China based smartphone manufacturer, Gionee recently started its operations in India with the launch of Dream D1 Android smartphone.
The Dream D1 is the first ever low cost Android smartphone to feature a Super AMOLED Display and even with that the company has managed to keep the price of the device at Rs 17,999. So let’s find out the real worth of the Gionee Dream D1.
Look and Feel
The Gionee Dream D1 is a sleek and light handset with 8.6 mm thickness and weight of around 140 grams, making it extremely easy to carry around. The device comes only in the graphite black colour, along with a metallic red and bronze snap covers.
The device has a clean flush finish and the absence of hardware keys on the front of the device really makes all the difference. The Gionee Dream D1 has got capacitive touch sensitive keys which are a part of its user interface and gives it a flush and neat look.
The back panel of Dream D1 features a texturised finish that provides good grip while repelling smudges. The device features glossy finish on all four sides that certainly add a touch of highlight for the device which features a complete black colour finish all over.
The sideways placement of the power/standby key really makes it easy to use. The left hand side houses the power/standby key which is a big turn off for the right handed users and cause a lot of discomfort too.
Overall, we are quite happy with the designed and build quality of the smartphone.
Display
Gionee Dream D1 comes with a 4.7 inch display with 720p resolution. Thanks to Super AMOLED technology, the display works great and has great contrast as well as colour vibrancy. The maximum brightness supported by the display makes it a perfect device to be used even in bright sunlight as well.
Its 1280 x 720 pixels Resolution makes it a great device to watch high definition movies and games. The brightness level of the device can go really high but puts a lot of strain on the eyes and drains out the battery much faster. Its 320 pixels per inch, which is much above than average, really comes in handy as the images look clean and hardly any pixilation is visible to the naked eye even while looking it extremely closer.
The colour reproduction and the black levels are good and the picture quality offered by the display is sharp and vibrant.
Processor and hardware
The Gionee Dream D1 utilises a Mediatek MT6589 Chipset that has a 1.2 GHz quad core processor along with an ultra-low power PowerVR SGX 544MP graphic processor that gives the phone a fluid touch operations and faster execution of commands and application requests.
The phone is capable of doing justice to most games, even the HD ones. But HD game seems to put the processor under a lot of strain and the device heats up quite fast.
Within 15 minutes of gaming you can easily feel the device getting warm. The device would be an instant hit in colder weather, but for others it might be a bit disappointing. The snap on covers further enhance the heat build-up and if you are a game enthusiast then it would be advisable not to use the covers.
The Gionee Dream D1 features 1 GB RAM and 1 GB of internal storage. The company is also offering a 16 GB Memory card with the device for free but its expandable storage slot can accommodate a micro SD card of up to 64 GB capacity.
With the hardware combination, the Gionee Dream D1 did not suffer any application crash or froze during our review. Even in terms of multitasking, there is ample headroom for applications with 1 GB RAM and a quad core processor.
Operating System
Gionee Dream D1 comes with Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 operating system and the company has promised over the air upgrades for the device in the future. The device makes use of the Nova user interface which is Gionee’s own custom interface and is very easy to use. The lock screen and the home screens have been modified to provide more information to the users making usage easier than the Stock Android user interface.
In terms of compatibility, most applications work easily and flawlessly on the smartphone. Plus the quad core processor really keeps the performance in tune with the demand from the application to deliver best possible performance.
Performance and usage
The Gionee Dream D1 offers good performance throughout the review process. Thanks to its quad core processor and 1 GB RAM, opening many apps all at the same time does not create much problem. During the course of the review the device underwent a lot of application testing and stressing but the device never hung or froze.
In terms of Antutu benchmark (see images), the Gionee Dream D1 offered better overall performance when compared to Samsung’s Galaxy SII which costs a couple of thousand bucks more. While in comparison with the Micromax Canvas HD that has almost similar hardware specifications, the Gionee Dream D1 has marginally lower performance. But overall, it is a speedy device that offers great utility.
Its call performance is also another major plus point for the device. The calls are received and made without any issue. The earpiece and loudspeaker volume is abundant and the microphone also makes sure the receiver gets to hear every world loud and clear.
Camera and Multimedia
The 8 Megapixel camera on the Gionee Dream D1 is good and offers great variance in colours and Full HD 1080p video recording at 30 frames per second.
The image quality of the camera is good in both outdoor and indoor modes provided the lighting is sufficient. The LED flash comes in to play wherever needed but is only effective for very close objects. In the Dream D1, there is a burst mode that allows users to take 99 continuous shots. Although, the feature is nice but the images captured in burst mode turns out to be blurry and out of focus.
On multimedia front, Dream D1 has support for all generic Android formats plus like any other Android device, there’s a plethora of application available on the Google Play Store to extend multimedia capabilities.
Battery life
Battery backup is another plus for the Gionee Dream D1. It can last a full day with only a single charge and can run even longer in case of light users. The device manages power usage quite brilliantly and offers superior performance on demand. The display brightness however takes a major toll on the battery life and if set at higher levels it can drain the battery faster.
Finally
So everything boils down to just one thing and that is its price of Rs 17,999. Well the features and functionality the Gionee Dream D1 offers in a sleek and slim profile is unparalleled to other low cost counterparts. Also, the newness of the brand brews suspicion about the credibility of Gionee’s ability to provide service and support.
But at 17,999 we would say that the Gionee Dream D1 is a good offering especially considering the Super Amoled display and the quad core processor.