Octacore GooPhone N3 Review of a dual SIM Note 3 clone

The octacore GooPhone N3 review is here! We have had our hands on the GooPhone N3 phablet for a few weeks now preparing this review. Find out what we think of this dual simphone with the body of a Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

There are knock-offs and there are clones

When someone says knock-off to me I immediately picture a cheap, badly made copy of a big name product. Something like a plastic gold Rolex with the numbers printed on backwards and only works for as long as you are in the store. There was a time when some Chinese phones could have been described this way, but not anymore!

The new breed of clones are almost replicas of the phones they try to emulate. I actually wanted to call the GooPhone N3 a replica in the title, but I don’t want to make it look like a condone the practice of copying the design of another brand. Clone will have to do.

Octacore GooPhone N3 Unboxing

Octacore GooPhone N3 Specifications

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Octacore GooPhone N3 Review – Design

The simplest way to get to know the design of the GooPhone N3, without actually buying one, is to follow these simple steps. 1) Find your nearest Samsung phone store, 2) Visit said store, 3) Pick up the Galaxy Note, 4) Finished!

Having to acutually pick up a real Note 3 speaks volumes for the design, feel, and quality of this 5.7-inch clone. We’re not talking a 1:1 exact copy though, the logo on the rear is a GooPhone one, there is no stylus and you can forget those expensive Samsung prices as the octacore GooPhone N3 costs just $239.99!

Like the Note 3, the GooPhone N3 is available in black or white. Bezels on the GooPhone aren’t the narrowest, but the overall width is slim enough for those with medium to large size hands to easily grip and use the device one-handed.

One handed operation is helped with a textured finish on the rear, which GooPhone have tired to make look like a leather panel complete with fake stitching all modeld in to the removable rear panel.

While we’re on the rear we can see the silver GooPhone logo is the only wording on the phone. Above the logo is the 13 mega-pixel camera and LED flash which extend slightly from the body of the phone and are surrounded by a black panel with silver border.

The front of the device is where we are greeted by that large 5.7-inch display (more on that later). A physical home button sits below with back-lit capacitive buttons on either side. Then at the very top is a 5 mega-pixel front facing camera to the right of the receiver.

GooPhone have crafted a silver plastic border around the phone with grooves which run around. These add a bit of flair to the design and also aid in the grip department. Physical controls for power can be found on the right while a volume rocker is on your left.

3.5mm headphone jack in the top and a micro USB in the base make up the exterior of the GooPhone N3.

The black rear panel can be easily removed simply by unclipping it and pulling it away from the rest of the phone. Underneath is where the 3200mAh replaceable battery can be found, dual simtray (one on top of the other) and space for Micro SD card.

Some readers have already asked if the GooPhone N3 can be used with genuine Samsung batteries. The answer is I have never tried and would personally only use the battery designed for the phone in that phone. While I am answering questions the dual sim spaces are for a single Micro SIM and single regular SIM and the SD card slot can accept up to 32GB cards.

The GooPhone N3 also ships with an optional flip cover which connect directly to the rear of the phone in place of the standard rear panel. Again it gets a fake leather look, this time in a flexible material and has a notification window in the front so you can keep an eye on messages and the time without needing to open the cover.

The GooPhone N3 might be manufactured primarily of plastic, but the body is surprisingly well made and feels better than you would imagine in your hand. Also the fact that most of the device is plastic helps to keep the overall weight down.

Octacore GooPhone N3 Review – Display

Just 12 months ago it would not have been possible to buy a smartphone with a 5.7-inch 1920 x 1080 display for $239.99, let alone a phone with a octacore processor and 2GB RAM! Even now it is next to impossible to find a phone with this type of hardware without looking at what China has to offer.

As the display is something you are going to be staring at for hours a day while commuting, taking a break, catching up on the news, or getting a bit of early work done, it is important that you choose a phone with a good one.

The panel on the N3 is superb! The 5.7-inch size is perfect and is a great size, even to me as a smaller phone user I can easily get along with the phablet size display. The 1920 x 1080 resolution means that even on this large expanse of glass images are crystal clear and text is crisp to read.

Viewing angles are spot on and colours are bright and vibrant. It would be hard not to be impressed by this display on any phone even if it were on a much costlier device. If we were to have one complaint though it would be that the screen could be a touch brighter for daytime use, but overall viewing is a joy.

