iFive Mini 3: Quad-core 7.9-inch Android Tablet for Php8,399

iFive Mini 3

If Apple ever decided to make an Android tablet it would probably look a little bit like this, hehe. We stumbled upon the iFive Mini 3 in a mall yesterday and we were really amazed at the likeness with the iPad Mini. It sports even the same metallic thin body and the thin bezels up front. Heck the only thing missing is the Apple logo at the back and it would pass off as an iPad Mini! Don’t get fooled though since this is Android through and through.

Here’s a quick rundown of the specifications:

iFive Mini 3 Spec Sheet

1.6GHz Cortex-A9 Quad Core CPU, Rockchip RK3188 Chipset
Mali-400MP GPU
1GB RAM
16GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD
7.9-inches capacitive IPS display (1024×768)
5.0-megapixels primary camera
2.0-megapixels secondary camera
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, OTG, Supports 3G Dongle
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
4100mAh Li-Ion battery

As you can see the specs, for an Android tablet, is quite respectable. We’re not too sure about the quality of the Rockchip chipset but we’ll try to get our hands on a review unit so we can run benchmarks and do a full review later on. For now we’d like to share with you guys our initial impressions.

Very Nice Hardware

The iFive Mini 3 is literally like the carbon copy of the iPad Mini. It’s thin, light, and metallic. The 7.9-inch form factor is perfect because it’s not too small but it ain’t too big either. iFive probably adopted the old mentality: “if it ain’t broke, why fix it”. Apple got it right with the Mini so no need to experiment, hehe. Just get the hardware right and stuff in Android Jelly Bean 4.2 with their custom ROM. Guess what? That’s exactly what they did! Lol.

To prove our point — we talked to the saleslady and she even told us that the iFive Mini 3 is compatible with all the cases for the iPad Mini. Wasak!

In terms of software the iFive Mini 3 runs on their custom ROM called iFive Skin Version 2.5. The design is quite colorful and vibrant. Functionality is also similar to iOS wherein you don’t have the app tray and they’re all laid out in the home screens (similar to Huawei’s latest Emotion skin).

We did notice though while playing with it that the upper back portion got hot rather quickly especially when we tried out some games on the device.

Full Review Soon? Hopefully!

We’ll try to get our hands on a review unit since the guys distributing this are actually the same people who brought us the THL line-up of smartphones (Novo 7 Tech).