Gionee Marathon M3 vs Lenovo A5000: The battle of battery and memory

In spite of fast paced innovation in the smartphone technology on all fronts, there is one front where innovation has been rather slow, and this is battery. Moreover, with millions of apps and so much more to do in a smartphone, it is really hard to figure out what battery size would be ideal for a smartphone. Two Chinese brands are battling out in Indian market with their devices, Gionee Marathon M3 and Lenovo A5000, that boast of having 5000 mAh and 4000 mAh battery size respectively. In this comparative review, we examine what all these two high-battery devices come with.

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Design

The style and design is not much distinctive with a simple candy bar design. While Gionee M3 comes with dimension 144.50x71.45x10.40mm and weighs 180g, Lenovo A 5000 has slightly slimmer and lighter body with dimensions 140x71.4x9.98 mm weighing 160g. Largely made of plastic, Gionee Marathon carries a massive non removable battery inside and is available in black and white variants. On the other hand, Lenovo A5000 is madeof polycarbonate plastic and non-sticky fingerprints materials and is also available in black and white variants. However, a relatively slimmer design and light body with rounded edges makes this device comfortable to hold.

Display

The display screen size of both Lenovo A5000 and Gionee Marathon M3 is 5 inch, which allows for better visual experience. Both devices have IPS LCD capacitive touch screen with 16M colours and offers a resolution of 720x1280 pixels HD with 294 ppi pixel density which is very sharp, clear and detailed. The viewing angles are pretty decent and the sunlight legibility is also fine. Therefore, on the display front, the performance of both the devices is pretty much the same.

Performance

Both Marathon M3 and Lenovo A5000 run on Android 4.4 Kitkat. However, Gionee has tried to give their device a distinctive look by creating their own skin Amigo UI layered on top of the OS. Both devices have a MediaTek MT6582M 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor, coupled with a 1 GB RAM. However, nowadays with the bombardment of mobile apps 1 GB RAM is considered to be a ediocre feature. In daily use, both device works fine and do respond to tap and swipe instantly. Both the devices are configured with 8GB of internal memory, which is expandable upto 32 GB in Lenovo A5000 and 128 GB in Gionee M3 via MicroSD card, which provides Gionee an edge over Lenovo.

Battery and Camera

Battery life is the USP of these products where Lenovo A5000 comes with 4000 mAh battery and Gionee Marathon M3 with a whooping 5000 mAh battery. Lenovo gives a talk time of 35h (2G) and 17h (3G). On the other hand, Gionee M3 gives an outstanding talk time of 51 h (2G) and 32 h (3G). Both devices have an 8 MP primary camera and a 2 MP secondary camera. The camera quality for both devices is decent capturing HD videosand images. Even the 2 MP front cameras perform well when it comes to taking selfies. Both the devices areequipped with features like geo-tagging, face detection and Panorama Shot.

Connectivity and other Features

Both Gionee Marathon and Lenovo A5000 are dual-sim phones, which support 3G. Addition to that both the smartphones have Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, FM, 3.5mm audio jack, accelerometer and proximity sensor.

Conclusion

We note that both the devices are pretty much comparable on most of the indicators. Nevertheless, Gionee takes a definite lead on two counts i.e. expandable memory and battery. This reflects in price, where Gionee Marathon M3 is available at around Rs.10,500 and Lenovo A5000 at around Rs.10,000. However, Lenovo has been in Indian market for a longer period and has built some brand image. Therefore, it would be a challenge for Gionee to beat Lenovo in this segment.

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Obi Hornbill Beats Samsung Galaxy S3 with Specifications

Obi Mobiles, a smartphone company establish by John Sculley, previous CEO of Pepsi Co and Apple, has entered East Africa, beginning Kenya and Tanzania after tasting success in East Asia. On the other hand, it is as of now confronting rivalry from set up brands, for example, Samsung, Tecno Mobiles, Huawei, HTC, and so forth. With yet another player guaranteeing the predominance of its cell phone in the business sector adds to the test of picking the right item. Through this comparison, we have analyzed the relative qualities of Samsung Galaxy S3 and Obi Hornbill S551 with the aim to empower buyers to settle on an educated decision.

