Just when we were expecting Motorola to wipe off most of it’s competitors in India, Xiaomi’s debut in India with the Mi3 smartphone has made the competition more intense. Until now Motorola was the only smartphone manufacturer in India which was known for providing decent hardware with affordable pricing for its smartphones and even prompt android updates. But with Xiaomi’s Mi3 smartphone, it seems the tables have been turned and Motorola needs to think twice about the Moto G and Moto X’s pricing.
The Good
The Xiaomi Mi3 is powered by Quad Core Snapdragon 800 processor which is clocked at 2.4 GHz and comes paired with 2GB of RAM for smooth performance. The smartphone has a 5 inch full HD IPS LCD display which has resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and a pixel density of 441 ppi.
For shutterbugs, the Xiaomi Mi3 comes with a rear facing 13MP camera and features a f/2.2 aperture with auto-focus and dual led flash. On the front there is a 2MP camera for video calling and other features. The smartphone will be available in two variants of 16GB and 64GB.
As for the OS, the Xiaomi Mi3 runs a modified version android 4.3 which is dubbed as MIUI version 5. To power all these impressive hardware, the Xiaomi Mi3 has a hefty 3050 mAh Li-ion battery that promises to provide a talk-time of 21 hours and more depending on the usage pattern of the user. To end it all, the smartphone is priced at a pocket friendly at Rs.14,999 for the 16GB version and and thus it hits the sweet spot.
The Bad
There is nothing in this world that is perfect. like most android smartphones that come with impressive hardware specs, there are definitely a few minus points about them. Similarly in case of the Xiaomi Mi3, the hardware definitely impresses us, but it lacks two very important features from my point of view and as well as from the general consumers view.
The Xiaomi Mi3 lacks a provision for expandable storage and the battery is not user removable. Apart from this, its seems kind of odd that Xiaomi didn’t plan a 32GB version of the Mi3. Even with all these minus points the Xiaomi Mi3 still poses as a strong threat for Motorola, which until now has been referred as an example of quality and affordability for budget smartphones.
With all the great hardware that the Xiaomi Mi3 comes with and its sweet pricing of Rs. 14,999, Xiaomi is now setting up a new trend in India. A few years back, people usually took granted that Chinese branded smartphones are of low build quality and often use cheap hardware, but with Xiaomi’s entry into the Indian smartphone market, this is definitely going to change. Now all we are expecting is a couple of reviews about the Xiaomi Mi3 and the important part being how good will be the after sales service quality of Xiaomi and also the smartphone’s availability across India.
The Xiaomi Mi3 will start retailing in India from July 15th onward and will be available exclusively via Flipkart.
