Lenovo S850 review - a smartphone at a pre-crisis price. Review of Android-smartphone Lenovo S850 with support for two SIM-cards Technical specifications lenovo s 850
Information about the brand, model and alternative names of a specific device, if any.
Design
Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, offered colors, certificates.
| Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 71 mm (millimeters) 7.1 cm (centimeters) 0.23 ft (feet) 2.8 in (inches) |
| Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 141 mm (millimeters) 14.1 cm (centimeters) 0.46 ft (feet) 5.55 in (inches) |
| Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units. | 8.2 mm (millimeters) 0.82 cm (centimeters) 0.03 ft (feet) 0.32 in (inches) |
| The weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement. | 140 g (grams) 0.31 lbs (pounds) 4.94 oz (ounces) |
| Volume The approximate volume of the device, based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with a rectangular parallelepiped shape. | 82.09 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 4.99 in³ (cubic inches) |
| Colors Information about the colors in which this unit is offered for sale. | White Pink Blue |
SIM card
The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.
Mobile networks
A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.
Mobile technology and data rates
Communication between devices in mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data rates.
Operating system
An operating system is the system software that controls and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.
SoC (System on a Chip)
A system on a chip (SoC) integrates all the major hardware components of a mobile device into a single chip.
| SoC (System on a Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software required for their operation. | MediaTek MT6582 |
| Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. The value in nanometers is half the distance between the elements in the processor. | 28 nm (nanometers) |
| Processor (CPU) The main function of the processor (CPU) of a mobile device is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications. | ARM Cortex-A7 |
| Bit processor The capacity (bits) of the processor is determined by the size (in bits) of registers, address buses and buses for data. 64-bit processors offer better performance than 32-bit processors, which are more efficient than 16-bit processors. | 32 bit |
| Instruction set architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets / controls the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute. | ARMv7 |
| Level 1 cache (L1) The cache memory is used by the processor to reduce the time it takes to access more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (Level 1) cache is small and is much faster than both system memory and other levels of cache. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2. | 32 KB + 32 KB (kilobytes) |
| L2 cache L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1, but instead has a larger capacity, allowing more data to be cached. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for them in L3 cache memory (if available) or in RAM memory. | 512 KB (kilobytes) 0.5 MB (megabytes) |
| The number of processor cores The processor core executes program instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to execute in parallel. | 4 |
| CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 1300 MHz (megahertz) |
| Graphics processing unit (GPU) A graphics processing unit (GPU) handles computation for a variety of 2D / 3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most commonly used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, and more. | ARM Mali-400 MP2 |
| Number of GPU cores Like a processor, a GPU is made up of several working parts called cores. They handle the graphical computation of various applications. | 2 |
| GPU clock speed Speed \u200b\u200bis the clock speed of the GPU and is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 500 MHz (megahertz) |
| The amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. The data that is saved in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted. | 1 GB (gigabytes) |
| Memory type (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device. | LPDDR2 |
| Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels which are integrated into the SoC. More channels means higher data rates. | Single channel |
| RAM frequency The frequency of the RAM determines its speed of operation, more specifically, the speed of reading / writing data. | 533 MHz (megahertz) |
Built-in memory
Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) fixed memory.
Screen
The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.
| Type / technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the image quality of information directly depends. | IPS |
| Diagonal On mobile devices, screen size is expressed in terms of the length of its diagonal, measured in inches. | 5 in (inches) 127 mm (millimeters) 12.7 cm (centimeters) |
| Width Approximate screen width | 2.45 in (inches) 62.26 mm (millimeters) 6.23 cm (centimeters) |
| Height Approximate screen height | 4.36 in (inches) 110.69 mm (millimeters) 11.07 cm (centimeters) |
| Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of the long side of the screen to its short side | 1.778:1 16:9 |
| Resolution Screen resolution shows the number of pixels horizontally and vertically on the screen. Higher resolution means sharper image detail. | 720 x 1280 pixels |
| Pixel density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be shown on the screen in clearer detail. | 294 ppi (pixels per inch) 115 ppcm (pixels per centimeter) |
| Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors the screen can display. | 24 bit 16777216 flowers |
| Screen area The approximate percentage of the display area on the front of the device. | 69.07% (percent) |
| Other characteristics Information about other functions and features of the screen. | Capacitive Multitouch |
Sensors
Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical metrics into signals that the mobile device recognizes.
