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Did you know that one of the world's slimmest smartphones, the Gionee Elife S5.5, is available in the US (under a different name)?

By Florin Troaca

Updated: Sep 25, 2014, 10:07 PM

20comments

Android

Did you know that one of the world's slimmest smartphones, the Gionee Elife S5.5, is available in the US (under a different name)?

Back in March, Chinese handset maker Gionee released the world’s slimmest smartphone at the time: the Elife S5.5 (which, as its name suggests, is 5.5mm thin). Since then, Gionee introduced an even thinner phone - the Elife S5.1, which, at only 5.1mm, was recently recognized by Guinness World Records as the new king of ultrathin handsets. Even so, the slightly older Elife S5.5 remains one of the slimmest smartphones ever made.

Probably to the surprise of many, the Elife S5.5 is available to buy in the US - though it’s commercialized under a totally different name: BLU Vivo IV.

As you may, or may not know, BLU is a Florida-based company that makes affordable smartphones. However, it’s not the real maker of the Vivo IV, which is simply a rebranded Gionee Elife S5.5. The BLU Vivo IV looks just like Gionee's device. Moreover, as you’ll notice in the specs comparison below, it offers exactly the same features, including a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with 1080 x 1920 pixels, octa-core 1.7 GHz MediaTek processor, 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of non-expandable storage space. The Vivo IV was released running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, but it seems that it's been updated to KitKat last month.


Gionee Elife S5.5	BLU Vivo IV

Design

Dimensions
5.71 x 2.76 x 0.22 inches 145.1 x 70.2 x 5.55 mm	5.71 x 2.76 x 0.22 inches 145.1 x 70.2 x 5.5 mm
Weight
	4.69 oz (133.0 g)
Materials
Back: Glass
Keys
	Left: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Purple, Pink, Blue, White	Black, White, Gold

Display

Size
5.0-inch	5.0-inch
Resolution
1920x1080px, 441 PPI	1920x1080px, 441 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED Plus	Super AMOLED
Screen-to-body
67.78 %	67.78 %
Colors
16 777 216	16 777 216
Features
Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3)	Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 3)

Hardware

System chip
MediaTek MT6592	MediaTek MT6592
Processor
Octa-core 1700 MHz	Octa-core 1700 MHz ARM Cortex-A7
GPU
Mali-450	Mali-450
RAM
2GB (LPDDR3)	2GB
Internal storage
16GB	16GB
OS
Android (4.2)	Android (4.2)

Battery

Capacity
2300 mAh	2300 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer	Li - Polymer

Camera

Rear
Single camera	Single camera
Main camera
13 MP (Autofocus)	13 MP
Flash
LED	LED
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)	1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Front
5 MP	5 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0	4.0
WLAN
802.11 b,g,n Wi-Fi Direct	802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band,ac Hotspot
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0	microUSB, USB 2.0
Location
GPS, A-GPS	GPS, A-GPS
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass	Accelerometer, Compass
Other
Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync	Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack	3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker	Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback	Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
Wireless screen share
Radio
FM	FM
Additional microphone(s)
	Noise cancellation

Cellular

3G
Bands 8(900), 1(2100)	Bands 5(850), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s
SIM type
Micro SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone	Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording	Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Availability

Officially announced
Feb 19, 2014
Scheduled release
Q2 2014

See the full Gionee Elife S5.5 vs BLU Vivo IV specs comparison or compare them to other phones using our Phone Comparison tool

The Blu Vivo IV is available to buy via Amazon (check the source link below), coming in three color versions: black, white, and gold. The handset costs $299.99, and is offered unlocked. Mind you, the smartphone does not have LTE, but it seems to work on the HSPA+ networks of AT&T, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, Tracfone, Cricket, and other regional carriers. Anyone interested in buying this super-thin device?

source: Amazon