Mi3 unboxed! Probably won't get reviewed.

Last June 26, I was able to convince my office mate to buy an Mi 3. She was able to get one around 12:58PM, so it’s possible that she got the last available unit. Anyway, the phone made sense because (1) she was on the market for a new phone, (2) she’s on a tight budget, and (3) it will give me a chance to check out the phone without having to buy one (because I have no budget for this).

As the story goes, she logged on to Lazada and made here purchase. A few agonizing days of waiting later (there was a bit of a problem with delivery which made her swear off buying online temporarily), the Mi 3 arrived. Good thing I had my camera with me, so she agreed to document the unboxing for my blog. PS: the phone isn’t mine, so it most likely won’t be reviewed :).

The box it came with was very simple, but pretty. It looks plain, but definitely not cheap.

Inside the package, you have the Mi3, a charger, a USB cable, a SIM ejector tool, and the manual. To keep costs low, Xiaomi did not include earphones. The manual looks really nice though.

On hand, the Mi3 looks really nice. Build quality feels great and nicely built. The screen is gorgeous. The 5 inch Full HD screen with 441 ppi pixel density is really attractive. Next to the price, I think this is it’s other selling point. Camera image quality was also impressive. Details look sharp, and the colors really pop out.

MIUI OS is beautiful. I admit that it’s not for everyone, and it’s different (especially if you are coming from LG, Sony or Samsung). It’s easy to use, and very smooth and responsive. Best of all, it comes with Android 4.4 KitKat.

The phone is really thin (8.1mm), and only weighs 145 g. The speaker grill at the bottom is a nice touch.

Here it is beside a Moto G with Grip Shell back cover.

All in all, this was an impressive buy. My office mate was really really happy with her new phone. Given that she came from a Huawei Y300, so expectations were really not that high, but still, she was very impressed. She even gushed at the battery life she’s getting.

If you are one of the lucky ones to get an Mi3, let us know if your experience in the comments below.

Mi 3 key specs: