Chinese smartphone companies are on the rise, targeting the entry and high-end markets with their offerings that carry affordable price tags. Lenovo, which is also known as the largest PC maker in the world, has announced its K3 smartphone and features a price tag of $145. In several ways, it is similar to another Chinese smartphone firm, and its phablet sized device, Meizu's M1 Note. Meizu's M1 Note features a $160 price tag (for the 16 GB version) but there are several aspects of Lenovo K3 that make it the better purchase.

Lenovo K3 possesses near identical hardware specifications as M1 Note's

Lenovo K3 and Meizu M1 Note both possess a phablet sized form factor; 5.5 inches rendering the 1920 by 1080 resolution. Additionally, both smartphones are also equipped with Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek and its MT6752 SoC, which features an octa-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU. The processor on both handsets runs at a base clock frequency of 1.7 GHz, coupled with 2 GB of RAM, and ARM's Mali-T760 GPU. Another advantage of owning one of the two devices is that they can accommodate two carrier networks at the same time. Furthermore, they also feature a Cat 4 LTE modem along with an 802.11 n adapter, for wireless connectivity purposes.

Lenovo K3 and Meizu M1 Note are also assimilated with a 13 MP and 5 MP camera combination. However, while K3's internal memory is only 16 GB, Lenovo has provided a microSD slot for users to upgrade their existing storage up to 32 GB. Meizu's M1 Note is not incorporated with such a feature and is currently only available in the 16 and 32 GB on-board storage variants. Battery pack details of both devices have been listed below:

• Lenovo K3: 3,000 mAh
• Meizu M1 Note: 3,140 mAh

In terms of battery backup time, the difference is going to be very little, considering both devices feature the same hardware specifications in terms of chipset, processor, RAM, GPU and resolution variables. Lenovo K3 also comes in the Teana variant, which possesses better quality speakers. However, its retail price goes up to 999 Yuan ($161) compared to the 899 Yuan price tag of the regular model. Lenovo K3 will be available later in the year to purchase and as far as Meizu's offering is concerning, it appears that new contender will be squaring off against M1 Note.