In the world of Android smartphones, the focus has shifted to cost-to-quality ratio. While there used to be a clear distinction between high-end, mid-range and entry-level devices in terms of specs, features and especially price, those lines are now blurring thanks to the plethora of affordable phones available in 2015. Many of them can be found in China and India, where they are produced by various local manufacturers, and one such smartphone is a mid-range offering from Lenovo. The phone's specs look impressive on paper, but how do they translate in everyday use? This review is devoted to answering this question.
Design
The manufacturer offers 2 color options:
- bright yellow, even, one might say, lemon;
- white with bronze coating.
What immediately catches your eye is the bright, youthful design. From the very first minutes it becomes clear who the main audience of Lenovo K3 Note is.
Let's go over the main elements of the phone. At the top end there is a 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones and a micro USB in the center, which is not the best solution.
On the right side everything is standard:
- Double volume rocker, which you can double-click to take pictures without unlocking the gadget.
- Power on/off button.
Externally, the buttons look like metal, but they naturally feel like painted plastic.
There is a microphone at the bottom end. The manufacturer left the left side empty.
On the front part above the screen you can find the front camera and proximity/zoom sensors, and below it is the earpiece. It can be noted that its quality is quite good, since during a conversation the interlocutor can hear everything perfectly well.
At the bottom there are three standard buttons: menu, home and back. The keys are not backlit, and therefore in the dark they are absolutely indistinguishable.
At the top of the rear panel are located:
- Stereo microphone. From this we can conclude that the camera records video with stereo sound. It also performs a noise reduction function, and does its job quite well.
- The speaker is so quiet that at maximum volume it is difficult to watch a YouTube video even in a quiet room.
- A manufacturer's logo that is not engraved, but drawn, which can ultimately lead to erasure if you wear the gadget without a case.
- The main camera has a 13 megapixel eye with a dual LED flash, which is enough to illuminate a small room at dusk or at night.
The back cover is easy to remove. This solution has a big advantage, which is that if damaged, it can be easily replaced.
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Everything is standard under the hood:
- Seal.
- A removable battery with a stated capacity of 3000 mAh, but in fact it is slightly less.
- Slots for 2 micro SIM cards. The original solution is that the second SIM card works only in 2G format, and the first - in 2G, 3G, 4G, LTE.
- Slot for memory expansion using microSD cards up to 64 GB.
Device price and owner reviews
Sales of this gadget started at $300. Now the cost of this device has decreased significantly and is already $120. The price and parameters of this device simply match each other perfectly. Essentially, there is only one significant drawback in the Lenovo K3. Reviews highlight the presence of two modifications of this device. One of them has the t index and is focused on the domestic Chinese market. This smartphone will work in domestic cellular networks, but its capabilities will be limited to 2G. And there is a second modification of this gadget with the index W. This is the international version of this phone. In addition to 2G, it can also work in third generation cellular networks. Therefore, when purchasing a device, you need to pay attention to this nuance. But this device has much more advantages, and among them users highlight the following:
- Productive hardware platform.
- Large and high-quality touch screen.
- Excellent main camera.
Display
In front we are greeted by a large screen, which has a diagonal of 5.5 inches with Full HD resolution (1920×1080 pixels). Pixel density 401 ppi. IPS matrix using OGS technology. According to the manufacturer, when direct sunlight hits the display, the picture should be clearly visible. Multi Touch 5 touches.
The screen is protected by tempered glass with an oleophobic coating. The colors are calm, unlike Samsung smartphones, which tend to be acidic. The Lenovo k3 Note smartphone has a very good display, which, however, when viewed diagonally, turns purple.
Specifications
The Lenovo K3 note is powered by an 8-core Cortex A-53 64-bit ARM MT6752 processor. The maximum processor clock speed is 1.7 GHz. The Mali-T760 MP2 accelerator helps with video. This video accelerator can be brought closer to the top, since the hardware is quite fast.
The amount of RAM is 2 GB, of which about 1.3 GB is available. Built-in memory is 16 GB, of which about 12 GB is available to the user.
In synthetic tests, this configuration shows the following results:
- In AnTuTu - 43,320 points.
- In Geekbench 811 in Single Core test and in Multi Core 4031.
- In Epic Citadel Ultra High Quality Resolution 100% the device does not lag, the detail is wonderful and the result is 41.5 fps. The maximum thresholds reached 60 fps, the minimum drop to 19 frames per second.
