After a long wait and much hype Xiaomi phablet finally gets launched and soon after the launch the phablet went on to make record sales. When it was first launched in Taiwan it sold out 10,000 units in just a matter of a second. With the Xiaomi note hitting the shelves it would be difficult for the rest of the tablet to stay in the race. Xiaomi note has positioned itself well between the premier tablet lineage and the cheaper options. It comes packed with features and stands as an affordable device giving the nigh end edge to its consumers. Owing to its rapidly increasing popularity we thought of taking you through the Xiaomi Redmi Note just before you peak out on your festive shopping list.
The first feel and look of the device looks pretty impressive with a wise mix of the best of the features from the best of the tablets in the market. Let us take a peek at its different attributes to find out what it has in it for you.
Design and display
When it comes to looks the Xiaomi Redmi Note is not a stunner but looks more like a Redmi 1s with more gloss and refinement added to match the best of the tablets in the market.
Though it is not as light as the Samsung (SSNLF, Financial) Note 4 or the Apple (AAPL, Financial) iPhone 6 but someone carrying a phablet of this size would not really mind carrying 199 grams of weight. It comes with a removable cover that can be swapped with other designs, hence allows you to customize your phablet to suit as an accessory for the different shades of your life.
With the Redmi Note, Xiaomi plans to bring large screen experience on a budget for audiences. It houses a large 5.5-inch HD display with 720 x 1280 pixels of resolution, and a pixel density that goes all the way up to 267 ppi. The IPS display comes encased with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The display looks to be pretty impressive for frequent internet users and readers at an affordable sticker price.
Operating system
The Redmi Note is powered by the company’s proprietary MIUI, which is based on Google (GOOG, Financial) Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It comes with drawer less home screens similar to the iOS. It comes with several inbuilt themes and the lite mode which makes the phone operation ultra-simple and makes it easy for people with visual impairments or even for the tech challenged users to handle the phone with the same ease as a tech pro. It is fairly neat, and quite simple to navigate, once you get the hang of it. The company has also released the new MIUI 6 that is based on Android KitKat, but with a stark similarity to iOS7.
The streets are also abuzz with news that Xiaomi might shortly come up with the latest version of MIUI based on the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop for the Note since the whole smartphone world has now shifted gear to the latest android.
Processor
In terms of performance, the Xiaomi Redmi Note should be quite smooth since it runs on the octa-core MTK processor. Xiaomi claims to power the note with true octa-core Mediatek MT6592 processor that uses all eight cores at the same time. The processor clocks a processing speed of 1.6GHz and coupled with 2GB RAM. The RAM looks good enough to handle multiple apps.
Camera
The Xiaomi Redmi Note will be sporting a 13 mega pixel stunner when it comes to clicking pictures with the phablet. A marvel for a phablet at such affordable price packed with a 13 mega pixel camera. It also includes an LED flash and auto focus and the camera supports 1080p recording at 30fps. For all those selfie buffs out there the Redmi Note also comes with a 5 mega pixel front-facing camera. It also comes with camera features like geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection and HDR.
Connectivity
Right now the world is going through a paradigm shift in terms of mobile device connectivity from the popular 3G to the faster and more vibrant 4G network and hence all the recent mobile device rollouts from different companies have stepped into the 4G connectivity future and Xioami is no different. The company has launched two variants of the Redmi Note – dual SIM 3G and 4G. The other connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS and GLONASS.
Storage and sensor
The Redmi Note comes with 8GB onboard storage. It is further expandable up to 32GB through a microSd card slot. One can expect all the usual suspects like accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass to be packed into the new Redmi Note because these sensors are no longer considered as special and is now an integral part of most smartphones as the definition of smartness in smartphone keeps evolving continuously.
Final Verdict
The most crucial factor in deciding for the Redmi Note is the answer to the question: What do I get at what price? – The 3G variant is priced at $199 and 4G at $222. If you look back at the specs, they are quite lucrative for a phablet sporting such an affordable price tag. The large screen display, decent built, octa-core processor with 2GB RAM, expandable memory and a 13 mega pixel camera makes it a steal deal offer. In true sense the Xiaomi Redmi Note is a complete ‘value for money’ device. This new device should see Xiaomi climb new heights in the highly competitive global smartphone arena.
