The Elife S5.1 is billed by Chinese manufacturer Gionee as the world’s thinnest smartphone at a mere 5.15mm thinness. The Guinness Book of records have according to the company confirmed this fact, but records or no records this is a 4.8 inch Android smartphone that is as sleek as they could make it. We managed to get hold of an early retail sample and have a chance to see what you are getting with the full retail package and also get hands on with the device for very first time.
If we look at the specifications of the Elife S5.1 we see plenty of potential in terms of raw performance packing a pretty impressive Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 clocked at 1.2GHz. When it comes to memory you are getting 1GB of RAM, which is a little disappointing but we will see if that really becomes an issue in the full review that will follow. For storage you will have 16GB of space without recourse to a microSD card which is not available here. The rear camera has a 8MP sensor and features auto-focus and LED flash, while on the front you are getting a 5MP shooter. When it comes to all day usage you are relying on a non-removable 2,100mAh battery.
Check out our unboxing video of the Gionee Elife S5.1 below:
One thing that really stood out for on the Elife S5.1, was its AMOLED display. As soon as we turned on the device it was very apparent this was a very bright and vibrant panel with plenty of punchiness in the color delivery and good viewing angles. At 4.8 inches the display has a 1280 x 720 (720p) HD resolution and looks better than many of the smartphones we have seen at this price segment. The Elife S5.1 supports LTE as well as b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS.
Launching this month in China ans India, the Gionee Elife S5.1 will be sold for around an estimated Rs.20,000 which is approximately $335 USD.
In terms of world records for being thin, Gionee actually have a competitor with OPPO recently launching their R5 device that claims to be even thinner at 4.85mm thickness. To be fair Gionee claims that the Elife S5.1 is officially recognized by the Guinness book of records, something which OPPO cannot claim for the time being at least. Watch out for OPPO to come back with official Guinness Book of Record claims any day now.
The retail package you are getting with the Elife S5.1 is actually exceptionally complete with several items that you don’t always see on mid range or high range device packages. You are getting the usual stuff including a charger plus USB cable and headphones, but then they have included four screen protectors (each with cleaning rags), an OTG micro USB to USB cable plus a case and a bumper – pretty much all the accessories you might need.
Stay tuned for our full review of the Gionee Elife S5.1, but in the mean time don’t forget to check out our review of its predecessor, the Elife S5.5.
