Monsters from Asia: the outstanding, metal IUNI U3

With some rare exceptions, most of the device we've chosen to highlight so far in our fortnightly Monsters from Asia column happen to be fairly well-known, at least in those parts of the globe. Today, however, on the heels of its official announcement, we decided that the all-new IUNI U3 deserves a place in our little hall of fame, pronto.

Now, in all honesty, IUNI only recently got on our radar -- it's aluminum-bodied U2 was a feast for the eye, and its price was a giant relief, too. With the U3, however, IUNI is taking things even further, with even more hardware packed into it. The phone's body, for example, is again made out of metal (magnesium alloy) and despite offering the very best of hardware, is still extremely competitive in terms of pricing.

Let's start off with one of the highlights of the device -- it's 5.5-inch, Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution LTPS display that ensures an amazing pixel density of 538 pixels per inch. What's even better, the phone's display-to-size ratio sits at the awesome 77%, meaning trimmed bezels all around and as compact a footprint as could be expected from a large-screened device. Powering all those pixels is a potent quad-core Snapdragon 801 system chip with an Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB of RAM, the combination of which should provide problem-free user experience. 

At the back, we've got a 13-megapixel, optically-stabilized Sony sensor with f/2.0 lens, and a, wait for it, 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera at the front (the same unit packed into the HTC One M7). The battery (an LG make), at 3000 mAh, should ensure that this beast has enough juice to handle a full day of usage. Last but not least, the device comes with slots fro two SIM cards -- one for 4G LTE, and another for 2G GSM. The IUNI U3 will run on a skinned version (IUNI OS) of Android based on the 4.4.4 KitKat update.

The U3 comes in three colors: black, white, and "wind" green, which is our personal favorite. Currently, there's only one model available, with 32GB of internal storage, and it costs CNY 2000 (or about $325) in China. Right now, the phone is in the pre-order stage, but should start shipping as early as September 10th, though probably in limited numbers. Whether this means that IUNI is headed for a OnePlus-like model remains to be seen, but we sure hope not.

Any takers?