Meizu m3
Meizu has just announced the successor
to its entry-level m2 smartphone. The new Meizu m3 carries a
lot of the traits of the existing model, including the US$ 92 base price, while
offering a few minor upgrades.
One of those is the chipset, a Mediatek
MT6750 with an octa-core Cortex-A53 CPU (4x1.5GHz, 4x1.0) replaces the MT6735
with a half the cores. There are two versions, the base one with 2 GB of RAM and
16 GB of built-in storage, and a higher-specced one with 3 GB/32 GB. There's a
microSD slot for expansion either way.
The polycarbonate body still holds a
5-inch 720p display, but the footprint is marginally increased, likely to accommodate
one of the changes - the m3 has 2.5D glass on its front. At 141.5 x 69.5 x
8.3 mm, it's a little thinner though, and still packs in a larger 2,870 mAh
battery (2,500 mAh in the m2).
The primary camera is the same 13 MP unit
with an f/2.2 aperture and phase detection autofocus. On the front you get a
5MP f/2.0 shooter, nothing new here either.
Thanks to the new chipset, you also get
LTE over a number of bands - what in China seems to be called Full netcom
support. There's the mandatory Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi a/b/g/n connectivity,
but no Wi-Fi ac.
Available in a number of fresh colors,
the m3 can be had in China for CNY 599 (2 GB/16 GB version), while the top
3 GB/32 GB version goes for CNY 799 (US$ 123). Global availability is unlikely to
happen over official channels though, so importing one where you are will
inevitably put a premium on those numbers.
