Gionee Elife E7 is the strange name of a new Android handset coming from China that you may want to remember because not only is it a beast of a phone, at least on paper, but it will also launch in many international markets in addition to its home country.
Specs and features
The Elife E7 be somewhat affordable considering the specs under the hood, and it also promises to deliver some impressive specs. Here’s what you can expect from this new Chinese handset:
- Thickness: 6.2mm on the sides to 9.5mm in the middle
- 5.5-inch Full HD LTPS display with 1920 x 1080 resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top and 2.33mm side bezels
- 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor (although the first units will launch with a 2.2GHz version of the same chip)
- “Sensor Hub” co-processor to respond to voice command, screen taps and screen gestures while the phone is in standby
- 2GB of RAM (some units will have 3GB)
- 16GB/32GB of storage
- no microSD storage
- 16-megapixel camera with Largan M8 lens, 1/2.3-inch, 1.34 µm pixels sensor
- 8-megapixel front-facing camera with 1.4 µm pixels sensor
- NFC, Wi-Fi Display, barometer sensor, Bluetooth 4.0
- LTE support (not all models)
- three-microphone system
- Android 4.2 Jelly Bean-based Amigo ROM with lots of software features
For what it’s worth, the phone will be made of plastic, not metal, although it does appear to feature a unibody design, especially considering it lacks support for microSD cards. In case it matters, the handset will be launched in seven colors. Standard accessories will include an USB OTG cable, NFC tags, a leather case, a protective case and a dock.
Also interesting is the fact that the handset can be operated without taking the gloves off during the winter.
Unique characteristics
As you can see in the specs list above, the Elife E7 will have some unique characteristics including the 2.5GHz Snapdragon 800 chip that we’re yet to see in a phone and a co-processor that will deliver always-on listening capabilities and other features while the phone is in standby mode, but also the 16-megapixel main shooter that Gionee says it will beat the 16-megapixel sensor the Galaxy S5 is rumored pack. The Elife E7’s camera will have 1.34 µm pixels compared to the Galaxy S5’s camera which is said to have 1.12 µm pixels. The main camera sensor will apparently also be better than the cameras of the Xperia Z 1 and the iPhone 5s. Not to mention that the front-facing shooter of the Elife E7 is expected to offer the same performance as the camera found in the iPhone 5.
When it comes to Android, the handset will not run an OS version close to stock Android, as it will include several custom software features such as an automatic classification of text messages good for dealing with spam messages in China, a contextual action bar below text messages, live task cards when using between tasks, several camera features, and “overall clean visuals,” as Engadget describes it. The phone will also offer SMS encryption and a guest mode that will let users share the device, without letting intruders access private information including call logs, text messages, email, photos and other data.
Release date and pricing
The phone will be launched in China on December 12, although the first versions will not pack the 2.5GHz Snapdragon 800 processor and will ship with a 2.2GHz model instead. Here are pricing details for the first models the company will sell:
- CN¥2,699 ($440): 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, WCDMA/TD-SCDMA support
- CN¥3,199 ($530): 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, WCDMA/TD-SCDMA support
The 2.5GHz Snapdragon 800 model (the Elife E7L) will launch in the first quarter of 2014, and it will offer dual-mode LTE support, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. This Elife E7 version will retail for CN¥3,499 ($570).
The good news for those of you interested in buying the handset is that it will come to 40 countries from Latin America, Africa, EMEA and APAC, although specific launch details were not offered. Unfortunately, North America isn’t included in the list.
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