Obi’s Hornbill in display screen size, operating system technology, cameras and battery life including more advanced processor and the ability to function on multiple networks (2.5G, 3G and 4G), leaves Samsung’s Galaxy S3 behind. Looking at the price tag, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 is priced around KSh 40,000, where as Obi Hornbill is pleasantly priced around KSh 18,000. Obviously, Samsung has the brand quality to legitimize the cost, however a smart buyer would beyond any doubt consider a few discriminating features while settling on choice.

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Will brand-value help Samsung Galaxy S3 to battle it out with Obi’s Hornbill S551?

Having tasted some success in a rather short time in the Middle East, Obi Mobiles, a smartphone company co-founded by John Sculley, former CEO of Pepsi Co and Apple, has entered East Africa, starting Kenya and Tanzania. However, it is already facing competition from established brands such as Samsung, Tecno Mobiles, Huawei, HTC, etc. With yet another player claiming the superiority of its smartphone in the market adds to the challenge of picking the right product. Through this comparative review, we have tried to examine the relative strengths of two smartphone models, i.e. Samsung Galaxy S3 and Obi Hornbill S551 with the intention to enable consumers to make an informed choice.

With dimensions 136.6x70.6x8.6mm, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 weighs about 133g where as Obi’s Hornbill with 156x76.8x7.9mm dimensions weighs only about 126g. Interestingly, in spite of its larger frame, Obi’s Hornbill is a relatively lighter device. Furthermore, while Galaxy S3 has a Super AMOLED display, Hornbill has a TFT IPS Screen with Capacitative Touch HD. Both the devices, however, have a resolution of 1280x720 Pixels. Given the larger overall dimensions, Obi’s Hornbill has the space to offer a wider display screen size 5.5 inches, where as Galaxy S3 comes with a screen size is 4.8 inches. Considering the display screen Galaxy S3 has an edge due to being more battery efficient, better viewing quality at angles and just sharper and clearer images in general, however, a larger screen size in Hornbill simply enhances the viewing experience. 

At the performance front, both Galaxy S3 and Hornbill have the same 1GB RAM, but Galaxy S3 has a comparatively advanced Quad Core 1.4GHz processor than Hornbill that comes with Quad Core 1.3GHz processor, which gives S3 a sure edge. However, Hornbill makes up for the processor lag in the operating system. Obi’s Hornbill runs on Android 4.4 Kit Kat while Samsung’s Galaxy S3 runs on a rather outdated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which puts Obi’s Hornbill on a stronger footing. Furthermore, Galaxy S3 has an internal memory of 16GB expandable up to 64GB through microSD where as Obi’s Hornbill has an 8GB internal memory which is expandable up to 32GB through microSD. Since expandable memory of 32 GB is more than sufficient, we believe it is not really a critical differentiator.

Obi’s Hornbill also has superior cameras of 13 megapixel at the rear and 5 megapixel at the front, where Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has an 8 megapixel rear camera and a meager 1.9 megapixel front camera, an out right advantage Hornbill. Looking at the battery capacity, Galaxy S3 with 2100 mAh once again is found to be lacking before Obi’s Hornbill that comes with 2200 mAh. Maybe Samsung should have paid more attention to the battery and less on the expandable memory.

In terms of Networks and Wireless Connectivity, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 is available on 2.5G: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, 3G: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz and 4G (dependent on market) but Hornbill is available only on 3G: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, WCDMA 900/2100MHz. Both devices have v4.0 Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 a/b/g/n), but only Galaxy S3 provides Wi-Fi Hotspot. Another differentiator is the SIM Card capability, where Galaxy S3 has only 1 slot for a micro SIM but Hornbill has two slots and can be used for micro SIMs and regular SIMs.

