iNew V3 Review MT6582 – Final Thoughts!

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Now that we’ve had the phone for several weeks, we’re in a better position to judge it. After several weeks, we’re still able to say it’s an awesome China phone.

iNew V3 Size

That’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s quarks. iNew was less than honest about the thickness of the phone. They called it a 6.5mm phone, which really isn’t the truth. It’s only 6.5mm at the very edge. For us, the true thickness of about 8mm isn’t an issue. I wouldn’t want the phone any thinner. The problem is the dishonesty about the thickness. It’s a step I don’t believe iNew should have made. It’s a very tight market right now with many great options, so perhaps there was a lot of pressure to set themselves above the pack with this 6.5mm nonsense, but we don’t excuse iNew for this and it’s a blemish that will remain for quite awhile.

iNew V3 Looks

We’re still loving it’s slick looks and design. Owning the phone for several weeks hasn’t diminished the wow factor of the phone. iNew really pulled together something special here with the iNew V3, and as we’ve seen it’s blown up in popularity due to adding just a few cool elements – the cool ‘alien eye’ for a home key, the square design with top and bottom rounding and the brushed aluminum sides.

iNew V3 Battery Issues

The biggest issue we’ve had with iNew v3, is the battery not fulling charging while the phone is on. The charging rate drops drastically at around 80%. If leaving it long enough on the charger, it will eventually ‘jump’ to 100%. This is a pity being that the phone has a small battery to begin with. I use external chargers and battery swap, so this isn’t a big problem for me, but for those who often charge their phone normally by plugging the phone in, it could be a frustration. Screenshot_2014-01-19-13-26-55

iNew V3 ROM / Firmware support

Firmware support has been very good. With several new versions released in just a month’s time. There is one caveat here, the newest version 1.0.4 pulls all of the phone space into one partition of phone storage. With previous versions of iNew v3 ROMs we were able to easily edit the EBR to change partitions. With the newest version of iNew v3 upgrade firmware, changing the partition sizes is proving to be a challenge. Still, this is a minor quibble in regards to the iNew v3 firmware support. This is an extreme rarity with China brands to have new firmwares released nearly every week since it’s release. Hats off to iNew for this.

iNew V3 OTG

Initially the OTG on the iNew v3 didn’t work on some models. It was leaked by a China shop that the first 1000 units didn’t have the OTG hardware. However, this turned out to be false. The issue was actually related to some of the units not having the proper firmware. A quick iNew v3 ROM update fixed the issue. OTG is now flawless and should work out of the box for any new iNew v3’s ordered.

iNew V3 Camera

A few people are complaining about iNew’s camera. Saying that iNew lied about it being Sony and the quality of the night photos are terrible. However there are far more people saying they are impressed by the photos from the iNew v3. The night photos are fairly noisy, but this is to be expected when shooting at ISO 1600 with such a tiny sensor. In my opinion, the photos are above average for a China phone and I couldn’t expect more. Really it’s only several disgruntled customers who thought perhaps they’d be getting standalone camera quality pictures out of a sensor the size of a BB. IMG_20140122_135153

iNew V3 GPS

The iNew V3 GPS has been excellent. Simply outstanding job iNew has done with the GPS. Hard cold locks normally within a minute at most. Warm locks happen within seconds. The SNR are quite strong as well, connecting with most satellites in the 30+ range.

iNew V3 Conclusion

In conclusion, the phone is great. The iNew v3 is an amazing phone – features, spec and looks wise given the price. Just a couple of blemishes keep it from being perfect, mainly the iNew V3 charging issue and the short battery life of about 3-4 hours onscreen. If you think 3-4 hours onscreen isn’t going to get you through the day, we recommend a 2nd battery which should give at least 6 hours of onscreen use.

If you haven’t already seen them, there are several other parts to this review:

iNew v3 Review part 1

iNew v3 Review part 2

iNew v3 Review part 3

iNew v3 Review part 4

Comments

31 responses to “iNew V3 Review MT6582 – Final Thoughts!”

