As recently, Chinese manufacturer Lenovo and e-Commerce giant Lazada have joined hands to bring us convenience and affordability, and ...
As
recently, Chinese manufacturer Lenovo and e-Commerce giant Lazada
have joined hands to bring us convenience and affordability, and the
former's latest entry in their affordable offerings is presented as
an exclusive to the online shop. Now that would be a bit worrying –
stocks, stocks, stocks. Would Lenovo be able to fill the need of the
masses, now that they've unleashed something dead cheap considering
what it's packing in?
Meet
the Lenovo A7000 – a Lazada-exclusive smartphone that boasts
capable hardware, pure entertainment features, and a price tag that
will make you throw your money right at your screens.
Specifications:
-
Mediatek MT6752m, Octa-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53, Mali-T760MP2
-
2GB RAM, 8GB internal storage expandable via microSD card
-
5.5-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen 720 x 1280 pixels (267ppi)
-
Android OS, v5.0 (Lollipop)
-
Li-Po 2900 mAh removable battery
-
Dual-SIM (2G/3G/4G)
-
152.6 x 76.2 x 8 mm
-
140 g
Unboxing,
Design and Build Quality
The
A7000 comes in a very standard retail box, but you'll recognize it as
Lenovo with the color scheme and branding. It doesn't come off as
stylish as the company's Vibe series – it's straightforward
standard, and you'll get the idea that it's part of the
budget-to-midrange offerings.
Take
the lid off and you'll be greeted with the A7000 itself, propped
accordingly on a red cardboard. As far as the inclusion goes, the
A7000 is bundled with a USB cable, an A/C adapter, a headset, and a
set of paperwork such as manuals, warranty, and the like. Lenovo also
went the extra mile by adding a screen protector so you'll never have
to go to the nearest shop to get one yourself. The only gripe you'll
have about the inclusions is that the headset is a bit too plasticky
– it looks a bit cheap and it doesn't feel as comfortable as in-ear
headsets, but the performance is quite adequate if I do say so
myself.
For
the build quality, the A7000 features a removable black plastic back
panel that feels sturdy enough for your needs. It doesn't feel flimsy
at all, but you may still have to opt for a case should you need to
arm it with further protection. It's not layered with Gorilla Glass
protection, and its back panel isn't scratch-proof, same with other
offerings in its spectrum, so to speak. Lenovo also does bundle it
with a case for free upon purchase. I think that's a P699.00 value,
so again, props to Lenovo for the inclusion.
I'm
also giving a plus one to its design – I like things as
minimalistic as possible, and the A7000 keeps it that way. There's no
branding upfront, and there's the front-facing camera and senors
subtly hidden up top while the navigation buttons are at the bottom.
The back panel is also kept clean with the Lenovo branding sitting
top-middle, and it looks nice in my books. The top-left is home to
the 8MP camera, and below it is a dual-LED flash setup. On the other
side of it rests the microphone and the speaker. Both the volume
rocker and the power button are located at the right side, and it's a
nice way of putting it due to the phone's size.
Display
Lenovo
tags the A7000 as a full-on entertainment device on-the-go, so you'll
be expecting it to rock a 1080p resolution. It doesn't, though, as
its 5.5-inch display only dons a resolution of 720 x 1280 resolution
with a 267ppi pixel density. It's not bad, however, and I'm pleased
to announce that its display could be one of its greatest selling
points. Texts look crisp and clear, and images appear sharp. You can
watch watch 1080p movies without stutters or lags, and the quality
doesn't shrink despite the dropdown in the resolution. Lenovo scores
big on this one, it's hands down one of the best in its range.
User-Interface
The
A7000 runs on Android Lollipop 5.0 with Vibe UI on top. So, think of
combining Material Design and ala-iOS user-interface and what you'll
be getting is this. Material Design really adds flavor in terms of
design, and thankfully, the Vibe UI is still kept clean. Some,
including me, would prefer the vanilla Android experience, but there
are also others who would want to add some features and uniqueness to
their smartphones. This is up for the user, but methinks that the
Vibe UI is much faster and therefore an easy recommend now.
Performance
The
A7000 plows through everything we throw at it without breaking a
sweat. No question there, actually. It's equipped with a MediaTek
MT6752m SoC – a 64-bit chipset with an octa-core processor and a
MaliT760MP GPU backed with an ample 2GB of RAM.
