Design and Build - There was a time when 5-inch screen smartphones were considered to be a huge thing but now the tide has changed. 5-inch screen are now the so called “compact” design. We can call the Gionee F103 a compact one in regard to its dimensions. Measuring 8mm thick the handset flaunts sharp edges and a look which makes it look uneasy to hold on to. We felt that there was nothing exceptional about the visage.
The rear of the handset comes in plastic which feels quite flimsy and fragile. The glossy finish tricks us to believe that the rear comes in glass. The power button and the volume keys are on the right. The bottom features the USB port and the top sports the 3.5mm audio jack and the speaker at the rear. Below the screen we come across three Android soft keys. The rear flaunts the primary camera and right below it sits the Gionee logo. The thick border around the screen does not seem to impress us much.
Display - The Gionee F103 flaunts a 5 inch screen with a screen resolution of 720x1280 pixels which comes up to 294 pixels per inch. The screen resolution is quite disappointing when compared to the Phicomm Passion 660 and Yu Yureka Plus which costs much lesser than the Gionee F103. The colors are displayed accurately and the viewing angles are great.
Software - The handset will be powered by 64-bit MediaTek MT6735 SoC which will be clocked at 1.3Ghz and a Mali T720 GPU. This is a relatively new SoC with 4G support, and the Gionee is compatible with India's popular band 40 LTE frequency. The processor comes bundled with 2 GB of RAM space which is supported by 16 GB of internal storage which can be further expanded to a 32 GB via a micro SD card.
Based on Android Lollipop the device is layered with Gionee's custom overlay, Amigo OS 3.0 which is one of the least favorite Android-based user interfaces. Although version 3.0 has improved the UI vastly, there are still far too many restrictions and problems, from poor translations to badly placed menus and settings. There is a fair amount of bloatware, but luckily, most of this can be uninstalled. The standard tools function well, with the exception of some goofy language which is sure to give you some laughs. Too much focus is laid on themes, with three separate bloatware apps dealing with themes and appearance. Talking of appearance and look, this is possibly the only aspect of the user interface that is appealing.
The dual-SIM device has fortunately a separate slot for storage so you are not with the misery of choosing between a dual-SIM feature or extra memory. The 2400mAh battery provides enough power to the handset which is said to provide up to 9 hours of heavy performance battery life.
Camera - The Gionee F103 comes equipped with an 8 MP rear camera and LED flash which supports 1080p video recording. The camera app is efficient with most of the regular functions. The setting and options seems to be a bit disappointing as when you want to record a video, it is not that simple. The video key will first switch to video mode and then will begin to record rather than starting it right away.
The pictures taken in low light were dull and grainy. The time the camera takes to focus on a subject in each shot is pretty long ass well. The images loses details when it is zoomed in. A 5 MP front snapper is also on board which supports 720p video recording.
Performance - When it comes to performance we have got nothing extraordinary to comment about. The handset works on par with devices which costs lesser than this in the price range. The device seems to lag while playing heavy video games. The graphical performance was however decent. Battery seems to drain off easily with power performances. Although the experience was not bad, it could most nearly be matched with the performance we would expect from a smartphone running a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC.
Sound performance with headphones and through the speakers is normal as well. Although the Gionee F103 is not a poor performer with ordinary cellular phone operations, it does not offer anything over and above what you would expect from any other device.
Final Word
The lack of quality in pictures taken with the camera is apparent on the face of it and shows even more when you actually look at the pictures in detail. If taking good pictures is important to you, the Gionee F103 is not the best option.
When it comes to the design the handset somewhat has a new look with its two-tone metal and plastic body. The projecting shiny metal edge is all that makes the difference.
All of these specifications are more or less on par with what is offered by other smartphones in the price range, so the Gionee doesn't have anything that helps it stand out in an already crowded and competitive market.
Key Features
Display - 5-inch (1280 × 720 pixels) HD IPS display with Dragontrail glass protection
Processor - 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735 64-bit processor with Mali-T720 GPU
Storage - 2GB RAM, 16GB Internal memory
OS - Android 5.0 (Lollipop) with Amigo UI 3.1
SIM - Dual SIM with Dual Standby
Camera - 8MP Auto Focus Camera with LED flash, f/2.2 aperture and 5MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture
Dimensions - 146×70.3×7.95mm
Connectivity - 4G LTE / 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
Battery - 2400mAh battery
Weight - 136 grams
Color - Pearl White, Dawn White or Black color
Price - Rs 9,999/-
