I have been having this first world problem since last month. I need to buy a smartphone because I have trouble keeping my address book up to date. I have been using basic phone since I lost my cellphone(s) by early March 2012. I am quite reluctant to use expensive phone because I’m using public transportation daily.
Initially I thought to buy LG E3 100 since the price is quite cheap (only about $120), however the display screen is very small. I almost considered to buy middle end phone such LG Prada or LG Optimus 4x or these Sony Xperia series but honestly I feel burning my money since the price just don’t worth it.
Just a week ago I visited Okeshop, they were offering new variant of Lenovo smartphone, Lenovo S880.
Lenovo s880 is probably one of the cheapest Galaxy Note copycat considering the price and its features which packaged only for $200. Here are the technical spec of Lenovo s880:
- Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 HSDPA 900 / 2100
- Display: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 5.0″ WVGA, 480 x 800, Multi Touch
- Dimension: 142 x 78 x 9.9 mm / 197g
- Jack 3.5mm jack audio
- Speakerphone: Yes
- Internal Memory 512 RAM, 4GB ROM
- External Slot Micro SD card up to 32GB
- DATA 3G HSDPA, HSUPA
- EDGE: Yes
- GPRS: Yes
- WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR
- Infrared: No
- USB/Port v2.0 microUSB
- Camera: Primer 5.0 mega pixel, Auto Focus
- Front: 0.3 mega pixel, supports Skype Video Calls
- Video Record: Yes, 720p@30fps
- Battery: Li-Ion 2250 mAh
- OS: Android OS, v4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
- CPU MTK6575 ARMv7 Cortex-A9 1.0GHz, GPU: PowerVR SGX531 Ultra
- Browser HTML
- GPS: Yes, A-GPS
- Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM
- Java via Java MIDP emulator,
- Extra Features: SMS integration, Google Search, Maps, Gmail YouTube, Google Talk, Organizer, Voice memo, Predictive text input, multiple SIM Dual On GSM
- Video Player: MP4/H.264/H.263 player
- MP3 Player: MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player
- Audio Record: Yes
- TV out: No
- FM Transmitter
Recently this phone has become a very hot item during August 2012. Okeshop offered this phone for IDR 1,999,000 (+/- $210) with 6 months installment using credit card.
The packaging however is quite minimal. You only receive a micro usb cable, an adaptor, a crappy earphone, and a battery.
Performance Review
Don’t expect a lot from MTK 6575 processor. It’s single core processor and you will expect noticable lags when installing program or running 3-4 programs simultaneously. It’s recommended to install advanced task manager and always kill useless process to free up some ram.
Not HD-Ready Yet
Unfortunately MTK 6575 suffer penalty when running 720p videos. The video will run however it will lost sync with the audio. If you want to test it yourself, go find some popular youtube HD videos and try to run them in your phone. I use RocketPlayer Lite + Hardware decoding mode. Doesn’t help much. Software decoding mode will make it worse. Don’t even bother to try 1080p videos.
Battery
No extra battery is sold widely in the Indonesian market yet, however probably they will be available soon after several months. The battery model is BL 198 , in case you’re paranoid you could always order one from aliexpress. However I recommend to be patient and let local distributor sells them.
I have ordered from China before and it’s not nice when your order had defect because you have to mail the goods back which cost you more time and money. It doesn’t worth the risk.
Update!
After updating my rom to ICS 4.04_20120808.11.23, batteryminder showed my battery lasted for 22 hours, however after a while it showed my battery will only last for 12 hours 40 minutes. Here is something weirder: after your battery drops to 15%, the battery will last for 2 hours 40 minutes and strangely the battery drops slower after hits 15%. the battery might be able to last 22 hours after all, I’m not really sure.
Update!
I’m now using Go Power Meter, my phone reported able to standby about 25-28 hours after fully charged. This is quite accurate in my opinion.
Rooting Lenovo S88
1. Go to setting> Developer options> Tick the USB Debugging
2. Plug your Lenovo S880 with the microusb
3. Install SnapPea, an android manager to download the driver
4. Install ZhuoDashi 2.2.9 -setup (this program could root all type of android tablet, I think)
5. After the driver has been installed, run the ZhuoDashi, it will detect your phone:
Click the wrench icon on the top right corner, you could find the Root icon easily