January 25, 2014

josemanuel

inew also lied about the F2 camera aperture, all the exifs say aperture is fixed at F2.2 just like most of other chinese phones, so their claim about a sony cmos should be as accurate as this one I am afraid

about the quality of photos in interiors (you don’t need to make them at night, just out of exterior daylight) it is not only the problem of going to 1600 iso with so much ease, but also the exposure time goes to 1/10 second most of the time, so pictures taken in interiors not only are dirt and grainy, but moved and blurred, quite worse that other chinese phones I have used before, the quality is terrible

and about the battery, I would not mind the top 85% charge limit if discharging ratio was reasonable, but it is not, no matter if you use the screen or not, it is quite difficult to get discharge rates lower than 5% per hour, that is with no phone use, if you use it the rate goes to 10% and higher, so the real fact is that this phone never gets a full day work with one battery charge, something is wrong with the kernel probably, as different versions of firmware get different discharging rates, the older the better should I say, being 104 version the most battery draining of them

so new firmware is not a good thing at all, even if they have made camera behaviour better with newer firmware, the battery draining is so high that the mobile is useless for everyday normal use …

I do not recommed buying this phone at all in its actual state, you will regret when you notice you have no battery at all at midday …

Reply
1. January 25, 2014
  
  Damian Parsons
  
  We appreciate your opinion Elsita. You’re definitely in the minority for not being happy with the phone. Most review sites, blogs and owners of the phone are praising it and more than happy with it. The pictures are fine and praised by review sites as well. Any China brand must be held extremely still as there’s no image stabilization in these phones. I’ll have to disagree with you about the photos being worse than other China brands. It’s really the opposite. The h7500+ which is known for taking very good photos, is surpassed by the iNew v3. I’ve also compared the photos to pictures taken with $500 Huawei and the iNew photos hold their own. You can adjust ISO by not taking the picture on auto-scene mode. In regards to battery life, mine makes it fine through a day. I get 3-4 hours onscreen use on one battery. With two batteries, that makes it 6-8 hours. If you’re using your phone more than 6-8 hours a day…Well, I’ll leave the rest unsaid. For $180, this phone is a bargain. Sorry you’re not happy with it. Cheers.
  
  Reply
  1. October 19, 2014
    
    Karen
    
    I absolutely love the look and feel of this phone. I purchased a Sim card and placed it in the phone “before” activating the SIM. Bad move on my part. The phone locked up or should I say froze on the start up Inew screen. I can’t get it to do anything. I contacted customer service and they have not helped at all. They tell me to download the new firmwear… so how can I do that with a frozen phone. I have been able to get the phone to reset but it goes back to the frozen screen. Please help! I would love to be able to use this phone. Customer service in China is not even responding to
    my emails anymore.
    
    Reply
    1. October 19, 2014
      
      Damian Parsons
      
      Not activating a SIM before putting it into the phone would not be the reason your phone seems locked up.
      
      You did a factory reset by going into recovery. Is that correct? If so, you need to leave the phone for several minutes on its first boot. Have you done that? If not, please try that. Factory reset again and allow the phone several minutes on its first boot.
      
      Reply
February 8, 2014

André

Bonjour Damian

j’ai acheté un Inew V3E il y as deux semaines il marche super bien très beau design,
mon seul souci avec c’est que j’ai pas la 3G de free j’ai vu sur des tutos qu’il y as un iso du modem
a850 qui permet d’avoir la 3G mais je sais installer l’iso sur mon portable je suis arriver a changer la rom 1.0.3 avec 1.0.4 ca marche bien pouriez tu m’aider STP

merci.

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March 16, 2014

Kurt Gerster

I agree. The phone is great. The HD LCD is very nice and HD is enough resolution for a 5 inch LCD, The battery life is ok. My phone is charging till 100%, but the first 20% are gone in 10 minutes :-(. So unfortunately the battery percentage indication is useless. But over all it is a nice phone with a decent camera for this price.

Reply
1. March 16, 2014
  
  Damian Parsons
  
  Yes, the phone really is a great deal. You made a good choice.
  
  They all charge to 100%. The problem is that Android jumps from 88% or so when charging rate drops beyond a certain threshold because of the hardware not being strong enough to fully charge the battery. You can download Battery Spy to view the charging arc.
  
  Charge your batteries externally to get substantially better battery life.
  
