[ToyotaFan]

Originally Posted by dar3dev|l

^^ looks difficult to achieve for someone new in the Indian market. Motorola picked up coz of Google's backing. Motorola as an independent company was not doing good in the Indian market.

I agree with the Google but but the irony is the day j got my Moto G (ordered within first 10 min) that very day Motorola was sold to lenovo (a Chinese company like Xaomi). I agree only specs can't compete and a smooth android experience like motorola will be needed for the brand to rise. But it can easily take away volumes from Micromax and Lava if they are able to market their phones well and provide good service. They have a 10% market share in China which speaks volumes of their capability.

[Speed.Demon]

Not just Xiaomi, even Asus has entered the market with a bang.

All three of their Zenfones are fantastic VFM. Well, specs wise anyway.

[ToyotaFan]

Originally Posted by Speed.Demon

Not just Xiaomi, even Asus has entered the market with a bang.

All three of their Zenfones are fantastic VFM. Well, specs wise anyway.

The only fly in the ointment are the Intel processors which are not as tried And tested as Qualcomm and mediatech. Let the reviews come in and we will know how they perform. Asus Zen 5 is one to watch out for.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by akshay380

Just registered for Xiaomi Mi3. Insane pricing of 13999! Sale starts on 22nd July at 12PM.

Just checked it out! Indeed, crazy pricing. I remember reading somewhere that Xiaomi had plans to debut here with their own online store - whatever happened to that!

Anyway, do share a detailed review once you get it.

[h@r$h@l]

Xiaomi Mi3 is a well speced device and is competing with the likes of Note 3 & S5 etc in terms of its hardware specifications. If you google Xiaomi Mi3 and watch its full keynote of the launch event we get to know what its really made of. The ram, emmc, battery, camera etc is all very well thought off.

I know for most of us here its just another Chinese brand, but what we must not forget that Xiaomi is a BIG player in Mainland now and now backed by ex google / Android VP.

The reviews state so far that its doing well in the market. Lets wait and watch how it performes in Indian market. I too have registered for initial sale.

I have used the Moto G and I hope Xiaomi Mi3 matches the similar performance. I moved to windows platform couple of months ago but already missing Android
Hope Xiaomi Mi3 gives me enough reasons to shift back

Regards,

[akshay380]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

I know for most of us here its just another Chinese brand, but what we must not forget that Xiaomi is a BIG player in Mainland now and now backed by ex google / Android VP.

I spoke to my colleagues in China and Singapore they advised me to grab it ASAP because apparently for them it goes out of stock within minutes. I had read about this earlier but was confirmed by them firsthand!

[JustCause]

Background: I am a long-time user of ASUS computer components and miscellaneous add-on cards. This is my first 'completely built' product purchase from asus. This phone is to be used by my mother.


Why Zenfone?

The primary reason for buying this phone was that it supported

Front Camera

Proximity Sensor for calls

Good (AF) camera for daylight photography (1080p video)

GPS chip! (the 5.5k galaxy star pro lacks this and has only 512MB RAM)

Smooth UI with latest Android

Not much options in the 6k bracket supported these features. The Moto E came close but it lacks a front camera and AF on the rear, which were a deal-breaker for me as she wanted those features.

Overview, performance

This phone supports many new features on the camera and new apps for the segment. It has the party share feature to quickly transfer pics to nearby devices. The camera is very good in low light and has a host of features like background reduction, HDR (realtime) and timelapse modes. It has good performance with no lags in the UI till now. I haven't tested talktime on battery as I lack a micro-sim card to put in the device. There are no overheating issues as described on the forums and it performs flawlessly.


The phone feels nice to hold and is very light. The screen has good contrast and vivid colours. The premium finish beneath the screen and the rear cover make it look like a phone worth well upwards of 10k. The rear cover fits snugly and no gaps are to be seen on the sides. Volume and wake buttons have a ridged silvery finish adding to the premium-ness.

A few gripes/issues I with the phone (as an Android user )

Intel x86 platform - Limited custom ROMs and uncertain update beyond Kitkat. PowerVR SGXMP 544 is not going to last much for modern games.

Awkward button placement - Volume and power key cluttered together like Micromax. Accidental presses of volume key likely when your intent is to wake the device

Weak speaker- Speaker is a very feeble one and disappoints with everyone asking Volume full hai kya?

Difficult to open the battery door- The door has only one fingernail inset and the door is so tightly clasped that prying it open makes strange sounds. Careless removal might break the battery door, I fear.

No button backlight - This is my chief issue with the device. Even if it lacks an ambient light sensor, the least asus could have done is to provide continuous backlight for the capacitive buttons. What if I have to use my device at night? I suppose onscreen buttons will be made available as a mod.

Long press recents key to make it work as context menu key- Really, this should be the other way round

Inverted MicroUSB port - This is likely to cause blunders as all of our other devices have the port the other way up

I bought this device for my mom despite the intel x86 quirk as this was not pertinent to her kind of usage. The other quirks were discovered during a short usage period of 6 hours.

Pics in no particular order















Quadrant Score



AnTuTu Score



Some more things

You can set the long press of recents key to take screenshots. No more doing yoga with the power and volume buttons.

There is a tiny multi colour notification LED by the earpiece.

Comes with Android 4.3 and after a 70MB minor update, a clean master' esque RAM liberating app is preinstalled in quick settings. Neat!

