Lenovo’s new budget device is the K3 Note
2015 has been the year of affordable smartphones. Probably around this time last year, nobody would have thought of having an affordable smartphone that is high on specs and performance. This trend was set on fire by Moto G and Xiaomi’s Redmi 1S. Lenovo has decided to concentrate on this segment more than the high end flagship devices. Much like Microsoft, Lenovo has also introduced more mobiles in the budget segment than in the premium segment. Well, that is what works for both the buyers and the manufactures. The sub 10000 rupees segment is a very competitive market. The margins are low and the volume of sales are high. This is exactly where Lenovo had hit the sweet spot with its A6000 model. It was followed by the much successful A6000 plus and then there was the A7000 which was still under Rs 10000, but had Dolby atmos and a large screen to flaunt.
Now Lenovo has introduced a successor to the A7000 and its called the K3 Note. Ideally A7000 plus would have been a better identifier, because that is exactly what the Lenovo K3 is. The A6000 plus had double memory and RAM compared to the A6000. The K3 note has a bunch of features upgraded from A7000, but among all those features, the HD display stands tall.
At Rs.9999, Lenovo K3 Note becomes the first phone with Full HD screen below 10k!
— Raju (@rajupp) June 25, 2015
That tweet says it all. Apart from the display the internal memory is now 16 GB and the rear camera is 13 MP camera with a dual tone flash. Also there is a marginal upgrade to the battery. The 3000 mAh battery could be the one which has accounted for the 10 gram increase in weight compared to A7000.
| Lenovo K3 Note | Lenovo A7000 | |
| 4G LTE | Yes on SIM 1 | Yes on SIM 1 |
| Dimensions | 152.6 x 76.2 x 8 mm | 152.6 x 76.2 x 8 mm |
| Weight | 150 g | 140 g |
| Display size | 5.5 inches | 5.5 inches |
| Display resolution (Density) | 1080 x 1920 pixels (~401 ppi) | 720 x 1280 pixels (~267 ppi ) |
| Android | Android OS, v5.0 (Lollipop) | Android OS, v5.0 (Lollipop) |
| Chipset | Mediatek MT6752 | Mediatek MT6752m |
| CPU | Octa-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A53 | Octa-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 |
| GPU | Mali-T760MP2 | Mali-T760MP2 |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Internal Memory | 16 GB (Expandable) | 8 GB (Expandable) |
| Rear Camera | 13 MP with Dual Tone LED Flash | 8 MP with dual LED flash |
| Front Camera | 5 MP | 5 MP |
| Battery | Li-Po 3000 mAh battery | Li-Po 2900 mAh battery |
| Price | Rs 9999 | Rs 8999 |
I understand that Lenovo is cutting all corners to get this device at this price. But still, I am a bit bored with their design. Though it is very straight forward and minimalist, it is getting stagnated in the mind. I am not screaming here for metal or glass design. But a little change in the design language will give a fresh outlook for the Lenovo budget devices. I loved the A6000 plus more than the A7000 and you can read my earlier review on it. Now the K3 Note interests me as well. Looking forward to get a review unit and talk about it in detail. Also, Lenovo has not forgotten about the high end market in total. There are quite a few interesting devices lined up and the Vibe shot could be the first one in that line, coming to India.