  Reply
  1. March 23, 2014
    
    Cruize
    
    Does this happen to all Android phones (The problem is that Android jumps from 88% or so…)? Or, just iNew V3 only?
    
    May I know where to buy the external charger for iNew’s battery?
    
    Reply
March 23, 2014

irishsmile

I also agree that the inew v3 is the bargain of the year as far as budget android smart phones go…. I find the battery is quite adequate for my needs and and I can get almost a full day with 100% charge. I also agree that the camera is also good in relation to other Chinese phones and its 5″ HD screen produces beautiful natural crisp images with vibrant colours that you wouldn’t normally get in a smart phone at this price. The design and look of the phone is of premium quality and I never tire of my friends admiring this beautiful creation.
Yes I know I new blatantly lied about its width and the camera specification but this is still by far an amazing phone for the price compared to what you would get from major brands.
I would appreciate if somebody could kindly give a step by step tuition on has to update with the latest software bearing in mind I’m computer illiterate!
My advice… Don’t hesitate and buy this phone! You won’t be disappointed!

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April 9, 2014

Ivano

the gps does not work and if I select as only WCDMA network mode, the phone can not detect any signal.

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April 12, 2014

ayman

hi
the mobile signal is weak , how i can fix it (cxq_v3_inew_v1.0.8),NOTE THE IMEI WAS INSERT MANUALLY. thanks

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April 23, 2014

Bjorn

Hello,

I also bought the Inew V3 because of good reviews.
But if I know al what I know now before I bought one. I didn’t bought the Inew V3
1. Battery is weak
2. GPS doens’t work at all. I’m driving in the fields, in city’s it is always in the wrong road and recalculating.
3. Locks the screen while using the phone?? Even when locking screen is disabled.

Reply
July 29, 2014

Blackheart

The V3 I bought was delivered with the 1.11 ROM version and as expected (after all I could have read in forums and such) the GPS doesn’t work and I’m experiencing battery issues.

Despite these, the phone design is great, the screen is awesome although the camera ain’t that good (I’m pretty well sure it could be perfected by a software update that could better manage its behavior).

Considering the above mentioned, the build quality/price ratio is honorable.

The only thing I didn’t know was that one wouldn’t be able to maintain internet access while in voice communication.

Let’s hope iNew releases a truly good ROM that could fix all these by now well known issues and I’d give it a 5-stars rating.

Reply
1. July 29, 2014
  
  Damian Parsons
  
  Leave the phone outside for about 15 minutes with GPS test on and settings in GPS test to keep screen on.
  
  I had no problems with GPS when I had this phone.
  
  The battery issue is not a software issue. It is hardware. The camera unlikely to be improved as well.
  
  I do recommend you stick with your stock ROM, as many have ‘frankensteined’ ROMs together that usually do more harm than good.
  
  Regards
  
  Reply
  1. July 29, 2014
    
    Blackheart
    
    Thanks for the reply Damian.
    
    What was your ROM version when you received the phone?
    I’m asking considering the fact that according to users, some ROM versions better handeled the GPS (1.0.1 and fixed 1.0.8).
    
    I tried the device in an open and clear area for about 30min but nothing occurred as the phone couldn’t lock to any sat.
    
    Same situation regarding the camera: People noticed pictures became blurry and contained more grain comparing to previous ROM versions and most disappointing, the videos are recorded at 17fps… (tested and verified).
    
    Maybe I should consider upgrading to the latest official ROM (1.14) but no changelog is available.
    
    Reply
July 29, 2014

Chrystopher

Great phone, good camera and O.K. battery.
with the stock ROM battery is terrible. 2 days with MIUI (needrom), and battery gets better, but no great.
I recommend to use this rom while we’re waiting for KitKat

Reply
1. July 31, 2014
  
  Blackheart
  
  There’s a kitkat ROM that has recently been released on needrom and the author claims it to be official.
  I don’t think it is but I thought you might be interested.
  
  I got a question about OTA updates. Every time I try to find one through the dedicated android menu (in “about phone”), it’s says I’m already up to date (1.11). Quite strange knowing that an official 1.14 version exists (sent to me by I new staff and available in the needrom database).
  
