Coolpad Note 3 Lite First Impression – A Better Value Proposition Than Note 3

The topography of Indian smartphone arena is dramatically changing at a rapid pace more so in the sub-budget catalogue ranging between Rs. 5,000 and 10,000. As more and more Chinese smartphone makers invade into Indian territory the competition will only get tougher and tougher, which is sort of a good news for the customers.

For instance, one year ago, in your wildest of dreams, you wouldn’t have imagined a phone with 3GB RAM, 13MP camera and a fingerprint scanner for a price tag as low as Rs. 6,999. Yes, it is true. Today Coolpad has accomplished this daunting task by introducing CoolPad Note 3 Lite cashing in on the goodwill and wild momentum the Coolpad Note 3 managed to generate.

Key Specifications and Features:

At the Launch event we got the opportunity to spend some time with the Coolpad Note 3 Lite and here’s what we felt.

Smaller But Better:

When Coolpad decided to make the smaller version of the Coolpad 3, they went to drawing board keeping flaws of the earlier phone in their mind. The new design doesn’t digress much from the original, yet rectifies a few flaws.

Even though smartphone makers carried forward their love saga with the white colour, this time they preferred Golden frame over silver which we noticed in the taller dude from Coolpad. To break the monotony on the back-side, they have also used a similar golden color rim around camera and fingerprint sensor.

The back panel which is made from plastic (better quality than what we noticed in Coolpad 3) has some steamy curves which make it more ergonomic. the distinct texture on back panel blends well with the overall look of the phone and lends it a firm grip.

Even though we don’t want to be too harsh with this sub-budget phone, only element we missed in this under 8K smartphone are the backlit keys. That, however, feels like nitpicking in light of what Coolpad has manage to offer with such cut to cut margins. Overall, with good screen-to-body ratio, Coolpad Lite check all the right boxes in design and built quality segment.

Must read: Beginners Guide for Choosing The Perfect Smartphone Display

Display & UI:

The Phone sports a 5-inch IPS HD display with a running resolution of 1280×720 pixels, which translates to 294ppi (pixel-per-inch). In comparison to Coolpad Note 3, it slightly better display with better sharpness (basically due to better PPI). However, viewing angles on the display are nothing to boast about. The display easily attracts finger marks and we had to wipe them off twice in our limited time with the device.

It runs on Android Lollipop 5.1 with Cool UI layered on top. Like most Chinese UI’s, Coolpad too doesn’t really believe in app drawers (at least it seems so). Coolpad has managed to keep the user interface to minimal. However, if you are someone how loves to mingle and play around our phone it does offer quite a bit of engagement. Options like smart features and gesture support should keep you interested.

Camera & Fingerprint:

By introducing a fingerprint sensor at a subdued price of Rs. 6,999 Coolpad already manage to score a big hit. This is more or less the same fingerprint sensor which we saw with Note 3. It is capable of registering and recognizing 5-fingerprints with 99 percent accuracy, as per the official claims. We did try out the fingerprint sensor and have to say its accuracy and speed was next to none. (We might have execrated that a bit who cares. A fingerprint sensor for 7K you can really ask for more.) In fact it is none of the fastest and most accurate fingerprint sensor we have noticed so far in phones priced under Rs. 20,000.

Also Check: Best phone with fingerprint sensor under Rs. 20,000 

Like fingerprint sensor, camera too seems to be borrowed from Coolpad Note 3. The phone features a 13MP rear facing camera which get an LED flash sitting next to it and a 5MP selfie camera at the front. The default camera app remains more or less the same. Like Coolpad 3, the camera in this ‘Lite’ phone has zippy autofocus and shutter speed beyond that there is nothing extraordinary. At best, it only offer manageable images and selfies. Still, we will reserve our verdict on camera quality as we haven’t really tested in the outdoor conditions.

Performance Expectations:

The Note 3 Lite enthrals on a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT 6735 64-bit chipset accompanied by Mali T720 GPU and 3GB RAM. It is also packed in with 16GB of internal storage out of which 10.83GB is available at the user end. The MediaTek MT6735 is low-cost SoC which a number of brands roped into power their low budget phone. At the launch event, we tried to ball some bouncers to which it easily played down with ease. As per our initial assessment, this phone can handle basic day-to-day task smoothly. But if you hope to do hard-core gaming on it then dude you might need to reconsider.

Conclusion:

Just like the Coolpad Note 3 Lite could further escalate company’s position in Indian smartphone market. With such a compelling spec-sheet and bold pricing, Coolpad is certainly going to give jitters to its rivals more so to it compatriot as they all operate with slim margins.

Overall, Coolpad Note 3 Lite casts a solid first impression however, the complete picture can only be revealed after a detailed review.