[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

the Redmi Note 3 is too big. Not considering the Nexus as my budget has been stretched to the max already.

Xiaomi seems to be going places. RN3 is a great phone but the upcoming Mi5 will blow the pants off the competition and many classes above, which is launching today. At around 20K (30k for the topmost Pro version with 4GB/128GB/Ceramic) it is already being toted as a S7 killer.

Cheers...

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Don't sacrifice perfomance / longevity for size. RN3/3GB RAM would be my best bet. OPO hasn't aged that well IMNSHO (Dec/14 purchase).

I agree to the performance bit, but a MI device is far from the best in terms of longevity. The N3 comes with an already outdated Android version, which may never get updated too. Xiaomi like to only update their MIUI and not the Android version, especially on non-flagship devices. In that, these updates are usually painfully slow. In fact, I look at it this way- the surprisingly low cost actually encourages to save up at purchase and upgrade sooner rather than use the device for long.

[JonSnow]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

OnePlus X 16 GB looks like a perfect replacement for my ageing Moto G2! At 14,999/- I'm finding it hard to look away! (Wasn't it launched at 21-22k?)
- I prefer 5" devices to 5.5" ones
- 3 GB RAM is mouth watering coming from the 1 GB of the G2
- Camera is decent at the price point from the reviews I could find
- 2500 mA battery is better than the 2050 mA G2 battery, which used to last me all day with my usage
- Does anyone know if the rear glass panel is Gorilla Glass 3 as well? If not, isn't it at risk of getting scratched badly?

Am I missing something here?
Could existing 1+ X users please comment?
Are there any other 3 GB RAM devices below 15k I need to consider?

For the criteria of 3GB RAM and 5 inch screen, i think 1+X is the only option in the market. All others seem to have larger screens. Coolpad and Le1s come with Mediatek processors which are generally not considered as good as Snapdragon ones. Also, i have read multiple reviews saying that call quality in Le1S is not good. Redmi Note 3 seems like a good option but it has a 5.5 inch screen and the 3GB model has not been available even in the flash sales and no idea when it will become available.


So 1+X does seem to be the only option here. Just check some reviews about its battery life. It may be bigger than Moto G2, but it also has a faster processor, so it might consume battery faster. As far as I can remember, reviews said that battery life was ordinary in 1+X. It may still be adequate for your needs, but you can't expect very good battery life I guess.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

OnePlus X 16 GB looks like a perfect replacement for my ageing Moto G2! At 14,999/- I'm finding it hard to look away! (Wasn't it launched at 21-22k?)
- I prefer 5" devices to 5.5" ones
- 3 GB RAM is mouth watering coming from the 1 GB of the G2
- Camera is decent at the price point from the reviews I could find
- 2500 mA battery is better than the 2050 mA G2 battery, which used to last me all day with my usage
- Does anyone know if the rear glass panel is Gorilla Glass 3 as well? If not, isn't it at risk of getting scratched badly?

Am I missing something here?
Could existing 1+ X users please comment?
Are there any other 3 GB RAM devices below 15k I need to consider?

At this price, the One Plus X is a great deal. I bought mine at the full price of 16,999 and that too when we needed invites to buy it!
I have had mine for around 2 1/2 months now and here are my experiences:
1) Screen Quality is absolutely fabulous and compares with Iphone 6
2) The 5 inch screen size is very convenient and fits in the pocket nicely. But the front and back are both Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and the phone without a back case / Flip cover is extremely slippery (I keep an original Flip cover on mine so it is protected from both sides as I tend to keep the phone in my pant pocket along with Keys)
3) The Battery if I keep it on 2G lasts over 18 hours, on 3G around 14 Hours and on 4G less than 12 Hours (4G is a battery hog due to weak signals in our area. I keep mine mostly on 2G and switch to 3G only when I need high speed access.
4) GPS is also a major battery hog and when using navigation if you don't keep it to charge, it consumes almost all the battery in 90 min with GPS and screen on and 3G. It also causes the phone to heat up.
5) OS wise, the One Plus x is really snappy and fast and miles ahead of my previous phone the Note 3 Neo, which feels like a Dinosaur (I am using both phone concurrently)
6) Gaming and Graphics are good and I have not found games to stutter/ drop frames till now, but again battery consuming.
7) Screen on time with 30% brightness is around 2 Hours which may be low for a few people who keep playing with their phones all the time!
8) Standby battery life is good and phone consumes around 10% battery in overnight standby (with Wifi off in sleep mode).
9) The android experience is relatively pure with the addition of a few good features like Gestures (V for flashlight > to skip song etc)
10) The camera is good and apart from a little lens distortion (which can be corrected quite easily with SKRWT) it give great results. In dark places it is only a little behind compared to Iphone 6 results, but with Manual mode option you can really tweak it to get good results.