That brings us to the most critical differentiator, the price. In spite of lagging behind Obi’s Hornbill in display screen size, operating system technology, cameras and battery life but with the advantages of more advanced processor and the ability to function on multiple networks (2.5G, 3G and 4G), Samsung’s Galaxy S3 is priced around KSh 40,000, where as Obi’s Hornbill is pleasantly priced around KSh 18,000. Of course, Samsung has the brand value to justify the price, but a smart consumer would sure consider several critical differentiators while making decision.  

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Can Lenovo’s colourful RocStar outsmart Obi’s Fox?

Kenya’s smartphone market is becoming more competitive with the entry of new players. Obi Mobiles, co-founded by JohnSculley, ex-CEO of Pepsi Co and Apple, is the new entrant in the Kenyan smartphone market with its eight smartphone models, which are starting to attract attention in the market. On the other hand, the well known global brand, Lenovo, has been in Kenyan market for a while with its impressive range of smartphone models. As part of our daily reviews, we have picked up Lenovo’s RocStar A319 and Obi’s Fox S453 to see how they compare with each other.

We start with the design of the two smartphone models. Both the devices have a similar concept with a bar design and a three touch keys on the bottom. While Obi’s Fox is available only in white colour, Lenovo’s RocStar comes in red, white and black variants. Furthermore,  Lenovo’s RocStar gives a broader feel with 123.5x63.8x10.2mm dimensions, but Obi’s Fox with 131.7x64x9.0mm dimensions has a bit longish and sleeker look. However, the main difference lies in the display screen size which is 4.5inches in case of Obi’s Fox and 4inches in case of Lenovo’s RocStar. Both the devices have a capacitive touch screen. Needless to say that a larger screen is always a plus from the point of view of viewing experience. It particularly acquires more significance for the youth where video viewing on the smartphone is becoming everyday part of their lives.

Both the devices are powered by MediaTek MT6572 dual core processor, however, Obi’s Fox is 1GHz and Lenovo’s RocStar is 1.3GHz. However, Fox’s OS Android 4.4.2 KitKat is slightly improved version over RocStar’s OS Android 4.4 KitKat. Both the devices have internal storage space of 4GB that can be expanded up to 32GB using a MicroSD card. However, the major difference between the two is RAM where Lenovo’s RocStar comes with 512MB RAM and Obi’s Fox is just double 1GB RAM. Extra RAM helps apps run smoother with reduced time lags, but when coupled with a better processor, it enhances overall quality of user interface and experience.

Obi’s Fox has a leg up on the battery front too. With 1600 mAh battery size Fox gives 6 hours of talk time and 180 hours of standby time while, on the other hand, Lenovo’s RocStar has 1500 mAh battery that gives 3 hours of talk time and 240 hours of standby time. Furthermore, both the devices have 5 megapixel rear cameras with flash with flash and 2 megapixel front cameras with a fixed focus. The cameras of the two devices are moderate considering the price range. As far as connectivity is concerned both the devices have Wi-Fi with 802.11 b/g/n standards supported. Both the devices also have a dual sim card slots, however, Obi’s Fox supports 3G on both SIM slots whereas Lenovo’s RocStar supports 3G in primary sim and 2G on the other. Both the devices have Bluetooth, GPS, 3.5 mm audio jack and FM receiver.

The price difference between the two is rather small. In the Kenyan market, while Obi’s Fox is priced at around KSh 9000, Lenovo’s RocStar is at around KSh 7500. Slightly higher price in case of Obi’s Fox seems justified on account of three major advantages over Lenovo’s RocStar, which include a lager display screen, larger battery life and, most of all, double RAM contributes towards enhancing the viewing experience. However, in every other respect the two models are comparable, with Lenovo’s RocStar having the advantage of three colour variants.

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Wiko’s Getaway may have hard time beating Obi’s Hornbill in Kenya

Walking along the streets of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, it is hard to miss large signboards of two competing smartphone companies, a relatively established player, Wiko Mobiles, and a more recent player, Obi Mobiles, a company co-founded by John Sculley, ex-CEO of Pepsi Co and Apple. Both the brands are offering youth oriented high performance smartphones with attractive designs and affordable prices. However, the top down advertising without access to a detailed analysis of the products can be misleading sometimes. Therefore, we have picked up Wiko’s Getaway and Obi’s Hornbill S551 for our weekend analysis to help Kenyan youth determine which one turns out to be a smarter buy. At the very outset, we admit that both the smartphone makers have done a commendable job with the design, keeping their devices sleek and colourful.

