Android Moving from Note 3 to Gionee E7 (So Darn happy)

aradhakr84

aradhakr84

Adept
Recently I sold my Note 3 for 40k :) and bought this phone for 27.9k from Local Dealer. Let me tell you, this phone is on par or even beats others (LG G2, Nexus 5, Z Ultra, even Z1) in some areas. For the price, you will not go wrong.

PROS

1) Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 is a beast and adreno 330 gpu is the best out there at the moment.
2) 3 gb RAM is an absolute treat as the games load faster and no lags faced during intensive 3d gaming like Dead trigger 2 at ultra high settings with Tegra Graphics enabled via root manager. I was getting above 40 fps. which I could not with Note 3 with exynos chipset even though it has 3gb RAM
3) 32gb or even 16gb is good enough because this phone has USB OTG Capability. This makes it easier to organize one harddrive to use with phone and Laptop
4) CAMERA - Where can I start? I have used Z ultra's camera and let me tell you this. E7 front facing camera is much better than Z ultra's main 8 MP sensor in the back. It was better than G2's camera with OIS features. But I would say that G2 is the close second and is good in its own way. Camera deserves an 10/10 because out of all the smartphones I have used, I was never amazed this much with this camera. Please note that I have never used Nokia Camera so cannot comment on that.
5) Easier to Root. Trust me, Rooting makes an android phone more powerful and also beautiful to use.
6) You get 2 screen Protectors, 1 flip case (I cut the flip part and the phone looks sexier with just case), 1 stand. These should be standard with all the smartphones considering we pay premium. It is only fair for companies to provide us with some protection out of the box.

CONS

1) Stock UI is laggy. While this is a con, I have experienced lag in Note 3 and G2 as well. Only phones without lag or minimal lag was Nexus 5 and to some lesser extent, Xperia Z Ultra. But thanks to Android, we can download and use Nova Launcher or any other of favorite ones which suit are needs.
2) No widgets and more of an iOS format. This is annoying because, I have always loved widgets on my screens to get faster information and access to my favorite apps. Again luckily, thanks to Android's ecosystem and vast market, we can replace the stock launcher with custom ones. At present, I use Nova Launcher.
3) It is fingerprint/smudges magnet. I did not remove the back film and have laminated the sides as I am tired of wiping the smudges.
3) UPDATES - While lot are put off because of this and trust me this might be an huge disappointment for this phone.

But the pros largely outweight the cons. I have used Nexus 5, LG G2, Z ultra and most recently Note 3. I was not impressed this much by Gionee. Reason being, the price to performance ratio. While I know LG is LG and Samsung is always much more reliable. Also Sony is not some run of the mill product. But when you pay less than the other premium phones and get these many features plus a DAMN GOOD CAMERA, I do not care if people think I am a Gionee Fanboy, because who knows??? My initial judgement is that it is a damn good phone. If this phone stays reliable and service gets better, I will make a jump into this brand. Other companies should learn that they cannot ride on their brand power all the time. Sensible, intelligent people know that they cannot be taken for a ride by being delivered sub standard products and expected to pay premium prices for it.

GOOD JOB GIONEE for E7. Cannot wait for E8. This was my first ever GIONEE Product and I am damn impressed by this product.
 
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Being a Note 3 user, I would agree that its over hyped, not that great of a device for the price and the worst of all the Indian version does not come with Snapdragon 800 CPU. I owned it for 4 months since launched and just a few weeks ago sold it & bought the Lumia 1520. I feel the 1520 is a better phone than the Note 3 in many ways. again it all depends on the usage of the user. I am by far enjoying using it just waiting for Windows Phone 8.1 update.

Seeing Gionee in person I would say that IF i was on a budget and didn't care for brand value / Support & Updates / after sales service I would go with Gionee and to me those are pretty big IF's (again if you are someone that does not change their phone often and will stick to this one for more than 1 year than this might be for you, I change my phones within 6 months and need my phones to retain at least 80% value and these brands just don't ), the only drawback i see in the specs compared to a note 3 is the battery life with 2500 mAh & that 5.5 Inch screen you will be reaching for a charger a lot more than you'd want to.

If you talk about root, its not easy to root your device at least like mainstream devices.... look at XDA Forums most people are complaining that they do not have the drivers available anywhere on the internet for this device & if they manage to get root via another method their device becomes extremely slow & they have to unroot it to make it work again. There are not many developers making Roms for it either.
 
