Samsung Galaxy J7 J700M Dual SIM?

[PaulH]

Best Buy has some unlocked phones on sale.   I am considering the Samsung Galaxy J7 J700M as a replacement for my old Samsung ATiV (curretly on PM).  Before I order one, I'd like to be reasonably sure that it will work with Public Mobile.  Has anyone here tried the J7 with Public Mobile?

Thanks

[PaulH]

I think I know what happened with the Amazon.ca price change for the BLU Life One X2.  When I checked yesterday morning, the phone was in stock, free shipping, amazon-prime.  In the afternoon the phone was a bit more expensive and available through a reseller called BREED, shipping extra.  So my theory is Amazon's inventory was cleared out and instead of saying "not available" they handed it over to the reseller.

Either way, I think I'll order one next week. 

[srlawren]

@will13am agreed that the selection is increasing and that it's a wonderful thing--not just for PM customers, but especially so for us indeed.

[will13am]

@srlawren, when there is no Canadian source there is no cost comparison to be done.  It then comes down to how badly you want it.  Overall, the options to avoid purchasing carrier phones is increasing at a very nice pace.  This is important to the Public Mobile business model.

[srlawren]

@will13am the deals can be good, though it's not always cheaper by the time you add up exchange, taxes (if assessed at the border/brokerage), and potentailly time if you have to pick it up.  BUT, you're right in that the selection is WAY better from the US.  That alone is often enough reason, if the phone you want isn't available from a Canadian source.

[will13am]

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@ckl wrote:

@srlawren@will13am

I was lucky in that I didn't pay taxes of any kind on my way back.. I would have paid $28 in Canadian taxes - which I was fully prepared to do.

So in the end, I ended up saving the $29 shipping cost plus the $28 taxes that were not levied. If I had paid the taxes, I still would have saved the shipping costs.

Of course there are other costs not mentioned, such as the $5USD kinek fee to hold your item plus the cost of transportation (ie. gas). Since I drive electric, the cost for me is about a dollar but for my old gas car it would have cost about $5 in gas. So you have to keep that in mind.

These amounts may not seem much and probably not worth the effort, but having a family with lots of expenses, these little things add up fast.

I use Kinek in Blaine as well ha ha! They're great!

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Yeah, the US offers far more options for buying phones from non carrier sources.  Being a smaller market, we will always be disadvantaged compared to the US.  I would be happy if more US sellers would ship into Canada.  Sometimes the savings is so large that even paying shipping and other small fees still make it worthwhile to shop US.  

Anyway, enjoy your new toy!

[srlawren]

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@ckl wrote:

@srlawren@will13am

Of course there are other costs not mentioned, such as the $5USD kinek fee to hold your item plus the cost of transportation (ie. gas). Since I drive electric, the cost for me is about a dollar but for my old gas car it would have cost about $5 in gas. So you have to keep that in mind.

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True.  There's also the intagible "time" and "hassle" factors to consider.  And for anyone not near a border town, those two factor go up dramatically.  Also if you don't have a Nexus card you may end up with a long wait time at the border, etc.  Sometimes it's worth paying a few bucks more to order from the Canadian site and have a friendly person from Canada Post or one of the couriers bring the item right to your home or office.  All in all a personal decision based on what's more important to you--keeping the cost to an absolute minimum, or keeping the convenience and time impact optimal.

@ckl wrote:

I use Kinek in Blaine as well ha ha! They're great!

They're pretty good for occasional use.  My only complaint is their hours aren't great, though I think they may have improved that a bit.  There are actually several such services in Blaine.  There are few places with lower per-package fees (I think around $2-3 USD), though some also charge an annual fee where Kinek doesn't.  Hours vary from one to the next too.  There is one I've been meaning to try, that a friend told me about, that is apparently both cheaper than Kinek and also open better hours.  I don't recall the name, and with the Canadian buck being so weak in recent history, I haven't really been ordering things from the USA lately.  Maybe next time I have something to recieve I'll try to find them and give them a whirl.

[ckl]

@srlawren@will13am

I was lucky in that I didn't pay taxes of any kind on my way back.. I would have paid $28 in Canadian taxes - which I was fully prepared to do.

