GADGET GIZMO REVIEW THE NEW SUB Rs10,000 FLAGSHIP XIOMI REDME NOTE 3

GADGET GIZMO REVIEW THE NEW SUB Rs10,000 FLAGSHIP

XIOMI REDME NOTE 3

There was something missing in the Xiaomi smartphone stables. There was time enough for Lenovo to come in with the K4 Note and time enough for LeEco to come in with the Le 1s -both of them received a thunder ous response from the Indian market They get sold out rather fast, which leads to the logical conclusion tha there's a formula to this success: met al body, great screen & design, per formance on tap and flagship-leve features at around `10 to 12k.

Traditionally, the Redmi series has been the lower end of the spectrum while the `Mi' series (Mi3, Mi4, Mi4i are the premium products. That line is now being blurred -no, obliterat ed -by the Redmi Note 3. This is a premium device in every sense of the word, except price. And when i comes to some features, it has some that many flagships don't have (infra red emitter, call recording, many unique software features) and it can handily beat many flagships when i comes to battery life too.

This is a very well thought out de vice, inside and out. We know this because we had a chance to sit down with the company's VP Hugo Barra and completely tear down the device -down to its most basic components Needless to say , this was a non revers ible process. We don't normally get to do this with our review devices and i really gives you perspective on how much thought goes into the tinies details. Things like the 1mm nub tha lifts the speaker off flat surfaces so that it's better audible. A shrunken main board and hollowed out section to make room for the largest and highest density battery possible (without increasing overall size weight). Removable glue strips on the battery to make replacements easier We could go on, but you get the general idea.

Importantly , this is the first device (in the world) with the Snapdragon 650 processor. This is a hexa core SoC that promises boat-loads of performance.We got an AnTuTu score of 74148 on the 3GB RAM version (`11,999) we tested -this is in the same league as the Snapdragon 810, which still powers many flagships (like the Moto X Force, review on this page).You will not be able to faze this device with any kind of game, photovideo editing or multimedia. With the added advantage that it doesn't get too hot to handle! The phone itself is smart looking although it has a fairly generic design when viewed from the front. The edges are curved and coupled with the compact dimensions, it makes for a phone that is easy to hold.It also feels nice to hold and very premium, thanks to the sand-blasted aluminium. The camera experience is great because the app starts up fast, it focuses fast (thanks to phase detection AF) and there's minimal shutter lag. Quality is at par for the price; definitely a lot better than the Le 1s.Oh, and it records UHD 4K video too, although with a third-party app.

Battery life is where it really shines.Power users will be able to get from 8am to 10pm with battery to spare.Others can get up to two full days, with a screen on time of 6+ hours. As for networks, it supports all LTE bands and is VoLTE capable too.

The Redmi Note 3 deserves your attention (and patronage). Not because of any extravagant features or design, but because it has grace. And a laser focus on providing the best possible experience you can get for the price.

Hitesh.Bhagat@timesgroup.com

ET9MAR16