Gionee M2 review – with 4200 mAh battery that lasts really long

The Gionee M2 is just like any other ordinary smartphone powered by a 1.3GHz quad core processor, but unlike the other handsets the M2 comes with big battery of 4200 mAh capacity – it will last really long. M2 is priced at under Rs. 11,000.

M2 Box pack
The box content : The handset, 4200 mAh battery, two screen guards, service center list, user guide, warranty card, data cable, earphone and travel charger.

Design and Display
Handset does look attractive with slightly curved edges. Because of a higher battery capacity the handset has gained some weight and thickness. The Gionee M2 is bulky at 198 grams (with battery). Dimensions are 72.29 x 144.01 x 10.88mm. In spite of the weight handset feels good to hold.

The side / rear are matte finish. The camera on the rear side is placed way on the top (left) with LED flash. Gionee logo and speaker vent are placed at the back – bottom. On the front there are 3 touch buttons for navigation – non-backlit (they do not light up).  3.5mm audio jack is placed on the top, volume rockers and power button on the right and micro USB port and mic at the bottom.

This is a dual SIM handset with a Normal SIM (SIM 1) and a Micro SIM (SIM 2) slots.

The Display screen is 5 inches with FWVGA (854 x 480)  resolution. Touch is good but viewing angles are okay, could have been better. There are good list of sensors – accelerometer, light, magnetic and proximity sensors. WiFi direct and Wireless Display is supported.

OS, Memory and Storage
The M2 runs on Android 4.2.2 with Amigo UI. There are some new apps (pre-installed) that work with the Amigo UI – Amigo paper and color (Wallpaper / effect / theme).

Of the 4GB storage 1.6GB is assigned for apps and 612MB as phone storage. Free RAM on the first boot is 441MB (of the 1GB RAM). Micro SD card is supported; you can move / install apps on external storage. OTG is not supported.

Performance
M2 is using the MT6582 (MediaTek) quad core chipset clocked at 1.3GHz with Mali 400 MP GPU. There are many handset available in the market that are using this Chipset – Micromax A114, Gionee P3, XOLO Q700S, XOLO Q1010  and many more. The performance is as good as found on other handsets.

Benchmark scores

  • Quadrant Standard – 5874.
  • AnTuTu – 17221.
  • Vellamo – HTML5 1904, Metal 546.
  • Nenamark 2 – 55.8 fps
  • Multi touch : 5 points.

Entertainment and Gaming
The Gionee M2 can play full HD videos. I could easily play the MC4 (Modern Combat 4) and the Asphalt 8 without any issues. The game play was smooth you can check the review video. Asphalt 8 played well on medium graphics level.

8MP Camera
The 8MP rear AF picture quality is pretty good and even the 1080p video recording looks good. Front camera is blurry. You can check the sample images shot using the M2 at the end of this review.

Others
Sound is loud and clear, other feature like 3G, WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth worked without any issues. GPS lock is fast. You can use OTG cable to charge other device ( I have not tested that ).

Battery
Though the handset comes with a massive battery, a power saving app is also included to get more juice out of it. I used the handset for quite some time and at different levels had monitored the battery performance.

  1. 22 Minutes usage the battery dripped by 6% (benchmark apps / games).
  2. 17 Minutes usage battery dripped by 8% – playing games.
  3. 31 Minutes usage battery dripped by 5% – playing games.

With this 4200 mAh battery you can expect over 5 hours (6 to 9 hours) game play. Max temperature was 44 degrees.

Verdict
The Gionee M2 is one 1.3GHz MediaTek quad core powered handset that might have very few issues with the battery. The battery is huge and the backup that it provides will definitely bring smile on the users face. If your usage is high and generally not happy with the smartphones because of the battery backup, the M2 could change your mind.

Having said that the handset is bulky, screen resolution is average, viewing angles aren’t that great and camera quality is pretty good. The performance is lag free. The M2 can play and record full HD videos. If you are looking for performance with a very good batter backup and with an affordable price tag, you should consider the Gionee M2.

Image Gallery

Sample Images

Gionee M2 handset and Gaming review

Full HD 1080p video shot using the Gionee M2 handset


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