly promptly.
Best of all, I can retire my work SGS4 and stuff their SIM into the Storm and now I only have to remember one device.
THANK-YOU WileyFox!
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