  Why can’t they keep it hot and thus simplify and basic (yet essential) process.
  
  iNew has everything to play a major role in the smartphone industry but they need to keep up to the major brands by committing to end users through software upgrades at least.
  
  Reply
August 27, 2014

Jose

I like the phone, but after reading all this, I am afraid that it is not a very good phone, it has a lot of functional issues. maybe because it is cheap considering all specification, does it really has 16 gb internal memory?

Reply
1. August 27, 2014
  
  Damian Parsons
  
  It has 16gb total, that is split between internal and phone storage.
  
  Many people have loved the V3, and many have hated it. In my experience, it was fine.
  
  Having said that, it’s a different market than 8 months ago when the V3 came out. There are a lot of interesting alternatives out there now.
  
  Reply
August 27, 2014

Pablo

Hi, I got this phone like 2 months ago, and it started giving me problems, the wall charger does not work, just with usb cable I am able to charge my battery, also I have problems with the on off bottom , it is a nice phone and I am disapointed that this is happening, how long would be the life for this phone cosidering the low price?

Reply
1. August 27, 2014
  
  Damian Parsons
  
  Hi Pablo, sorry to hear about this happening. These sort of things happen with major brand electronics all the time, it’s not limited to China brand phones. The problem is that because it wasn’t bought locally retail, it can be a hassle to get the warranty honored (paying for shipping, waiting for it to be fixed etc…).
  
  As far as how much longer your phone will last, nobody can answer that for you. If you bought it from a trustworthy shop, you should be able to get it fixed under warranty.
  
  Reply
August 29, 2014

Zec MIr

which is the level of radiation emitted by the INEW v3?
I mean I heard that when you receive a call, this emitts a level of radiation….is there anyway to know that? because some articles say that china phones are danger for health because of that.

Reply
1. August 29, 2014
  
  Damian Parsons
  
  I’m not sure about radiation levels, but most likely it’s far more dangerous to step outside the door than to worry about this. If really worried, just use hands free mic headphones.
  
  Reply
  1. August 29, 2014
    
    Zec MIr
    
    Thank you for your answer, I readed that the OTG in some inew v3s did not work, If a boy one now, it should be a fixed version?
    
    Reply
    1. August 29, 2014
      
      Damian Parsons
      
      When iNew v3 first came out, there was an issue with OTG in software. That was fixed within first few weeks.
      
      There are a lot of good phones since v3 came out though. Check out iNew v8. Now $195 and 2gb RAM.
      
      Reply
      1. August 29, 2014
        
        Zec MIr
        
        Inew V8 is it as good as the v3?, I mean there is not too much comments regarding the v8, and I am afraid that there could be a software issue like the firsts v3
September 12, 2014

Babis

my phone is dead…i bought it at May 2014…also i bought a 2nd battery but nothing.what can i do to fix it???H E L P

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December 5, 2014

krsto

Hi, I ordered inew and the second day we began to glare screen and return to normal and so every now and then , I reduced brightness of the screen and nothing , whether it’s to the battery or anything else, please help ? thanks

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December 5, 2014

krsto

i have problem with it. Displey ligh is increasing and decreasing constantly, look like there is no enough energy and it is blinking, and also every few minutes goes totaly white. i tried to :
decrease contrast on minimum and again

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January 4, 2015

NEIL

hi Paul
I love the phone but have same problem with battery ,My major problem is that I cant transfer photos to my computer ????
Can you help me ..I have asked but no has helped me ..My previous Samsung never had this problem ..neil

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March 23, 2015

neil leonard

I loved the phone when it was working BUT THE BATTERY WENT DOWN AFTER 3 MONTHS ..The supplier replaced the battery as a quick fix .2 months later the phone stopped working again .Battery again was U/S after short use. Now I have spent 3 months being stuffed around again ..Again they say its battery ,so I’m now waiting for another battery ..They know the batteries aren’t any good but they wont replace it with a reliable battery ..SO NOW WHEN I GET THIS NEW BATTERY IT WILL BE THE 3RD BATTERY ,,,IF IT WORKS THAT IS .RATEME5 WERE THE SUPPLIERS ..THE SERVICE IS TO STALL THE CUSTOMER FOR 3 MONTHS BEFORE MAKING A DECISION …

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