The Meizu M1 Note has caused quite a stir in the local smartphone scene when we first told you guys about it during the local launch of the MX4 Pro back in February. This is primarily because of the Chinese firm’s aggressive pricing coupled with the phone’s competitive feature set which includes a 5.5-inch full-HD IGZO display, LTE connectivity and a beefy 3140mAh battery.
Fortunately, the folks over at Novo7 Tech were kind enough to lend us a sample unit which, according to them, has just arrived straight from China. Needless to say, we immediately got to work to give you guys an early preview of some of the things we can expect from this recently released smartphone from Meizu.
If the plastic-backed iPhone 5C and the iPhone 6 Plus had an offspring, it will undeniably look like the Meizu M1 Note.
The phone’s likeness to Apple’s current flagship smartphone is thanks to the clean, near-bezel-less (on the sides at least) front panel that is predominantly occupied by its 5.5-inch display with an appropriately-sized capacitive button which, at first glance, looks very similar to the trademark physical button of the iPhone.
The M1 Note’s posterior and overall design, on the other hand, are reminiscent to the iPhone 5C – from the rounded corners down to the material used for its non-detachable back cover, the Meizu M1 Note looks like a supersized iPhone 5C running on Android.
But it doesn’t stop there. A closer look at the M1 Note reveals that it even has the same speaker setup as the iPhone 5C – complete with four holes on the bottom right chin of the device. The design and the placement of the physical buttons, as well as the location of the Micro-USB port and the SIM card slot are also similar to that of the iPhone 5C.
The only noticeable difference is the absence of Mute toggle on the left side, above the volume rocker of the iPhone 5C (or any other iPhone for that matter) and the placement of the audio jack which is located at the top left corner instead at the bottom left on the iPhone 5C.
When the iPhone grew in size, Apple had to relocate the Power button to the right side of the handset so it can be easily reached by the right-handed user’s thumb or by the middle finger of the lefties. Sadly, that wasn’t the case with the Meizu M1 Note, making it really cumbersome to wake the phone using the button placed at the top right corner.
Luckily, users won’t have to go through that arduous task to wake the M1 Note as it can be done by tapping the screen twice in quick successions ala LG Knock-On. Meanwhile, putting the handset to sleep can be done by long-pressing the capacitive button. That being said, the only time that one would have to reach for that inconveniently placed power button is when turning the smartphone on or off.
Not much can be said on the M1 Note’s back side other than the fact that it looks and feels exactly like the iPhone 5C’s posterior. Other than the company’s logo, accompanied by an obligatory “Made in China” disclaimer down at the bottom, the only thing that’s worth writing home about is the handset’s 13-megapixel rear camera unit that was sourced from Samsung along with the dual-tone LED flash unit below it.
Because of the phablet nature of the M1 Note, some users, particularly those with small hands, may find it challenging to thumb from one edge to another without having to re-adjust the way they hold the device or by holding it with two hands.
That is not to say though that the handset is cumbersome to hold, in fact it’s quite the contrary. Meizu did a fine job of trimming down the M1 Note enough to still provide a reassuring heft and be comfortably used during one-hand operation.
Even though we were a little bit disappointed to know that the locally available Meizu M1 Note is not the variant running on Snapdragon 615, the MediaTek MT6752 octa-core system-on-chip is carving a name for itself in the mid-range smartphone segment and, judging by the initial benchmark tests results we got out of it, has enough fire power to keep things smooth and steady for the M1 Note.
AnTuTu: 40397
Quadrant Standard Edition: 15428
Vellamo: 2835 (Browser) / 1126 (Metal) / 1712 (MultiCore)
NenaMark2: 57.1 frames-per-second
3DMark IceStorm Extreme: 10737
Initial Verdict
It’s still early, but the Meizu M1 Note is shaping up to be quite the contender in the mid-range smartphone department. It’s got the processing power to match its well-crafted but undeniably iPhone 5C-inspired body and, best of all, it’s priced just right to give its competitors a good run for their money.
Meizu M1 Note specs:
5.5-inch Sharp IGZO Full HD display, 401ppi
Corning Gorilla Glass 3
1.7GHz MediaTek MT6752 octa-core CPU
Mali T760 MP2 GPU
2GB RAM
16GB / 32GB internal storage
13 megapixel Samsung camera w/ LED flash, F/2.2 aperture
1/3.06-inch CMOS sensor, 300-degrees panoramic lens
5 megapixel OVS670 front camera, F/2.0 aperture
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
FDD-LTE / WCDMA / GSM
WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth 4.0, BLE
GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
Flyme 4 OS (Android 4.4 Kitkat)
3,140mAh battery
150.7 x 75.2 x 8.9mm
145g
White, Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink
The Meizu M1 Note is now available in the market, albeit only available in White variant for now. It can be had for Php7,990 and can be purchased at Novo7 Tech SM BF, SM Southmall, Gateway Cubao, SM North, Lucky Chinatown, Meizu Kiosk SM Manila. Our full review is coming up in a week or so, so stay tuned for that.
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