Has power-saving profiles built in with presets for games, music etc.

The whatnext app is somewhat like google now. It tells you the weather with advice like " take a raincoat tomorrow, thundershowers predicted" and reminds you of tasks. It also has a widget on the lockscreen.

The camera is the biggest takeaway of the device with oodles of features. It performs well in low light with limited noise and has vivid colours for a camera lacking flash. I expect it to beat the Moto E hands down on this aspect.

The compact charger is rated 1300ma charging current, larger than the Nokia 1200ma one I have now. Charging is quick. Data cable doubles up as a charger cable.

All voice calls can be automatically recorded and saved to SD Card, if required.

There is no secondary microphone for Noise cancellation.

Both SIM slots are micro-sim.

Video recording is set to 720p if video stabilization is enabled in camera UI.

No spare battery provided like the Malaysian counterpart. The package lacks a headset.

Flipkart lists another variant Zenfone 4 with 4.5 inch screen, 1800MAh battery and 8MP camera for 6999 as "coming soon". Other specs remain the same.



Conclusion

The phone was bought despite the Intel badge because it satisfied on the counts listed in the beginning of the review. This device is trademark ASUS with a solid build with nifty software enhancements and and stunning looks.

[Gokrish]

Originally Posted by akshay380

I spoke to my colleagues in China and Singapore they advised me to grab it ASAP because apparently for them it goes out of stock within minutes. I had read about this earlier but was confirmed by them firsthand!

According to a research report, Xiomi (model MI3) is the 7th best selling phone on a survey conducted in 35 countries. First six places are occupied by Apple and Samsung!

[hellmet]

Tablet owners here, what exactly are you using your devices for? I bought a Nexus7 last October and while I like the device, I'm unable to really make use of it. And, after I bought a smartphone it has virtually taken up a permanent space up my shelf.

What do you guys use your tablets for, or are they really just useless?

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by hellmet

Tablet owners here, what exactly are you using your devices for? I bought a Nexus7 last October and while I like the device, I'm unable to really make use of it. And, after I bought a smartphone it has virtually taken up a permanent space up my shelf.

What do you guys use your tablets for, or are they really just useless?

movies, news, teambhp, 9gag, facebook.
Basically all the things that I do on the phone, but viewing only.
Typing on the tab is still a pain.

And oh yes, Skype, most important.

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by hellmet

Tablet owners here, what exactly are you using your devices for? I bought a Nexus7 last October and while I like the device, I'm unable to really make use of it. And, after I bought a smartphone it has virtually taken up a permanent space up my shelf.

What do you guys use your tablets for, or are they really just useless?

I use my Tab (Galaxy Tab2) for only two tasks.

1) eBooks (Aldiko, Kindle, Kobo, Google play books)
2) Flipboard

[h@r$h@l]

At the Xiaomi Mi 3 flagship launch in India, the Chinese smartphone and tablet manufacturer has launched two other smartphones in the country, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S and Xiaomi Redmi Note. The Redmi 1S has been priced at Rs. 6,999, while the Redmi Note has been priced at Rs. 9,999.

Source : http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news...india-1-558833

Regards

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by JustCause

This is my first 'completely built' product purchase from asus.

There are no overheating issues as described on the forums and it performs flawlessly.

A few gripes/issues I with the phone (as an Android user )

Thanks for the detailed initial review. I am seriously considering this phone and will look forward to regular updates from you.

Glad to read that there are no overheating issues as some forums were wary about.

Could you please explain more on the below (Apologies, I am a total noob when it comes to these jargons):

Intel x86 platform - Limited custom ROMs and uncertain update beyond Kitkat. PowerVR SGXMP 544 is not going to last much for modern games.

I don't have any plans to root the phone. My current phone is still "stock" apart from the apps on it. What are the downsides of not getting any updates post the KitKat OS?

Weak speaker- Speaker is a very feeble one and disappoints with everyone asking Volume full hai kya?

Are you referring to the loudspeaker? How is the call quality for both parties without activating this?

Difficult to open the battery door

I was under the assumption that this phone had an embedded battery. Please clarify.
No button backlight - What if I have to use my device at night? I suppose onscreen buttons will be made available as a mod.

Will this require the phone to be rooted?

Long press recents key to make it work as context menu key- Really, this should be the other way round

Didn't quite get this. Please elaborate.

Comes with Android 4.3 and after a 70MB minor update, a clean master' esque RAM liberating app is preinstalled in quick settings. Neat!

Didn't quite get this. Please elaborate.

Thanks in advance for your replies. Do keep posting your feedback on this device.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by h@r$h@l

The Redmi 1S has been priced at Rs. 6,999

Interesting!

I had my sights set on the Moto E. But with this announcement, now I am slightly confused. While on paper, Redmi 1S blows Moto E to smithereens, its real world performance is still a question mark. While the Moto has received very positive reviews - 1s still remains largely untested - in the real world! Still, the specs/price equation is hard to ignore.

Any thoughts?

PS: If it doesn't launch by 1st week of August, it will make my decision simpler - will have to pick up the E.

[naveenroy]

Wow, what a spate of new launches - leaving us Android phone lovers lost for choice. I'd purchased the Alcatel OneTouch Idol X+ recently and would have surely gone for the Xiaomi if it had come a little earlier. Better processor and larger capacity battery.