Xiaomi Mi3 3 months down the road. Still the killer?
So it has been a 3 months journey now after getting my Mi3 from the first batch flash sale in Malaysia. How did the phone flare in comparison to my old HTC Sensation XE, Ninetology Z1 and other phones? Did it give me much headaches? Note that this is not a boring specs post but more of a user experience post. If you want specs, go find uncle Google =)
Simplified minimalist packaging. Phone in box, Manuals and the Sim tray pin right under the phone(see the flap just below the phone), cable hidden in the side of the box. If till now you still fail to find it, go do a lion king shaking the box till kingdom come and follow the source or the noise. First batch comes with extra sim trays to cater for different sizes and also the charger. I ordered mine with casing and screen protector.
Fits perfectly on one hand. Not too big, not too small. Just nice. How did I end up with this phone? My old Sensation XE is dying and is lagging despite the flashing and stuff. I am tight on budget and Mi3 just launched below 1k in Malaysia. Proven track record in Singapore(well known for kicking brands who did not do well)
Silver back finish for the elegant look.
So how did it do compared to other phones in the market? The Antutu X benchmark here says it all.. It has been the fastest phone in the world for quite some time. Some would shove the score right into your face(yes, there are certain "local/ASEAN" phone companies with around 20k benchmark doing just that and around the same price too) but for me it's just a number despite whatever others say. As long as my phone could perform without any hangs and lags, I am a happy man.
The first attraction is the phone comes with an online theme store fully customizing how you want your phone to look like down from icons, lock styles to backgrounds and even transitions etc. Did I mention free transformers, ironman and batman themes?
Custom widgets with high user experience.
I feel more Chinese now despite not being able to write much with the Chinese ink theme.
Some minimalist themes available for those who prefers simple and easy.
Customizable easy toggles in MIUI 5
Sound quality from the music player was superb with Dirac
13 Megapixel camera for the shot you don't want to miss with build in editor. It's like a mini photoshop in your hands.
Front cam auto gender and age detection. Trust me when I say this thing is real good. My friend with long hair still shows as male. Age also very "accurate" till it shows me as 24 *grins
HD video watching experience on the go. Helps as I am always traveling and on the go.
Easy to get casings with stands. Actually I bought this second casing cos I loved the color. The original flip case comes with the stand feature too.
My first update experience? From V13 to V14 OTA(over the air) update. It was updated without a glitch. Smooth transition there.
Then there's the MIUI 6 release. This phone is fully flashable (changing android versions and UI). Was selected as part of the Beta Tester team for MIUI and never looked back. The experience the new MIUI 6 brought was too good. Kit Kat ready for Android L, stand up compass(usually you have to lie flat on the table)
Good user experience in terms of functionality with improved RAM usage.
Did I mention online music? Life gets better with every update.
Anyway the only headache is that mine comes with only 16GB memory and near half goes to programs and OS or that was what I was thinking when I got this phone. At least till I discover I also get the cloud account. Easily I could move my files now without a worry. Oh and about LTE? The guys in Malaysia couldn't even get 3G rolled out right. Need I say more? I think by the time LTE is a good thing, I would be already getting my next Xiaomi phone.
Simplified minimalist packaging. Phone in box, Manuals and the Sim tray pin right under the phone(see the flap just below the phone), cable hidden in the side of the box. If till now you still fail to find it, go do a lion king shaking the box till kingdom come and follow the source or the noise. First batch comes with extra sim trays to cater for different sizes and also the charger. I ordered mine with casing and screen protector.
Fits perfectly on one hand. Not too big, not too small. Just nice. How did I end up with this phone? My old Sensation XE is dying and is lagging despite the flashing and stuff. I am tight on budget and Mi3 just launched below 1k in Malaysia. Proven track record in Singapore(well known for kicking brands who did not do well)
Silver back finish for the elegant look.
So how did it do compared to other phones in the market? The Antutu X benchmark here says it all.. It has been the fastest phone in the world for quite some time. Some would shove the score right into your face(yes, there are certain "local/ASEAN" phone companies with around 20k benchmark doing just that and around the same price too) but for me it's just a number despite whatever others say. As long as my phone could perform without any hangs and lags, I am a happy man.
The first attraction is the phone comes with an online theme store fully customizing how you want your phone to look like down from icons, lock styles to backgrounds and even transitions etc. Did I mention free transformers, ironman and batman themes?
Custom widgets with high user experience.
I feel more Chinese now despite not being able to write much with the Chinese ink theme.
Some minimalist themes available for those who prefers simple and easy.
Customizable easy toggles in MIUI 5
Sound quality from the music player was superb with Dirac
13 Megapixel camera for the shot you don't want to miss with build in editor. It's like a mini photoshop in your hands.
Front cam auto gender and age detection. Trust me when I say this thing is real good. My friend with long hair still shows as male. Age also very "accurate" till it shows me as 24 *grins
HD video watching experience on the go. Helps as I am always traveling and on the go.
Easy to get casings with stands. Actually I bought this second casing cos I loved the color. The original flip case comes with the stand feature too.
My first update experience? From V13 to V14 OTA(over the air) update. It was updated without a glitch. Smooth transition there.
Then there's the MIUI 6 release. This phone is fully flashable (changing android versions and UI). Was selected as part of the Beta Tester team for MIUI and never looked back. The experience the new MIUI 6 brought was too good. Kit Kat ready for Android L, stand up compass(usually you have to lie flat on the table)
Good user experience in terms of functionality with improved RAM usage.
Anyway the only headache is that mine comes with only 16GB memory and near half goes to programs and OS or that was what I was thinking when I got this phone. At least till I discover I also get the cloud account. Easily I could move my files now without a worry. Oh and about LTE? The guys in Malaysia couldn't even get 3G rolled out right. Need I say more? I think by the time LTE is a good thing, I would be already getting my next Xiaomi phone.
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