Main camera
The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.
| Sensor type Digital cameras use photo sensors to take photographs. The sensor, as well as the optics, are one of the main factors in the quality of the camera in a mobile device. | CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) |
| Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile devices are LED and Xenon flashes. LED flashes give softer light and, unlike brighter xenon ones, are also used for video shooting. | LED |
| Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of pixels horizontally and vertically in an image. | 4128 x 3096 pixels 12.78 MP (megapixels) |
| Video Resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution for video recording by the device. | 1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels) |
| Video - frame rate / frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when recording video at maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video capture and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p. | 30 frames / sec (frames per second) |
| Specifications Information about other software and hardware features associated with the main camera to improve its functionality. | Autofocus Burst shooting Geographic tags Panoramic shooting HDR shooting Touch focus Face recognition Macro mode |
Additional camera
Additional cameras are usually mounted above the screen of the device and are used mainly for video calls, gesture recognition, etc.
Audio
Information on the type of speakers and audio technology supported by the device.
Radio
The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.
Locating
Information about the navigation and positioning technologies supported by the device.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is a technology that enables wireless communication for transferring data over short distances between various devices.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless transfer of data between different types of devices over short distances.
USB
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.
Headphone jack
This is an audio connector, which is also called an audio connector. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Connecting devices
Information about other important connection technologies supported by the device.
Browser
A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.
Video file formats / codecs
Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode / decode digital video data.
Battery
Mobile device batteries differ in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge required for their function.
| Capacity The capacity of a battery indicates the maximum charge it can store, measured in milliampere-hours. | 2150 mAh (milliampere-hours) |
| A type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, by the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with the most common mobile devices using lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries. | Li-polymer |
| Talk time 2G 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery is completely discharged during continuous 2G talk. | 13 h (hours) 780 min (minutes) 0.5 days |
| Standby time 2G Standby time in 2G is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network. | 400 h (hours) 24000 min (minutes) 16.7 days |
| Talk time 3G Talk time in 3G is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network. | 13 h (hours) 780 min (minutes) 0.5 days |
| 3G standby time Standby time in 3G is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network. | 336 h (hours) 20160 min (minutes) 14 days |
| Specifications Information about some additional characteristics of the device battery. | Non-removable |
Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)
SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body when using a mobile device.
| Head SAR (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that a person's body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear in a talking position. In Europe, the maximum SAR value for mobile devices is limited to 2 W / kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard was established by the CENELEC committee in accordance with the IEC standards, following the ICNIRP guidelines of 1998. | 0.262 W / kg (Watts per kilogram) |
| Body SAR (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that a person's body is exposed to when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W / kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard was established by the CENELEC committee in accordance with ICNIRP guidelines from 1998 and IEC standards. | 0.459 W / kg (Watts per kilogram) |
| Head SAR (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear. The maximum value used in the USA is 1.6 W / kg per gram of human tissue. US mobile devices are controlled by CTIA and the FCC conducts tests and sets their SAR values. | 0.351 W / kg (Watts per kilogram) |
| Body SAR (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that a person's body is exposed to when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest SAR value in the United States is 1.6 W / kg per gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC and CTIA monitors mobile devices for compliance with this standard. | 0.608 W / kg (Watts per kilogram) |
Pink, stylish, glamorous - all this is about the hero of today's article. It also has a good display, dual SIM support and a decent camera. The price is a separate conversation, but to talk about it, you need to know all the nuances and features of this device. Believe me, there is something to tell about here. Therefore, without wasting a minute, we turn to the Lenovo S850 review.
Equipment
In the box from under the device there were wired headphones, a MicroUSB cable, a charger and all kinds of different documentation. No wonder. However, I am glad that the manufacturer did not save on matches and put the headset on the phone. Users who are not experienced in sound will find it pleasant and useful.
