When Xiaomi entered India in July, few could have anticipated the kind of impact it would have on the smartphone market. The Mi 3 with its great specifications at such a low price was practically lapped up by buyers, which was followed up by the Redmi 1S. Now, after two successful launches this year, the Chinese company has launched the Redmi Note, with an ultra-affordable price tag of Rs 8,999. There is also a 4G variant, which is priced at Rs 9,999, and will be launched sometime later this month. The 3G variant, keeping the tradition alive, is slated to go on sale tomorrow on Flipkart. We have spent some time with the smartphone and here’s our take on what it feels like to use a Redmi Note.
The device is a beast weighing 199 grams (feels heavy in the hands and in the pocket) but fits well in the palms because of the tapered edges. Due to the plastic encasing, it is prone to fingerprint smudges, though it is less seen on the white back cover. The Gorilla Glass 3 protecting the display means you can safely keep the device along with keys or loose change. I tried scratching the device with my nails and my keys, but no harm was done. .
One of the biggest drawbacks I noticed is that you just cannot operate the Redmi Note with one hand. The bezels are thick, which make the device unnecessarily larger than it should have been. The circumference area to work around the device is too large for one hand use, so you have to have both your hands free to text or browse through the phone.
The 5.5-inch 720p display is bright and vibrant. The colors are crisp, but under sunlight, visibility is slightly affected due to the reflective screen.
After testing the camera in all lights and conditions, the end result was satisfactory at this price point. The 13-megapixel camera did not give the best results in low-light conditions, but normal snapping results into decent images. The images are sharp, colorful and landscape images provide adequate depth of field. I did notice that moving pictures weren’t that great. The front snapper houses a 5-megapixel for the selfie addicts, but there is no wide-angle lens, so your circumference is limited.
The Redmi Note 3G variant runs on Android Jelly Bean (the 4G variant runs on Android KitKat), and Xiaomi tries to cover that with a custom MIUI interface. The interface is extremely simple, leaving little to your imagination. As with most of the Chinese ROMs these days, there is no app drawer, and so all your apps are on the home screen a la iOS. You can shift apps between screens by long-pressing on an app, and using your other hand to switch screens.
The device is powered by a 1.7GHz MediaTek MT6592 octa-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. There were no obvious lags while using the device. It ran pretty smoothly and did not crash in my time with the device. I tried heavy games including Gameloft’s Asphalt 8: Airborne, and it ran seamlessly without heating up. Multiple browsing worked without any hurdles or heating, and unlike the Redmi 1S, my alarm app worked just fine.
While on calls, the voice on the other end was clear, crisp and audible, though I found noise cancellation to be sub-par. On multiple occasions (train and movie theatre), the background noise overpowered, making it difficult for the person on the other end to hear my voice properly.
Talking about the battery, the Redmi Note houses a 3,100mAh removable battery. Under heavy usage (gaming, music, videos and social networking), the device lasted me a good 16 hours before I put the device on charging. There are also power settings to save your battery and use it optimally. In normal usage, the device easily lasts a day, or a day and a half, before the need to charge arises.
It is important to mention that there are no headphones in the box, and you only get a USB charger along with the 3G device. Also, this is a dual-SIM handset with two normal SIM slots (SIM slot 1 supports 3G and SIM slot 2 supports 2G).
The Redmi Note with its impressive specs and price tag is a steal. However, getting hold of the device from Flipkart, requires tatkal booking-like proficiency and oodles of good luck.
Also, it is important to say that if you aren’t an aggressive dual-SIM user, the 4G variant which is especially made for the Indian bandwidth, is a better buy. The 4G variant as mentioned above, is going to be available mid-December and will be sold at Airtel’s brick-and-mortar stores. However, you still have to register on the Airtel website to buy the device. The 4G variant runs on Android KitKat, unlike the 3G variant which runs on Jelly Bean, and the company has not even announced whether it will get a KitKat update or not.
At this price point and hardware offering, there is literally no one in the Indian market to match what Xiaomi’s latest phablet has to offer. Smartphones like the Asus Zenfone 5 and Moto G (first-gen) which are available at the same price, fall way short on specifications, when compared to the Redmi Note. If you focus on the specifications, smartphones like Huawei Honor 6 and Alacatel OneTouch Idol X+ have similar specs, but are overpriced when compared to Xiaomi’s offering.
Keeping with Xiaomi’s trademark, the Redmi Note offers great value for money. However, you will have to live with Android Jelly Bean and a bulky form-factor.