Gwyn D’Mello
Chinese handset maker Lenovo claimed to have sold 47,440 units of its K3 Note within 5.2 seconds during its first flash sale on July 8. Over 5 lakh registrations were said to have received by the company for the sale.
Now, that is one tough competition with many failing to get a hand on their desired smartphone. And while flash sales will come and go, here are alternatives to the Lenovo K3 Note in case you don't succeed in the sales.
Lenovo A7000
If you’d like to stick with the Lenovo brand, a good alternative to the K3 Note is the Lenovo A7000. This phone has been around for a while, yes, but it’s only slightly inferior to the former. It has a 1.5GHz octa-core processor, 8MP/5MP rear and front cams, and 720p display, but the rest of it’s hardware is identical to the K3 Note, except for a slightly smaller battery. It also runs Lenovo’s Vibe UI on top of Android 5.0. So if 8MP is enough camera for you, and you don’t mind the 720p instead of 1080p screen, you can grab this baby for just Rs 8,999 on Flipkart. Definitely a worthwhile substitute.
Xiaomi Redmi Note
Maybe you’re intrigued by Xiaomi’s success of late and want to give it a shot. Maybe you’ve heard great things about the Mi4i. Yes, while it does seem to be a great phone, there’s a particularly annoying problem with that model - inconsistency. At least three separate people I’ve personally met who have owned the phone, have reported finding one glitch or another. The best phone from Xiaomi is clearly the Mi4, but the best phone in this budget still goes to the Redmi Note. Packing a 1.6GHz Snapdragon 400 and 2GB RAM, you might not have a processor for the heaviest of games at max settings , but it does a good job if you tone it down a bit. It has a 5.5” 720p screen again, with 8GB internal storage, expandable to 64GB. The Redmi note also packs a 13MP/5MP camera combo that takes great pictures, and a 3100mAh battery.
While the Redmi Note did originally have a heating issue, that’s since been patched out, but one problem you might have is the OS. The Redmi note uses Xiaomi’s MiUI over Android 4.4.2; some hate it, some love it, so go ahead and test it out before you decide to settle on it. You can buy the phone for Rs 7,999 on Flipkart.
Huawei Honor 4X
Huawei launched their brand in India a while ago with two handsets, one of which was the budget model Honor 4X. This model is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core processor and 2GB RAM, with 13MP/5MP rear and front shooters, 5.5” 720p screen and 8GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB. It’s selling point, however, is that while it has the same 3000mAh battery, the Honor 4X is easily the best in range for power management. Sure, you may not be able to run the heaviest of games but, even if you multitask a lot through your day, this baby should get you through your entire day and much more on a single charge.
A point worth mentioning is that Honor’s EMUI 3.0 is a lot closer to Xiaomi’s than stock Android so, again, you might want to try before you buy. Again, you can buy it from Flipkart for Rs 9,999.
Asus Zenfone 2 ZE550ML
Asus has a beauty in the Zenfone 2, but not in the literal sense of the word. It’s not much to look at, bulky and unwieldy, but it’s a powerhouse. With a 1.8GHz Intel Atom processor and 2GB RAM, it’ll handle anything you throw at it with ease. The 5.5” 720p screen has great viewing angles, and the 13MP/5MP camera only stand out thanks to the variety of shooting modes available. The ZenUI is colourful and efficient, but it definitely takes some getting used to. However, there are a few things that I see as design flaws. The power button is at the middle of the top edge, horrible if you’re used to locking your phone manually with a thumb press, and there is absolutely no excuse for placing the volume rockers on the back panel underneath the flash. Other than that however, it’s a slightly ugly but reliable piece of work.You can get it for Rs 12,999 on Flipkart.
Meizu M1 Note
Lastly, The Meizu M1 Note has almost the exact same specs as the K3. The same 1.7GHz MediaTek processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage with 32GB on a microSD card, 5” (1920x1080p) display and 13MP and 5MP rear and front cams. The battery is larger by a negligible amount (3140mAh) but, be warned, users do tend to report heating issues when playing graphics heavy games on the M1 Note. It’s not very likely to get fixed anytime soon, so you’re going to have to live with it, but that doesn’t impair its performance at all.
The phone runs Android 4.4.4, and the aesthetics aren’t outstanding; it looks like so many other smartphones out there, but it probably outperforms most of them. Available only on Amazon India for Rs 11,999.
But, if you've really got your heart set on the Lenovo K3 Note, then by all means try again. The next flash sale is on July 15, and it'll have the white version available too. Happy hunting!
