Review of Meizu M1 Note: if you can go to Android after iOS?

Here we're all about Apple about Apple but mostly. Touted, little was blamed for the error, "curve» iOS 8, so to speak maliciously about Android. "Yes you do something in his hands holding new devices with green robot? They have a hundred years ago were much better! "- readers may exclaim. And in a sense they are right: held for a long time, new features not seen. It is time to correct the situation. And as a guinea pig in this review will be the Meizu M1 Note already gained popularity from a Chinese company.

Why?

Let's just figure out why it was chosen by this device. Certainly not the last role played by design. Agree, if you look at the pictures, it is very much like iPhone. Second, the smartphone is not so long ago appeared on the market and, therefore, had not yet morally obsolete. And finally, the price - one of the inhibiting factors in the comparison of Apple products from competitors.

How?

I will not claim to be an Android-expert, and will speak as usual, the average user, who knows what a smartphone is, understand the difference between iOS and Google's system, as well as distinguished from gigabytes gigahertz. Let's imagine that I just decided to change the smartphone from Apple on the other, and now describe their impressions of this transition.

Specifications

Let's first look at the "internal" unit. In size it is between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Its height is 150.7 mm, width - 75.2 mm, thickness - 8.9 mm, and weight - 145 grams. Slightly smaller "big» iPhone 6 Plus, a little more than the usual "six". Battery capacity under a plastic cover is 3140 mAh, and the amount of memory - 16 GB or 32 to choose from.

Display size 5.5 inches with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Glass - Gorilla Glass 3. Installed matrix - IGZO from Sharp.

Meizu M1 Note has an 8-core processor MT6752 (ARM Cortex-A53 1.7 GHz x8), graphics processing unit Mali T760 MP2 at 700 MHz and 2 GB of RAM LPDDR3 - good performance, considering the price device.

Regarding various sensors have no innovation, all standard: Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n, Bluetooth 4, a compass, a gyroscope, a light sensor and so on. But regarding the types of networks there are some differences: GSM / GPRS / EDGE (900 / 1800MHz), WCDMA / HSPA + (900 / 2100Mhz) and, of course, LTE (1800/2100 MHZ Band 1,3,38,41). And just at this very LTE and rooted differences. The fact is that at the moment, judging by the forums, 4G-network of such a standard is only supported by one of the operators - MTS. Therefore, before buying ask better with your operator if your smartphone is right for you if you decide to use LTE.

Appearance

No, no, let's abstracted. :)
Box, it must be said, made oddly enough, in the form of books. And it opens only once: by cutting the "seal", the second time you have the box completely close the lid will simply hang out.
Inside the box are a smartphone, USB data cable, plug and socket to book with instructions. The cable is complicated and is wrapped in a cardboard wrapper, inside which the clip is attached to the tray SIM-cards.

Sam Meizu M1 Note well, it is very similar to Apple's smartphones. There is already without explicit comparison can not do, no matter how hard you try. The front panel is entirely covered with glass, and at the bottom is the only touch the Home button. The back cover is made of plastic, more reminiscent of a specific model - iPhone 5s. In our case it is white, but there is still blue, yellow, green and pink versions.

As I mentioned above, the smartphone is only available with a limited memory capacity: 16 GB, 32 GB - and it can not expand. Therefore, it is better to think about how much data you will operate, and choose a model "in size." On the right side is a tray for SIM-cards (yes, there are two of them), which is opened by a package insert clips. However, with SIM-cards is quite interesting story. You can use one or two SIM cards, but only one of the slots - Middle - supports 3G, WCDMA and GSM, the farthest - only GSM.

Camera

As befits modern smartphone, Meizu M1 Note equipped with two chambers: Mn core 13 and the front 5 Mn. Nothing unusual there is no one nor the other: remove mediocre. But the settings, including unnecessary for most users, they have a lot. For example, the front camera can touch up your lipstick, to get even more beautiful selfie. This technology helps to Face After Effects, which determines the contours of the face, eyes and lips.

Front camera, in addition to the normal pictures, knows how to make panorama square photos and... has a dozen dissimilar modes. Video Recording is performed only at 30 frames per second. See the gallery pictures will speak for themselves.

Hi Andrew!

Now let's see how the machine behaves in the real world, and study the interface of the operating system.