Design
Perhaps this is the main advantage of the phone. If in the photo the device looks like another smartphone-bar, then when you take it in your hands, the impression changes.
Firstly, the smartphone is very pleasant to hold in hands.
On the front, there is a smooth oleophobic coating on which the fingers glide like on ice. And at the back there is a convex glossy back.
In general, convex and beveled edges are one of the latest market trends. It all started with the Lumia series, back then from Nokia and now supported by a wide variety of manufacturers, including Apple with their iPhone 6. Seriously! See for yourself in the photo below.
Secondly, the bright pink appearance will definitely appeal to the female half of users. Yes, what can I say. Even I liked it. Everything is so glamorous, but without fanaticism. Model Lenovo S850 Blue also plays well in the light, but more on that later.
The body, by the way, is assembled from several frames. At the front there is a panel with a display, a plastic frame around the perimeter, and a glass overlay at the back.
Third, there is also a practical point.
Thanks to the bright colors and the use of the front and back as the main glass material, fingerprints are not visible on the surface. In addition, any small debris, such as dust particles or hairs, does not stick to the body.
Above the screen is a mesh of the earpiece, a front camera peephole, a distance sensor and an ambient light sensor. The latter works correctly - the backlight changes quickly depending on the amount of light around. Here the brand name is proudly flaunting.
Front camera and sensors
There are touch buttons under the display. Their designations are unique to Lenovo phones, so it takes some time to get used to what each of them means. And another plus of the separate control panel is that the working space of the screen is not eaten away by these buttons. This is important for any diagonal, be it 5 inches or more.
The negative point is that the buttons are not backlit. In the dark, you have to press by typing until you learn the commands by heart.
There is something interesting in the back. No, it is normal for the LED flash camera to be positioned in the upper right corner. But the luminous Lenovo brand name is a cool feature. The backlight works when the device is set to charge, when receiving notifications, when talking with a subscriber, and also for some time after unlocking. Looks especially impressive in the dark!
On the bottom there is a hole for a microphone, and the top is occupied by two connectors: 3.5 mm for connecting a headset, as well as a Micro USB port.
The rocker key for adjusting the volume, and with it the power button, are on the right side of the device. The keys are plastic and wobble slightly in their grooves, but you can live with it.
There is a SIM card slot and a multimedia speaker on the left side. The SIM card tray is made of metal and, despite its fragile appearance, is quite reliable. But the speaker deserves special attention. We'll come back to this in the section on sound quality.
Let's compare the dimensions of the device with its main competitors.
| Length | Width | Thickness | The weight | |
| Lenovo S850 | ||||
| Asus Zenfone 5 | 148,2 | 72,8 | 10,34 | |
| LG G3s | 137,75 | 69,6 | 10,3 | |
| Lenovo Vibe X2 | 140,2 | 68,6 | 7,27 | |
| Samsung Galaxy S3 Duos | 136,6 | 70,7 |
The S850 came out very pleasant. It is all so glamorous, sleek, and also relatively comfortable in size for working with it with one hand. In short, for design, materials and assembly, I give one common five with a red pen. Let's diary!
Smartphone display
I have already said that the screen is covered by a protective glass (technology not specified) with a very effective oleophobic coating. In a device of this class, the use of such a surface already looks like something special. The manufacturer did not stint, and users are pleased.
The resolution of the 5-inch IPS-matrix is \u200b\u200b1280 x 720 pixels. Don't worry. The ratio of diagonal and resolution is the most optimal. Firstly, the screen is large, but it does not affect the comfort in handling the device. Secondly, fonts, icons and the picture as a whole looks smooth (294 ppi pixel density), and processor resources are not spent on rendering the interface for some Full HD or even worse for QHD. All this is overkill.
The viewing angles are as expected. You can evaluate how the image looks from different angles from the photos below.
There are no special color gamut settings in the menu, but even without this, the color rendition is good. There is a very slight bias of white in cold tones, but this is not at all criminal.
