Meizu MX launches today, lines dotted all over China as usual (updated)
This time last year we witnessed the Meizu M9 madness in Shenzhen, so we decided to pay our favorite gadget city another visit for the MX launch today (still the 1.4GHz dual-core model, of course). Surprisingly, the lines in Huaqiangbei this time were significantly shorter, but we were told that this was due to tighter security measures as requested by the local authorities -- if you've seen last year's photos you'll know why. Instead, this year the customers are told to line up only when they get a phone call; but a few keen beans still arrived last night, and the first guy in Shenzhen even turned down hotel accommodation offered by Meizu. Yep, that's how you do a "first" properly, folks. Other big cities in China also saw a similar phenomenon, including Beijing, Guangzhou and even Hong Kong -- it's hard to miss the long line formed along the south end of Sai Yeung Choi Street outside the new Mongkok store.
Meizu also informed us that the MX's final hardware benefits from an improved camera (tweaked white balance and the lens now benefits from an oleophobic coating), while the software's been giving many enhancements since our review -- these are mostly the weird default settings we mentioned previously, such as the max clock speed out of the box (now at 1.4GHz instead of 1GHz) and the default video recording resolution (now 1080p instead of the weird 1,080 x 720 setting). Oh, and if you're still rocking the older M9, Meizu has confirmed that it'll also get the Ice Cream Sandwich update later this year, so stay tuned. More in the press release after the break.
Update: A Meizu engineer confirmed on the company's forum that from now on, all Meizu Android devices -- including the M9 -- will receive both a vanilla OS build and a Meizu-customised build. That said, the phones won't support simultaneous dual-system, so you must pick your destiny. Thanks, Andi!
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MEIZU MX On Sale Across China Starting On January 1, 2012
HONG KONG - December 30, 2011 - MEIZU will begin selling its latest flagship device, the MEIZU MX, on January 1, 2012 in its retail stores across China. This highly anticipated smartphone has received a warm reception, with the market displaying great interest both in its home market, China, and also internationally from all corners of the world.
Since starting the pre-order process on December 1, 2012, MEIZU received an overwhelming amount of pre-orders. The MEIZU MX launch is reminiscent of the MEIZU M9 launch one year prior, where massivley long lines were formed in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. Priority on the launch day will therefore be to provide pre-order customers with their units.
Hong Kong Launch
The launch day on January 1 represents MEIZU's first step outside of mainland China, as the MEIZU MX will launch simultaneously in the MEIZU Store in Hong Kong's busiest shopping area; Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mong Kok.
Queue registration will begin at 9:00 AM, with queue numbers being handed out on a first come, first serve basis. The MEIZU Store in Hong Kong will have two lines on launch day, one for pre-order customers and one for walk-in customers. Focus will be placed on satisfying pre-order customers, as the supply for walk-in customers will be very limited.
Continuous Improvement
Since releasing the MEIZU MX Engineering Sample units to the media on December 8, MEIZU has collected user feedback from across the globe and implemented a vast amount improvements and bug fixes, both to the hardware and the software of the device. The MEIZU MX is therefore the result of many people's work from around the world.
Some of the more prominent hardware improvements include a anti-fingerprint coating to the camera lens, easier to use hardware buttons, improved aesthetics of the internal circuitry along with improvements in overall build quality.
MEIZU M9 Price Adjustment
Coinciding with the MEIZU MX launch, the price of MEIZU's last phone, MEIZU M9 has been adjusted to 1,699 CNY, down from its previous 2,009 CNY. Released on January 1, 2011, MEIZU M9 was MEIZU's first Android phone and China's first flagship smartphone. It features a 326 PPI high resolution screen, 1GHz Cortex A9 CPU, and unsurpassed value for money.
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
An upgrade to the new Flyme OS based on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has been promised for both devices later in the year.
About MEIZU
Founded in 2003, MEIZU began producing music players which later came to be world renowned. Since 2008, all efforts have been focused on making great smartphones, which has made the company one of China's most loved smartphone brands. As a company, MEIZU seeks to transcend convention and imagination, with the ultimate goal of making products worthy of dreams.