The Infinix Note 3 gave me quite a good first impression during the unboxing phase of the Note 3 interaction. Two things stand out when you hold the Note 3 for the first time, the shiny gold frame and the finger print scanner at the back.
As usual the Infinix Note series of phones have a big screen size, the Note 3 went further and gave us a 6 Inch Full HD screen. The IPS screen also gives you great viewing angles especially when taking selfies.
The bottom bezel is a little bit pronounced as you can see on this photo but I will talk about that later on.
Performance and CPU
The Infinix Note 3 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow powered by a 1.3GHz quad core processor. This works in conjunction with 2GB RAM to give faster loading processes.
The XOS chameleon customised android OS makes the Full HD screen marvel. It has more colourful wallpapers and the stock app icons have been given a new look. When it comes to heat management the Infinix Note 3 has what is called aerospace cooling technology whereby a liquid is passed through copper pipes that pass through out the phone. What happens is that excess heat turns the fluid into vapour which travels away from the hot area. In doing so the process cools the phone. So far I have not experienced excessive heat build p that slows the phone down.
Another feature added to manage good performance is the Cleaner widget which releases unused memory space for better performance. The main app is now known as X manager and its functions range from mobile cleanup, harassment block, app manager just to mention a few.
Finger Print Scanner
The Infinix Note 3 is the first Infinix device launched in Kenya with a finger print scanner. The scanner itself is located at the back below the LED lights. With the fingerprint scanner already set, it unlocks the device from sleep mode almost instantly.
The finger print sensor can also be used to pick calls as well as take photos be it a selfie or ordinary photo. The advantage of taking selfies with the fingerprint scanner is that it eliminates shaky selfies whereby a person had to position his/her finger on the screen to take a photo thus producing less than awsome selfies. The fingerprint scanner eliminates that completely especially with the big size smartphone.
Camera
With a Full HD screen the cameras should not disappoint at all and they do not. The rear has a 13MP centrally placed camera and the front camera is 5MP with Flash.
Storage
With 2GB RAM it was expected that the Note 3 would have a bigger storage but that was not the case. The Infinix Note 3 has 16GB internal storage of which only around 6GB is left for the user. The storage is however expandable to 128GB with the use of an SD card.
Battery and Charging
Infinix managed to fit a smaller size non removable battery but with a bigger capacity of 4500mAh on the Note 3. Theoretically its supposed to last 2 days but I only use it for a single day and this is why. I do not hold back like I would do with a 3000mAh battery smartphone.
With the phone mostly on WiFi, watching videos on a bright screen and on the apps browsing, the battery charge after around 15 hours of use is usually around 40%
Charging the Note 3 to full capacity with its original charger takes more than an hour. The cooling technology also helps to cool the Note 3 during charging too.
The non removable battery cover is now metallic and its somehow slipperly. The Note 3 needs big hands and or a firm grip because if anyone or anything touches your arm unexpectedly, the phone might drop down. The bezel at the bottom is also (in my own opinion) too big. This makes the awesome big screen smaller because the on screen navigation buttons have to squeeze in there.
Price
The Infinix Note 3 is exclusively available on jumia.co.ke website for only Ksh14,499. The 4G version with 4GB RAM is expected to launch in September this year.
Is this the best Note Series device? Yes it is
What would I change on the Note 3 if given a chance?
Remove the bezel at the bottom completely or make it a physical navigational area. But its a great smartphone from Infinix.
I used Infinix Note 2 once and intend to upgrade to Note 3 but in comparison to varieties of Notes, Sumsung Note 7 etc ….Someone tell me where do I go ?