The Chinese are at it again. With Xiaomi getting all the attention for disrupting the market, Meizu wants to make a name of its own. After introducing flagship devices like the MX4 and MX4 Pro, Meizu has introduced an affordable “Blue Charm” m1 Note smart phone that’s priced under RM700.
Like the name suggests, the m1 Note has a large 5.5″ display that pushes a flagship class Full HD resolution. This is probably the best smart phone display in this price range. Underneath, it runs on a 64-bit 1.7GHz Octa-Core MediaTek MT6752 processor that’s mated to 2GB of LP-DDR3 RAM. Storage wise you have a choice of either 16GB or 32GB capacity, but it lacks a microSD expansion slot. Unlike the MX4 which comes with a removable cover, the m1 Note comes in a single unibody design and the SIM card is inserted through a flush tray at the side.
If you think the MX4 and the MX4 Pro looks like an iPhone 6/6 Plus, the m1 Note appears to be heavily inspired by the iPhone 5C. This is more apparent with its wide choice of colours. On the software side of things, it runs on their customised Flyme 4.0 OS which is based on Android 4.4.
For taking pictures, it gets a Samsung 13MP f/2.2 camera which is assisted by a dual-tone LED flash. Meanwhile, the front has a 5MP f/2.0 shooter which is higher than the MX4 with its 2MP front camera. Keeping the lights on, the Meizu m1 Note has a non-removable 3,140mAh capacity battery that’s rated to last 12 hours of 4G web surfing.
To cater for those with multiple lines and has the need for faster connectivity, the m1 Note supports 4G LTE and it also has a dual-SIM card slot. However do note that the TD-LTE version is available now, while the FDD-LTE that works with our local 4G networks will be released later. The 16GB version costs 999 CNY (about RM562) while the larger 32GB version costs 1,199 CNY (about RM674). In terms of colours, it is available in white, blue, yellow, green and pink. Overall it is 8.9mm thick and weighs 145 grams, which is pretty light in comparison to the Redmi Note 4G‘s 185g.
The Meizu m1 Note is an impressive device with a killer price. Before this, the Redmi Note (Dual-SIM 3G: RM519, Single-SIM 4G: RM589) is the undisputed affordable phablet for the masses but now it looks like its position has been shaken with this better spec’ed competitor. From the recent Meizu Malaysia event, they have announced that 2 more new devices are coming to our shores very soon along with its flagship Meizu MX4 Pro.
For more info, head over to Meizu’s m1 Note product page.