If we note the overall dimensions, Wiko’s Getaway is 143x69.5x7.2mm and weighs 133g, whereas Obi’s Hornbill comes with 156x76.8x7.9mm and is slightly heavier at 145g. As such, size should not necessarily be a disadvantage, but the overall dimensions reflect in the size of the display screens of the two devices, which is 5 inches in case of Getaway and 5.5 inches in Hornbill, giving Hornbill an edge. The two devices have a capacitive touch screen with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels HD display. The display type for both devices is IPS, a system that improves vision angle and rich colors. While the overall size could be a matter of preference, a larger display screen enhances the overall quality of viewing experience.

At the performance front, Obi’s Hornbill is powered by an advanced MTK, MT6582, Quad Core 1.3GHz Processor that runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system, where as that of Wiko’s Getaway is powered by Quad Core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 Processor that runs on Android 4.4 (Kitkat). Both the devices have 1GB RAM, but the internal storage varies with 16GB for Getaway and 8GB of Hornbill, however, both are expandable up-to 32GB via MicroSD card. Here Wiko has an edge but there is a catch. There is no separate MicroSD card slot in Getaway. Wiko has provided dual SIM card slot in their device out of which one is Micro and other is Nano, which can also be used as Micro SD card. This means you can use a SD card only at the expense of your Nano SIM card; essentially meaning that if you have a MicroSD card inserted then it is no longer a dual SIM device. Obi’s Hornbill, on the other hand, also has a dual SIM card slot with 3G support for each.

Battery life is one of the most important aspects of any smartphone. Wiko’s Getaway has a 2000mAh Li-Po battery, where as Obi’s Hornbill is slightly ahead with 2200mAh Li-ion removable battery. The difference is rather small but still could become a factor in taking a decision. Furthermore, both the devices are equipped with 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras. However, Wiko’s Getaway gets ahead in terms of colour choices it offers, which include Black and Gold, White and Silver, Navy and Coral, where as Obi’s Hornbill is available in black and White variants only. That finally brings us to the price tag in the Kenyan market, where Obi’s Hornbill has a little advantage as it is available at around KSh 18,000 where as Wiko Getaway is priced at around KSh 20,000.

With almost comparable features, Obi’s Hornbill could claim a slight overall edge on account of a bigger display screen, slightly larger battery and relatively lower cost. However, with 16GB internal storage space, and ignoring the SD card slot glitch, Wiko’s Getaway can be an equally good buy, particularly if one is looking for a smaller device. 

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Samsung’s Galaxy Grand Prime has a sure challenger in Tanzania

The recent arrival of a new smartphone company, Obi Mobiles, in east Africa has created a buzz in the tech-market of the region, as Obi gradually spreads its foot prints in the region starting Kenya and Tanzania. However, there are already many established players in the region, which means Obi’s devices will have to live up to the challenge posed by many competing devices of companies   such as Samsung, HTC, Huawei and Tecno. In this review, we have picked Samsung’s Galaxy Grand Prime and Obi Mobiles’ Hornbill S551 for a spec-to-spec review with the intention to help the smartphone consumers in the Tanzanian market make a smart purchase.

Let us start with the basic physical dimensions, where Obi’s Hornbill’s dimensions are 156x76.8x7.9mm and that of Samsung’s Galaxy Prime are 144.8x72.1x8.6mm, which clearly makes Obi’s Hornbill larger but sleeker looking device. Interestingly, in spite of the larger length and breadth, Obi’s Hornbill weighs only 145g where as Samsung’s Galaxy weighs at 156g. However, the critical indicator is the display screen size that is 5.5inches in Hornbill and 5inches in Galaxy Prime, besides offering a better resolution that is 720x1280 pixels for Hornbill and 550x960 pixels for the Galaxy Prime. Considering Obi Mobiles’ focus on youth, the sleeker look and larger screen size have an outright advantage from the perspective of video viewing experience. Moreover, the sleeker look also adds to the youth statement of Obi’s Hornbill.