6. Click root. The process takes five minutes and will restart device three times. Don’t plug off the cable yet.
7. There will be application with # SuperSU appear in your S880
8. Audio is missing after rooted? Lag? Restart your phone!
9. If you want to unroot, just click the unroot button on zhuodashi
Comparison with other 5 inch phones
Anyway, Lenovo apparently dumping the price of Lenovo s880 sold outside China. This device reported to be sold at least $275 in the mainland (depend on seller I guess). I think it’s very cheap if you consider the large screen (5 inch). The processor is so-so since it’s not dual core, I think it’s fair enough with such cheap price. For comparison, here are the other smartphone/phablets with equally large screen (4-5.5 inch):
- Galaxy S III (4.8 inch): $700
- Galaxy Note (5.3 inch): $600
- LG Optimus L7 (4.3 inch) P705: $250
- Samsung Galaxy Nexus i9250 (4.6 inch): $ 399
- LG Optimus 4x P880 (4.7 inch): $550
- HTC One X (4.7 inch): $660
- Nexian Five A500 (5 inch): $180
- Advan Vandroid S5 (5.3 inch): $200
- Zyrex Onescribe (5 inch): $300
- Treq A10 Pocket 2 (5 inch): $190
- Axioo GEA 054 (5 inch): $180
- Lenovo K860 (5 inch): $440
Comparison with other MTK 6575 phones
- IMO Glory (4 inch): $100
- Acer Liquid Gallant E350 : $???
- Acer Liquid Gallant Duo: $???
- Celkon A97 (4 inch): $150
- Lenovo P700 (4 inch): $???
- Haipai i9220 (5.3 inch): $180
- Zyrex Onescribe (5 inch): $300
- Treq A10 Pocket 2 (5 inch): $190
- Axioo GEA 054 (5 inch): $180
- Lenovo A60 (3.5 inch): $99
Comparison with other PowerVR SGX531 phones
- IMO – W6800 (5 inch): $???
- Motoluxe XT389 (3.5 inch): $???
- BLU Vivo 4.3: $???
Final Verdict
PROS
- Probably one of the cheapest 5 inch smartphone/phablet from big brand (Lenovo has 3rd largest marketshare in China and also biggest PC producer in the world)
- Lenovo dumped the price outside PRC, so some countries (like Indonesia) get cheaper price
- 5 MP camera
- Crisp display
- Fairly big internal memory (1.2 GB)
- Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3
- Wifi tethering, FM transmitter
- Big battery capacity: 2250 maH is big for a smartphone, iPhone only has 1,500-ish maH capacity
- Lot of custom roms (for the geek)
- Easy to root
- Single core processor MTK 6575
- There are cheaper models offered by Chinese online stores with $40-50 difference
- Accessories not widely available yet (and bit overpriced in Indonesian market with the official distributor. Leather case for $20 while I could get it for $9 in online retailer)
- Only 512 MB RAM. You could gain more after uninstalling useless apps though.
- Not HD ready (720p movies will stutter, don’t even bother to try 1080p videos)
- No hardware button, you are suffering screen size penalty unless you are using fullscreen toggle and button savior (see tips below)
- Battery is probably hard to find. Be prepared to order from China if local retailer doesn’t stock them
- Official update is hard to find unless you are getting into the community. Even the official website is written in Chinese, with no software download.
- Don’t expect Jelly Bean to come anytime soon due the reason above
There are other variants of OEM phones offered by the Chinese manufacturer. The spec is quite similar (MTK 6575 + PowerVR SGX531) with $30-50 price difference. You could always import them however, do it with your own risk. You don’t have local warranty.
Even if you find Lenovo S880 is slightly more expensive than these non-brand phones, it’s worth the price since it has after sales and supported by big name of Lenovo. However if you buy these phones directly from individual suppliers, you risk yourself of having no after sales service.
If you don’t mind buying from local brand, you could always opt to buy the direct competitors Treq A10 Pocket 2 and Axioo GEA 054. Both have exactly same specifications minus the FM transmitter. I chose Lenovo because of the brand.
If you have more money to spend? Lenovo K860 is your best bet, it’s the cheapest quad-core with 5 inch screen, and still cheaper than most hi-end phones. Lenovo apparently dumped the S880 price here into $200 but raised the price of its K860 model (priced about $345 in China, so we are $100 more expensive 
) but remember you could buy a good 10 inch tab or even a 1st generation iPad with such amount of money.
Quick tips
How to Save Your Battery Life
Install Battery Defender, this will turn off any of your data connection during standby mode, also go to setting and reduce the brightness to zero.
Furthermore, you could install program Night Mode to dim your screen further and save more energy!
How to Save/Install to Exteternal Memory Automatically
Go to setting> Storage and change Default Write disk to external memory.
Warning:
If you want to move your apps to SD card after installing them into USB storage, you have to move them to internal memory first:
1. Go to setting change default write disk into external SD card, and move all the apps from internal memory to SD card.
2. You have to move them first because the 2GB space provided by Lenovo S880 is considered as “external memory”. Snappea could save time a lot instead of using Apps2SD
How to use FM Transmitter
Lenovo S880 is equipped with a nice FM transmitter, it means you could listen your music/radio/youtube songs from your smartphone to your FM radio. How cool is that?
