5-inch 1080
phones not your style, fancy something a little smaller but still want a high quality rear
camera and
quad-core MT6589 CPU? Then the
UMi X1s and
JiaYu G4 should be on your list!
With all the large screen 5-inch
Android phones coming to the market, it makes a refreshing change to see not all manufactures are following the same trend, and some are creating powerful next generation
MT6589 phone based on smaller displays.
Two to look out for over the next few months are the
JiaYu G4, and the lesser known
UMi X1s, but which of these new Chinese
phones is going to suit you best?
If you have been following Gizchina, then you more than likely know the full spec of the
G4 memorised. For those of you who don't know the
phone thank yourself lucky you found this post!
The
G4 is set for launch shortly after the Chinese New Year holiday, and will be
JiaYu's flagship MTK
phone for 2013 with great features including a
quad-core CPU, 13 mega-pixel rear
camera and 4.7-inch 720 HD display.
Two versions of the
G4 will be available with the base model starting at 999 Yuan ($160) with 1GB
RAM and a 1850mAh battery, the top of the range
G4 will pack 2GB
RAM and a larger
3000mAh battery (it is suggested that the 1GB version will accept the larger
3000mAh battery too).
Built-in memory is a generous 32GB, but if that isn't enough a micro SD card slot will sit alongside the dual-sim cards to increase storage.
From a design point of view the
G4 offers a similar design to the Xiaomi M2, and one of the colour options will be a white back panel just like the M2. There will also be a black model too along with a choice of aftermarket shells in various colours.
The
UMi X1s might not be as anticipated as the its big brother the X2, but tho
updated quad-core phone could offer just enough performance at the right price to dissuade potential
G4 customers.
Although we have seen plenty of photos of the
G4 (and the
Umi X2) no real leaked images of the
X1s have been uncovered, but this doesn't matter as from the exterior the
X1s is going to be identical to the current dual-core Umi
X1.
In fact many of the features of the
X1 are present in the
X1s with the only real difference between the old and new
phones being the addition of a
quad-core 1.2Ghz
MT6589 processor.
Like the current
Umi X1, the
X1s will feature a thin 8.5mm body topped with a 4.5-inch 720 IPS display. A front 2 mega-pixel
camera will take care of video calls, while the rear
camera is an 8 mega-pixel sensor, however this is said to be an
updated version and not the same
camera as found on the current
phone.
While the
G4 gets up to 2GB
RAM and 32GB of memory, the
X1s will only offer 1GB
RAM and 4GB memory, but it does offer a micro SD card reader and there will also be dual-sim support.
UMi have been quite helpful with providing a full spec sheet of the
X1s, which even shows the supported networks for the
phone which are GSM: 850/800/1800/1900 WCDMA 2100.
You might be looking at the specs of the
X1s and think that the comparison between this and
G4 is a little unfair, and if they were to be priced the same we would agree, however seeing as the
X1 currently sells for 899 Yuan ($144) and that the
X1s will no longer be a flagship
phone, we could see prices drop to the 700-800 Yuan mark ($112 - $128).
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While on paper it seems that the
JiaYu G4 would make a better choice of
phone, there are some other matter to consider.
From past experience with the
JiaYu G3 we know that the
G4 is going to be one of the hottest
phones of the year and will be very difficult to
buy. What's more, resellers have been known to increase prices of JiaYu phones more than they do for comparable phones from other brands.
As the
X1s isn't as well-known, and isn't as anticipated as the
G4 and
Umi X2, it is likely to be easier to
buy and will be cheaper internationally too.
So which do you go for?
Pre-order a G4 or go for the lower spec
UMi X1s?