Any mobile under the sun: Helio X10

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Two weeks with Redmi Note 3

Above pictures taken using with my Redmi Note 3

Above pictures were taken with my iPhone 6s +

It has been almost a month since the launched of Redmi Note3. Since its inception, it was not flawless as I would think, plaque with a locked bootloader which is a new game for Xiaomi and actually the very first time it was implemented, definitely making a limitation to custom ROMs, eg like issues of jailbreak for the iOS 9.2 for iPhone.

Preloaded software that came with it

LoL... It says MIUI 7.1 Stable 7.1.1.1 (LHNCNCJ) something that is non-existent...

Upon the selling spree, I got hold of Redmi Note 3, with a 3GB Ram 32GB Flash memory variant, and had a few hiccups here and there until a point of no return, had a problem with the password, like falling from the pan to the fire, so to speak. Moral of the story is always to do a backup before you endeavor to a hazardous zone. A lesson well learned. Threw the set back to where it came from.

Reconcile instead with a Redmi Note 3, with 2GB Ram 16GBFlash, definitely felt the slower pace of synergy.

Redmi Note 3 like its predecessor is powered by a 64-bit Octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 processor coupled with 2GB or 3GB of RAM and comes in 16GB and 32GB storage variants. The aluminum unibody design, coupled with a fingerprint sensor and a 4000 mAh battery makes it distinctive as compared to any model released before this. And interestingly, to note that Redmi Note 3 has a dimension 150.00 x 76.00 x 8.65 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 164 grams which is 4 grams heavier than Redmi Note 2/Prime.

As for the shooter, it sports an identical 13 megapixel primary camera with phase detection auto focus and face detection, and a 5 megapixel selfie camera to that of Redmi Note 2/Prime.

Some Redmi Note 3 shots, outdoor & indoor...

The specification as such:-

GENERAL
Dimensions (mm) 150.00 x 76.00 x 8.65
Weight (g) 164
Battery capacity (mAh) 4000
Removable battery No
Colours Gold, Silver & Dark Grey

DISPLAY
Screen size (inches) 5.5"
Touchscreen Yes
Resolution 1080x1920 pixels
Pixels per inch (PPI) 403

HARDWARE
Processor Helio X10 MediaTek
RAM 2GB / 3GB
Internal storage 16GB / 32GB

CAMERA
Rear camera 13-megapixel
Flash True-tone flash
Front camera 5-megapixel

SOFTWARE
Operating System Android 5.02
User Interface MIUI 7

SIM 1
SIM Type Micro-SIM
GSM / CDMA GSM
3G Yes
4G / LTE Yes

SIM 2
SIM Type Micro-SIM
GSM / CDMA GSM
3G Yes
4G / LTE Yes

Benchmark results, WiFi & Data speed, all working at the max...

THOUGHTS:-

I was very pleased to get hold of the Redmi Note 3 despite of all the chaos of the locked bootloader. It is a well worth the buy for a flagship processor experience. With the new full metal design, surely add a value to the customer small investment and a bigger and more juice means a lot. As for the memory expansion capability it would be a sacrifice for the overall performance. Inspite of that, I would wish that Xiaomi would consider increasing the storage capacity and probably have a variant of system on chip tweak for Redmi Note 3 Prime which does makes a different.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Redmi Note 2 Prime Reloaded

It has been a week, fiddling with my new Redmi Note 2 Prime with MIUI 66.77.33.00 (LHMCNCH) Stable ROM. Adding another sibling of Redmi Note 2 to my collection of Mi smartphone. I had gotten it from a third party online store, having said that, as usual it came pre-loaded with all the bloatware, adware and malware. This time round I had actually made a folder of the installers and latest ROM to flash it with. Installed V7.0.8.0.LHMCNCI (MIUI7) came out with an error signature failed, which was not fixed yet, hence had to flash V7.0.6.0.LHMCNCI then update to V7.0.8.0.LHMCNCI. Prior to this I had a lot of fun making my Redmi Note 2 as the guinea pig to try out and experiment, not to the extend of a bootloop or bricking the phone for the sack of getting a greater user experience out of it. Anyway, even at the critical state or stage of bricking your phone or simply a bootloop, it can be rectified, as long all the pre-emptive measures were taken in the initial stage before embarking into the fantasies of flashing and all sort.

Just to recap, Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Prime smartphone was launched in August 2015. The phone comes with a 5.50-inch touchsceen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 1920 pixels. Redmi Note 2 Prime is powered by 2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio X10 (MTK6795T) processor and it comes with 2GB of RAM. The phone packs 32GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 Prime packs a 13-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 5-megapixel front shooter for selfies.

THOUGHTS:

Both the Redmi Note 2 and Prime are really good or as close a flagship smartphone in the market. Price wise between the two siblings is just a differences of USD16 and Prime sports a slightly higher-clocked Helio X10 SoC (2.2GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 + 2.2GHz quad-core Cortex-A53) and a storage of 32GB. As far as I concern, there not so much of a big different in term of speed, just that the Prime feels smoother without much lags undertaking any given task has ample space for the apps and media. Anyway, I still rely a lot on my iPhone 6s Plus 128GB for food porn and photo taking which I find more realistic in color, details and low-light picture. Shooter on both the Redmi Note 2 and Prime is great with enough lighting and camera software has more to be improved.

Shortfall of the camera, after having taken so many picture, it is very obvious that most of the shots wereover-exposed, eventhough adjustment were made to compensate the exposure. Andanother plaquing and mind-boggling experience was the red color distortion andglitch, which is very obvious in more of the shots.