Overall quite happy with the phone (Touchwood !) till now and for the price I paid I am very happy with it. For the price you are getting, the deal is ever sweeter!

One last point on why I had chosen this phone : the low SAR rating of this phone! The SAR rating of this phone at the head is 0.45 W/Kg which is quite low and I always take this into consideration when buying a new phone. For most of the Chinese phones like MI and Lenovo the SAR ratings are in excess of 1 W/kg and these phones may end up causing long term damage to cells with extended usage.

So IMO, just go for it! The Champagne gold colour is really nice (this is the one I have.)

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by digitalnirvana

If you have a citi credit card, try the redmi note 3 at 10pc discount. Else redmi 2 prime at a lower price point is better than either of the Lenovos

I have an A6000 plus which is currently unused (thinking of selling it on Olx) due to upgrading to the redmi note 3, and while it is good for the price, Xiaomi offers more value for money

Thanks Nirvana

This is mainly a phone my office will provide and has a limit of Rs. 7K.

The Redmi Prime is a 4.7 in smartphone.
Was looking at 5 in atleast as I watch a lot of movies on the phones.

Hence was considering the Lenovo mobiles

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

...So IMO, just go for it! The Champagne gold colour is really nice (this is the one I have.)...

Thanks for the comprehensive review!

The only colour available at 14,999/- is 'Onyx'. Tried viewing videos on YouTube n a few pictures, but the phone just looks black to me!! Does anyone know a dark shade of my which colour is this 'Onyx'? Google says it's a variant of RED! Didn't look anywhere remotely like a dark red to me!

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

Thanks for the comprehensive review!

The only colour available at 14,999/- is 'Onyx'. Tried viewing videos on YouTube n a few pictures, but the phone just looks black to me!! Does anyone know a dark shade of my which colour is this 'Onyx'? Google says it's a variant of RED! Didn't look anywhere remotely like a dark red to me!

The Onyx colour is Black with silver sides. That is also a nice looking phone though more traditional. The white is absolutely classy in looks.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by mukul32

I agree to the performance bit, but a MI device is far from the best in terms of longevity. The N3 comes with an already outdated Android version, which may never get updated too. Xiaomi like to only update their MIUI and not the Android version, especially on non-flagship devices. In that, these updates are usually painfully slow. In fact, I look at it this way- the surprisingly low cost actually encourages to save up at purchase and upgrade sooner rather than use the device for long.

Completely disagree.

I personally think the latest and greatest Android OS is irrelevant today. What matters is responsiveness and day to day lag-free nature.

Almost 20 of my extended family have different Mi devices. Unlike even the OPO (which started hanging of late), none has upgraded due to crappy performance.

On the other hand my S3 lags terribly even with CM10.3 (Android 4.3). I cant wait to buy RN3 and throw away my S3.

MIUI is not the motorola-like approach but it has quite some satisfied users. I want simple reliability and usability, not numerically latest OS.

[Aakarsh]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

Thanks Nirvana

This is mainly a phone my office will provide and has a limit of Rs. 7K.

The Redmi Prime is a 4.7 in smartphone.
Was looking at 5 in atleast as I watch a lot of movies on the phones.

Hence was considering the Lenovo mobiles

Hello arnabchak!

I am in the market too for an Android smartphone but have a strict budget, which is under INR 7,000. Please let me know your purchasing decision and it would be great if you guide me through.

Thanks
Regards
Aakarsh

[abhibh]

Originally Posted by mukul32

I agree to the performance bit, but a MI device is far from the best in terms of longevity. The N3 comes with an already outdated Android version, which may never get updated too. Xiaomi like to only update their MIUI and not the Android version, especially on non-flagship devices. In that, these updates are usually painfully slow. In fact, I look at it this way- the surprisingly low cost actually encourages to save up at purchase and upgrade sooner rather than use the device for long.

They actually don't have to update. Because unlike other companies which take stock android and add their skin to it Xiaomi actually takes the Android Code and modifies it. If they need to add any new feature or fix secutiry issues they just need to push a small update, unlike others where usually whole OS needs to be pushed out.Plus how does it matter if it is running on Kitkat or Android M/N. MIUI almost has all the features of M/N.

I don't own a Xiaomi but I am highly impressed with their MIUI. Its functional and just works. Rather i would rate Xiaomi better than OnePlus and other Chinese brands.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

I cant wait to buy RN3 and throw away my S3.

I am a recent Mi convert and agree totally. But do give Mi5 (which incidentally is on marshmallow) a dekko before finalising the RN3 (which I have got for my son incidentally). I also firmly believe that with the hardware getting obsolete in a matter of months now rather than years, it just doesn't make sense to invest big money in it. Mi perhaps has found just the right balance of tech and moolah.