As we already know, Meizu - the company from China, which means that even when you first turn found familiar (or rather even unknown) characters. Though the smartphone and sold officially in Russia, the localization of many menu items "lame", at times on both legs. And it's not just obscure Chinese characters, but also in spelling.

Well, God be with them, the Russian language for the Chinese complex. The main thing is that the phone is switched on and running. The first thing you need to connect your account from Google, is now available to Google Play (remember it from the time of its first tablet with Android 2.2), and other services. But - in the connected accounts - in options available and their own cloud of Meizu - Flyme (on behalf of the OS - Flyme OS, own skin for Android), which proposes to make backups, synchronize contacts and settings. Simply put, all the same as in the iCloud, the only places provide ten times more. By default 10 GB is available, but after activation and authorization of the account can be increased as much as up to 1 TB.

If you walk on the settings, you can find interesting and unusual things for iOS. For example, there is a shop with skins. Straight from the settings, you can go to a private section of the Meizu digital content and download or buy your favorite topic. It should be noted that the choice is really big, and the most interesting styles - exclusively paid. But any of those can be tested in trial mode: after installation you will have 5 minutes trying to decide whether this design is right for you or not.

It is also interested in setting "driver assistance". According to the description included option should pronounce the name when an incoming call or a phone number. In fact, a woman's voice begins to chatter something in an incomprehensible language. I'm certainly not a linguist, but nothing like the digits of this long speech.

The software wrapper

I think it is no secret that for the operating system from Google, you can create not only their applications but also the so-called launchers - alternative jobs space in which to settle all your apps, widgets, and other features of chips, such as the transition from one animation to the desktop other.

Initially, the Meizu M1 Note is set Flyme OS - a launcher of its own design, which, apparently, should be a symbiosis of iOS and Android, taking the best from both systems. If the app store also buy a special design theme "for iOS», you can get a kind of iPhone to Android. At the very least, it will look similar.

Flyme OS tries to be similar and at the same time different from iOS. The structure of the menus, icons, and like the others, but are strongly reminiscent of analogues of the operating system from Apple. The interaction with the system is also quite similar, but go to the desktop by pressing the Home, I think, can be everywhere. But by holding the button pops up a "Chinese Siri», which murmurs exclusively in their own language, no matter what is chosen for her or system (Russian there, by the way, is not present). Screenshot of the window for some reason it is not done, so I had to do the usual photo.

launcher itself works fast, not slow, the menu remains responsive and after a week of use. But here's the "curve" localization and unworkable Siri clone quickly kill all desire to use standard shell. But Android is not a problem, you can always install something else! :)

Synchronization

You know, the funny thing is that in disputes between Android and iOS? All these advantages, disadvantages of one or another system, in fact, reduced to one... As strange as it may sound, but the iOS advantage - its closeness, and Android - in the open.

It is because of these factors are all so fond of one platform and contemptuous of the second. It is they - the stumbling block and subject of much debate such as "What is better: Android apps or iOS?». It is believed that the closed system of Apple gives developers more opportunities to optimize its software, and user - additional protection against viruses and stable operation of applications and games. And the openness of the system from Google - rich features to customize not only the interface, but whatever.

But back to the process of studying the smartphone. We've set up a Google account, Google the Play available to us, is inserted into the SIM-card. There is only one problem - contacts. Although where there may be a problem? Unloaded contact card so imported to the new device. Strange, but it does not work.

First, because I was too lazy, I tried to slip the card been uploaded directly in to your Google Account through web, but after going through a dozen different pages, and finally reaching up to the desired menu with the contacts, I was disappointed. "Import completed", - he wrote me a system and issued... an empty list. No contact is imported. Well, it does not matter, then try to do a simple operation by connecting the smartphone to a computer via USB-cable. Insert, select the connection mode and palms off the card with the contacts. A few seconds... and it imported only the first contact.

I tried to re-create the card, load it again, and in the account and the smartphone itself - all to no avail. Why it did not work - I do not know. Is there any alternative method - too. Dig into the settings, and Google had no interest. Therefore, ending with the transfer of contacts, I decided to move to more pressing matters.

customization

Enough to tinker with the settings, I decided that the standard shell Flyme OS does not suit me. Siri does not want to talk to me when I'm trying to find information on the Internet, Chinese characters, while not interfere much, but eye calluses. Therefore, to services came to me, I decided to replace the standard launcher to the one provided by Google.

