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IRL: A week with the thinnest phone on the market
Ever since the original Moto RAZR V3 came out 10 years ago, the smartphone industry has had a strange obsession with skinny phones. Not because shaving a millimeter or two off a device will give it more functionality, but because it's an effective marketing tactic. In emerging markets in particular, slimmer phones at slimmer prices enjoy a distinct advantage. Gionee, a handset maker based in China, isn't very well known, but it's looking to make a name for itself with devices like the $375 Elife S5.5. At 5.55mm thick, this svelte beauty currently claims the title for the thinnest smartphone on the market. To put that in perspective, that's a full two millimeters skinnier than the iPhone 5s. I spent a few days with the device to see if thinner really is better.
Hands-on with Gionee's super slim, octa-core Elife S5.5 smartphone (video)
It's only been a week since Gionee debuted its super thin Elife S5.5 Android phone in China, but luckily for us, the company also brought it along to MWC. After playing with the 5.55mm-thick device for some time, we were left very impressed with its build quality. The aluminum frame was nicely machined and felt solid, whereas the Corning glass back panel added an extra premium feel, despite leaving fingerprints behind. We still struggled to believe that there's a 1.7GHz octa-core SoC inside such a slim device, let alone a 2,300mAh battery and two nice cameras -- 5 megapixels on the front and 13 megapixels on the back. It should be noted that the rear imager and its LED flash do stick out a little, but it's not that noticeable in the corner. The S5.5 will come in several colors, with our favorite being the white and gold combo. We managed to have a quick chat with Gionee's president William Lu, who was amused by how folks from Sony, Samsung and Nokia kept going back to his booth to inspect his company's masterpiece. Well, if they don't mind splashing out about $375, they can grab one for themselves in China come March 15th; but the phone will eventually arrive in other countries (though the US is definitely not on the list). Meanwhile, feel free to check out our hands-on video after the break.
Gionee's 5.5mm thick smartphone can make calls all day, slice tomatoes
Gionee's trying to stand out from the Huaweis and Oppos of smartphone-mad China with its new Elife S5.5, which it claims is the world's thinnest at 5.5mm. If so, that would edge out the 5.75mm Vivo X3, the current champ (for reference, the iPhone 5s is 7.6mm thick). If "battery life" is the first thing that pops into mind for such a phone, Gionee claims it'll last all day like its (much thicker) flagship, the Elife E7, thanks to a 2300mAh battery. Other than that, it's fairly tame with a 5-inch display of unknown resolution, Gionee's "Amigo" Android-based OS, an unspecified 1.7GHz quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM and 13-megapixel back/5-megapixel front cameras. The 3G model is now up for pre-order in China for around $370, with an LTE version arriving in June. Gionee also said it'll launch in 40 other countries, though eager small-pocketed consumers will have to wait to find out which.
Gionee ELIFE E6 smartphone leaks with 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core SoC and 13MP cam
It looks like the battle for affordable smartphone flagships is heating up. Hot on the heels of TCL / Alcatel's tasty $280 Idol X comes word of Gionee's ELIFE E6, also boasting a 5-inch 1080p display, 1.5GHz quad-core processor (MediaTek MT6589T) with 2GB RAM and 13-megapixel BSI camera with flash. In addition to these main specs, the Chinese handset allegedly packs a 5MP front-facing shooter and 2000mAh+ battery, runs Android 4.2.1 (Jellybean) and features a svelte 8mm profile. Gionee is officially expected to launch the ELIFE E6 in Beijing on July 10th for somewhere between $320 and $360. Availability is unknown, but with MediaTek's SoC supporting both 42Mbps HSPA+ and TD-SCDMA (no LTE here, folks), this phone is likely destined to China, India and other APAC nations.
