Lenovo K3 Note Hands-on Video, Images and First Impressions

Lenovo today launched the widely anticipated K3 Note in India. An upgrade over the A7000, the Lenovo K3 Note comes with a higher-res 5.5-inch full-HD 1080p display, 1.7GHz octa-core processor, 13MP / 5MP cameras running Android 5.0 Lollipop. The stellar feature of the K3 Note is not specs, but the price of Rs. 9999. But there's more to a personal device such as a smartphone than just specs and price. Its display quality, cameras, build quality and general performance. We will try to answer these questions in our hands-on video with first impressions of the Lenovo K3 Note.

Hands-on Video

Key Specs of Lenovo K3 Note

• 5.5-inch 1080p Full-HD IPS Display
• 1.7 GHz Octa-core, MediaTek MT6752
• Mali-T760MP2 GPU
• 2GB RAM, 16 GB storage expandable upto 32GB
• 13MP Rear Camera, Dual-LED Flash, 1080p Recording
• 5MP Front-camera
• 4G LTE, Dual-SIM, Micro-SIM Slots, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, FM Radio
• 3000 mAh Removable Battery

Lenovo K3 Note Specs and Photos

Build

The Lenovo K3 Note is almost a twin of the Lenovo A7000 in terms of design. Its almost like Lenovo decided to just swap the internals of the A7000 keeping the housing same.

Coming to the front you now have a 5.5-inch 1080p full-HD IPS display with hardened glass on top but no corning gorilla glass. The display has wide viewing angles and colors seem accurate. It is bright but quite reflective which will not be that great for sunlight legibility. Just below the display you have capacitive buttons which don't light up just like the A7000.

Above the display you have the 5MP front camera, proximity and light sensors alongwith a Notification LED. 

The top houses the micro-USB data-syncing/charging port alongwith the headphone jack.

Both buttons can be found on the right and are placed quite adequately. They offer good travel and feedback. There's nothing on the left apart from an indentation to open the back-cover. At the bottom of the device you just have the primary microphone.

Moving to the back you now have a 13MP rear camera with dual-LED flash and a secondary noise-cancellation mic. The speakerphone too is just towards the top-right. But this time around its sounds louder than the A7000. The back-cover doesn't exactly have a matte finish but it isn't glossy either. Its just something in between. You will be able to get the K3 Note in either Yellow, Black or White colors. Personally I would go with the Yellow one, it just has more personality.

On opening the back-cover you are greeted to a familiar layout with two micro-SIM card slots. The first one accepts 4G SIM cards and you also have a microSD card slot to expand storage upto 32GB. A 3000 mAh removable battery sits just below the slots.

The back-cover in itself does flex slightly but not when on the phone. The phone feels good to hold in the hand and is really not that bulky given the 5.5-inch display, 3000 mAh battery at about 150 grams.

Camera with Image Samples

Now, I did spent a little time trying out the cameras of the K3 Note. The rear camera is able to focus and take images quickly. The front-camera too takes images quickly, and they did turn out well. The camera UI is easy to use but isn't that feature-rich, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It just makes it better as a point and shoot camera.

We also took a few macro shots and the camera did have a difficult time focusing there. But these are just the first impressions and I need more time in different lighting scenarios to test out the camera.

Software

The Lenovo K3 Note is running Android 5.0 Lollipop with Vibe UI just like the A7000 and performance here is as smooth. The UI is fluid, apps opened up quickly and web browsing was also smooth. The touch-response of the display is also quick and smooth. It didn't miss any taps or swipes.

Vibe UI still needs a bit more polish but there is some customization built-in including themes to make it your own.

Color Options & Availability

The Lenovo K3 Note will be available on July 8th exclusively on Flipkart through flash sales. Registrations are already open. You will be able to get the K3 Note in either yellow, black or white colors in the sale.

There is a limited edition variant with a Ceramic Box speaker but that won't be coming in for the first few flash sales.

First Impressions

The Lenovo K3 Note has been priced perfectly. You are getting a lot more than you are paying for. A 1080p display, a fast octa-core processor with 2GB RAM, 16GB storage and a 3000 mAh removable battery. Build quality seems good, there is a choice of colors to suit your personality and the design, even though slightly boring, is unobtrusive.

The display seems bright, vibrant with good color reproduction. Performance was smooth and the cameras too did well. For the price, it seems you really can't get a better device and its an excellent competition to the Honor 4X, YU Yureka and to an extent the Xiaomi Mi 4i, making them look over-priced. For now, I am impressed with what the K3 Note has to offer, but we will be taking an in-depth look at it when we get the device for review in our labs.