Gionee launches quad-core E3 smartphone for Rs

Chinese manufacturer Gionee has debuted its ELIFE series of smartphones and the first device under this brand will be the E3. Priced at Rs 14,999 and available in stores from this month end, the dual-SIM Gionee E3 is entering a highly crowded segment of affordable quad-core smartphones with HD displays, where the likes of Micromax Canvas HD and Karbonn Titanium S5 have already made a mark. 

It brings a 4.7-inch IPS HD display with 312 ppi. Ticking under the hood is a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, but there’s no word on the maker of the chipset. From the pictures, the E3 looks to be built using plastic or polycarbonate and there looks to be some Nokia Lumia inspiration in the design.

There’s an 8 megapixel camera on the rear with autofocus and a 2 megapixel snapper on the front. This seems like fairly standard package, but the battery capacity of 1800 mAh sounds paltry, especially in light of the high resolution display and quad-core processor. However, the smaller battery also means the E3 is only 7.9 mm thick.

Internal memory is capped at 16GB and there’s no mention of a microSD card slot being present. In terms of connectivity, you can use 3G on one of the SIMs, besides the standard Wi-Fi connectivity. We saved the best for the last. The E3 runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean with very little customisations.

Gionee is clearly targeting a younger audience – the E3 is available in bright red, yellow and blue, as well as black and white versions. Just like the Gionee Dream D1, the E3 comes with additional back covers and screen guards.