In general, the device copes with games quite well. Even when playing heavy toys for a long time or performing stress tests, the phone becomes slightly warm. Lenovo k3 Note is comfortable to hold in your hand, you don’t even want to put it down to cool, reducing the load.
The hardware runs Android version 5.0. Native Explorer is quite easy to use, fast and informative. It even has cloud storage. Unfortunately, NFC is not supported. I am pleased with the quality of Wi-Fi - it is stable and fast.
SmartMenu is a small translucent button, when clicked, a special menu appears, which displays links to popular and recently launched programs, quick access to music, locking the gadget and its settings.
Cameras
The Lenovo K3 smartphone comes with a 5-megapixel front and 13-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, which allows you to take great pictures, although sometimes you have difficulty focusing. Photos are reasonably sharp and have a good amount of detail, and the flash is very bright. As you'd expect, the camera performs worst in low light conditions, but overall image quality is above average for phones in this price range.
According to user reviews, the main problem when photographing in low light conditions is poor image stabilization. The shutter and software are fast, easy and responsive. The video recording is quite smooth, interpolation is visible only when shooting fast moving objects or suddenly moving the smartphone. The front camera takes decent photographs in a well-lit room and is quite good even in low light. In addition, you can use it to record video, which is also satisfactory. As for the photography app, it offers the usual array of modes, the ability to set specific scenes, and also allows you to control white balance and ISO, which makes it stand out among its competitors.
Autonomy
The battery life of this phone is really good. This model has a battery capacity of 3000 mAh. In AnTuTu the battery scored 5589. A relatively fair result.
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The Lenovo k3 Note settings are very balanced in terms of autonomy. For example, there is an emergency mode that allows you to turn off everything unnecessary when the battery is critically low and leave only the essentials. This includes:
- SMS;
- calls;
- phone book;
- watch.
After a year of use, autonomy decreased slightly. Immediately after purchase, the charge lasted from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. At the same time, I listened to music on the device for several hours, watched videos, and surfed the Internet and social networks. A year later, with the same charge indicators, the charge only lasts until 7 pm.
What comes in the box with the device?
This gadget has a very economical package. It only includes the following:
- The device itself.
- Complete battery.
- Typical interface cord.
- Charging adapter.
- A set of documentation from the user manual and, of course, the warranty card.
This list does not include such important accessories as a protective film for the front panel and a case for Lenovo K3. The body of the device, except for the front panel, is made of plastic, and it is not difficult to damage it. The same applies to the front panel. Another important accessory that you will have to buy additionally is headphones. Without them, the radio will definitely not work, and this will also allow you to listen to music in transport. Also, the smartphone is not equipped with an external storage device. The new owner will also have to buy it separately.
Musical Features
The Lenovo k3 Note smartphone is positioned as a music gadget. What does it have for this?
Inside the player there is:
- Music recognition.
- Online radio.
- Online songs.
- Online charts and so on.
The external speaker is absolutely disgusting, but with headphones things are already much better thanks to the Dolby Atmos enhanced sound mode. To enable its support, you need to activate the menu item in the drop-down curtain or click the “enable” button in the program itself. After this, you will have access to an equalizer with several preset modes: “music”, “movies”, “games” and “voice”. A “manual” tuning mode is also available, which makes it possible to set the parameters of high, mid and low frequencies at your discretion.
Battery
The smartphone comes with a removable battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh, which provides sufficient battery life for the device. Watching videos on YouTube, games and running applications with maximum screen brightness lasts at least 14 hours, of which 4 hours with the screen active. There are several power saving modes that allow you to squeeze even more out of the battery, and, of course, you can always carry a spare with you. However, the battery takes a relatively long time to charge.
Results
Lenovo k3 Note is a very convenient phone for those who are looking for a relatively inexpensive but productive gadget with a good camera and sound.
To summarize, let’s outline the pros and cons of this device.
Minuses
- By design, placing the camera close to the corner leads to frequent flare;
- Short-lived Lenovo lettering on the back.
pros
- sound thanks to Dolby Atmos;
- nice live display;
- bright design;
- balanced;
- good autonomy;
- gestures and tricks.
This smartphone is not bad for the money. As, in our opinion, it is one of the best possible purchases for those who are looking for a good productive smartphone.
