Gionee Elife S5.1 is The Slimmest Smartphone in the World with a Built-in Audio Jack for Earphones

During one of my visits at Gionee Philippines' headquarters in Pasig City a couple of months back, our friends from the company showed me this really cool prototype of an exciting device that they're planning to release in the country soon.

Gionee Elife S5.1

I took these photos back then -- but they asked me to withhold information about the handset until around November or December 2014 when - they said - they'd finally be ready to announce it.

Gionee Elife S5.1

TP Friends, this is the midrange powerhouse Gionee Elife S5.1, which measures only 5.1 millimeters at its thickest point ~ making it the thinnest or slimmest smartphone in the world currently with a hassle-free, built-in 3.5 millimeter audio jack for earphones.

Gionee Elife S5.1

Flaunting a real metal frame and an ultra-sleek construction, Gionee Elife S5.1's head-turning design identity would have to be its strongest selling point -- but its looks is not the only thing that makes this release truly special.

But before I expound that, let's check out side-by-side photos of the high-end Gionee Elife S5.5 flagship released earlier this year - which remains to be one of the slimmest and most gorgeous smartphones in the planet - and the upcoming Gionee Elife S5.1.

Gionee Elife S5.1
Current flagship Gionee Elife S5.5 and midrange Gionee Elife S5.1, respectively.

Gionee Elife S5.1
The two smartphones share the same very thin glass-metal-glass sandwich design language but - looks-wise - there are a handful of obvious differences between the two. To be specific, the smaller S5.1 has more rounded corners, doesn't have a protruding camera module, has its microUSB port located at the rear as opposed to on top like the one on S5.5.

Gionee Elife S5.1

Being a mid-level model in terms of its price, Elife S5.1 is not quite as powerful as Gionee Elife S5.5 in terms of internal specifications and imaging capabilities. Although the two phones have the same 1.7 GHz Octa Core MediaTek MT6592 chipset incorporating eight ARM Cortex A7 CPUs and Mali 450-MP4 GPU plus 16 GB of internal storage, the former only has 1 GB of RAM for multitasking versus 2 GB on the latter. Also, while S5.5 has a 13 MegaPixel main camera, the one on S5.1 is just an 8 MegaPixel shooter.

Gionee Elife S5.1

Nonetheless, considering that S5.1 will be far more affordable than Elife S5.5 upon launch in the Philippines, I'm still very impressed by the device and everything that it has to offer. Going back to what I said, the phone looks and feels amazing and, although it's not the most powerful device's Gionee's current product line-up, it's definitely one of the more capable ones, which is great given the fact it sells for only around $300 in other territories around the world.

Gionee Elife S5.1
The combination of its innards gives Gionee Elife S5.1 an Antutu Benchmark Score in the area of 30,774. Not bad for a phone with a fairly affordable price tag; Not bad at all.

Gionee Elife S5.1

Powered by a non-removable 2,050 mAh battery pack, Gionee Elife S5.1 runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat with the company's very own Amigo user interface and is expected to land here (according to our insiders) either this December 2014 or January 2015. No word yet from the company as regards its official suggested retail price but I'm guessing it should cost around Php 13,000 to Php 14,000 when it finally becomes available locally.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name Gionee Elife S5.1
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen)
Price Category Midrange
Dimensions139.8 x 67.4 x 5.1 mm
Weight 97.7 grams
Available Colors White, Black, Pink, Mint Green
Operating System Android 4.4.2 KitKat skinned by Amigo UI 2.0
Display 4.8 inches (~306 ppi pixel density), 720 x 1280 pixels, Super AMOLED, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Processor Octa Core 1.7 GHz ARM Cortex A7 CPU, Mali-450MP4 GPU, MediaTek MT6592 chipset
RAM 1 GB RAM
Internal Storage 16 GB, non-expandable
Camera Main: 8 MegaPixels, 3264 x 2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Front: 5 MegaPixels front camera
Video Capture Main: Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second
Front: HD 720p (to be confirmed)
Audio and Video Playback MP4, H.264, H.263, MP3, WAV, eAAC+ player
Ports microUSB v2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0, 3G HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, HSPA+
GPS Yes, with A-GPS
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity, Light, Gyroscope
Network 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
SIM Card Type microSIM
Battery Non-removable Li-Ion 2,050 mAh battery
Uptime TBA
Value-Added Features Slimmest Smartphone in the World with 3.5 mm audio jack, Amigo UI
Announcement Philippines: TBA
Availability Philippines: December 2014 or January 2015, TP Guesstimate
Price TP Guesstimate: Php 13,000 to Php 14,000