So in the end, I ended up saving the $29 shipping cost plus the $28 taxes that were not levied. If I had paid the taxes, I still would have saved the shipping costs.

Of course there are other costs not mentioned, such as the $5USD kinek fee to hold your item plus the cost of transportation (ie. gas). Since I drive electric, the cost for me is about a dollar but for my old gas car it would have cost about $5 in gas. So you have to keep that in mind.

These amounts may not seem much and probably not worth the effort, but having a family with lots of expenses, these little things add up fast.

I use Kinek in Blaine as well ha ha! They're great!

[srlawren]

@will13am thanks for the clarification, I forgot about that.  I was thinking it was only goods made in the USA that were exempt but I think you're right about electronics as well, regardless of source country.  

[will13am]

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@srlawren wrote:

@ckl yes that's always an option!  The current US pricing on the 16GB model is $149.99, which at an approx 1.31 multiplier is $196.50 or so Canadian.  So, yes, you could potentially save a bit, if you're okay with the hassle of shipping to a service in a border town (I use Kinek in Blaine, WA sometimes).  If you do get dinged for taxes and/or duty on the way back across you're probably pretty close to breaking even, but if you lucky out and they waive you through, then you'd save a bit.

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Actually, there is no duty on electronics.  I know this because I purchased phones from Oppo US.  I paid no duty, but HST had to be remitted by UPS on my behalf.

[srlawren]

@ckl yes that's always an option!  The current US pricing on the 16GB model is $149.99, which at an approx 1.31 multiplier is $196.50 or so Canadian.  So, yes, you could potentially save a bit, if you're okay with the hassle of shipping to a service in a border town (I use Kinek in Blaine, WA sometimes).  If you do get dinged for taxes and/or duty on the way back across you're probably pretty close to breaking even, but if you lucky out and they waive you through, then you'd save a bit.

[ckl]

@srlawren

I agree. For what you get, this phone is hard to beat.

But if one was really price concious and lived near the border, they could setup a pick up point at the closest border crossing, buy the X2 at the US Amazon with free shipping, ship it to the pickup point, then go and pick it up.

I did this and not only did I not have to pay $30 in shipping fees, the CBSA agent let me go without paying any taxes as well. I guess I was lucky.

[srlawren]

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@ckl wrote:

EDIT> I just checked Amazon.ca (Jan 19th afternoon) and it says $208.28 + 29.94 shipping.

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Quite honestly, even at approx $240+tax if you include the shipping, this phone is really, really good value.  

[ckl]

@PaulHI've noticed the same thing on Amazon.

Maybe this explains it:

https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Amazon-constantly-change-the-price-of-things-in-your-shopping-cart-by...

I've noticed this phenomena on things I wanted to buy again.

EDIT> I just checked Amazon.ca (Jan 19th afternoon) and it says $208.28 + 29.94 shipping.

[srlawren]

@PaulH yeah I guess $14 is $14!  It's probably due to variations in the exchange rate, since Amazon.ca is in Canadian bux but Blu is an American company.  So the cost probably varies a bit as the exchange rate changes day to day, and Amazon passes along the cost/savings to the buyer. 

[PaulH]

The Blu Life One X2 looks like a nice phone!  When I checked amazon.ca this morning (Jan 19) the Blu was $194, but this afternoon it popped up to $208.  Ain't amazon fun?    I'll keep a watch on it though, maybe it'll be cheaper tomorrow. 

[ckl]

I agree with @srlawren, BLU makes very affordable phones. My wifes Life one X2 has been working with no real issues since the update rolled out about a couple of months ago.

Definitely worth looking at.

[srlawren]

@PaulH actually I've got a GREAT suggestion for you!  A Blu Life One X2!

Currently available from Amazon Canada for either $194 for the 16GB version or $260 for the 64GB version.  It's not perfect, but it punches WAY beyond its price class for sure.  I bought the original X for my uncle Christmas 2015 and it's a great little phone!  I was jealous and almost bought one for myself, I was really close.  There were a couple of "big"ish annoyances with the original version:  1) really slow charge time with no quick charging, and 2) speaker phone speaker sounded pretty bad.  However, I understand that both have been resolved in the X2.  It's a great mid range phone at an entry level price with a killer battery life.  It's definitely worth a look.  