Technical specifications Lenovo S850
- 1.3 GHz MediaTek MT6582 processor (four cores)
- mali-400 MP graphics
- rAM 1 GB
- built-in memory 16 GB
- no memory card support
- IPS-display 5 ", resolution 1280 x 720 pixels (294 ppi)
- Android OS 4.4.2
- sensors light and proximity sensor, accelerometer
- battery (non-removable) 2150 mAh
- connectors: 3.5 mm audio port, MicroUSB 2.0 (OTG not supported)
- dimensions 141 x 71 x 8.2 mm
- weight 140 g
- 2G, 3G (only first slot)
- two SIM-cards (Micro form factor)
- Wi-Fi (802.11 b / g / n), Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio, GPS, NFC no
You can change SIM cards on the go. No reboot is required, which is quite rare nowadays. Hot swap at its best, as they say.
Connecting third-party USB devices is not supported, as is the wireless NFC interface. This is a budget fee and it applies to almost all competitors.
Performance
First, a few words about the interface. The proprietary shell works for the most part smoothly and without problems. The system's response is good, but not great. Sometimes, especially when exiting an application, small brakes are visible. In any case, nothing annoying was noticed.
As for the performance in games, then we can say that the vast majority of toys start and run without brakes. It is clear that the graphics settings are average. The high level is simply not available. This is the situation, for example, in Dead Trigger 2. On the medium ones, sometimes there are small lags in the picture, but otherwise everything is fine.
As for video viewing, the device reproduces even Full HD clips without any problems.
In synthetic tests, the smartphone scores a small number of points. Nothing else can be expected from the device, since the main thing in such an average smartphone is the appearance and shell, and not performance. Performance tradeoff.
Camera
The front camera is a 5MP sensor with a wide-angle lens. The fashion for selfies does not pass, but rather, on the contrary, is strengthening. Lenovo could not pass by. And not in vain!
Usually, competitors who focus on the photo capabilities of the front camera have ambitions and, as a result, they set quite decent price tags for their products. But the Chinese in this case were modest.
The picture quality turned out to be very decent.
See for yourself an example of one of the pictures obtained during testing. The clarity of the picture, really wide coverage of objects in the frame, the absence of soap - everything is very decent.
The resolution of such a picture is 2560 x 1920 pixels with a 4: 3 ratio. In the settings we set it to 16: 9 and we get 2560 x 1440 pixels at the output.
For the convenience of creating self-portraits, the developers have provided shooting by the timer or by touching any area of \u200b\u200bthe viewfinder. Nothing special did not become wise.
The rear camera is already 13 megapixels with a resolution of 4208 x 3120 pixels. She's pretty good too. However, you cannot compare with the flagship models of smartphones.
The best shots are obtained in good lighting, otherwise everything is very average. The device's capabilities are not enough for night shooting, but the quality is quite enough for viewing on the smartphone display. Enough words, look at sample photos.
An archive with the originals for a meticulous study is available for download at this link.
What can be said additionally? First, HDR can be a lifesaver, especially on cloudy days like this.
There are additional scenarios for photographing in the settings. In addition to panoramic shooting, all of them, in principle, are useless, since in 95% of cases a fully automatic mode is sufficient. Do not bother.
Now about video filming. The device is capable of shooting video in Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution at 30 frames per second. The file format is 3GP, which means that something supernatural should not be expected. Watch the video below.
Sound and multimedia
The external speaker of the smartphone is very loud. In a quiet room, the set maximum volume of the call can even unpleasantly "hit on the ears." You won't be able to miss a call even on a noisy street. This, by the way, is facilitated by the convenient location of the speaker on the side of the smartphone. Few manufacturers force themselves to work hard and install the speaker in the conventionally correct place. Usually this is a battery cover and the sound is noticeably muffled when the phone is lying on the backrest. In general, bravo, Lenovo!
As for the sound through headphones (third-party), then everything is fine with that. On the level of any other modern smartphone. The phone can be used as an MP3-player and without a twinge of conscience put your old "empress" in a drawer.
It's interesting that by default a whole bunch of unnecessary applications are preinstalled here. Starting from some managers for the transfer of everything and everyone in the world, ending with a set of software for social networks.
Against this background, it is strange that even the simplest music player did not find a place in the system.
