With an impressive resume, the Meizu m1 Note phablet will attract users who would like to lay their hands on a big screen device which is well built, cost effective, and not a slouch in performance either, says Himanshu Juneja.
The Meizu phone looks set to give Xiaomi's Redmi 2 and the recently launched Nubia Z9 decent competition.
Let's take a stock of the handset which boasts of its particularly impressive display and camera for its class, and looks strikingly similar to Apple's iPhone 5c.
Here are ten sriking features of this Apple wannabe!
1. The phablet measures 150.7 x 75.2 x 8.9 mm in dimensions, and weighs 145 grams. This phone is a sleek device, boasting a magnesium-alloy chassis. As a result, it comes across as a solidly built unit. Its unibody construction with smooth corners adds to its robust profile.
2. The Meizu m1 Note is a dual SIM mobile phone, giving the user the option to avail services like 4G FDD-LTE, 3G WCDMA, and GSM.
The other connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, GPS and AGPS.
3. Coming to one of the highlights, the phone features a 5.5-inch IGZO display, carrying a resolution of 1080 x 1920p and pixel density of 403 ppi.
The IGZO display is special because it packs in more details in the space and consumes less power as well. This is thanks to the Indium gallium zinc oxide semiconductor deployed.
The display is bright, colours are vibrant, assisted with good contrast and impressive viewing angles as well.
The downside is the bit of ghosting which is observed with fast moving animations, be it with normal UI elements, or while playing games. This can be annoying for some, but is not a huge problem. The display has been provided with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for added protection.
4. Regarding the phone's designing, right side of the device carries the dual SIM tray. On the top of the phone one finds the 3.5 mm headset jack and power button.
The left side of the phone houses the volume buttons. On the bottom of the phone, one finds the micro USB port and a small speaker as well.
While the speaker is indeed well placed, the power button could definitely have been shifted to one of the side edges of the phone.
One look at the phone, and it is clear that the phone has 'borrowed' heavily from Apple's iPhone 5c. Any doubts were quelled by the presence of single round button found at the front for operating the device.
5. The Meizu m1 Note is powered by a 1.7G Hz octa core (Cortex A53) MediaTek MT6752 chipset, and the graphics are rendered by Mali T760 MP2 GPU.
Even though the trend has been catching on with phones of this segment, to find 2 GB of RAM on board was a pleasant surprise.
6. The phone runs smartphone runs Flyme OS, a skin based on the Android 4.4 KitKat. Not getting the Android Lollipop based OS running right out of the box will rankle some.
The Flyme OS in itself is aesthetically pleasing, and is loaded with functions which a user will find interesting. The icons look well made, and have a touch of 'inspiration' from Apple as well as Google.
The app drawer is missing, giving it a very much Chinese stamp. The phone supports a number of gestures to launch the apps right from the lock screen itself.
The settings and tweaking options seems to be all over the place in the setting menu, and hence the user will have to devote some time to get used to this style of Meizu.
For instant access to recent apps is simply with a swipe up from the lower edge of the screen.
Similarly, swiping up on the home button acts as pressing the back button. Swiping in the up direction from the bezel on either side of the home button brings up the multi-tasking menu, while holding down the home turns the screen off and locks the device.
The default keyboard has awkward elements like permanent capital alphabets and the need to minimise the keyboard to move the cursor about. Few of these blemishes should be gone with the next update.
Speaking of update, the Lollipop based OS update should be around the corner, but the company has not gone official about it.
7. The m1 Note is definitely no slouch with its performance. The apps launch and close without any hiccups. The animations, and the transition effect carry out smoothly enough. The HD videos and games play out without any stutter or lag. The thing about the display is that while it delivers crisp images and combines nicely with the hardware of the phone, there is the ghosting issue which one will notice while being observant.
On the whole, the phone leaves little to complain about in this department.
8. The camera on the m1 Note is another area where the phone shines. The phone carries a 13 MP rear camera assisted by a dual LED flash, and a 5 MP front-facing unit as well.
The camera app is well built, and offers rich pool of modes like HDR, Panorama, Beauty, Scan, Slow motion, Light field, apart from Auto and Manual modes, with the last one providing good control over ISO, focus, shutter speed etc.
The shutter speed is good, and one gets the ease of using either of the volume button to capture. The performance is strikingly good in well lit conditions, and even dark surroundings do not dent the camera performance, as the level of grains is kept very low.
The auto focus was quick, but dodgy as well. The videos are just about good quality in comparison, and the front facing camera takes decent selfie shots in well lit conditions only.
Overall, the camera is definitely praiseworthy, especially while considering its price bracket.
9. The phone has been provided a non-removable 3140 mAh battery. A battery of such high capacity is definitely a big plus sign for a phone in the budget segment, but considering the screen size, this was necessary as well.
On a moderate to heavy usage, the users can be rest assured that the phone will be able to pull through the day easily, and still be left with about 20 per cent of charge on the battery.
10. Giving the flash sale model an entire skip, the Meizu phablet will be available to the Indian customers via Amazon.in May 20 onwards.
The phone has been priced competitively at Rs 11,999 and will be available only in the Blue and White colour variants.
Whether Meizu decides to bring other colour option, remains to be seen.
Photographs: Courtesy, MEIZU
