New Delhi: After having sold multiple lakh units of its Mi 3 and Redmi 1S phones, Xiaomi is cementing its appeal with a claimed 50,000 units of the brand new Redmi Note. The new phablet from the company is set to compete with Samsung’s Note and other big phones.
While the Redmi 1S targets the entry-level segment, the Redmi Note is suited for people who want a big screen phone along with relatively superior hardware and the same MIUI software experience offered by Xiaomi’s other devices.
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Display
A big 5.5-inch IPS display adorns the phone but we are not sure if we should call it as big because the new Nexus 6 has pushed boundaries further by making 6-inch smartphones. It’s not even in the phablet category now. However, the resolution is just 1280 x 720 pixels which is good enough in most cases and runs all apps, games in a neat manner. You may not notice the resolution difference unless in HD movies or get too close to examine those colourful games. The brightness levels are fantastic and it doesn’t disappoint.
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Look & Feel
The Redmi Note definitely has a family resemblance to the Xiaomi Redmi 1S except that the rear cover is a glossy white. The front face is quite plain, with black glass surrounded by a slightly raised black plastic edging. The three capacitive buttons below the screen light up in red.
The power and volume buttons are on the right, the Micro-USB port is on the bottom and the headset socket is on top. There’s a camera lens and flash on the upper rear, with a silvery MI logo and the speaker grille closer to the bottom.
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Software
Xiaomi Redmi Note runs MIUI, a heavily customised version of Android. You would be familiar with the MIUI ROM if you’re an Android enthusiast and like flashing different ROMs on your device. The ROM is available for a large number of Android phones and tablets. While the MIUI software is based on Android, the interface looks totally different. For some reason the 3G version of Redmi Note is still on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, which is a pity.
However, Xiaomi has promised that it will update the software to Android 4.4 KitKat in Q1 2015.
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Performance
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3G is powered by a 1.7GHz MediaTek MT6589T octa-core processor, and has 2GB RAM. It comes with 8GB internal storage out of which 6.3GB is available to the user. It also features a microSD card slot that supports storage cards of up to 32GB. There’s a gyroscope and a digital compass in addition to the accelerometer, ambient light sensor and proximity sensor.
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Camera
The rear camera takes 13-megapixel photos while buyers will be pleased to note that the front camera also has pretty decent 5-megapixel sensor. The front camera is amazing when it comes to crisp video calling and taking some solo or group selfies. The rear camera as with most other phablets produces great pictures in bright conditions and with support from the sunlight but midnight shots have plenty of noise associated with it.
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Battery
Redmi Note packs a 3100mAh battery (removable) and will last you a more than a full working day (17-18 hours) if you put the screen brightness at the highest level and use 3G data all the time. You’ll be able to make about 1-2 hours of phone calls, play some casual games and browse the web in this time period.
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Connectivity
Connectivity features of the device include 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. It also supports USB On-the-Go, so you can use an adapter (or a micro-USB equipped drive) to connect USB storage devices.
Redmi Note offers good call quality and signal reception and we did not encounter issues while making calls even in areas where cell signal is relatively weaker. The phone was able to lock to GPS without any hiccups.
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Verdict
The Xiaomi Redmi Note is the best phablet that you could get at Rs 8,999 with great performance and battery life. The camera resolution is also higher and the processor, more powerful. However, in terms of performance, the device slightly lags behind (quite literally) its budget sibling and other rivals.