^^^^ There are stable root method available now. Its only matter of time that people will catch up with tech to find a solution. Granted, one thread did discuss about the rooting problems. However, rooting with pdanet and Vroot, mine is smooth and buttery. I always research if phone is rootable before getting it as it is mandatory for me. I was able to play Dead Trigger 2 with tegra graphics enabled and never experienced such a smooth gameplay compared to my other phones I have used in the past.

Also kudos to you for returning Note 3 and getting Nokia Lumia 1520.... I heard 1520 is an amazing product.

I change phones crazy amount of times to keep with current trend. But I always keep two phones handy, one phone being replaced on yearly cycle and the other phone on monthly basis to try out and keep up with market. Yeah, I am that crazy about keeping up with current trends and trying out different things in market.

I bought Gionee with that in mind. Something secondary while I am in between changing phones. Last year had Pantech burst as my secondary phone.

Using it for two days, it is now my daily primary driver until S5 comes out, which I will surely get. But so far it exceeds the usage experience and expectation in every single aspect. I always buy android phones with latest specs for media and games plus camera. In those fields, this phone excels.

I, like some people, was so brand conscious. Buying only the likes of HTC, Samsung and Sony. Before buying E7 I walked up to dealer and had him give me demo piece to check side by side with my dad's G2 and my Note 3. I did extensive test and it passed with flying colors.

Service center issue exist with any brand here in India. Compared to other countries, we do have issues with claiming warrant by the. I had issues with Samsung service center when I had issues with S4 (the early ones with display issues)

To people who think this is a cheap Chinese model, I request you to get in touch with a gionee dealer and try the demo.
 
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^^ good that there are root methods working now.. if i did buy this phone i would remove the stock rom & install a vanila version of Android 4.3 or 4.4..
you and i are not that different... for the most part I do keep 2 devices with me at all times but the difference is both my devices are different from each other, there is no point in keeping 2 of the same type of devices that can do the same thing as the other.
i had S2 & iPhone 3GS
Note & iPhone 4
Note 2 & iPhone 4s
Micromax Canvas HD & iPhone 4s
Lumia 925 & iPhone 5
Note 3 & iPhone 5
Now i have Lumia 1520 & Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition...

The things that lumia lacks in is achieved by the note 10.1 (mostly Google apps like hangout, plus, Chrome, Youtube etc.) I will also switch my 10.1 with S5 when that comes out.
To those that do think that any sub-brand phones are cheap Chinese models then you are wrong, all components for any brand are made, manufactured & assembled in China, the only thing these Chinese brands or sub-brands will lack is at the quality checks and thats a given because these companies are not at that levels and do not have that big of a capital as say Samsung would have. so there are bound to be quality issues with these phone a lot more than say you'd have with Samsung.

I do agree that Service center issues are there with top tier brands but not as bad as it would be with these companies...like my Micromax canvas HD developed a screen flickering issue within a week and when i went to replace it they did agree to give me a brand new one, but they did not have stocks & i did not get the new phone for over 21 days. if i only had 1 phone i would be in trouble.
 
^^ Vibe Z would be a better choice if priced below Gionee E7. Else Gionee seems to be more impressive than Vibe Z

1) Gionee E7 has 3gb RAM variant/option while Vibe Z has only 2gb RAM
2) Gionee E7 has USB OTG while Vibe Z does not have that feature and only comes with 16gb Variant
3) Gionee E7 has 16MP/8MP while Vibe Z has 13MP/5MP.

Knowing Lenovo, it will not be able to price the Vibe Z as competitive as Gionee E7 since the 16gb/2gb RAM variant only cost 23-25k and 32gb/3gb RAM cost 27-29k. If Vibe Z is below 30k, then it would be a good alternate for people not trusting gionee. Else it is logical to get Gionee.

Also if you notice the current flagships being released from Sony, LG and Samsung this year:
Z2 - Snapdragon 801 (2.2 ghz) / Adreno 330 / 3 GB RAM / 20.7 MP (Same camera as Z1 from previous generation, so micron size is better in Gionee E7)
S5 - Snapdragon 800 (2.5 ghz) / Adreno 330 / 2 GB RAM (Gionee has 1gb extra RAM) / 16 MP (Camera should be on par since S5 has QHD Capabability being the only advantage over Gionee E7)
LG G Pro 2 - Snapdragon 800 (2.2 ghz) / Adreno 330 / 3 GB RAM / 13 MP Camera

Gionee E7 has specs that match up with current flagships too, so instead of paying 40+k for these phones, you can enjoy the same features for nearly 20k less. People will argue about brand and reliability and let me tell you as a person who has pretty much used all the flagships from 2013, I do not feel this phone to be less quality. Better to try it than shrug it off just because people say its chinese.

