Hardware
Display
At 4.3 inches, the Pioneer P3’s screen is a whole lot smaller than other phones going around in the market today. This means 2 things; one, that the phone will fit much easier in your pocket and hand; and two, that the device won’t offer the ‘spaciousness’ of the large real estate you find on other phones with 5” or 5”+ screens. However, you should be able to carry out daily tasks without hassle on this one; it is only your multimedia and web-browsing experience that will get a hit on the 4.3 inch WVGA screen.
Camera and Storage
As you would expect on a sub-10k INR phone from a (upto a certain extent) reputable vendor, the phone comes with a 5MP main shooter paired with a VGA front, while newer and a few other Chinese and domestic manufacturers are offering 8MP camera phones at similar prices. However, Gionee have proved their mettle in the past by offering good quality components along with a decent build. This will apply to the camera as well; although you won’t nearly get DSLR quality photos on this one, you will get a decent companion for casual usage. The phone comes with 4GB of on-board ROM which is a little disappointing, and which could easily have been 8GB. The phone, however, offers a microSD slot for expansion.
Processor and Battery
The phone comes with a 1.3GHz quad core processor which is certainly impressive for a device costing under 8k INR (that’s just the MRP; you will probably get one for even lesser). We assume this processor is the MT6582, which happens to be the newest quad core from well known Taiwanese fabricator MediaTek. The phone will offer decent performance, which will probably surprise many. The battery is only a 1700mAh unit which could’ve been better, but that’s what we have to make do with. However, one whole day on a single charge will be a task achievable by most.
Form Factor and Competitors
Design
The device pretty much looks like a Samsung phone minus the typical home button. However, this is not bad in any way. Thanks to the relatively small screen, the phone will fit in most pockets. The device will probably find buyers from the business segment, since it simply does not have what the youth of today are looking for – large screens, high resolution cameras, etc.
Competitors
Karbonn Titanium S5+Karbonn Titanium S2Micromax Canvas Viva, etc
Conclusion
The phone indeed looks like a great buy at the concerned price point. However, the only place where Gionee will lose out on buyers is the section looking for large(r) screen phones, which quite honestly comprises of the majority among potential buyers. Having said that, let me also add that the phone will offer a build quality that’s a notch above what other domestic manufacturers like Karbonn, XOLO and Micromax offer.
