Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression: A decent smartphone but will face tough competition

Coolpad Note 5 lite seems like a decent budget smartphone with camera and design as its highlight features

By Priyanka
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With an aim to target budget oriented consumers, Chinese smartphone maker Coolpad has launched 'Coolpad Note 5 lite'. The budget device features a metallic design, runs on Android 6.0 marshmallow and supports 4G VoLTE. Coolpad Note 5 lite will be available on Amazon India from 21st March at a price of Rs 8,199.

 
Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

We were present at the launch event and tested the handset for a brief time to find out what Coolpad has to offer this time. Here's what we think of Coolpad's new device- the Note 5 lite.

 
Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

Design and Display

The Coolpad Note 5 lite comes with a metal body design with rounded corners which gives it comfortable feel in hands. The smartphone comes in two colours- Gold and Dark Grey. We got the Grey variant that comes with Black front fascia giving it a distinct look in the multitude of Chinese smartphones offering similar White-Gold and White-Grey color combinations.

At the right side of the smartphone has power button and a hybrid Dual SIM tray slot. The volume rockers are placed on left and you will find the microUSB charging port at the bottom. The 3.5 mm headphone jack is positioned on the top.

The smartphone has 13 megapixel rear camera along with LED flash light and finger print scanner at the back. The front one has an 8 megapixel camera along with LED flash light to brighten up the images in non-ideal light situations. The dimensions of the phone are 145.3 x 72.3 x 8.7 mm and it weighs at 148 grams.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

Overall, the smartphone has an ergonomic design and looks quite premium.

Talking about the display, Coolpad Note 5 lite features a 5-inch HD IPS screen (1280X970) along with scratch resistant 2.5 D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top of it. The display is quite responsive, seems decent and colours also look quite vibrant.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

Camera

Coolpad Note 5 lite features a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera and an 8 megapixel front camera. The good thing is that both the cameras come equipped with LED flash light to help you capture images in low-light conditions.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression
Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression
Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

In my brief usage, I found that both the cameras do a decent job in capturing images.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression
Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression
Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

The pictures look decent and have good detailing. We will evaluate the camera performance in detail while reviewing the handset in the coming week.

SEE ALSO: Coolpad Cool 1 gets a price cut of Rs. 1,000; Grab it at Rs. 12,999

The camera app also has GIF mode and Pro mode that will allow users to record a video in GIF format. Besides, you also get aPro mode that allows you to manually adjust 5 items: ISO, exposure, white balance, focal length and color tone, like a pro (using a DSLR camera). The front camera also comes with a Beauty mode for selfie lovers.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

Processor and RAM

The smartphone is powered by MediaTek MT6735CP processor clocked at by 1.0 GHz quad core. The CPU is assisted by Mali - T720 GPU and 3GB of RAM to take care of graphical intensive tasks and multitasking respectively. There is 16GB internal memory, which is expandable by up to 64GB via a microSD card.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

Battery and connectivity

The smartphone is powered by MediaTek MT6735CP processor clocked at by 1.0 GHz quad core, assisted by Mali - T720 GPU and 3GB of RAM, it seems good with this price point. It also comes with 16GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card.

The smartphone is backed by a 2,500mAh battery unit that is said to offer a stand by time for up to 200 hours. I believe that battery is one of the weakest point of Coolpad Note 5 lite as the handset's rivals such as Xiaomi Redmi Note 3s prime and Lenovo K6 Power offers bigger 4,000mAh battery units that does a far decent job than what Note 5 lite is expected to deliver.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

However, we will give our final verdict while reviewing the handset.

On the connectivity front, Coolpad Note 5 lite offers Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and Dual-SIM functionality. The device supports 2G, 3G and 4G VoLTE network.

Software

The smartphone runs on CoolUI based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It comes with preloaded apps like Rock Wallpaper, Cool Service, Cool Store, Xploree Keyboard, Zuimei Weather and UC Browser.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

In my brief stint with the handset, the UI seemed quite responsive and I did not face any performance issues.Stay tuned for the complete performance test of Coolpad Note 5 lite on Gizbot.com.

Coolpad Note 5 lite first impression

Verdict

Coolpad Note 5 lite seems like a decent budget smartphone with camera and design as its highlight features. However it misses on some major features like display, battery and processing power, which can be deal breaker for consumers. We will stress test the handset to find its real potential to give final verdict.

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