Morever, I am deeply disappointed with S5 announcement and Z2 with same design from previous generation. The audacity of Samsung to release something that is only minimal upgrade to current S4 and price it in almost 40K range. It is an insult and slap in the face for Samsung fans (like me who has used every samsung phone till Note 3)
 
aradhakr84 said:
Morever, I am deeply disappointed with S5 announcement and Z2 with same design from previous generation. The audacity of Samsung to release something that is only minimal upgrade to current S4 and price it in almost 40K range. It is an insult and slap in the face for Samsung fans (like me who has used every samsung phone till Note 3)
Click to expand...

You are disappoint wtih S5 looks and Z2 with same design as previous generation and you love Gionee E7 design...
Your comparison sound more like coming from Gionee Employee rather than true android lover..
Look at the front, looks like a iPhone for its white color.
Wait look at the rear, looks like the Lumia 1520.And S5 and z2 will come with pre loaded 4.4.2 not with 4.2 that you are using...

Did you know that Gionee E7 too has gloosy outer that look to cheap and magnet for smudges as well as giving the device a cheap look..
For Price Point ya Gionee E7 is good device but you cant compare them to
 
@manu1991

For intensive games, 3GB RAM makes some difference. Also Trust me, in Note 3 I wished it had more than 3gb RAM. The damn touchwiz was so demanding, I often had to clear the memory. Samsung sure knows how to suck the juice out of RAM regardless of how big it is lol :p j/k With 2.76 GB RAM available, the most I got free was 700 MB. That was bad because I noticed lag and this was annoying. With Gionee E7, I have 1.8 GB RAM free at all times despite having crowded home screen with several widgets and apps running in background
 
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manucitc said:
You are disappoint wtih S5 looks and Z2 with same design as previous generation and you love Gionee E7 design...
Your comparison sound more like coming from Gionee Employee rather than true android lover..
Look at the front, looks like a iPhone for its white color.
Wait look at the rear, looks like the Lumia 1520.And S5 and z2 will come with pre loaded 4.4.2 not with 4.2 that you are using...

Did you know that Gionee E7 too has gloosy outer that look to cheap and magnet for smudges as well as giving the device a cheap look..
For Price Point ya Gionee E7 is good device but you cant compare them to
Click to expand...


I am not an Gionee Employee, atleast I don't think Gionee has taken over IBM lol :p

Also don't mistake that I am pushing my views into others. I am only damn impressed with the phone and shared with people here. I don't think that is wrong.

I have mentioned that for price to performance ratio, this is an damn good phone. I do not need to be an Gionee Employee to say that I am impressed. Every company has to start somewhere and I think Gionee has done that like Xiaomi.

Please note that while I like Gionee E7 for the price, I have higher expectation for Samsung and Sony. They come out with same design year in and year out which is annoying considering the price they expect me to pay for it. As for Gionee, I have clearly mentioned that for a secondary phone and for the price, the phone is excellent. If it cost 40+k, then obviously I would be pissed.

Also in my first post, I have mentioned that it does have smudges and fingerprint magnet, for which I had to laminate to avoid it looking bad. For 27k, this phone can be a temporary replacement for some people to taste the current hardware power and wait until the next big upgrade comes. I know, people will pull out the brand/service card to justify paying 40+k for the above mentioned phones with similar specs. I have no issues with that. Heck, I will also try those phones. I am not completely dismissing them, but for price-performance factor, it is a damn good option to have.
 
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right, people can be impressed over the FE of a Nano, and its practicality over a d segment sedan,
different strokes for different folks..:)
 
babhishek said:
right, people can be impressed over the FE of a Nano, and its practicality over a d segment sedan,
different strokes for different folks..:)
Click to expand...

Exactly. Different choices being offered at competitive price is what I am trying to convey here. Not all will change phones like us or carry two phones like some of us here. For them, this phone is an absolute steal.

I know people will raise their eye brows or even think I must be crzy to sell Note 3 and replacing with Gionee. It is only temporary as I will be going for a flagship eventually, but not S5 definitely. But Indian Note 3 is a disaster because of Exynos processor and overheating I faced while playing games or media. Comparing to the performance, Gionee performs better.

