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And here's a quad-core, 5.3-inch Android smartphone for only $160

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And here's a quad-core, 5.3-inch Android smartphone for only $160
Ever heard of Neo? Neither have we, but apparently, the company's popularity is growing in its homeland market – China. It makes affordable Android smartphones that seem quite good on paper. Perhaps even too good, as a matter of fact.

Take a look at the Neo N003, for example: it has not been announced officially yet, but its specs and retail pricing have been leaked. The smartphone will offer a quad-core processor, 5.3-inch 720p display, 13MP main camera and a 3,000mAh battery. Specs like these would assume a steep price tag, yet the Neo N003 will cost mere 1,000 yuan (about $160).

What witchcraft is this? Well, don't forget that hardware specs aren't everything. That quad-core CPU is a MediaTek MT6589, which has considerably less raw horsepower than the quad-core SoCs popularly used in high-end smartphones today. A 3,000mAh cell does not guarantee long battery life since factors like power consumption and usage also come into play. And a 13MP camera won't produce quality images if the sensor and optics are of low quality. 

Still, the Neo N003 might be an overall great handset considering its low price, but buyers are advised to not expect miracles out of it. The smartphone is expected to be announced in March and then hit retail shelves a month or two later.

And here's a quad-core, 5.3-inch Android smartphone for only $160

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1. dan86 posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:11 27

A lesson for Apple! They sell crap for sky high price.

7. tusshharish posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:39 10

it similar to micromax a116 canvas hd............

10. aayupanday posted on 06 Feb 2013, 10:13

Also to the Zopo ZP970....

11. rusticguy posted on 06 Feb 2013, 10:17 1

Yes but with a better camera specs. A116 is 8mp, bigger screen and bigger battery. Chinese phones will rule one day.

17. loyals posted on 06 Feb 2013, 12:38 3

even samsung margin on note n sg3 prices are higher....

2. imsickwithsmartphone posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:13 3

$160??
WOWWW!!!

5. rusticguy posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:27 12

That's less than what apple takes a profit per phone .. and NEO still would earn something out of this ... these phones are not for people who pay for logo :)

8. imsickwithsmartphone posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:59 3

logo and the box!! lol

16. loyals posted on 06 Feb 2013, 12:34 1

that's less even if you compare samsung margin on note II n sg3

3. cezarepc posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:17 1

No matter how bad a quad-core device is it's still a quad-core. My fiance has an Ainol Novo 7 (wouldn't blame you if you don't know it since it's a china tab) with a 1.5ghz dual-core amlogic cpu (also lesser known I know). Comes with an IPS 1280x800 screen. With CM10 on board it's smooth as it can get.

I wanna see how a quad mediatek performs and I might get one if it's sub-$150.

4. rusticguy posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:26 1

MediaTek MT6589 is roughly 50% of top of the line quad cores. Cores is just a marketing gimmick like retina. Ain't going to be running a pocket hosting server after all :D

21. OptimusOne posted on 06 Feb 2013, 16:56

still.. I agree with you but, lots of cores are required for a heavy 3d game(IE. Anything by gameloft). I won't be hosting servers, but i would want my games to look buttery smooth on a 5.3 inch screen

6. joey18 posted on 06 Feb 2013, 09:28

this is not lesson more crap phones they sale less people have good jobs third world phones china electronics are realy bad only used one day next day trow to the gargabe

9. aayupanday posted on 06 Feb 2013, 10:12 1

Back of the phone resembles to that of a Galaxy SIII.

12. cripton805 posted on 06 Feb 2013, 10:40 1

Actually. It looks identical to an over sized GS2

13. jaytai0106 posted on 06 Feb 2013, 11:33

For that price, I might pick up one for my everyday use :D

14. erick01 posted on 06 Feb 2013, 11:44 1

Does anybody have at least a rough idea on how many cell phone brands/manufacturers are there in China?

22. OptimusOne posted on 06 Feb 2013, 16:58

OVER 9000(I'm serious)

but that does include "Qing's cellphones(Hosted and "Manyfactured" from his backyard)"

15. sprockkets posted on 06 Feb 2013, 12:17 1

plenty of these phones show up on ebay, they look like Samsung galaxy clones, are super cheap and usually have crappy features like a resistive touch screen.

20. OptimusOne posted on 06 Feb 2013, 16:54

don't kill your chickens before they hatch

24. sprockkets posted on 06 Feb 2013, 22:21 1

Hey if you want one go ahead. Good luck finding one with US 3G though. At least the specs aren't half bad. They have some for $350 with better specs, still no us 3g.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-SIM-5-5-3G-MTK6577-QHD-960-540-1GHz-Android-4-1-8MP-WIFI-Smart-Phone-7100-/110988384959?pt=Cell_Phones&hash=item19d76c5abf

18. schinnak posted on 06 Feb 2013, 12:38

This looks like the leaked image of s4

19. OptimusOne posted on 06 Feb 2013, 15:35

shut up and take my money. I thought the nexus 7 was cheap...

23. MC1123 posted on 06 Feb 2013, 18:37 1

oh no!! not another android from china!

25. Adithya7184 posted on 06 Feb 2013, 23:58 1

not only this,even micromax, Karbonn, lava,cellcon etc., all are same. they just import it from china and sell it India...Because offering a 720p Hd screen,quad-core cpu at $160-180 is impossible.
I just wonder how is the quality of screen and processor....

26. rallyguy posted on 07 Feb 2013, 04:20 1

The R&D costs are much lower when you reverse engineer something that has already been made.

27. corporateJP posted on 07 Feb 2013, 20:00

ROFLMAO!

True story right there!

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