Meizu M1 Note review

April 03, 2015: After months of desperate wait, finally I have got Meizu M1 note in my hands. Thanks to my friend Dinesh Panthy and Chinese officials who helped him buy this phone for me. As the phone has got a big demand and it is not even sold internationally, the phone gets sold out in a matter of some seconds there. So, it was almost impossible to buy it officially in the original price, and it took vigorous search to buy it at 1200 RMB i.e. around 200 dollar (just for the 16 GB phone). Just a week of usage, here is what I have found regarding the smartphone.

Meizu M1 note, the affordable beast with awesome specs and quality, says it all for the review in one sentence, but it does have some lacks that i will be writing in the later half. The 5.5 inch phablet runs smoothly with no any lags even in several multitasking tests, due to 64 bit Octa-core processor (MT6752) and 2 GB RAM. The IGZO display is well lit and the 403 PPI resolution is near to other high end phones. One of the best part of the phone is the whopping battery of 3140 mAH that keeps you surf, use multimedia for long. Another big up is with the cameras: 13 MP rear one having dual tone LED flash, Panorama, Light field (like the refocus in Xiaomi), Slow motion video and Manual mode (up to 1 sec of slowest shutter time) whereas the front shooter of 5 MP has beautify feature. I also happen to like the HDR feature in the camera app, making it a phone with good photography options. Along with the similar looks to iPhone 5C, the phone is on par with the iPhone experience. The flat and simple design of the android skin: Flyme OS (latest one 4.0 being over Android Kitkat 4.4.4) resembles iOS like the way it is in Xiaomi (no app drawer), which are so far liked mostly by the users. Though Flyme has some unique features (like gesture controls, camera apps, smart touch) compared to Xiaomi's MIUI, it misses some basic features (like saving a contact from call/message logs, easily viewable call logs and messages ) that I am sure will definitely be there in the next version of Flyme over Android Lollipop, even enhancing some in others. The double tap to wake the phone, scribble some pattern to open some apps directly before unlocking the phone (also available in Nokia Z launcher, but not available to many Android phones) are some features to make it attractive. The poly-carbonate unibody plastic, small bezels and Gorilla glass 3, makes it look and feel comfy. The thin width and lightweight (145 gm) phone also supports double SIM with FDD LTE/WCDMA/GSM on SIM1 and only GSM on SIM2 slot, makes it easy to use one just for phone calls and another for fast internet. The inbuilt browser app in Flyme is also nice and smooth, as compared to other default browsers on other skins. I am enthralled with the viewing experience of the videos but not with the audio quality of the speakers (sounds nice in earphone though).

As the size of the screen is going up, converging the devices: phablets, smartphones and even tablets into one, 5.5 inch phones are definitely worth for better reading and viewing experience whereas to make our pants feel comfy, their pocket size even needs to grow.
Here is a quick review of the phone:
Thumbs up:
Fast and smooth multitasking experience,
Nice camera app (Manual, refocus, beautify feature).
Comfortable feel while grabbing.
Gesture controls.
Battery capacity (3140 mAh)
Dual SIM (4G + 2G)
Cheap price of 1000 Yuan ($160)

Let down:
Missing basic features in Flyme OS.
Awkward experience with single Home button (its may be due to myself being a typical android user).
No external micro SD slot.
Speakers.

All in all, the phone a.k.a blue charm is a nice, affordable mid range phone with some unique features and specs which definitely allures those who want to upgrade from the entry level phones. The phone is even highly preferred for the entry level users, due to the higher specs in such a cheap price. As some missing features on software will definitely be there in the next Flyme over Android Lollipop, which is learned to be available soon with major enhancements, the phone is definitely worthy buying. The phone is known to be available for official sales in India but don't know when it will be available here in Nepal, or you can simply ask your friends going to either North neighbor (China) or South Neighbor (India) to bring one for you. Recommended!