First open the program FM Transmitter, and click the power button above
Now your smartphone will transmit 100 mhz FM wave, all you have to do is to turn on your radio and tune in on 100 mhz channel, open your music player and the radio will play the music from your smartphone. If you want to change the channel just open the wench icon and adjust your setting.
Low Ram? Kill some apps!
Install Advanced Task Manager to free up ram. I want to try this tweak later though.
Factory Reset
Hold power button + volume up when turning on your phone. You will enter factory mode and given several options during boot:
- full test
- item test
- test report
- clear eMMC
- version
- reboot
Choose clear eMMC and then reboot.
Full Screen
If you are annoyed with the menu bar (which is implemented to compensate lack of hardware button in lenovo s880) you could remove it with Full Screen Toggle. Install Button Savior before activating the software, or you will have trouble navigating your phone afterward.
Comparison (screenshot from Kaskus forum)
Lenovo s880 without FullScreenToggle
Lenovo S880 with FullScreenToggle and Button Saviour installed
I bought the button saviour since I probably will toy with various android custom roms. the software itself is useful since sometimes the custom roms do not detect the hardware button.
LCD Density
After rooting your phone you could also changing your DPI. By default, lenovo s880′s dpi is 240, however you could reduce it and making more space in your screen. DPI Changer could do the magic, however do it with caution because you might encounter problems in google play store. I changed my dpi into 190, and apparently I cannot install most games from google playstore. I constantly received message “your device is not compatible with this version” because apparently google playstore detected the DPI setting,
Solving this problem is not as easy as returning the dpi to default value (have tried that). I’m not sure whether there is hidden setting in build.prop to enable the market again, to save time I install LCD Density Modder Pro. The program costs me $2.99, however since I enjoy using lower dpi and will probably toy my other android devices, I guess the price is justified.
Don’t change your DPI if you are not ready to fix the error . The fastest is by purchasing the app of course, OR factory resetting your android and start everything from fresh ROM. The latter sounds cumbersome so I chose to buy the app.
Update!
As 30 September 2012 I have updated my Lenovo s880 to ICS 4.04_20120808.11.23. I must say my Lenovo is now more responsive because its memory usage has reduced dramatically. The battery also lasts longer now, BatteryMinder shows the battery could last about 22 hours.
Here are some screenshots:
More RAM
Now with Reboot Recovery
Extra input method: Sogou Keyboard
Sogou input in action
The only downside is, FM radio doesn’t work anymore. But I could live with that, since you have more ROM + RAM now. I think it’s worth the trouble.
Update!
As of 20 October 2012 I’m using s880_GALAXY_SIII. Hi_Speed_Ver _20120830_01.58 (based on ICS 4.04) (new link) . This rom assigned this function to the hardware buttons:
- Power: Home screen
- Long press power: Task
- Volume up: Menu
- Volume down: Back
This means you must assign extra function in button savior to access the volume button and couldn’t turn off/ hard reset by long pressing the power button.
The LCD density also changed into 240, I must use LCD Density Modder Pro to change the resolution and fix the market compatibility problem.
The free ram after default install is 275 mb-ish.
Here are some screenshots
This rom also added a new feature to restrict multithreads in the developer options, limiting background process = more free ram. I limit my lenovo s880 to 2 background process. I think it’s similar with this tweak.
now with more options in setting>developer options
Not really a bad deal. I might using this rom for a while.
Community:
- Official Lenovo Page (Chinese)
- Lenovo Chinese BBS (Chinese) (check here to find latest roms and here for custom ROMS)
- Lenovo Russian Forum (Russian) (check out here for roms)
- Lenovo s880 Kaskus Community (Indonesian Language)
- Battery: Lenovo BL 198: $9.99 + Shipping
- Leather Case: $11.9 + Free Shipping
- ZhuoDashi 2.2.9 (Tool to root Lenovo S880 or any android devices, Chinese)
- SnapPea (Install this to download Lenovo S880 Driver)
- Bangjamz’s Lenovo Collection (Dropbox)
- Instantaneous GPS Fixation v1.2
- s880_GALAXY_SIII. Hi_Speed_Ver _20120830_01.58.zip (Mirror if the dropbox link downs)
- CWM installation tutorial (Indonesian)
- How to Use CWM (Indonesian)
- Installing new rom (Indonesian)
- Installing ClockWorkMod (must read)
- Flashing S880 (another)
- Updating/Flashing Lenovo S880
This is not a first world problem, this is a self made next generation problem
..
[I'm the last man standing never carrying a cellphone. Life is easier without. Yet I have my daughter's old 16GB Apple iPhone on my desk for telebanking only. Banks really are the real pain in the ass of our times. For many reasons and also because they force us to use this electronic devices. They, the banks, are the real first world problem .)]
