My Lenovo K3 Note proved that it is a tough nut to crack - both literally and metaphorically - although it does not have Corning Gorilla glass. Recently, I solo-rode Golden Quadrilateral on my Thunderbird 500, using my mobile with Navi Maps app as my navigator.



While riding in AP in the first day [15 Feb 2016], the wind force was so heavy in the morning, it dislodged my phone from the holder and it flew out, but luckily, I took a catch on my left hand, thereby saving my mobile. But, on the second time near Chilakaluripeta, I was not lucky. It flew out as I was going in 100 kmph speed and dropped on the road. Fortunately, there were no vehicles behind me, I came back and retrieved it. Thank god, it did not break; only some scratches on the back side. Immediately, I stopped and called my wife to test whether the phone worked. All the apps also worked. From the next day onwards, I resorted to this jugaad using rubber bands to tie it securely with the holder. Afterwards, it stayed in the holder without jumping out.



Now, I want to make my Lenovo K3 Note as my dedicated navigator exclusively for my rides. So, I thought of buying its successor Lenovo K4 Note with 3 GB RAM, finger-print sensor, etc. But, I changed my mind and registered for Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 with full metallic body, 4,050 mAh battery, 16 MP rear camera apart from 3 GB RAM, finger-print sensor, etc. for the same price. I was not successful during the first flash-sale on 9 March 2016, but I am eagerly waiting for tomorrow [16 March 2016] to try my luck again. Lemme see.

[pixantz]

My K3 Note hogs around 1.2gb roughly at all times with all apps closed. I think it's a bit too much. I don't have much on the phone and deleted all the games too. Any ideas anyone?

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

1. Just get the best Android currently in the market i.e. Nexus 6P. All set for next 2 years as I change phones only in 2 years. Only problem is September will see the new lineup of Nexus from HTC as well as Motorola which will tempt me.

2. Get a burner phone for a few months till the new range of Motos and Nexus is announced and pick that up towards year end. Options are Moto G3 or see if there's a discount on Moto X play by next week.

I liked the Moto X style but somehow the size didn't appeal to me. The Nexus 6P even though it was bigger, felt better to hold and looked cooler. The Moto X used to struggle to last the whole day and looking at reviews of the X style it's actually lower than the X2 because of the larger Quad HD display which is an LCD and not OLED like Moto X2.

Nexus 6P is tempting if the sale price from last week of 32-33 is back on.

If you are gonna change in 2 years, the 6P seems like the best bet. I'd suggest you to prefer the Nexus line over Moto, as this new 'Moto by Lenovo' isn't sounding very good from a purist point of view at least. I loved the X Style too much for a long while, but all my hopes of possibly getting one this summer are under serious threat due to this new Lenovo thing. Motorola had been going extremely wonderfully to this point, not putting a foot wrong, but under Lenovo management, all of a sudden they are looking like another LG. They are also planning to merge Vibe UI into the software, and have been messing up the updates situation lately too. In that, they are seeminly going all out with this year's Moto X's hardware, with metal body, heat pipe, et al and there is solid reason to believe they would price it exorbitantly, more so in India, thus ruining the value proposition. Just look at X Force prices here for another example.

As for the Nexii, both your options seem properly legit, but I personally think the 6P, if it is indeed available for under 35K, is a great deal. At the usual 40-42k it is overpriced for a 6 month old Chinese-made device, but take out 8-9k from it and it is making the right noises. As you said, HTC are making this year's Nexus, and again, they are known for pricing their phones quite high. They have also been facing losses and they may be tempted to milk Nexus buyers or ex-fanboys with the new Nexus. Also, just released Nexii face availability and quality control issues at the very start. With the 6P these issues may almost certainly be sorted by now. And even apart from the issues, unless the HTC Nexus brings in something totally new like force touch, the 6P is quite future-proof having USB-C and that fingerprint scanner. The only drawbacks are that the RAM is 'just' 3 gigs, and the SD810, which is surely not as good as the 820 and Exynos chipsets. But if that's fine with you, I see little reason not to get the 6P.

However, I'd further suggest you to wait another month or so. The S7 is just in, the G5 is coming up hot on its heels, and so is the HTC (M)10. So there's not much room for an older generation device to sell for 40k+. And Huawei is ultimately a Chinese company too, and all those sell their phones really cheap. So we might see an Ecosport case with the 6P prices after a while. I won't be surprised if its starting price permanently comes down to under 35K too.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by mukul32

However, I'd further suggest you to wait another month or so. The S7 is just in, the G5 is coming up hot on its heels, and so is the HTC (M)10. So there's not much room for an older generation device to sell for 40k+. And Huawei is ultimately a Chinese company too, and all those sell their phones really cheap. So we might see an Ecosport case with the 6P prices after a while. I won't be surprised if its starting price permanently comes down to under 35K too.

