Infinix Note 3

Just like fried chicken outlets, almost every other week we have a new smartphone name popping up on in Bangladesh. Do all fried chicken taste like chicken? Do all smartphones come up to be smart? We'll try to answer at least one of those questions fully.

Infinix is a new company started a few years ago. Based in Hong Kong, they do their R&D in France and Korea with manufacturing sent to China. No surprise in the last bit because everything other than Kanye West is made in China. No one wants that.

First impressions

The Infinix Note 3 is a 6-inch phablet. The packaging is kept minimal with solid colors as is the norm now for any device wanting to appear premium. The usual headphones, charger and data cable come in bright white. It's nice of them to include a hard, thin screen protector.

Design follows contemporary cues with rounded corners and smooth chamfered edges. It's the same way fried chicken outlets don't mess with the traditional recipe: stay safe with what works. The metal back on our device is a rosy gray with painted plastic bits top and bottom. A narrow copper chromed edge surrounds the face. The device is hefty at about 200gms. The buttons are all on the right and a fingerprint scanner at the back. The slippery metal allows it to pass the pocket test but barely. Expect an awkward bulge for tight pants.  

Display and hardware

The IPS 1080p 6-inch display is sharp and bright at 368ppi. The power is provided by 1.3 GHz octa-core CPU of the MediaTek Helio X10 MT6753 chipset. In this day of nearly double digit phablet RAM, this device manages to go by with 2GB of RAM. The GPU is an ARM Mali-T720. Geekbench scores show 601 for single core performance and 2581 for multi-core performance. Best scoring samrpthones list on Geekbench can be found here. Scores on AnTuTu were 37997 with more smartphones for comparison here.

The fingerprint scanner is accurate and fast. Device runs smooth, performs well and runs our games like Real Racing 3 without hiccups. Which is at odds with the occasional laggy feel of the simple tasks like switching apps and swiping across the interface.

OS

The device comes with its own customised user interface known as the XOS Chameleon based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The UI has a few custom features especially for security such as Xhide and Freezer which help hide your info. Xmanager provides locking option of different apps. We like that they have not loaded it up with bloatware apps no one wants.

Camera

The main camera is a 13MP with phase detection autofocus, face and smile detection and a dual LED flash. Autofocus locks on within a couple seconds. Pictures come out bright with neutral colors. It's a good thing as it looks more natural. Detail is decent but there is a bit of over-sharpening for objects farther in the distance. If you zoom in and look closely, there are jagged edges especially on text. A bit like the skin on fried chicken. But for the most purposes, it provides pictures with plenty of clarity. It looks good as long as objects are well lit or still.

Secondary front camera is 5MP with a cool feature known as soft flash that lights up your face in low light situations without causing a glare typical of LED flashes. I'm quite surprised how well this basic unit captures plenty of resolved detail. Selfie experts will appreciate this and the fact they can use the fingerprint scanner or gestures to record their smiles. You also get 1080p video at 30fps.

Connectivity and battery

Couple of things amiss is 4G capability and NFC. One we don't get yet so no need to bother. But no NFC? C'mon. NFC makes things like file sharing so much easier. Aside from that, you get Bluetooth 4.1 and GLONASS for better location services.

Does it all last though? We've managed to go through a whole day thanks to the large 4500mAh Li-Po battery, a range typical of phablets of this spec.

Verdict:

To answer our initial question. No, all fried chicken do not taste the same. Some don't even taste like chicken. And is the Infinix a smart contender?

It is a design you have seen before and solidly built. You look at it and it feels familiar like a fried chicken you've eaten before. The big phone doesn't feel too big to handle for most people. We haven't dropped it while riding a jittery rickshaw through Indira Road.

It will do all you need and play just about any game you want. But the occasional laggy interface can be a minor annoyance. It is balanced out by good selfies and a host of buil-in security features to hide the awkward selfies. So far it ticks all the right boxes for a price that is easy on the wallet.

SPECS

Display: 6.0 inches, Full HD IPS Capacitive Touchscreen

CPU: Octa Core 1.3GHz, 64bit Processor

OS: Android Marshmallow v6.0

ROM: 16 GB

RAM: 2 GB

Camera: Front:     5 MP + Rear: 13 MP

Battery: 4500 mAh

Features: Aerospace cooling technology, Gyroscope, Fingerprint 2.0

Price: Tk. 16,990/-

Review & Photos By Ehsanur Raza Ronny