Head to Head Comparison – Infinix Hot 3 vs Cubot Note S

There are two phones currently selling like hot cake at Kilimall, the Infinix Hot 3 and Cubot Note S. One thing Infinix Hot 3 and Cubot Note S have in common in Kenya is that Kilimall managed to secure exclusive distributorship for the two phones. The second thing they have in common is their close hardware specs and this is why we are running a head to head comparison between the two, so that we an help you decide on which phone you would like to own. Our comparison will be under the following three sub headings:

• Brand
• Core Hardware
• Price

Brand

There are a few Kenyans who are still naive, reasoning that if a phone is not a Samsung, an iPhone, an LG, an HTC, a Microsoft, a Nokia, a Blackberry or a Lenovo then the phone is a fake Chinese brand. They are the Kenyans who were mesmerised by the clones from China that came under the brand names like Samsnug, Nokla and similar counterfeits. To them, any brand that is said to have an origin in China and is “cheap”, is a fake phone. They have refused to pay attention to phones like Tecno, Wiko, XTigi and the other numerous new affordable brands even when these brands deliver better phone specs compared to expensive versions from the renowned brands.

But things are changing. Combined, Tecno and Infinix have taken control of the smartphone market in Kenya, and soon Cubot, Xiaomi, Meizu, XTigi and other emerging brands will join them, but are still way below brand acceptance that Tecno and Infinix has received in the last four years. When it comes to brand, Infinix is many steps ahead of Cubot, given that Cubot is entering the Kenyan market for the first time this year, even though some retailers had imported and sold a few units of Cubot brands last year.

What this means is that if you are not confident that Cubot is a good phone based on brand popularity, then you are better off owning an Infinix device, hence Infinix Hot 3 has a huge head start simply because it is an Infinix branded phone. What I can assure you at this stage, as someone who has extensively used both Infinix and Cubot phones, is that Cubot phones are not any worse compared to Infinix handsets when it comes to hardware quality.

Core Hardware

Infinix Hot 3 is supposed to be the successor of Infinix Hot 2 but it differs from the Infinix Hot 2 in two major respects; Infinix Hot 2 is an Android One phone meaning it is running on the out of the box stalk Android, whereas Infinix Hot 3 is running on Infinix customized Android 5.1 Lollipop and has the XUI Infinix User Interface. The second point of diversion is that Infinix Hot 3 operates a 5.5 inches screen whereas Infinix Hot 2 has the 5.0 screen. There is a point in time I recommended to users to not go for phones with screen sizes larger than 5.0 inches, but having used a 6.0 inches phone for over three months, I can say that for screen sizes up to 6.5 inches, the bigger the better.

Cubot Note S also has a 5.5 inches screen size with 720p screen resolution, similar to the resolution of Infinix Hot 3. Both phones also feature IPS screen technology. Both phones are plastic made but the style of Cubot Note S gives it a unique class that make it a more pleasant compared to the rather ordinary looking Infinix Hot 3.

Infinix Hot 3 comes in two flavours, the Infinix Hot 3 that we are comparing with Cubot Note S which has a 1 GB RAM, and a 2 GB version that is called Infinix Hot 3 Pro. Since I have not seen anyone selling the Infinix Hot 3 Pro in Kenya, I will not comment on its 2 GB RAM. This means that the Cubot Note S has twice as more RAM compared to the Infinix Hot 3 hence if all factors are held constant, Cubot Note S is supposed to perform way faster and smoother than the Infinix Hot 3. One thing I have experienced with the Infinix phones is that they tend to be slower when opening Apps and at times they hang. Based on this alone I would recommend for anyone to consider a phone with a 2 GB phone against a 1 GB phone, especially if the extra spending does not mean you’ll have to break a bank.

On the Processor front, Cubot Note S has an ARM Cortex-A7 CPU quad core clocking 1.3 GHz and an ARM Mali-400 MP1 GPU. Infinix Hot 3 has matching Mediatek quad core processor that also clocks 1.3 GHz. The ARM Mali-400 GPU on Infinix Hot 3 is what creates a slight difference as it is the MP2 version. Infinix Hot 3 is a 3G phone with a 2G capabilities in both SIM cards, similar to Cubot Note S.

The one and very important advantage Cubot Note S has over Infinix Hot 3 is the battery capacity. Whereas the Cubot Note S is powered by a whooping 4125 mAh battery meaning the phone can be used for over 48 hours in normal use under one full charge, Infinix Hot 3 only features a 3000 mAh battery that can power the phone for about 24 hours under normal use. It is hard to understand why Infinix would give the Infinix Hot 3 such low level battery when a phone with similar screen size, the Infinix Hot Note, came with a 4000mAh battery.

Cubot Note S battery is actually so huge, surpassing even the batter on Infinix Hot Note 2 which has a 4040 mAh battery and is normally able to power the phone for over 36 hours at normal use. On the battery front therefore, I would advise anyone to chose the Cubot Note S over Infinix Hot 3 without second thoughts.

Price

As mentioned in the introduction, Kilimall e-commerce platform has exclusive distributorship for both Infinix Hot 3 and Cubot Note S. For a lower RAM, compromised aesthetics and below per battery capacity but for a renowned brand name, you may decide to save shs 1000 and buy the Infinix Hot 3 for Kshs 7,899. If however you are interested in a better performing that has doubled RAM size, a longer battery life and better aesthetics and design, then you shouldn’t mind spending an extra shs 1000 and order the Cubot Note S via Kilimall for Kshs 8,888.

Conclusion

The better design, the double capacity of RAM and the more than 1000 mAh more battery capacity give Cubot Note S several advantages over Infinix Hot 3 at only shs 1000 extra in price. The conclusion is thus Cubot Note S wins over Infinix Hot 3.