Last to last week we reviewed the Gionee Pioneer P2 and last week we published the Xolo A500S review. Both of them are budget Android smartphones with approximately the same price point. Both these smartphones have similar hardware and software specifications and that’s why we planned to do a comparison between these two products.
Design:
Both of smartphones, Gionee Pioneer P2 and the Xolo A500S have their own design language. Xolo A500S features a sporty look with the matte finish back and slim profile whereas the Gionee Pioneer P2 features a rich look with shiny matte back and shiny edges with a thicker profile as compared to the Xolo A500S.
Display:
Both of the smartphones have 4-inch displays which exactly the same resolution which is 480×800 pixels. We find both of these displays to be bright and clear to be used as a daily driver. There is actually no significant difference between the two displays so there are no words when comparing the two.
Camera:
Pioneer P2 and A500S both have a 5MP shooter on the back with VGA camera on the front. The 5MP camera on the Pioneer P2 turns out to be better when comparing the actual shots clicked by the devices. Pioneer P2 shoots sharp and clear pictures as compared to the Xolo A500S 5MP shooter. The rest being the same. Gionee has its own camera app which has a little more functionality to the stock Android camera app giving Pioneer P2 another edge for the same.
Hardware
Talking about the hardware, both the Xolo A500S and the Gionee Pioneer P2 packs a dual core processor with 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory which can be further expanded to 32GB by the microSD card. There is literally no difference between the on-paper specifications but the real feel performance shows a difference as observed with the benchmark tests. The Xolo A500S has a better graphics performance of 40fps to the Gionee Pioneer P2 33fps and a little more on others as well.
Software:
XOLO A500S runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean mobile operating system with the stock rom as shipped by Google. It has not done any customizations but have some applications bundled with the device whereas Gionee has its own way of presenting things. They have an inhouse launcher which is shipped on their products having different app icons and animations. Apart from this the basic functioning is the same as Android 4.2. This might be the reason of the lacking performance.
Price:
XOLO A500S comes for Rs. 6,499 in India from leading retail stores and factory outlets across the country and even from the online e-commerce sites and is available in four color options – Black, Blue, Red & White. The competitor Gionee Pioneer P2 also comes for Rs. 6500 but its available only in white and black color options.
Conclusion:
Budget Android smartphones are on a roll. As per our talks in recent times with the low end handset manufacturers their devices sell like hot cakes. The demand for smartphone is increasing and why not get an Android smartphone for the same price as that of a feature phone. Gionee as a brand manufacturers great products and is trying to back up its brand value whereas Xolo is a little older than Gionee and is still fighting in the market. Considering this particular case, Xolo A500S seems to have better looks in four different color options with a little better graphics performance whereas the Gionee Pioneer P2 gives better pictures. Display quality looks decent on both the devices and summarizing the comparison we feel that Xolo A500S has an edge over Gionee Pioneer P2. But as the stocks of Xolo A500S are currently not available so Gionee Pioneer P2 seems to be a good option to go with.