Of
course, we couldn't help trying it out with benchmark tests. Kindof
an essential here, really. Check out the results below:
Aaaand,
another mandatory test – games. We've tried the most graphic
intensive games available on Google Play, and we were darned
impressed by what the A7000 was capable of. Mortal Kombat X is
playable at a decent framerate, same with Telltale's The Walking
Dead, Hearthstone, and Implosion are easily a pleasure to play. We
could post videos should you wish, but until then here are some
screenshots of games we've tried to play. Oh and by the way, you can
also request games that you'd want to be tested. We'll be happy to do
them. :)
My
only gripe, though, is the storage. The A7000 features 8GB of
internal storage. That really doesn't say a lot, since the OS would
take more than 3GB of space, leaving you with around 4.88GB of
internal storage to work on. So, an advice, if you're going to buy
this at Lazada, make sure you'll also bundle it with a microSD card.
Camera
Not
Lenovo's best, but definitely not the worst. The A7000 is equipped
with an 8MP primary shooter that can take 3264 x 2448 stills and
shoot 1080p videos at 30fps. The images taken aren't really as sharp
as you'd imagine, as compared with other smartphones out there,
sadly, but there are a few tweaks that can help you get the most out
of it. Filters. Standard mode would get you photos with adequate
quality, but its magic starts to work once you go with filters
instead. What I preferred here was the Movie filter – the details
became sharper, and the noise lesser. Not to mention you're adding a
feel to your photographs. So, there's that. Check out the samples I
took:
 |
| Without filter |
 |
| Movie Filter On! |
 |
| Obligatory Selfie Camera |
Multimedia
Playback
This
is where the A7000 shines the most. Dolby Atmos is the word, and
you'll have one heck of a cinematic experience when you're watching
movies with it. We're not really sure of the setup, though as we
would have preferred it had donned stereo speakers for better
acoustics. At least that's what I believe. The A7000 can deliver
boombastic sounds – the audio is rich, and you can definitely feel
the bass on the speakers. But again, Lenovo could have gone the extra
mile and went for dual front facing speakers like what the HTC One
lineup is sporting. So, we hope to see this in the A8000 or A70002?
Nevertheless,
Dolby Atmos can really help with the experience, making watching
movies and video clips as exciting as possible.
Features
The
A7000 also features USB OTG capability. So, if you have a flash
drive, or an external drive should you wish, then feel free to plug
it in. Lenovo doesn't include a USB OTG cable, but you can probably
purchase one from the nearest techshop for around Php 30.00. There's
just one thing missing though. Since the A7000 is tagged as an
entertainment smartphone, it would have been preferable if it had MHL
capabilities. We'd want plugging in our smartphones and projecting
them on HDTVs, but sadly the A7000 missed out on that.
Dolby
Atmos
We
want to highlight the killer feature of the A7000 here, and it is by
no means an overstatement. Dolby Atmos can really enhance the sound
quality, and you're going to love how loud and rich it can go. Try it
on with a good high-performance headset and you'll see a what
difference it can make.
You
can tweak the settings right up the Dolby Atmos app that comes
installed with the A7000. There are presets for Movies, Music, and
Gaming. During our acid tests, the Movie test procedures for, of
course watching movies, pumped up the volume better.
Battery
A
smartphone is only good if it has juice to plow through the day. And
since it's Lenovo here we're talking about, you can be just as sure
about the battery life given the manufacturer's legacy in that
department. The A7000 on a single SIM card set-up can go more than 24
hours on mixed to regular usage, so that should keep you occupied for
now. And also, Lenovo has beefed up its Ultimate Power Saver Mode
feature, giving you enough power even when the phone's battery is
close to nil. Say, 10% of battery can yield to at least 5 hours of
basic phone usage. I repeat, basic. So, you can call and text, but
that's about it.
Conclusion
Pros:
Easily
the best in the midrange spectrum
Dolby
Atmos
Vibe
2.0 UI mixes well with Android Lollipop 5.0
Dead
cheap at P7,500
Vibrant
display, nice viewing angles and brightness
Nice
design and form factor
Battery
is stellar, you can also go further with Ultimate Power Saver Mode
Cons:
The
camera (well, both of it) isn't the A7000's strongest suit
Lazada-exclusive,
pray stocks are available
8GB
storage is limited, very limited
With
all that's said and done, the Lenovo A7000 is definitely a crowd
pleaser. At the pricepoint it's presented in, coupled in with its
internals and unique features, it's going to be an easy recommend.
Does it beat the competition? Definitely, by a mile. Is it going to
be worth your money? Come on, that's pretty much a given. You'll be
future-proofing yourself for at least a year or two, but only if you
can get your hands on it.
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