And I rate RN3 much above the OnePlus X because I have bought and used both.

Cheers...

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Completely disagree.

I personally think the latest and greatest Android OS is irrelevant today. What matters is responsiveness and day to day lag-free nature.

Almost 20 of my extended family have different Mi devices. Unlike even the OPO (which started hanging of late), none has upgraded due to crappy performance.

On the other hand my S3 lags terribly even with CM10.3 (Android 4.3). I cant wait to buy RN3 and throw away my S3.

MIUI is not the motorola-like approach but it has quite some satisfied users. I want simple reliability and usability, not numerically latest OS.

Absolutely true. I dont find any difference in the android version. MIUI makes up for it. I use the latest MIUI 7 in my Redmi Note and it's super easy and responsive. I do have couple of apps and it tends to perform without any problem.

Coming to the build quality, I was skeptical initially since I downgraded from a Samsung Note to Redmi Note but I made the right move. Samsung note screen broke during it's first fall, but redmi is holding up pretty well after couple of falls. In fact, I threw my phone on to the wall last week during a "friendly" fight at home and surprisingly, it held together with just a scratch on the screen guard.

So Redmi Note 3 is the one to go right now and I have been waiting for it for a month now. And now that MI5 is coming out, I have my eyes on that as well. Do check that as well.

[mukul32]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Completely disagree.

I personally think the latest and greatest Android OS is irrelevant today. What matters is responsiveness and day to day lag-free nature.

Almost 20 of my extended family have different Mi devices. Unlike even the OPO (which started hanging of late), none has upgraded due to crappy performance.

On the other hand my S3 lags terribly even with CM10.3 (Android 4.3). I cant wait to buy RN3 and throw away my S3.

MIUI is not the motorola-like approach but it has quite some satisfied users. I want simple reliability and usability, not numerically latest OS.

To each his own. Cutting edge software might not be an absolute necessity today, but only for a basic usage pattern. A power user would tend to find an outdated OS seriously inadequate.
Still, a new Android version does manage to bring a lot of improvements well worth upgrading to. Android N is bringing universal split screen multitasking for example. And Marshmallow brought doze, app permissions and now on tap. Earlier, Jellybean brought in Google Now.
Now one may argue that they find their battery life adequate and don't need doze, or is okay with giving all permissions to their apps or that they don't use Google now at all. But then it is highly likely to be a light user with such a usage pattern.
Today AOSP itself has enough features not to need any custom skin on top at all. And stock Android as an ecosystem is a beautifully intuituve and more importantly cohesive exprience throughout. And due to material design, it has become only better and even more so with third party apps.
On the other hand, the custom skins lack consistency in their own design and feel like a mishmash of sorts. Besides, most popular third party apps have material design now, and these iOS inspired Chinese skins don't gel with material at all. Now if you use your phone just for calling, emails, camera and IM's you may not even notice it, or choose to ignore it despite noticing it. But with a power user usage, it is more than evident more and more you use the phone. I was myself a big Touchwiz fan and AOSP hater in the ICS-Jellybean days, but since Kitkat, AOSP has become so good I rooted my tablet to go AOSP.
Also, custom skins slow down updates, hence getting security updates is a pain. Nexus devices get security updates straight from Google every month. Some like Samsung and HTC have also adopted these monthly updates, but due to OEM's and carriers (abroad), I won't be surprised if a February security patch doesn't make it to half the phones through March.

Also, I agree custom skins have a lot of features stock Android may not have at that point, but it is equally true that most of these features are half-baked and mostly come across as gimmicks. When Google implement them in AOSP, the implementation is far sleeker and far more widespread. Samsung and LG had multi-window for a long time, but those had weird multi-window interfaces, and supported very very few apps. Now that Google has baked it into AOSP, it is executed fantastically, and almost all apps will support it. Similarly, we have had umpteen 'battery saving modes', 'stamina modes', etc. in custom skins for a long time. None have worked as good as doze.
As for MIUI specifically, yes they have the features that stock Android does, but these features are there because they are in iOS as well, and thus you'll have to thank Apple for them. They won't be expected to take the effort of bringing a feature present in AOSP but absent in iOS promptly to MIUI.

As for the Redmi Note 3, I totally agree it is by far the best phone in its price range. No doubt about that. But it's not for everyone. Not for me, for example, despite MIUI being ages and ages better since the Mi3 days. And the interesting part will be to see how reliability, service, availability and quality control hold up.

[S_U_N]

For me the latest security updates are very important. So, I go with a phone which has active developer support. That way, when the vendor gives up on us, the good fellows from CM are still there to keep us secure.

Sorry that is a completely different take on what to look for buying a phone.

I am using my 2 year old Droid Maxx on Cm 6.0.1 with the March security update from Google.

[Klub Class]

Mi5 32 GB model launched at Rs 24999