Another you could consider would be the Moto G4 Play, available from Telus for $240.  

Here's how the G4 Play compares to the Life One X2:  http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8349&idPhone2=8104.  To me, the X2 is a clear winner in 99% of the categories, and it would be my personal pick out of these options.

[PaulH]

Thanks for the skinny on the J7... I think I'll reconsider buying this phone.

Alas, as I check my budget I see that there are fewer shekels in the cookie jar than I thought.   Since I am "fiscally constrained" at the moment, a full featured phone will have to wait.  I can sacrifice some features to save some cash.  The camera will get occasional use, and I won't need a processor or display capable of playing HD video or power-hungry games.  As long as I get solid LTE coverage and enough power for a few apps, I think I'll be happy.

Any suggestions for a phone like that will be graciously accepted.  

[srlawren]

The Snapdragon 625 in the Zenfone 3 is far superior to the 615 in the J7.

Here's why:

- the 615 came out in Q3 of 2014, the 625 a full 2 years later in Q3 2016

- the 615 is based on a 28nm manufacturing process vs. 14nm in the 625.  

- the 625 has a faster memory interface (about 17% faster)

- the 625 has a much newer GPU chip, newer Bluetooth 4.1 vs 4.0, newer LTE interface, etc.

The main point is the 28nm vs. 14nm processing.  Halfing this number has a large impact in efficiency and the 625 should be a much more power-efficient chip than the 615 while simultaneously giving you better performance.

[srlawren]

@PaulH I have to agree with @will13am.  The network support is good on the J7 but almost every other spec is pretty low--720p display on a 5.5" phone is definitely sub-optimal (1080p is probably the sweet spot), the RAM is abysmal at 1.5GB--this is very low for a modern smartphone.  The battery at 3000mAh is only okay, and the Snapdragon 615 isn't great.  The sale price is okay, so if price is a burning issue and you don't mind the limitations, then I guess go for it.

I would NOT buy that phone at full price though.  In fact, even at the sale price, I would come up with an additional $85 and pick up a ZenFone 3 ZE552KL from Staples (http://www.staples.ca/en/ASUS-ZenFone-3-5-5-64-GB-Unlocked-Smartphone-Dark-Blue-ZE552KL-S625-4G64G-D...).  It's a far superior device in pretty much every way, for not a ton more money (and cheaper than the full price J7 at Best Buy when it's not on sale).  I've seen the ZE552KL on sale at staples for around $390 or $400 recently too, so if you're not in a hurry I'd maybe wait on a deal there.

Check out the comparisson of those devices:  http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7185&idPhone2=8106&.  The ZenFone 3 has better resolution at 1080p, double the RAM at 3GB, and a much more modern mid-range CPU in the Snapdragon 625.  

[will13am]

OP, I looked at the specs on the phone aside from band compatibility.  Bestbuy.ca selling unlocked phones piqued my interest.  I was not aware that they sell anything other than carrier products.

The Samsung J7 is pretty low end for that kind of pricing.  There are much better options out there in that price range.

[calkyyu]

You'll be fine, M also means canadian models. Don't worry

[PaulH]

Thanks for the quick replies!  It looks like this phone will work nicely.  The only thing that troubles me is WillMyPhoneWork shows the J7 model J700M as a "Brazil" model   I'm  not sure if that means anything, though.

[calkyyu]

Public Mobile works on following frequencies: 

• For 3G use (UMTS/HSPA): 850MHz/1900MHz bands
• For 4G/LTE use: 1700MHz/2100MHz bands
• For 4G/LTE use: 700 MHz band

Samsung Galaxy J700m have the following frequencies:

• For 2G/3G/3.5G use (UMTS/HSPA): GSM,GPRS,EDGE: 850MHz/900MHz/1700MHz1800MHz/1900MHz/2100MHz bands
• For 4G/LTE use: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 17, 28 Bands

Looks like you're covered 🙂

[CaNuCk07 · Accepted solution]

@PaulH  Try this site, it should answer your question.

http://willmyphonework.net/