In last few months, the San Francisco based smartphone manufacturer Obi has created a big buzz with its majestically crafted phones and Lifespeed UI. The company has received a terrific response from all corners of the world, and is now set to make a debut in the lucrative Indian smartphone market with its Worldphone SF1.Packing a tempting set of specs, Obi Worldphone SF1 looks stunning from all possible angles. The phone resembles a premium flagship and powers up by top-tier hardware under the hood as well!
So the question that mattersis, can Obi Worldphone SF1 deliver against the likes of renowned budget players dominating the Indian smartphone market? The sleek budget phone ships at a tempting price bracket, but in the process,it has to face the most impactful smartphone in the entire category, the Lenovo K3 Note.So, to make things a little simpler, we’re giving a detailed comparison of both phones with their prices and specifications. Have a look to know more!
Design and Build quality
The biggest highlight of Obi Worldphone SF1 is its slick and charming design language. The phone makes a great first impression, and features a well-crafted plastic casing with an all-metal anti-smudge finish. It looks far better than commonly seen budget phones, and gives a great one handed grip while carrying around. The matte-metal coating adds a premium finish to the device, and on whole, it looks simply stunning!
The design language of Lenovo K3 Note is also not annoying, but it definitely loses against the subtle touch of perfection from Obi Worldphone. The Killer Note from Lenovo features a standard polycarbonate casing with matte finish, and ships in three colour options, Black, White and Yellow. It weighs around 150 grams, but is slightly heavier and thicker than Obi SF1. Therefore, for design language, thumbs up for the Obi Worldphone SF1!
Display and viewing experience
As far as visual experience is concerned, Obi Worldphone SF1 and Lenovo K3 Note both go head to head with their meticulously crafted full HD displays. Both phones feature a crisp display, and endow a picture-perfect visual experience indoors as well as outdoors. Their colours are natural, blacks are deep, and viewing angles are insanely perfect. In fact, the high-pixel density packed with both phones ensureslifelike entertainment with sharp and well-detailed images.The only difference that counts between them is their screen-size. The Obi SF1 sports a 5-inch panel, while the K3 Note goes big with a stunning 5.5-inch display!
Hardware and Performance
Though both phones promise buttery smooth performance, Obi Worldphone SF1 with Snapdragon 615 SoC looks slightly better than Lenovo K3 Note. Under the hood, K3 Notepairs upMediaTek’s MT6752 SoC with 2GB RAM, while Obi SF1 hasSD615 andcomes in two variants with 2GB and 3GB RAM.On paper, they both look quite similar with powerful innards, but in real life,Obi SF1 takes the game away! It creates an ideal ecosystem for seamless work and play, and enables the user to switch smoothly through multiple apps or play high-end games without any lag or thermal snags.
Software and OS
The software equipped withLenovo K3 Note and Obi Worldphone SF1 is the latest. Both phones run Android 5.0 Lollipop out-of-the box with their own custom skins- Vibe UI and LifeSpeed UI. The famous Vibe UI from Lenovo features a simple and easy to use interface. It brings a bunch of customizable options, and displays all apps right on the home-screen.On the other side, the new Lifespeed UI is understated, but looks quite unique with refreshing colours and app icons.It highlights western influence and is definitely a tough competitor for Vibe as well as stock Android!
Camera Performance
In terms of camera performance, both phones stand out and deliver crisp images with fine details and reduced noise. The all new Obi Worldphone SF1 incorporates a 13-megapixel rear camera powered bySony’s Exmorand an f/2.0 aperture. It gives remarkable output in all environments, and retains natural colour tones without any snags or focus issues. Even its5MP front-facing snapper makes a great impression withOptizoomand front-facing flash support.
Lenovo K3 Note, however, offers the same deal at a reduced price tag. The phone features a combination of 13MP and 5MP cameras, and delivers good quality images with perfect shutter speed. It’s one of the most favoured camera devices under 10k, but lacks added benefits from front-facing flash, Optizoom, and Sony Exmorsensor!
Battery
In terms of power efficiency, there is no big difference between Lenovo K3 Note and Obi SF1. Both phones accommodate a powerful 3000 mAh battery, and offer sufficient juice for nonstop work and play.They both give decent battery backup and bear an entire day of normal usage with few calls, web-surfing, and audio-video playback.The only thing that makes Obi SF1 a little better is the availability of Quick Charge Tech 1.0.
Price
In India, Lenovo K3 Note is available at a tempting price bracket of Rs. 9,999. The phone is available via renowned ecommerce portal Flipkart.com, and isoccasionally bundled with several bank offers and cashback schemes as well.The Obi Worldphone SF1, however, is a completely different story.The phone can be purchased exclusively via NDTV owned Gadgets360 storefor 2GB RAM at a price tag of Rs. 11,999 with comes along with 16GB ROM variant and 3GB RAM for 13,999 includes with the 32GB ROM variant.
Conclusion
Though the competition was stiff, Lenovo K3 Note is still a winner for us. The phone offers full value for money, and delivers great performance without any lags or performance issues. The Obi SF1 priced at 12k is a good choice for experimentation, but with a pragmatic approach, one would not like Obi when players like Xiaomi and Lenovo are offering the same package at a lower price bracket. In a nutshell, the phone looks good but it fails to take out the dominating K3 Note from the lucrative budget smartphone market.
