Xiaomi Redmi Note is an Android smartphone boasting a 5.5″ display, Mediatek MT6592 Octa-core clocked at 1.4 or 1.7 GHz, 1 to 2 GB RAM, and 8 GB Flash that is now available for pre-order in China for just 799 CNY or 999 CNY (~$130 and ~$160) depending on the versions. The only differences between the two versions are Mediatek CPU frequency (1.4 vs 1.7 GHz), and the RAM capacity (1 vs 2 GB). Xiaomi is a Chinese manufacturer, but they’ve recently started to sell phone overseas, so a similar phone may be soon available in more countries.
Let’s check out the complete specifications:
- SoC- Mediatek MT6592 octa-core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.4 or 1.7 GHz with ARM Mali-450MP GPU
- System Memory – 1 or 2 GB DDR3
- Storage – 8 GB NAND Flash + micro SD card up to 32GB
- Display – 5.5″ IPS display with 1280×720 resolution
- Cellular – 2G: GSM, 3G: TD-SCDMA. Dual SIM support with TD-SCDMA on one slot and GSM on the other.
- Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
- Camera – 13MP rear camera with flash, 5MP front-facing camera
- Battery – 3200 mAh
The phone runs MIUI v5 on top of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. If you live outside China, you would not be able to use 3G with TD-SCDMA, but Fone Arena reports a WCDMA (UMTS) version for international market is in the work. Needless to say with these specs, the price is rather aggressive, and hopefully the WCDMA version will soon be available on Chinese e-retailers for $150 / $180 soon.
If you happen to live in China, you can pre-order on Qzone, and shipping and retail availability is scheduled for March 26. More details are available on Xiaomi’s Redmi Note page.
Via Liliputing
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Is there much real life performance improvement with 8 cores over 4 with 1GB ram?
How silly.
@onebir
I guess not. But Mali 450 GPU might still make it worthwhile compared to Mediatek quad core SoC.
The amazing thing about this phone is really the price for the specs. I bought a quad core / 1 GB RAM/ GB flash / 5″ (720p) smartphone at the end of last year for $185. Now this octa core with a slightly larger screen, a battery with twice the capacity, would probably cost me around $150 (including shipping).
i installed the miui rom on my note 2 N7105T and it was sharp and worket some what ok but the miui market was a bit of a problem. i did manage to install google play store but some app just did not work correctly like google+ i had keep reinstalling it because it kept on uninstalling itself. and you cannot get rid off all the chinnese writing
> with 1280×720 resolution
Come on, who needs such resolution in 2014 (or at the end of 2013 for that matter too ;-P)?
Btw, Shenzhen is full of brand shops (Xiaomi included) who want to sell you stuff for 2000+RMB ($300+). Some didn’t have octa-core model or even release date for one (beginning of March).
> Is there much real life performance improvement with 8 cores
I’m having a case of cognitive dissonance nowadays. I’m shopping for work laptop and figure that Intel stuff is still double-core in 2014, when my phone is 8-core. Moreover, modern Intel stuff is less frequency than my 3-year old laptop, so I can only dread how slow it will be (I spend a lot of time with current one waiting while stupid JavaScript overloads CPU and thrashes swap with crapware like Firefox and Chrome). My plan is to fight that with 16Gb and SSD, but then it’s almost impossible to find a modern Intel laptop which would accommodate 16Gb RAM (one which is not size and weight of coffin I mean, but which can be taken for travel, i.e. ~1kg). I’m buying 2-year old model – if I will be lucky to get it.
Full sources and it might get interesting…!
@Deskwizard
You’d need to pay first… http://www.xda-developers.com/android/have-you-paid-your-linux-kernel-source-license-fee/
I guess there’s still hope, as some manufacturers have already released source code for their Mediatek device. For example: http://www.cnx-software.com/2014/03/13/mediatek-mt6589-linux-source-code-cyanogenmod-11-image-for-wiko-stairway-smartphone/
How the code looks ugly…
Lenovo S898T has about the same specs, and about the same price – http://liliputing.com/2014/03/lenovos-126-smartphone-takes-aim-at-xiaomis-redmi-note.html
The Lenovo is definitely very interesting.
Still, I am with deskwizard: no sources, no money from me (besides, it’s probably legally not possible for Lenovo to sell the MTK stuff in the West, they would definitely be in breach of the GPL and likely there are also patent issues around MTK hardware…)