Thanks Mukul. Very helpful stuff. The new about Motorola going the Lenovo path with the Vibe UI is disturbing! I did not know about that and now that leaves only Nexus as the options for those looking back at stock Android.

Having used the Moto X2 with Marshmallow for 3 months, it is very difficult to go to one of these other UI's from other manufacturers. I'm using a One Plus X as a temporary phone and while the phone is really good, the oxygen OS is not working for me even more so considering I went back to 5.1.1 from 6.0. I miss the Moto!

Hence I'm also not too keen on S7, HTC 10 or Lg G5 due to software and secondly due to the pricing. 50K for a phone is not happening for me. Price will reduce only towards the end of the year which is too long a wait.

The 6P looks like the bets option for me at the moment. However incase Motorola drops the X play prices considerably then I might just get it as a backup phone till Nexus 6P price plummets. Right now I have a shortage of backup phone at home as my dad's new iPhone 6 was pickpocketed in January!

[Gannu_1]

The OnePlus 2 has got a price cut with the 16 GB retailing at 21K and the 64 GB at 23K on Amazon.

Been completely out of touch with the smartphone scene currently and I'm using a Lumia 920 (got it at the launch; will switch the device later this year). Just wondering, the OnePlus One had an invite only system until some time back but the OnePlus Two is now available off the shelf from Amazon?! Why's that?

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Having used the Moto X2 with Marshmallow for 3 months, it is very difficult to go to one of these other UI's from other manufacturers. I'm using a One Plus X as a temporary phone and while the phone is really good, the oxygen OS is not working for me even more so considering I went back to 5.1.1 from 6.0. I miss the Moto!

The 6P looks like the bets option for me at the moment. However incase Motorola drops the X play prices considerably then I might just get it as a backup phone till Nexus 6P price plummets. Right now I have a shortage of backup phone at home as my dad's new iPhone 6 was pickpocketed in January!

Slightly amazed with OPX feedback - the OS already has most features of Android M except Now on tap. Saying this as I have used Android M on Moto G already.
Your best indeed seems to be Nexus 5S if you want to buy another phone sooner. Go for a cheaper phone if you want the next line of Nexus, which should be far better than the current ones.

[abs182]

Can anyone share their daily usage feedback for the Nexus 5x? Google Store is running Rs. 4000 off till 27th March and I'm very tempted. I want real life feedback about the responsiveness, Camera quality (like clicking decent number of photos) and battery performance. Thanks

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Thanks Mukul. Very helpful stuff. The new about Motorola going the Lenovo path with the Vibe UI is disturbing! I did not know about that and now that leaves only Nexus as the options for those looking back at stock Android.

Having used the Moto X2 with Marshmallow for 3 months, it is very difficult to go to one of these other UI's from other manufacturers. I'm using a One Plus X as a temporary phone and while the phone is really good, the oxygen OS is not working for me even more so considering I went back to 5.1.1 from 6.0. I miss the Moto!

Take as unsubstantiated hearsay, because I can't remember the source, but I came across a comment from a developer recently to the effect that Motorola's Android is not really "stock" at all, but they have given it a UI that looks that way. Of course, if it the UI you want, it might not matter what is going on underneath.

But... if it is the UI you want, I guess Google Now launcher runs on other phones too?

It doesn't really give much: Nova is vastly superior.

[theexperthand]

Got my RedMi Note 3 on Monday - it is the 16GB\2GB variant.

+ points

• Premium build quality. Going by the looks, no one will guess that it is a 10K phone
• Finger Print sensor works well - ergonomically placed and FAST.
• Display - Good color reproduction
• Battery Life - Awesome battery life, thanks to the huge 4000mAh battery
• MIUI - lot of tweaks and you will not lose your warranty if you root your phone. UI is good - not much bloatware, lot of themes, lot of options to fine tune the experience.
• Fast charging.

-Points

• No protective glass for the display (like Gorilla glass)
• MIUI - I do not like the no app drawer design of MIUI. Also, no automatic option to sort the apps alphabetically - you have to do it manually. Remedied it by installing Nova launcher.
• Speaker quality is average. Not a patch in front of the K4 Note. But output through headphones are good. Brought the Mi in ear headphone and Ppoweramp app to fix this.

Overall, I am satisfied with the phone. The camera quality is good, and the phone definitely looks and feels premium.

--Anoop

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Slightly amazed with OPX feedback - the OS already has most features of Android M except Now on tap. Saying this as I have used Android M on Moto G already.
Your best indeed seems to be Nexus 5S if you want to buy another phone sooner. Go for a cheaper phone if you want the next line of Nexus, which should be far better than the current ones.