It remains for users to install third-party applications or be content with Google Play Music. This is the wrong approach.
Battery
Finally, we managed to find a weak point in this smartphone. I was already starting to think that the guys at Lenovo managed to create the perfect budget employee. But no!
The smartphone has a non-removable 2150 mAh battery. For the built-in hardware and display, it would seem that this is more than enough for the device to be guaranteed to work for two days without recharging. All wrong.
With active use of the smartphone (three hours of screen operation, 2 hours of surfing the Internet via Wi-Fi, constant background notifications from the network (HSPA)), it will live until nightfall.
If there is an addiction to mobile toys (without fanaticism), then get ready for the device to sit down before the evening. But usually state employees have a moderate appetite, but this is not the case.
Instead of the usual "Battery" section, there is a proprietary Power Manager application that monitors and manages power supply. From here, you can activate an economical mode of energy consumption (limiting background applications) or go to an extreme scenario of saving, when only phone calls, SMS and an alarm clock will remain from the available functions.
On some forums, users complain that the device does not turn on after the battery is discharged to zero. When testing the device, it did not come to this, so we failed to verify the validity of this statement. In any case, it is better not to allow such a development of events, and if the mobile phone really does not turn on, you should try to plug the power cable several times in a row until activity appears from the phone.
Software filling
Here is not a bare system installed, but its own proprietary shell. Its main features are that, firstly, the interface is very seriously subject to customization, and, secondly, that all application icons are located right on the desktops. There are no other scopes, lists or label matrices.
About the second everything is clear, but the first requires explanation. The main design customization tool is the Theme Center. Here you can choose your favorite skin from several options. They are all different and quite deeply worked out.
It's not just the wallpaper or screensaver that can be customized. You can choose your own version of the animation when turned on, the appearance of the control panel or dialing numbers. An original approach.
In the "Special" menu, you can configure a variety of gestures and device chips. For example, you can hang a button anywhere on the screen for quick access to the main smartphone tools (calculator, flashlight, etc.). Or activate the setting that allows you to unlock the screen even in sleep mode by simply swiping your finger across it.
In addition, you have to shake the device in your hand, it will lock. If you bring it to your ear during a call, an automatic answer will occur. There is a whole bunch of just vital settings here. The only thing left to do is to decide whether someone needs this
There is a whole bunch of useless or semi-useful utilities right out of the box on the device. Among them there was a program that is responsible for transforming the interface while driving a car. You can also control it with your voice. Surely it will be useful to someone.
Here's what I also noticed. The S850 has a weird twist. Time is constantly running an hour ahead, regardless of the SIM card installed in the phone. In the parameters there is a check mark “Network date and time”, deactivation of which allows you to “start” the time in manual mode. Only then everything falls into place and no longer plays pranks.
Outcome
In times of crisis, those who have not had time to update their mobile assistant, as a rule, can not worry. The cost of almost all devices has either skyrocketed or is starting to rise. Lenovo S850 is an exception! The price for the smartphone was set at around 9,990 rubles. Some sellers are a little greedy and keep the cost at 11,990 rubles. In any case, this is a very good offer for that amount. Why? To do this, it is better to remember all the negative and positive aspects of the smartphone.
- bright and stylish design
- glass front and back
- decent front camera
- loud speaker
- weak battery
- no LTE support
Charging your phone every day is, of course, a little annoying. On the other hand, most of us are already used to this daily ritual.
There are several body colors on sale to choose from: pink for girls and their sympathizers, dark blue for boys and, of course, white. A very good palette of colors.
Should you buy Lenovo S850?
If you, dear reader, are a girl, then why are you still reading this review instead of running to the store for a device. All the same, for lovers of "cute" smartphones nothing more suitable will not be found. And if you are, guy, then take note. S850 is a great gift for your beloved! The price does not bite, but at the same time, perhaps, the narrowed one will forget about her stupid prejudices about the iPhone 6.
