Chinese brand ColMi released the ColMi i3 in an effort to appeal to smartwatch users with beauty as well as intent. The ColMi i3 is a simple-yet-sturdy smartwatch that sports a reasonable yet sleek design and the performance to go with it. The smartwatch also makes health-centric observations with its pre-installed features, and on the surface, it doesn’t let down. In this ColMi i3 3G Smartwatch Review, we take a deeper look at the device and see if it really is an impressive all-rounder.
ColMi i3 Specifications
ColMi i3 Smartwatch Specifications
| Bluetooth Version | Bluetooth 4.0 |
| CPU | Quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek MT6580 |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Internal Memory | 16GB |
| Software Platform | Android / iOS |
| Android Version | Android 5.1 Lollipop |
| Camera | 2MP |
| GPS | Supported |
| Wi-Fi | Supported |
| Display | 1.3-inch with 360 * 360 pixel resolution & Corning Gorilla Glass |
| Battery | Li-ion Polymer 400mAh |
| Available colour(s) | Black & Silver |
| SIM Card Slot | Single Nano SIM |
| Heart Rate | Samsung Heart Rate chip |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Strap material | Leather |
| Weight | 80g |
| Dimensions | 195 * 50.3 * 13.8 mm |
ColMi i3 Review
Packaging
The ColMi i3 smartwatch alongside its accompanying contents is presented in a rectangular box that dons a black hue all over, barring the company logo that is branded with an ash colour.
Within the box, you get:
- 1 ColMi i3 Smartwatch.
- 2 spare screws.
- 1 USB magnetic cable.
- 1 User manual.
- 1 screwdriver.
- Tweezers.
Design
The ColMi i3 sports a stainless steel case and leather straps that are pretty durable as well as comfortable on the wrist. The smartwatch is water-resistant which is a plus in every way, though you and I know there is a limit to which it can remain resistant. You won’t want to be taking a deep immersion with this on.
The screen is surrounded by slightly thick bezels that don’t protrude beyond the display. On the right side, there is the POWER/HOME button and the Shortcut button for inputting the listed commands. They sit side by side the HD camera. On the left side sits a Nano Sim tray that can be unscrewed to slot in a Nano Sim card as well as a speaker.
On the rear, it sports a heart rate sensor with four wireless charging contacts which is where the USB magnetic cable is attached when charging.
Taking account its dimensions, it measures 19.50 * 5.03 * 1.38 cm and weighs 80g. The smartwatch comes in Black and Silver colours.
Display
With respect to the display, the ColMi i3 smartwatch sports a 1.3-inch touchscreen based on AMOLED technology. It has a 360 by 360 pixels screen resolution that is a pretty good offering coming from a smartwatch.
The colors are bright and images come out vividly, the touchscreen is quite responsive but the size could sometimes prove a bit of a matter when running certain applications. Other than that, its a commendable effort from ColMi.
The ColMi i3 display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 which provides a high degree of resistance to scratches and shock falls.
ColMi i3 Storage & Performance
The ColMi i3 comes with 16GB of onboard storage which you definitely have to make do with considering the fact that it does not support external memory expansion. I’m comfortable with a 16GB storage considering this won’t be my primary device.
The brain behind operations is a MediaTek MT6580 processor which is clocked at 1.3GHz running on four cores and supported by a Mali-T400 GPU that marshalls what you see on the screen in games and when running applications.
The chipset is pretty solid and can navigate through basic tasks with relative ease. Its performance is one you’d definitely enjoy even on the most demanding of tasks, factor in the fact it comes with 2GB of RAM which is much more surface area to explore when compared to the Zeblaze Thor S which sports a similar chipset but just a lesser RAM size at 1GB.
It scored 20179 on the AnTuTu Benchmark test which is slightly behind the Zeblaze Thor S that scored 20572.
Camera & Battery
To make it a complete mobile alternative, the ColMi i3 sports an HD camera on the side. The camera is a 2MP sensor and its basically decent on shots and videos, as well as the camera sensor is very responsive, thus no lagging whatsoever.
The ColMi i3 smartwatch is fuelled by a rechargeable 400mAh Li-ion battery. It runs over 7 hours on average use in a day upon full charge before plugging in again.When tasked heavily, it can survive over four hours before running out of juice. The smartwatch supports USB magnetic charging which takes over an hour of charging to get it back to 100%.
Connectivity & Software
Android 5.1 Lollipop OS is pre-installed on the ColMi i3 smartwatch. It is a user-friendly system software albeit outdated but performance is highly commendable nevertheless.
In addition to Android, the ColMi i3 smartwatch is also compatible with iOS platforms which is great because you’re not restricted to a particular category of smartphones or operating system. Android and iOS are the most popular OS platforms right now, and it only makes sense that a reputable brand like ColMi will support both. You can use the ColMi i3 with phones running iOS 9 and above.
The Smartwatch serves up a variety of watch faces from which you can view and select by holding on to the centre, then scrolling and selecting the one that best appeals to your taste. You can as well download others by clicking the encircled ‘plus’ that comes after you have exhausted the available watch faces.
There are a couple of applications on the ColMi i3 that give you the comfort of a smartphone or why else is it called a smartwatch. There is the web browser – it makes use of Google Chrome, Music player, sound recorder, a health-centric app that monitors your day to day activities as well as exercise or sport related activities. It also comes with the Google Play Store to access and download games and applications that you would like but did not come pre-installed.
Connectivity options include; GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and 3G support. Accelerometer and proximity sensors are present as well Pedometer and Heart rate features.
There is a Nano SIM card slot on the side of the smartwatch and when slotted in, you can enjoy internet access up to 3G network as well as make calls, send texts on the smartwatch.
Applications
- Contacts
- Phone
- Messaging
- Settings
- Browser
- Calendar
- Clock
- Gallery
- Music
- Camera
- Music
- Sound Recorder
- File Manager
- Health
- Weather
- PlayStore
- Maps
- Connect Phone
- Fitness
- Remote control
- Find My Phone
Conclusion
The ColMi i3 smartwatch is a commendable effort from the brand ColMi. The design appeals and its display for all the talk about size is pretty cool. Its water-resistant feature also gives it an edge over the Zeblaze Thor S in that regard even if it scored a bit less in benchmark ratings. Nearly everything seems to fall into place for the ColMi i3 and that includes the price.
You can get the ColMi i3 at a discounted price of $89.99 on Gearbest with free shipping in the ongoing ColMi smartwatch discounts. Click on the button below to get started.