Good luck with your new Lenovo !
you own an iphone 4? now isn’t that nice since you could use siri?
by far this is the most useful review about Lenovo S880. Thanks lots.
hi there, i also bought the lephone s880, when i was in china! in fact it is a great device for my usage, but since i live in germany there is no 3g – that’s a ICS and carrier problem. is there any way, to get a different rom on this thing?
thanks in advance
Hi JNS, I’m sorry I cannot help you on this matter. I haven’t rooted my lenovo yet, and I’m still complete noob on android. perhaps you could try asking in android forums. sorry.
nice tutor brother. so you wrote the tuts but didnt apply it yet on your phone ? its ridiculuous
just kidding. nice tuts you have there.
i did root my phone with this method and success.
hi indra, could you un-root the lenovo? I’m just worried about voiding my warranty.
hi calvin, haven’t tried it yet. but in the tools menu of zhuodashi apps on pc, there’s an unroot icon next to root icon. if you’re afraid to do it via china software, on supersu# app on your device, open settings, there’s an option to clean unroot. so i assume, you can unroot it with 2 methods.
hope this’ll help….
Thanks I will try and update the post later,ت
hi Calvin,
are you bought Lenovo S880 for daily use or just tester only ?
I found that the ROM is very small about 512mb, which very small for many running application.
Please advise if you have any tips so Lephone can run smoothly without lag
I play video for HD and Full HD seem its LAG, any tips for this problem
of the GPU/Hardware for this Lenovo S880 is not good enought ?
Hi, I use it for daily usage. unfortunately lenovo is not capable of playing HD movies.
I suggest you to install advanced task manager to free the ram.
Many Thanks. I was trying to root my Lenovo S880 for many days, and found this. Now my phone is rooted. Can you help me how to install google play market application ? I don’t understand many apps in Lenovo store. I am from India.
thanks for the review, is it already gorilla glasss????
I dont think it’s gorilla glass
hi calvin,
when i started using my s880 i was really satisfied with the performance in general but after a week of using it, the performance is already so bad and i cant anymore open google play, also browsing the web is really very slow …can you help me on this? thanks
I suspect you are running out of ram… install advanced task manager memory so it will always free up ram after closing an app
Try to change your simcard. I encountered the same problem before when I was using simpati. Now that I’m using different simcard it is working very well.
hi I i was planning to buy lephone.. But I was thinking right now if its the right decision because I cant take risking the amount if its not good..I am fan of watching movies..Do you think I should buy or just find a second handed samsung note or tab?
if you have more money better buy a hd ready tablet, I won’t use tablet to watch 2 hours movie though
i rooted my phone is it okay to uninstall the ZhuoDashi market that got installed?
Also am i just being paranoid or is there something wrong with my battery?
I can get 17hours on kinda heavy usage, is that good enough? or should it be better?
what’s bothering me is that it goes from 100 to 99 in under a minute haha
I think 17 hours is very good. last time I calibrated my battery, battery minder showed me I hours powers left at 100%. I’m not sure whether it’s accurate though.
it’s fine to uninstall zhuodashi btw, you dont need it anyway.
thanks for the quick response, i won’t calibrate my battery for now.
it would be awesome if you could post some more tips and tweaks for this phone.
as i am having difficulty finding threads or tips in english.
I updated my lenovo s880 today with 4.04 rom (see the updated post). my battery reported lasting about 22 hours. I hope this is accurate
i have bought lenove s880 from china , lenove store is in chinese , i cannot download applications , please guide i have tried snap pea , but cannot install aplications in phone , please guide
@jugal
have you ticked “enable usb debugging” option in the setting?
can you post steps in installing the update?
hi, i will try to write the guide on this weekend, however you could check the references i put below the post.
as i mentioned earlier most posts on this phone are in indonesian or chinese which i do not understand
check out two last links (installing clockworkmod and flashing lenovo). these are written in english
Hi Calvin, I’ve been wanting to update my Lenovo ROM but I haven’t had the guts yet
Did you update your ROM using CWM? Did you have any trouble while updating? You need yo install everything back after upgrading, right?
yep, unfortunately you have to reinstall all user apps. this is where snappea comes handy (faster than titanium backup)
it’s worth the trouble though so I recommend to update it. maybe the latest one, since I’m using the older build in august
Can you post a tutorial on updating the ROM? I refer to your page for rooting my device and it works.
I will try to make the guide on this weekend with screenshot, in meantime you could check out this page:
installing CWM
http://mobilecon.info/install-clockworkmod-in-lenovo-s880.html
updating/flashing new ROM
http://mobilecon.info/flashing-lenovo-s880-rom-using-clockworkmod-recovery-cwm.html
Hi Calvin, one more question about the ICS rom, it’s a custom rom, right? so do you need to root it again or is it already rooted?
it’s not rooted, however you could root it easily with zhuodashi
i can’t find the latest 4.0.4 rom anywhere. the review on Kaskus s880 community said we can’t back-up to SD card. do you have the same bug?