OPX is fully loaded in OS, no complaints but it's very deep in customisations. Unless you spend time behind it, you might not like it. I found the Moto X2 Marshmallow much more cleaner and simpler so to say.

Originally Posted by abs182

Can anyone share their daily usage feedback for the Nexus 5x? Google Store is running Rs. 4000 off till 27th March and I'm very tempted. I want real life feedback about the responsiveness, Camera quality (like clicking decent number of photos) and battery performance. Thanks

I am also interested in 5X but from the reviews I've read it really slows down with multiple apps and the 2GB RAM is a major bummer.

Google released an update last week and has promised fixes for performance. Yet to get confirmation on how it fairs after the update.

[lordvader]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Take as unsubstantiated hearsay, because I can't remember the source, but I came across a comment from a developer recently to the effect that Motorola's Android is not really "stock" at all, but they have given it a UI that looks that way.
It doesn't really give much: Nova is vastly superior.

Nova is superior, no doubt about that. But I don't think Moto UI is modified to look like stock, more so since it runs google now launcher out of the box.

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Got my RedMi Note 3 on Monday - it is the 16GB\2GB variant.
[*]MIUI - you will not lose your warranty if you root your phone

This is news for me. Another reason why I would want to try a Xiaomi now. Kudos to Xiaomi for being so user-friendly!

[skumare]

Originally Posted by abs182

Google Store is running Rs. 4000 off till 27th March on 5x and I'm very tempted.

Check etailers, I saw 16gb on Amazon for 24k.

[abhjain]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Got my RedMi Note 3 on Monday - it is the 16GB\2GB variant.

Overall, I am satisfied with the phone. The camera quality is good, and the phone definitely looks and feels premium.

--Anoop

I just ordered one, could not get my hands on the 3GB version. Hope 2GB will not prove to be an issue.

[mxx]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

-Points

• No protective glass for the display (like Gorilla glass)

No gorilla glass. but it does have some protection
check this link
https://twitter.com/RedmiIndia/statu...90204975751169

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Thanks Mukul. Very helpful stuff. The new about Motorola going the Lenovo path with the Vibe UI is disturbing! I did not know about that and now that leaves only Nexus as the options for those looking back at stock Android.

Having used the Moto X2 with Marshmallow for 3 months, it is very difficult to go to one of these other UI's from other manufacturers. I'm using a One Plus X as a temporary phone and while the phone is really good, the oxygen OS is not working for me even more so considering I went back to 5.1.1 from 6.0. I miss the Moto!

Hence I'm also not too keen on S7, HTC 10 or Lg G5 due to software and secondly due to the pricing. 50K for a phone is not happening for me. Price will reduce only towards the end of the year which is too long a wait.

The 6P looks like the bets option for me at the moment. However incase Motorola drops the X play prices considerably then I might just get it as a backup phone till Nexus 6P price plummets. Right now I have a shortage of backup phone at home as my dad's new iPhone 6 was pickpocketed in January!

My pleasure! And in case you don't like OxygenOS, just do what one does with a OnePlus: root that thing! The OnePlus X has some pretty sweet support on XDA, and Resurrection Remix Marshmallow stable maintainer builds are up too. Here is the official XDA page for the X, and here is the Resurrection Remix Marshmallow thread.

And in case you do decide to get a backup phone anyway, I have another suggestion. The X Play is a solid choice for now, but one doesn't change a backup phone all that soon. The Play will get Android N from Motorola (Lenovo?) but then will turn quite obsolete after that. Also it is ultimately midrange hardware. (But yes, does have a very good camera for its price) And if it so happens that you have to use that phone for a while later on, it shouldn't feel like you went back to a different age in terms of the software performance and user experience.

Instead, the OnePlus One has also dropped to <20k, and the last time I checked, the 64 GB sandstone back variant was up for about 18k. It still has 3 gigs of RAM, a healthy battery and a Snapdragon 801. MKBHD was all gaga over it when it came in, and that's saying something. Also, that phone has just unreal amounts of support on XDA. Almost all the seniormost developers have one of them, and I'm personally pretty sure that phone should certainly get the next two versions of Android via XDA at least, if not more. And due to the thermal performance issues with the 2015 SD8XX series, the community has still stuck with the One. The only negatives with the OPO to speak of are a somewhat buggy OxygenOS and lack of new stuff such as fingerprint scanner and fast charging. But the former can be fixed with custom ROM's and the latter should be okay for a secondary phone I guess. In return it still offers a long usable life and scope for custom everything.
The OnePlus One, along with the Nexus 5 are virtually invincible on XDA. Even the Nexus 5 has dropped a lot with the prices, but the Snapdragon 800 and 2 gigs of RAM would show their age sooner rather than later, and the camera and battery life are both quite bad on it.