Xiaomi on Monday launched the Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G phablets in India. The Xiaomi Redmi Note
is priced at Rs. 8,999 and will be sold through the company's online
retail partner Flipkart in India. Flash sale registrations will start
from November 25 at 6pm IST, and the first sale will happen on December
2, similar to way the Xiaomi Mi 3 and Redmi 1S have been sold so far.On the other hand, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G will be sold by Filpkart as well as at 100 Airtel
exclusive stores in six cities - Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad,
Kolkata, and Mumbai - but its launch is slated for the second half of
December. Even though it will be available at physical stores, consumers
will need to register on Airtel's website in advance and only those who
win invitations from the company will be able to pick one up in person.
Xiaomi says that the 4G variant is specifically made for India, and it supports FDD LTE band 3 and TDD LTE band 40.
Both
the Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G look the same, and there is no
difference whatsoever from the outside. Upfront, both smartphones
feature 5.5-inch HD (720x1280-pixel) IPS LCD displays with Corning
Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Notably, Xiaomi offers the Redmi Note in
some regions without protective glass.
The
screens appear vibrant and offer good sunlight legibility at full
brightness. The rear panels have a glossy finish, which makes them prone
to fingerprints. The devices feel very slippery, though their rounded
edges still let you get a good grip, and they sit well in your palm.
The
two phablet smartphones - Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G - performed well
in our limited time with the device. We didn't encounter any lags or
crashes during that time. Overall the smartphones appeared very well
optimised with 2GB of RAM on both, though the Redmi Note packs a 1.7 GHz
octa-core MediaTek processor, while the Redmi Note 4G runs on a quad-core 1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU.
The Redmi Note is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device that runs Android
4.2.2 Jelly Bean and the Redmi Note 4G is a single-SIM device with
Android 4.4.2 KitKat. Though Xiaomi has not had time to roll out an
Android 5.0 Lollipop update yet, it has indicated that both devices
might get it soon after the Mi series devices do.
The
Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G both come with 8GB built-in storage and a
microSD card slot for expansion. The Redmi Note supports microSD card up
to 32GB in size, while the Redmi Note 4G supports up to 64GB.
The
volume rocker and the power key are placed on the right edge, while the
3.5mm jack is on the top and the Micro-USB charging point is on the
bottom. The speaker output is loud enough, and it is located at the
bottom-right corner of the back.
Both
smartphones feature 13-megapixel rear autofocus cameras with LED flash,
and 5-megapixel front-facing cameras. We tested the rear camera in
different lighting conditions and the results appeared quite decent,
though sometime we felt the images were slightly oversaturated. The
cameras use Samsung sensors, and overall seem to be at par with several
affordable phones with the same camera specifications, but we will
reserve our final verdict for after the full review.
So
far, the Xiaomi Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G appear to offer great
value for money. In our limited time testing them, both smartphones
performed well. Apart from the old-school design we hardly had anything
to complain about. We are yet to review the devices, so do stay tuned
for more.