Octacore GooPhone N3 Review – Performance

With a 1.7Ghz octacore MT6592 processor and 2GB RAM, you don’t need to see the Antutu scores to know that the GooPhone N3 has more than enough power to please all but the most power-hungry users!

From operating the Android 4.2 OS, to taking and saving photos, streaming video over WIFI, browsing the internet and even 3D gaming, the GooPhone N3 takes everything in it’s stride without breaking a sweat.

At its price the N3 is going to be attracting a lot of phone users who are more used to using much lower specification hardware, these customers are going to be blown away by the performance and the overall feel of the phone. Even those of us use to more advanced Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos set ups won’t be disappointed by the GooPhone N3’s performance.

As with all of our phone reviews we ran a number of popular benchmarks on the GooPhone N3, the results of these tests can be seen in the screenshots below.

GooPhone N3 benchmarks

Octacore GooPhone N3 3D Mark benchmarks;

• Ice Storm: 5125
• Ice Strom Extreme: 3623
• Ice Storm Unlimited: 6644

Octacore GooPhone N3 Antutu;

• Antutu:  27,185

Nenamark;

• 47.6fps

Quadrant;

• 12,731

Vellamo;

• HTML5: 1944
• Metal: 653

Octacore GooPhone N3 Benchmarks Video

Octacore GooPhone N3 review – Battery

The GooPhone has a lot to power with that large high-resolution display, 8-core processor and 2GB RAM, still the 3200mAh battery does an adequate job of keeping you up and running for most of the day.

Obviously your mileage is going to vary depending on how you use the phone, but in our extensive tests we were able to get through a normal work day of emailing, photos and web browsing over 3G on a single charge. Gaming and video takes it’s toll on the battery and does mean a mid day top up will be in order for users who commute to work and use your phone as your entertainment on the journey there and back.

Octacore GooPhone N3 review – Camera performance

There was a time when reviewing a Chinese smartphone for its camera performance was a very hit and miss affair. Some performed very well, where as others were pretty terrible. These days though manufacturers have gotten their act together and many are using the same hardware as each other and using the same optimizations.

The GooPhone N3 has a 13 mega-pixel camera with and aperture size of f2.4 this isn’t as good as some of the phones we have reviewed recently and means that low-light performance isn’t as good as we would have hoped, but for taking photos during the day and in good lighting conditions the images are more than acceptable.

A 5 mega-pixel front camera is also included which is also great in good light and can take some nice selfies, however low-light performance isn’t what it could be due to the f2.8 aperture.

Below are a few sample photos from the GooPhone N3, a link is provided after the gallery where you can download the full size images.

GooPhone N3 sample photos

• Download full size GooPhone N3 photo samples here.

Octacore GooPhone N3 Review – Connectivity

The N3 has dual SIM card slots which can be used for either 2G GSM or 3G WCDMA networks in countries with the following bands GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz WCDMA: 850/2100MHz. This dual simphone has no 4G LTE support, and as you can see will not work on 3G networks in North American countries.

Call quality, reception and browsing over 3G are perfect with no issues, and I am happy to report that GPS on the phone worked right out of the box. The first lock took a few minutes but since then the GPS has be quite fast and reliable. There is also WIFI, Bluetooth but no NFC, lack of which is probably to keep the overall cost of the phone down.

Octacore GooPhone N3 Review – Conclusion

The GooPhone N3 is a great package for anyone wanting a powerful octacore phone with a great display. The price is phenomenal and we would even rave about it if it cost slightly more.

The N3 is for customers who appreciate the look of the real Samsung Galaxy Note 3 but enjoy the prices of Chinese phones, and also the ability of having an unlocked device so they can switch and choose carriers as they please. A large display, and fast processor makes the N3 great for work and gaming and the replaceable battery means you should be able to keep power on at all times.

The GooPhone N3 isn’t for those who use their phones as a camera on a daily basis. While the octacore N3 can take some very nice photos in good light, the poor low light quality will eventually become annoying.

Overall the GooPhone N3 is a great buy for most uses. It is powerful, large but not to large, has a great feeling body and costs just $239.99! For more details of the GooPhone N3 visit the official store GooPhone.cc.