Hisense A9 Eink Smartphone

[Greg001]

Hello forum readers and users,

I am considering purchasing my first eink smartphone and was wondering if anyone would recommend the Hisense A9?

Also, I went to the Chinese Ali express website but don't understand how to buy one since I find many many Hisense A9 devices with a different price tag for each one.

https://fr.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-hisense-a9.html

Do you know any other source from which I can purchase it?

For info I live in France.

Thank you

[kandwo]

I recommend buying it from The Chosen Store on Aliexpress. That seller is serious and trustworthy and replies very quickly to any questions. You should also specify to him if you want it with Google Play enabled out of the box.

If there are different versions available the factors to keep in mind are: colour (black/green) and RAM+Storage (6GB+128GB/8GB+256GB). I have the former, but would probably get the latter just for the extra storage. Even 6GB of RAM is a bit overkill.

The phone works great in Europe. I haven't had any troubles with it travelling around to different countries here.

[Greg001]

Originally Posted by kandwo

I recommend buying it from The Chosen Store on Aliexpress. That seller is serious and trustworthy and replies very quickly to any questions. You should also specify to him if you want it with Google Play enabled out of the box.

If there are different versions available the factors to keep in mind are: colour (black/green) and RAM+Storage (6GB+128GB/8GB+256GB). I have the former, but would probably get the latter just for the extra storage. Even 6GB of RAM is a bit overkill.

The phone works great in Europe. I haven't had any troubles with it travelling around to different countries here.

Thanks Kandwo.

Have you replaced your traditional smartphone with the eink device? Do you enjoy the experience so far? any regrets?

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Greg001

Thanks Kandwo.

Have you replaced your traditional smartphone with the eink device? Do you enjoy the experience so far? any regrets?

Yes, I use it as my main and only phone when I'm out and about. I've used it in this capacity ever since it got released and I bought it. Before that I used the A5 Pro. Both have worked great. If your goal is to be more mindful of how you spend your time on the phone and you want to do more reading, then this phone is truly great. All phone functions work without a problem and navigation using either Google Maps or Osmand/Organic maps does, too.


I have an old LCD smartphone at home that I store another SIM card in - otherwise it sometimes gets used as a camera and alarm clock. But I don't use it as a phone nor do I do anything else on it.

[Greg001]

Originally Posted by kandwo

Yes, I use it as my main and only phone when I'm out and about. I've used it in this capacity ever since it got released and I bought it. Before that I used the A5 Pro. Both have worked great. If your goal is to be more mindful of how you spend your time on the phone and you want to do more reading, then this phone is truly great. All phone functions work without a problem and navigation using either Google Maps or Osmand/Organic maps does, too.


I have an old LCD smartphone at home that I store another SIM card in - otherwise it sometimes gets used as a camera and alarm clock. But I don't use it as a phone nor do I do anything else on it.

One question about price.

The Green 6GB A9 phone price on the site of The Chosen Store is listed as 460 euros. I read reviews when the phone was released and I believe hearing the initial sales price was around US$350, but I could be wrong.

Shipping to Western Europe is 75 euros.

Import duties to France: 20%, or 92 euros of the sales price.

Total price for the A9 shipped to France: 627 euros. Is that about right? the price seems steep for a small experimental e-ink phone.

[Arconte]

Well, it is not experimental. I think the first eInk phone from Hisense was the A2, and before those were the three yotaphones. Those were experimental. The Hisense a9 it is their 5th eInk phone, if I am not wrong.

I am glad to read Google maps works correctly there, because on other eInk Hisense phones it wasn't the case. I really missed it, although there are alternatives like Waze.

That said, Hisense A9 should be a solid eInk phone, with the firmware well developed after all these years, but who knows. Despite that, the total price of 627€ it is really too much

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Greg001

One question about price.

The Green 6GB A9 phone price on the site of The Chosen Store is listed as 460 euros. I read reviews when the phone was released and I believe hearing the initial sales price was around US$350, but I could be wrong.

Shipping to Western Europe is 75 euros.

Import duties to France: 20%, or 92 euros of the sales price.

Total price for the A9 shipped to France: 627 euros. Is that about right? the price seems steep for a small experimental e-ink phone.

That doesn't sound right. I think I paid 25% in taxes and the price listed on AliExpress was with the tax included. They calculate the tax based on your country and include it in the price for your convenience. I paid less than the listen price on checkout, and the rest was paying taxes in my country.

Write to the seller and have him explain how much the total cost is and what is included in it. It could well be that the 460 EURO is the calculated price with the import duties included.