Finding him in the Play Market, I, without thinking twice, set all that was required, but... When I ran launcher from Google, he He asked me to proceed to set up the machine, delete the data set by the launcher, then put the default new. Knowing exactly where this could be done, I came across the following problem: the data launcher Flyme OS can not be removed, and therefore, can not be delivered and the parties. To hell with it - useful to read forums. And I came across a solution to the problem: you must first remove all of the Google applications (Gmail, already mounted launcher and so on), and then - to put the launcher "Google", he proposed search and more some plug-in. Only then it will be able to change from one shell to another. Well, and after - to put the remote applications. Class!

Third-party software

And here we come to the fun part: the applications that are available in Play Market by other developers. Various utilities, games, books and movies in the app store a lot, and that's good. So I decided to start the test those who are already familiar: Telergam, «Maps Google», «Yandex. Navigator », Google Music (instead of iTunes Match) - and added to them a couple of games: UFC from Electronic Arts and Real Racing 3.

Regarding applications. It's all more or less the same, except Telegram, which has a bunch of some additional options that meet even unclear what, since turning on and off does not lead absolutely nowhere. And the saddest thing - this notice. I honestly tried to find a setting that, as in iOS, flew push and remained in Notification Center. What did I just not to choose - a huge chunk of messages appears on the display (if you have a picture, and it previews). This is convenient, we can say, without going to the Telegram itself, but the fact that people standing nearby can see a picture is bad. In addition, the icon of the application does not include the counter of missed messages. Yes, even if notifications are enabled for a chat or contact. That is, if one of the chat rooms is a correspondence, you will not know about it until you open the app itself.

Now we come to the games. Infinity Blade or Vainglory absent from the Play Market, since they are exclusive to iOS. Therefore, to compare the graphics in some of the best representatives of the genre was impossible. But the UFC and Real Racing with a good graphic component is found, which means that you can look at them.

By the way, the graphics in these games is not inferior to their counterparts on iOS, but there are a cosmetic problem. For example, on the start screen in the UFC does not fit the entire text information, and Real Racing letters in the menu goes off the edge of the screen. This occurs rarely, but nevertheless.

Performance is good. Nothing slows down, FPS no sags. Only it seemed that the game loading sometimes it takes a little longer than on iOS.
Attempt to launch two games in turn (first UFC, then RR) in a few minutes leads to the departure of one of them. If you run the other precedence, flies only racing arcade, when you switch to it with a fighting game. In other words, two "heavy" applications at the same time may not work. Even a couple of minutes.

If we consider the other applications, the situation for as long as I got my first tablet, in my opinion, has not changed much. Even official application with a good rating, and marked "Suitable for your device" may unjustly take off or does not run. A striking example - the application of the Bank "Promsvyazbank", which has four of the five star rating and the most popular comment that it is "not open".

Total

As I wrote at the beginning, I tried to approach the review with the novice user point of view or a "switcher" on Android. I do not specifically sought out the shortcomings of the system and the smartphone, I just wanted to use them. Unfortunately, some of the emerging challenges require study forums, but not the most friendly user interface let's not always understand what I doing wrong (it turns out, the applications carried over from the desktop into the trash is not removed completely, this action should be repeated in the menu "All application ").

Of the benefits of the device may be mentioned a decent iron fillings, nice, bright display and sufficient capacity (for tangible brake test while I have not seen).

Battery lasts for two days, however, with moderate loads. If you do not play games, but use your smartphone to handle all day to day tasks without shutting down the 3G / Wi-Fi / GPS and so on - all day long he will live. But not more.

By the way, charging from USB damn slow. If the mains the battery can be charged for 3-3.5 hours, then from the computer - per night, for 6-8 hours. So it goes.

Take it or not, that is the question

I would not like to give advice on the matter or to consider the situation a la "here instead of iPhone 4s - the most it, if not enough to" six "." It's a different system with its interesting solutions (yes, "Okay, Google!") And deficiencies. With its pluses and minuses. Has a right to exist. If you have a mother, daughter, grandmother, friend, colleague, mother-in-law or brother prefers green robot, then change the old to the new smart phone Meizu M1 Note possible. But if a person is accustomed to iOS, everything is much more complicated. But the choice is always yours! :)