New Delhi, July 31 – Xiaomi Mi 3 is great phone. We said as much in our review. But it is also turning out to be a mirage for consumers. If you go to the Flipkart’s website, which is the sole retailer for the phone in India, you can see it there. But you can’t buy it.
It is out of stock and if the last two instances of its sale are any indication, only a handful of lucky buyers are likely to get Mi 3 next time it goes on sale. These sale sessions for Mi 3 last seconds! It is easier to book a tatkal ticket on the IRCTC website than to get the Mi 3 from Flipkart website.
So, if you can’t buy Mi 3, what are your options?
Let us be clear about this: Mi 3 is a fantastic phone. No other device matches it in the same price range. But if you can’t get it, there are some decent options available to you.
These other phones don’t have the top-of-the-class hardware. But even with mainstream hardware, they provide an experience that is really good. And, frankly, experience is the only thing that matters.
If not Mi 3, here is what you should consider:
Asus Zenfone 5: Launched a few weeks ago, Zenfone 5 is a modestly-priced phone. The 8GB model of Zenfone 5 with 1GB RAM costs Rs.9,999. The 16GB model with 2GB RAM costs Rs.12,999.
The cheaper version of Zenfone 5 is powered by an Intel dual-core processor running at 1.6GHz. The more expensive version uses a processor running at 2GHz. Both models are fantastic buy at their price.
The reason why we say this is because of the experience both provide. The screen, which has a 720P resolution, shows sharp text and colours. The design is slick and speakers make enough sound to fill a small room. Camera is not as good as the one in Mi 3 but it gets the job done. Performance too is good.
There is no lag while opening apps, scrolling through Facebook feed and browsing the web. High-end games like Dead Trigger may not run smoothly on Zenfone 5 all the time, but casual games like Candy Crush and Angry Birds are handled fine.
Motorola Moto E: Why do you need to spend Rs.13,999 on Mi 3 when you can get Moto E for Rs.6,999? No seriously. Moto E is a fantastic phone for its price and if you don’t need a phone on which you are going to play lots and lots of games or don’t mind a barely passable camera, just get Moto E.
It has a nice screen with 540 x 960 pixels resolution and a chubby but comfortable-to-hold design. The device runs Android Kitkat 4.4.2 in almost stock configuration.
This means there is no bloatware on the phone and the performance is mostly good. Scrolling through lists is smooth. And so is web browsing unless you open too many tabs. The phone is powered by a dual-core processor running at 1.2GHz and 1GB RAM. Compared to Mi 3, Moto E looks significantly underpowered.
But if you are only after a reliable little phone through that allows you to make calls, access Facebook and Whatsapp, lets you play games like Angry Birds and click you a photo or two from time to time, Moto E is an inexpensive but good option.
Motorola Moto G: The bigger sibling of Moto E is everything that is Moto E, but with an extra layer of goodness added to it. The screen is nice and vibrant. But it is slightly bigger at 4.5 inches and packs in 720P resolution. Moto G also has little bit more horsepower under the hood.
It runs on a quad-core processor humming at 1.2GHz and 1GB RAM. The performance is good and unless you are a demanding gamer, you will not likely run into lags. Compared to Mi 3, you get comparable performance with Moto G in day-to-day use.
In gaming, Mi 3 is going to be much better. Mi 3 also has significantly better camera performance. But Moto G is going to be better in terms of software updates because it will likely get Android L as soon as Google comes out with the final version of the OS.
Gionee Elife E7: In terms of hardware, Gionee Elife 7 is almost similar to Mi 3. The Gionee phone is powered by Snapdragon 800 processor. The 16GB model, which costs around Rs.24,000 has, 2GB RAM. The 32GB model, which costs aroundRs.27,000, has 3GB RAM. The 16-megapixel camera is absolutely fantastic.
Yes, it is better than the camera in Mi 3. The screen, which has 1080P resolution, shows bright colours and sharp text. Overall, it terms of hardware there is nothing really wrong with Elife E7.
On the software side, things are not so rosy. The phone runs on Android 4.2 but an upgrade to Android 4.4 is available if you can visit a Gionee service centre with the device.
Gionee also uses a custom user interface (UI) on its phones, which is not as good as the custom UI on Mi 3, or for that matter, the custom UI used by HTC on its phones. Overall, we feel Elife E7 is a good and capable phone. It can run high-end games with ease and can click some nice photos.
Motorola Moto X: Yes, another Motorola phone in the list. But these are good phones so they deserve to be here. Just like Moto G and Moto E, Moto X is a phone with no gimmicks but solid performance.
In terms of hardware, Moto X ticks all the right boxes as far as a mainstream phone is concerned. It is powered by a speedy dual-core processor running at 1.7GHz and 2GB RAM. The camera can click 10MP photos and the 4.7-inch screen can show them in 720P resolution.
But just like other two Motorola phones, more than the hardware it is the whole experience that matters here. The performance of Moto X is really good and all components – calls, speaker, GPS etc — work well. On the whole, Mi 3 is a better value for money compared to Moto X.
But just in case, you can’t get that Chinese phone and are willing to spend over Rs.20,000 on your phone, you can go for Moto X. It is a safe buy and a reliable phone.
-INDIA TODAY