I am happy to have this as a daily driver till the next one comes which makes me want to get it :)
 
aradhakr84 said:
Recently I sold my Note 3 for 40k :) and bought this phone for 27.9k from Local Dealer. Let me tell you, this phone is on par or even beats others (LG G2, Nexus 5, Z Ultra, even Z1) in some areas. For the price, you will not go wrong.
PROS

1) Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 is a beast and adreno 330 gpu is the best out there at the moment.
Click to expand...
Z1c has the same proc but it runs a 720p screen instead of a 1080p. The least lag you will ever see.


aradhakr84 said:
2) 3 gb RAM is an absolute treat as the games load faster and no lags faced during intensive 3d gaming like Dead trigger 2 at ultra high settings with Tegra Graphics enabled via root manager. I was getting above 40 fps. which I could not with Note 3 with exynos chipset even though it has 3gb RAM
Click to expand...
How many pixels being pushed. How much more heat generated. How much lower battery life.

companies should try to release phones with screens that can handle the load, what point is higher & higher rez when you lose out on other fronts.

aradhakr84 said:
3) 32gb or even 16gb is good enough because this phone has USB OTG Capability. This makes it easier to organize one harddrive to use with phone and Laptop
Click to expand...
something sticking out of the phone is an accident waiting to happen. You can'st store anything on it besides media.


aradhakr84 said:
4) CAMERA - Where can I start? I have used Z ultra's camera and let me tell you this. E7 front facing camera is much better than Z ultra's main 8 MP sensor in the back. It was better than G2's camera with OIS features. But I would say that G2 is the close second and is good in its own way. Camera deserves an 10/10 because out of all the smartphones I have used, I was never amazed this much with this camera. Please note that I have never used Nokia Camera so cannot comment on that.
Click to expand...
This is the part i'd like you to explain some more. What makes this camera so good.

What are you doing with your photos. cropping printing poster size requires > 8GB.

A full HD screen can only display 2MP. So if you downsize your photos from original size to around 2-3MP (use PS or similar good software) then you will get the best viewable photos. Won't print too well but display will be optimal. They will actually be sharper than the native 16MP ones.
 
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@manu1991 kudos for that display picture :p

Trust me the more ram you have free the more your device will behave well, atleast in Android which is a resource hog & i have complained to lengths about this. even the KitKat update i did to my Note 3 only reduced the memory consumption by 10% and it would still use 1.8 - 2.GB ram at idle with nothing else running. other stupid thing was why it would need some services running 24 /7 when its not even in use.. like the play services etc and other background things would just start on its own... to me Google Play Music would just start in the background without me even launching it & never even used it. I hate this part of android & unless this changes very soon I will stay away from it. even things like Apps that require permissions which it should not... when you install something read what its asking access for before you blindly click i accept and you'll understand how its affecting your privacy. like games why do games need to read my contacts / phone calls & these things are just part of it.. the ads in game are so much now thats the platform feels nothing more than a joke to me. there are apps that wants to hijack your homepage, setup shortcuts on your home screen etc. in Windows if a application does that we call it a spyware and thats whats Android apps are doing right now in each of your phones.
Anyways i can rant about this stuff for days.

lets get back to the point.
manucitc said:
You are disappoint wtih S5 looks and Z2 with same design as previous generation and you love Gionee E7 design...
Your comparison sound more like coming from Gionee Employee rather than true android lover..
Look at the front, looks like a iPhone for its white color.
Wait look at the rear, looks like the Lumia 1520.And S5 and z2 will come with pre loaded 4.4.2 not with 4.2 that you are using...

Did you know that Gionee E7 too has gloosy outer that look to cheap and magnet for smudges as well as giving the device a cheap look..
For Price Point ya Gionee E7 is good device but you cant compare them to
Click to expand...
True.... and exactly my point as well.. you cannot complain that the new Galaxy S5 is just a redesign of the old one because it is an "Galaxy S" it is expected to look the same way atleast a bit to keep in touch with the series. I agree thats it has not offered much improvement than things that are already here but you are looking at it wrong, look at it from a user coming from S4 and then its is offering a lot more than the s4 did. and if they changed the design a lot it would not be an S5 any more.
gionee-elife-e-7-271113.jpg


The Gionee E7 on the other hand looks like its taken from all different phones like Sony's front design with those almost exact buttons just rearranged differntly, the side view here also looks like that of the Xperia series and the back is like that of the Lumia series as @manucitc said. their E6 on the other hand is an exact replica of the iPhone

Gionee-Elife-E6.jpg


So thats why he said that you sound like an employee rather than a customer.

babhishek said:
right, people can be impressed over the FE of a Nano, and its practicality over a d segment sedan,
different strokes for different folks..:)
Click to expand...
great reference there :) and true... just because the Nano costs 2lacs and gives the FE of 15 /20 to a liter I would not sell my Suzuki SX4 and switch to a Nano but if i only had 2 Lacs to begin with I would be thinking of buying the Nano.
 
They don't need the ram (currently), they need either more powerful GPU+CPU or to push less pixels.

More ram means more apps in the background.
 
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