AAAAGH.. The indowebster link is not working! 404 not found
(
reni, i could backup to sd card just fine. the indowebster link is down? hmm maybe you should use the newer build, after all i’m using the august build.
I probably will change my rom again, but not anytime soon
If you happen to find the latest 4.0.4 rom, would you kindly share it here? I’m a regular at your blog now
thanks
, I will keep updating this post since it’s easy to lose information in kaskus
check out this page (for official roms)
http://bbs.lephone.cc/thread-356600-1-1.html
or this (custom roms, I think)
http://bbs.lephone.cc/thread-356057-1-1.html
yeah i notice how the percentage drops fast when you’re at 90% battery or something but when you reach 20% and below it slows down and you still get long battery life XD amusing
what rom are you currently using? i can’t find any updates, could someone mirror the links please
I’m usin ICS 4.04_20120808.11.23
is that an official rom?
not sure, I think it’s custom
indoweb is being weird, downloader says file not found.could you please find different link for source
this my link..
http://www.masbudi.net/flash-player-for-lenovo-s880-ics/
and
http://www.masbudi.net/root-lenovo-s880/
i cant find the black ones… is it save to buy this phone in okeshop by online?
I think it’s safe to buy from okeshop since they have strong brand. not sure if you could use credit card for 6 months installments though.
for these who watched this post, I just recently used s880_GALAXY_SIII. Hi_Speed_Ver _20120830_01.58 (see my update above) and will probably use this for awhile.
I also LePhone S880 user, but I have yet to root it. I am concerned with the loss of the warranty period. possible after the expiration of the warranty period I will try it.
This may be helpful in the use of software above :
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ddp064zhpxlri7e/Yq0D8EgDrZ
hi aries, the rooting process very easy and you could unroot it anytime. I really recommend you to root it, backup your rom, so you could unroot it anytime and restore it with the lenovo s880′s original rom incase you want to claim warranty
are the s880 row roms in english and have google play store?
how can i back up my current rom? so i can revert back to it in case?
yup, it’s in english. you could restore it anytime using CWM.
Could you please let me how to backup ROM, or steps that need to be done before I root my Lenovo S880 ?
To avoid mistakes in the future about the warranty process.
Sorry I was a beginner and still less understood.
For previously I am very grateful to the presence of your guides.
Hi Calvin,
i’m s880 user,
You are using s880_GALAXY_SIII rom, seeing your screenshots, does this ROM has DUAL SIM active ? couse there are just one signal bar at yours
thanks
@aries
please see the post again, I have posted the rooting tutorial
@luhur
yes the dual sim is active. no problem so far. the single bar probably because the carrier problem (tri). sometimes it loses signal.
s880_GALAXY_SIII. Hi_Speed_Ver _20120830_01.58, this rom based on ICS 4.0.3 or 4.0.4 ? would you please to add some screenshots ?
the ROM density are default ? 240 ? thanks
hi, that room is 4.0.4. I will try to post some screenshot later
the rom density is 240, it makes the display very ugly though so I changed it into 190 and using lcd density modder pro to fix market compatibility.
wow great, very fast replay…
is there any issue with this ROM ? everything running well ? radio ? tethering ? FM Transmitter ? ect
You said “The free ram after default install is 275 mb-ish.” how many are the free ram for original stock ROM … mine are S880_ROW_S109_10916, before installing some apk
so far is good, FM radio doesnt work though. I dont use tethering so I couldn’t comment. I will checkout fm transmitter later since I havent tested it.
the free ram of my original stock rom? I think it was 130-ish
now you mentioned it… FM transmitter app was removed from this rom. I will have to look the apk somewhere else first :/
sorry for noob question….does this ROM running in English ? doesn’t it ?
yup, you will be given language choice upon installation
what is the difference between S880_ROW_S109, s108, s107 and s105. and what does the numbers at the end mean?
I’m not sure I know the difference either
has anyone tried NEXUS-s880.ICS4.04_20120808.11.23.zip or LeWa_Lenovo_S880_ROM_12.09.28_885f1.zip ??
planning to try the nexus one
maybe you should try and post the result as well. I’m actually interested as well, but I’m quite comfortable with current rom already since it gives function to hardware button
i have little problem with GPS, too slow to get location and bad accuration log…. does everyone got this too ? thanks
yeah my gps is slow to know location too.
running s880_row_s107_12 something haha
hi, i updated to galaxy s3 hi speed, too. runs very smooth! i only miss one thing. is there any opportunity to get the fm transmitter app, from the original lenovo rom to my new rom? could someone extract the apk and maybe upload it? would be awsome!!!
