Battle of the Slimmest smartphones: Vivo X5Max versus the Gionee Elife S5.1
So, the slimmest phone yet is in the market - the Vivo X5Max. How does it compare to Gionee Elife S5.1 that was until recently the slimmest phone. A comparison of the two lets you decide which smartphone has the better features.
The Gionee Elife S5.1 set off waves in the Indian market earlier this year with its ridiculously thin body at 5.2mm and its sub-INR20,000 price. Then the 4.85mm thin Oppo R5 pushed it off its pedestal and now the Vivo X5Max has done the same to Oppo, with its 4.75mm body. The battle of the slimmest smartphone this year clearly begins with Chinese maker Vivo's victory. But how does Vivo's offer compare with Gionee's smartphone on other counts? Let us take a look. Price
The Gionee Elife S5.1 is currently available at Flipkart, Amazon and elsewhere at the best price of INR18,500. We also know that the Vivo X5Max is available at brick-and-mortar stores at INR32,980. Clearly, on the price front, the Elife is going to appeal more to those looking for budget smartphones while those who are willing to spend more will consider how the Vivo fares in terms or features and specs. Look, Feel And Display
The Vivo handset has a stainless-steel construction and a sizeable body. The tiny edges manage to fit in a dual SIM tray that could take a Micro SIM and microSD card or Nano SIM cards and a full-sized 3.5mm headphone jack. The Gionee phone also gives a great first impression, with the same AMOLED screen that the Vivo has. In terms of aesthetics, both phones stand on an equal footing, except the unbelievable sub-100g weight of the Elife.
The X5Max weighs 146 grams while the Gionee is significantly lighter at 97 grams, so clearly the latter is going to thrill users who like their smartphones light and airy. Having said that, the Vivo has the larger screen at 5.5 inches (offering 1080X1920 resolution) while its competition has an average 4.80 inch display with a lower resolution at 720X1280 pixels. The former offers 400 pixels per inch (ppi) while the latter offers 306 ppi, so we know which is likely to offer sharper images and more readable text. However, this shouldn't matter so much since both have full HD displays. Performance and Battery
The X5Max is powered by an octa-core 64-bit Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM. The processor runs two Cortex-A53 quad core units with 1.7GHz and 1GHz frequencies each. That is a lot of power but it is wasted on the skinned Android 4.4KitKat version it operates. The Elife is less powerful, with a 1GB RAM that is bound to raise questions about performance despite the octa-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon (Mediatek MT6592) it uses. It also runs Android 4.4KitKat with the Amigo OS v2.0.
Both offer 16GB storage but the Elife does not have support for a microSD, which you could use in the Vivo to expand memory up to 128GB. The Gionee wins on the battery front, however. Its 2,300mAh battery beats the 2,000mAh that the Vivo uses. The X5Max comes with a 13MP primary camera while its competition sports one with 8MP. Both have a 5MP front camera for decent selfies. Other Features
Vivo has emphasized on audio in its device, with dedicated audio chips and a karaoke mode that you can sing along to, along with echo and reverb effects. The Android skin it uses, the Funtouch, is yet another iOS 8 clone. So you need to swipe the screen from bottom up to access quick settings, rather than top-to-bottom as is the case with Android.
The Elife misses LTE connectivity, which might not be a big problem for its target market. The screen on this device also comes with Dual Gorilla Glass 3, which makes the screen strong and scratch-resistant. The Verdict
It would have been a difficult choice to pick one of the two contenders, had it not been for the non-expandable memory on the Gionee Elife. Despite a better battery and significant price difference with the Vivo, the 16GB memory and the 1GB RAM could be a deal-breaker for many who don't mind paying more for the more powerful and thinner smartphone in the Indian market today.
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Gionee has a very good camera quality and it's price is also in the budget. What is the latest model of Gionee available in the market and what is it's price?