Some of the similarities in the two devices include 1GB RAM, 8GB internal space and expandable storage up to 32GB through micro SD cards. Also, both the smartphones have 5 megapixel front or secondary cameras. However, the rear or primary in Obi’s Hornbill has 13 megapixels, where as in Galaxy Prime it is only 5 megapixel, which is another advantage for youth who may be interested in taking lots of photos. Furthermore, Hornbill has an advanced Quad Core 1.3GHz Processor (from MediaTek) where as Galaxy Prime has a Quad Core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53 Processor (from Qualcomm Snapdragon), which again provides Obi an edge. Moreover, Hornbill also seems to stand out in terms of OS where it runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat where as Galaxy Prime runs on a slightly older Android 4.4 KitKat. Therefore, at the performance level, Obi' Hornbill has a clear edge.

In terms of Connectivity, Hornbill and Galaxy Prime have 2 SIM cards slots, Wi-Fi capabilities (802.11 b/g/n), support GPS and have Bluetooth v4.0, but Hornbill allows users to use both Regular SIM cards and Micro SIM cards where the Galaxy Prime is capable of supporting only Micro SIM cards. But Galaxy Prime has Wi-Fi Direct that enables its consumers to use their device as a Wi-Fi Hotspot, something that Hornbill currently does not provide. Another similarity is that both devices support 3G, but Galaxy Prime also runs on 2G GSM: 850/900, DCS: 1800 and PCS: 1900. One front where Galaxy Prime takes an edge is the battery capacity with 2600 mAh, which will obviously last longer than Hornbill that holds 2200 mAh.

The most pleasant surprise, however, for the people in Tanzania is the price tag, where Hornbill is priced at around TSh 2,50,000 where as Samsung’s Galaxy Grand Prime is at around TSh 3,90,000. Galaxy Prime’s higher price could be justified on account of longer battery life, Wi-Fi direct and the option to run on 2G network, however, Obi’ Hornbill seems to have edged out its competitor on almost every other front and seems to be worth the money spent.

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Smartphone brand Obi Mobiles enters Africa

Smartphone company, Obi Mobiles, co-founded by John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and Pepsi Cola, has recently entered in East Africa, starting Kenya and Tanzania. Encouraged by the reception Obi devices have received in both the markets, the brand is already planning to expand to other African markets over the next few months. Obi had launched its smartphone range in the Middle East last year and over a period of four months had managed to capture market share of over 4%. 

The vision behind this new venture of John Sculley is to ensure that high cost does not continue to remain a barrier to access superior technology. Android smartphones launched by Obi Mobiles offer Silicon Valley technology at competitive price points. Sculley’s vision and plans in Africa have received a supporting note from Francis W. Wangusi, Director General (DG) of the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), when he says, “we are expecting an explosion of ICT services in Kenya, and it is devices such as Obi Mobiles that will support them.”

Explains Amit Rupchandani, Managing Director, Obi Mobiles, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA): “Consumers are increasingly looking to upgrade from feature phones to smartphones. However, the high cost of investment in state-of-the-art devices is a huge deterrent for a large number of aspirational buyers. At Obi Mobiles, we believe in ticking the right boxes in terms of superior design and quality at desirable price points. With the support of strong channels that reach every segment of the market, we are confident that we can add immense value to the African smartphone market. Obi Mobiles will continue to expand in Africa and other parts of the world extensively through 2015. By the end of the year, we aim to be in 70 emerging markets globally.”

At the launch event in Nairobi last week, Sculley also announced that his venture capital firm Obi Ventures would invest in select East African entrepreneurs, and that he would extend Obi Ventures to other countries in Africa as the brand establishes itself in the continent. It was also announced that DESPEC, the leading distributor in EMEA, will manage the distribution of Obi devices to all key retailer and independent retailer channels.

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