@adam
i downloaded every single rom at the dropbox from the tutorial and installed it. i only can suggest the galaxy s3 hi speed version. lewa version is with mui and no optional app drawer. means every new app is at the homescreen and stays there. nexus one works fine, but for me the only advantage of the rom is the correct usage of the hardbuttons.
@jones
here is the original fm transmitter apk. havent tested it though
http://www.mediafire.com/?5jq9y8lyyt7iutl
also, what launcher do you use? I’m still using the touchwiz that is provided by the sIII rom since it might use less ram than golauncher ex
I updated the post, have added some screenshots and new tweak to free more ram in sIII_hispeed.
it seems fm transmitter doesn’t work in this ROM though, it just doesnt install
@jones
what do you mean by only advantage of the rom is the correct usage of the hard buttons.
how about the ram on the nexus rom?
btw how can i back up the rom currently on my phone in case i want to go back to it?
go to cwm, choose backup/restore, make sure your SD card has enough space. whenever you want to restore the old rom and the setting, just go to the menu again and there, you’re done
S880_ROW_S108_120906_USER is a rar file how can i install?
@calvin, thanks for uploading the fm transmitter. i’m not able to install it, too. if anybody has a solution, please let me know. further i’m using the touchwiz launcher till now. i feel very comfortable with it, even if it crashes sometimes. maybe i will try launcher pro in future.
@adam, the s3 hispeed rom, the s3 transparent rom and one more rom, are using the hardbuttons (powerbutton, volume buttons) to control the menu, options etc like calvin wrote in his article. the nexus one uses the buttons like the lenovo stock rom. in fact just a matter of habituation. apart from that it runs smooth and responds good, maybe you should try. but create a backup of your running system.
S880_ROW_S108_120906_USER is a *.rar file because it is no rom, its just filled with the tools to install the rom again, like flasher application and that stuff. probably a little mistake by uploading.
Dear Calvin,
LePhone S880 Mine had me Rooting, and now I am trying to replace the ROM with SIII Hy Speed.
But I have trouble doing it, afraid of boot isue.
please guidance.
thanks
i just tried the nexus rom and it is quite responsive, problem is some parts are still in chinese.
i will now try 【Ext SD】s880_ICS4.04_le1.0_20120805
i have back up using cwm
i am having issues with app compatibility on the nexus rom, it also doesnt have the fm transmitter.
@aries
please see the rooting guide on this post. it’s not really hard. post here again if you face difficulty.
【Ext SD】s880_ICS4.04_le1.0_20120805 won’t install sadly.
staying with nexus rom with 200mb ish ram with some apps installed
looks like there is new custom rom posted in chinese lenovo community (LeWa_Lenovo_S880_ROM_12.10.26_4feab.zip)
http://bbs.lephone.cc/thread-476491-1-1.html
can someone upload the default ringtones?
default ringtones from the original s880 roms? I have it on my backup. will try to upload it tomorrow.
thanks i’ll be changing the ones in the system folder because it’s in chinese, it just not pleasing aesthically.
also how can i remove the boot sound>
if you are looking for some funny alternatives, there is a good app for that. look for “zedge” in the playstore! there you find wallpaper, ringtones and all stuff that could be useful – or not
btw. any news on the fm transmitter? :/
@adam
here you go, s880 ringtones
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?p9j5odtsuyotwpm
@jones
unfortunately I dont research anymore on FM transmitter (don’t use it a lot actually at first place, so I dont really miss that feature)
we have different default lenovo ringtones?
you don’t have the lenovo tone haha
@calvin, do you have rom 109 that can be flashed via cwm? thanks
hi indhut, I’m not sure about your question. all roms are installed via CWM, and I dont use rom 109 at the moment… please check the lenovo s880 chinese boards that I put on the end of the post
can i use row 105 when my default is row 107?
@adam
I’m not sure If I could answer that… I dont even know the difference. but if it’s posted as usable rom in lenovo s880 forum, it probably could be used as well
Hey Calvin,
do you know how to change the icons? is there any way to get the nexus icons?
i dont like the s3 icons……. tried the ics launcher, doesnt change any icon.
Another question, because of the FM Transmitter, do you have uploaded the newest, original lenovo stock rom with play store integrated?
Thanks a lot
hi Jones, my best bet is to check this thread for newest official rom: http://bbs.lephone.cc/thread-356600-1-1.html
also, I have scrapped touchwiz. I’m using go launcher ex now, it’s very popular and has a lot of theme,
when i tried go launcher, it was some kind of slow? do you feel any performance issue?
I think it consumes more ram compared to touchwiz. my free ram is usually about 200-240 mb-ish after installing go launcher though. It’s not really slow though, I dont think there is performance penalty (dont forget to kill/disable touchwiz). try to reboot your phone, there might be difference
I’ve just downloaded go launcher ex, runs smooth. I think i will keep it for a while.
