Coolpad Note 3 Lite is a lighter version of the popular Coolpad Note 3- This is a dual SIM handset powered by 64 bit quad core processor and comes loaded with 3GB RAM and a fingerprint scanner on the back. The best part is the price – ?6, 999.
Note 3 Lite Unboxing
Inside the box you will get the handset, screen guard, user guide, warranty card, data cable, travel charger ( 5V ~ 1A) and good quality earphone. SAR value : 0.249 W/kg @1gm head and 0.425 W/kg@1gm body. The Note 3 Lite is made in India, however the review unit I got says made in China – probably just the review unit.
Design
The Note 3 Lite body is made of plastic. I got the white colour version for the review. There is a golden border ( plastic with metallic coating) on the top. Sides are curvy and back panel comes with textures that help get a good grip.
Weight with built-in battery is 148 grams and dimensions are 70.52 x 141.18 x 8.93 mm.
Power button is on the right side, volume rocker on the left, audio jack on the top and micro USB at the bottom. There are two microphones.
This handset comes with dual SIM slots – 2x micro SIM and 1x micro SD slot. So in all you can simultaneously use 2 micro SIMs and a micro SD card. 4G is supported and it works on both the SIM slots.
There is LED notification and following sensors – accele_45rometer, light and proximity ( check video review) .
Display
The Coolpad Note 3 Lite sports a 5 inch screen with 1280 x 720 pixel ( HD) resolution. Colour reproduction and touch response is good and viewing angles are decent enough. I got a used Note 3 Lite for review that already had a scratch on it, so better use a screen guard.
I also found one more issue – when I pressed the screen ( even slightly) , the area where I touched got slightly distorted ( check video review) , not sure if the issue is with this handset or in general.
Memory, Storage and OS
Note 3 Lite is packed with 3GB RAM and 16GB ROM. You will get around 11 GB free space on first boot and about 2GB free RAM. OTG is not supported ( note OTG is working as confirmed by users who got the handset recently, it did not work on this handset that I got for the review) . You can set app installation preference to external SD card.
This smartphone is running CoolUI 6.0 over Android 5.1 ( lollipop) .
Performance
Note 3 Lite is powered by MediaTek MT6735 1.3GHz 64 bit quad core processor coupled with Mali T720 GPU. Overall performance is smooth. Handset does not heat up much, max temperature I encountered was 40 degrees.
Benchmark
Quadrant – 12488Antutu ( 64 bit) – 1st time 32072, 2nd time 33012Nenamark 2 – 59.7fpsInternal storage Speed – Read ( 160MB/s) , Write ( 43 MB/s) Multi Touch – 5 Point.
Gaming
I tried Asphalt 8 in high visual quality mode and it played well, no lag and pretty smooth. The game got installed on external storage.
Camera
There is a 13MP AF camera on the rear with LED flash and a 5MP camera on the front. Rear camera can shoot FHD videos. Camera quality is average, there is scope of improvement – software related. There was too much of yellow tint – check the sample images below
Fingerprint scanner
A fingerprint scanner is packed on the rear, it’s touch ID based, fast and accurate. You can register up to 5 fingerprints. When the screen is off ( in standby mode) simply place the finger on the fingerprint scanner and hold on for a second or two ( or just touch and lift) for the screen to switch on and automatically unlock ( when using fingerprint scanner for security) .
Others
Sound is loud and clear, in-call sound is also good. I did not find any network issues. 4G, WiFi, GPS ( instant lock) and Bluetooth worked well.
Battery
This handset houses a 2500 mAh battery that does a good job. You can expect about 4 to 5 hours of continuous moderate to heavy usage on a single charge. I got an easy over 1 day of battery backup with mixed usage.
Battery Performance
Running Benchmark app – 16 minutes / battery % dropped by 5 / battery temp = 36 degrees.Played Asphalt 8 – for 17 minutes / battery dropped by 7% / battery temp = 40 degrees.Watched FHD video with full brightness ( WiFi /4G on) – for 24 minutes / battery dropped by 8% / battery temp was 34 degrees.Handset charging ( wall charge) 2 hours 30 minutes from 24% to 100% .
Verdict
The Coolpad Note 3 Lite is packed with good stuffs, performance is smooth and battery backup is good. Camera quality is average – could have been better. Still for the price with 3GB RAM and fingerprint scanner this handset is definitely a very good buy.