Do you know how to change volume in a youtube video with s3 rom since they are for backwards and option??
hi Jones, the sIII rom came with application called concise volume. you could add the button in the widget which will allow you to control all volumes in the device.
you could also use button saviour, it is one of the most useful app for device without hardware button. the paid version allows you to customize the keybutton, I think it’s worth the price.
I also heard there is free alternative called LMT, but I haven’t tried it yet and wont bother to since I have paid for button saviour
to everyone using sIII_hispeed rom, are you able to install .apk files manually? for some reason the “install” buttons is unclickable whenever I want to install apps, I have to install them through usb and snappea :/
hi calvin..yeah im able to install it..by the way, is there a jelly bean update for this?
it must be has something to do with my setting… I cant install apk without playstore. oh well, not really a problem. too lazy to reinstall new rom.
no, there is no jelly bean update yet. keep your eyes on the lenovo chinese board.
hi calvin,
i can install every app and i do not have snappea, why do you have it? i guess the cwm roms are rooted from beginning, so no need to install snappea. did you check your setting for unknown sources?
@ichi
i do not think that the s880 is going to support jelly bean. maybe some chinese will cook a rom.
very weird indeed. I have ticked “allow to install non-market apps” in the setting, but I cant click “install” when opening an apk. oh well, it’s minor annoyance.
yeah..Jones was right..all you have to do is tick it..
hoping to have a jelly bean rom soon.
I have ticked it, whenever I opened apk, I receive the usual message cancel/install. but somehow I cannot click “install”. oh well.,
hey calvin, maybe your internal storage is full?
have you installed “screen filter”? if so, turn it off, some forums say it cause the problem you have.
that works like charm. thank you jones
Hi Calvin! Have you tried the Supercharger script? I’ve tried it on my Lenovo and it worked! My phone is visibly faster now. I suggest you tried it too
hi rani, is the difference significant? I will try it then (sounds bit complicated to me though…)
Hey guys there are a lot of incompatible apps on the nexus Rom. Can anyone post the updates google maps app aol because instagram and other alpa don’t detect the one installed. Is Theresa fix to this? Please help. I can!t check in places or use location map. Also the nexus spp does not use the External sd card for the appz. Can anyone help me? Although i is accessible through the file manager and some Apostol. But what iwt is that my apps be installed on the Externalsd not the internal USB. I tried using link2sd Nd apps2sd but it’s all Jia in the internal USB. Any fix?
rom ROW 110 released….
check it at : http://lenovo-forums.ru/forum
thanks
yes, is quite significant. I notice i have no trouble with lags and forced closed anymore after i applied the script. It’s a hustle but the tutorial is clear, i followed step by step and it took me less than 5 mins to applied
@Reni Rustam
Supercharger script? what is this ? where i can download this script ? any link ? thanks
@Reni Rustam…
thanks
Sorry, already done, i have found it above
hey calvin,
do you know if the stock roms from bbs.lephone.cc are rooted and do they have play store?
@jones
I think they are not rooted and don’t include play store due to google’s policy, therefore you have to install the gapps as well.
hi,
any news on s880?
looks like a new official rom out, Lenovo_S880_S144
http://bbs.lephone.cc/thread-482367-1-1.html
anyone cares to try? I’m too comfortable with the galaxy sIII rom already that I dont want to change (unless someone could tell me if there is any app to assign function to hardware buttons just like the cyanogenmod roms)
Hi..
i just use a custom ROM SIII HiSpeed, but i have problem in downloading application from Play Store such as Line and whatsapp. Do you know how to download it again from play store? thx in advance
I always have trouble downloading apps from play store whenever I’m using mobile network, however I’m always able to download during wifi network. Also, if you change your dpi, some apps may unable to install, so you have to fix it using other apps such as lcd density modder.
Hi Calvin,
How to change WIFI Ip address from DHCP server… obtain only if i check from setting.
Regrads
I’m not sure about your question. I think you have to open your router setting through pc web browser. sorry it’s too advanced for me.
I couldnt find application that i searching for.. If i search it through PC it said it isn’t compatible with this device, but i can install it before i use this custom rom.. This is really annoying because i can’t use any chat application anymore such as YM, Line, Whatsapp although i like this UI.. Do you have any solution?
hard reset your phone via cwm, see it may solve the problem
if above doesn’t work, try installing apk without play store:
1. install slideme.apk, this is alternate android market
2. if it still doesn’t work you could use snappea to install the apk (tick the usb debug mode) from the pc to get the apk, go to slideme.org
hope it helps
hey calvin, do you have a solution for the annoying chinese advertisings?
or am i the only one with this problem?
unfortunately I dont know how to remove it
i want to ask here ..
i have advan s5 . i bought it from indonesia when i do a job there .. i’m italian .. can my advan s5 run lenovo s880 rom and recovery ?
probably possible if you are following the manual to root and installing CWM for mtk 6575
hey guys, i have 1 question…. my friend is gonna bring me lenovo k860 in a few days ( i said to him to bring me s880 or new s890, but he didnt listen) well back to my guestion, since i cant find any ROW rom for k860, what to do ?
hi, have you checked the chinese lenovo board? I’m sure there is subforum of k860 somewhere. however, since you are using k860, I dont think this discussion will help you further.
@all who subscribed the comments
I remember someone asked the meaning of these numbers in front of CFW, here you go:
S105, S108, S109, and S110 : firmware for international user
S131, S138, S140, and S144 : firmware for chinese markets… means there are probably chinese language apps installed by default.
Hi Calvin
I use S880
why my phone can not charge??
i have trial multiple charger, if everyone experience same trouble
full screen toggle is not working after i donwloaded, pls help. i’m using ics 4.03. thank you
help after i instal rom sgs3 my phone won’t start only lenovo logo show and then blank
please help what should i do??
is it really blank? sometimes it takes very looooooooong before entering the OS with new rom. if it is broken, well you dont have choice but to reinstall the rom. dont forget to wipe delvik cache
@asmul
I think it’s defect. please claim your warranty ASAP.
a new rom is out there
how to screenshot using my lenovo s880?
power button and volume down at a time will give a screen shot
is there any way to root this phone using ubuntu (linux)? i don’t use windows and couldn’t find anything in google.
maybe you could try these program using vbox or wine
tried wine and the commercial program crossover but it didn’t work. i guess there’s no “native” way to do it in linux. will try vbox. thanks!
Hi Calvin, I can’t find s880_GALAXY_SIII hi speed ROM anywhere now. the dropbox server cannot be accessed now. Can you provide me with any link to download the rom?
I will try to upload it tomorrow
Thanks Calvin, appreciate it
there you go
http://mir.cr/WVAE7QEV
Thanks a lot mate…
Have you tried this ROM?
http://pan.baidu.com/share/link?shareid=8835&uk=4009854347
I think it’s cool too
sIII_galaxy? I have been using it for months
Flashed s880_GALAXY_SIII. Hi_Speed_Ver _20120830_01.58 now the phone is in bootloop. Restarts after initial lenovo image. What to do?
It is showing in SP FLASH Tool.
gw pake lewa yang baru om… dikit modif (uninstall applikasi chinese nya)… mantep free RAM kalo ga kepake bisa sampe 270 MB hehehe
Lenovo s880 is a great phone with a great price. but my problem is i cannot apart from the wifi i cannot connect to the internet through my network operator.Can you help me.
hi swnectar. are you sure you have entered correct setting on the apn? contact your network customer service if you aren’t sure about 3G setting, etc.
Hai,Calvin. I just buy Lenovo S880 at Global Teleshop in Medan (Indonesia) at 31 Dec 2012. I want to share information for you and other Lenovo S880 user. I had post this info before at Herry SW blog at http://www.ponselmu.com. the information that i want to share is about Lenovo S880 batere that we can use batere Nokia BL 4C or Nexian NX G900. I must put a paper or what to make the batere fix at the phone.
For see like what or any question,you and other people can see at my Facebook account id : Zhangzhanji@ymail.com.
i used Nokia batere and it”s can use normarly but can not charge it. When i used Nexian batere,it”s fully operated like original batere.
can you help me about tour s880 galaxy sIII rom. can’t download the file. need it badly. thank you in advanced. alegriorpal@yahoo.com
hi everyone (who subscribed comments on this entry). I’m currently residing in new zealand and messed up my lenovo before coming here. I left it in jakarta and I couldn’t answer your questions at the moment till my phone arrived.
cheers,
Calvin
Hello,
Could you help me please? Recently, I have found two white lines in top of my S880′s screen. first line is 0.5 cms from the edge of screen and 1.7 cms for the second line.
I have tried to fix it with factory reset or remove the battery, but it can’t help.. Please advise, thank you very much.
you got factory defect. replace it ASAP.
i have followed your instruction to root S880. Everything is OK but audio. I have restarted it and the problem is same. any suggestion?
my lenovo s880 suddenly enter safe mode, how to return to normal view?
@andri
you have rooted your device? enter the factory mode and factory reset. I also had this problem today and it’s fixed my lag and audio problem. the lenovo is still rooted after factory reset.
@yudy
not sure, sorry. I never entered safe mode.
is there some special procedure needed to be done to install the above s3 rom? I try install it from CWM and it doesnt load. (it bricks device) Have to restore it from SP_flash.
above 4.04 rom is not working but I try another 4.04 one I dl and it bricks the device too.
I only want any 4.04 english rom.
we need a custom rom for lenovo s880 not that fucking chinese forum. it bricked my lenovo s880!
i have s880i MT6577. where can i get the rom
ok dont worry i did it