Lenovo s850 review
Over the past year and a half, Lenovo has been seriously concerned about increasing the attractiveness of its models for the ordinary mass buyer. Readers accustomed to the fact that the average smartphone from Lenovo is usually called a "black brick" by journalists in reviews, there is something to be surprised, and this surprise cannot be called unpleasant. They have already managed to resound commendable reviews for the design, new models of the manufacturer acquire, and the company produces and releases models one more original than the other, and the point here is not at all in the technical filling.
The hero of our today's review is an interesting model LenovoS850, combining a body closed by glass on both sides, a stylish appearance and good technical parameters at a very reasonable price, making this smartphone affordable for the widest consumer circles.
Specifications
Let's get acquainted with the technical characteristics of the Lenovo S850.
Technical specifications Lenovo S850 overview
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SIM Card Quantity: |
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5 "IPS, 1280x720 pixels. |
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CPU: |
MT6582, 4 cores, 1300 MHz |
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RAM: |
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Built-in memory: |
16 GB non expandable |
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Wireless interfaces: |
Wi-fi 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS |
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13 MP main, 5 MP front |
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Battery: |
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71 x 141 x 8.2 mm |
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If we study purely the parameters of the "hardware" of a mobile phone, Lenovo S850 does not show us anything new. In fact, we have before us the middle class of last year. The only parameter that I would like to improve is the amount of RAM. 1 GB in 2015 seems to be already not enough. Lenovo S850 is an ordinary middle peasant on MTK6582, which we have seen more than once (remember, although those who came to us recently to write reviews, or our hero's brother -). The price of a smartphone does not go beyond reasonable, you can buy a smartphone for about 3200 UAH. (about $ 165) as of mid-January 2015. Well, the main feature of the model is a stylish case, covered on both sides with tempered glass, which, according to the manufacturer's plan, should force Lenovo to buy, and not someone from competitors.
Description
The Lenovo S850 box looks familiar for this manufacturer: light white-gray cardboard with red insides. Inside the box, tightly and neatly packed, are found (except for the mobile phone itself) the following accessories:
- charger with an adapter for European sockets;
- uSB cable;
- instruction in Chinese;
- black in-ear headphones;
- silicone bumper;
- microfiber;
- protective film on the screen.
As you can see, the delivery includes everything you need, even a few pleasant bonuses, such as a bumper and microfiber for cleaning a mobile phone. We also note that the bundled headphones look a little better than the usual plastic "plugs" for Lenovo. Let's check how they sound.
The appearance of Lenovo S850 is, in theory, the main pride of the manufacturer's designers. The medium-thick body of the smartphone with pleasantly and conveniently rounded edges on both sides is covered with Gorilla Glass, which not only protects the model from mechanical damage, but also gives it a peculiar charm.
The desire to touch the glass of the back cover and try to scratch it is almost unconscious. And when you find that the manufacturer's logo on this lid lights up with a pleasant white matte light at some events (switching on, charging, calling and a missed event), you just have to exhale enthusiastically. We are sure that Lenovo S850 will deserve more than one rave review from one who has picked up the model for the first time with this design find. The smartphone looks unambiguously more expensive than its price, which, apparently, was what the designers hoped for. Another factor that might prompt you to buy the Lenovo S850 is its somewhat similarity to the iPhone, although this is a controversial point.
In the hands of Lenovo S850 is solid and weighty. This is due primarily to the sensations that arise from touching the back cover glass. Moreover, because of this, the thickness of the model is slightly increased in comparison with classmates and is 8.2 mm. Other sizes fit in standard 5 "frames. It is quite possible to operate the smartphone with one hand.
The front panel is quite ordinary. Here are the earpiece grille, the camera and sensors at the top above the display, and below it the sensor covers three standard buttons "Menu", "Home" and "Back", which, unfortunately, are not backlit.
The edges of the smartphone are plastic, dark blue. At the top there are 3.5 "and micro-USB headphone jacks.
On the right, there are hardware keys for adjusting the volume of the sound and turning on the mobile phone. The latter is recessed in a small niche, and it is not always convenient to feel it with your fingers.
On the left side there is an external speaker (it was necessary to take it out somewhere, since the back cover is under glass), as well as a slot for SIM cards. It is fastened just lousy, and all the time it dangles, producing a nasty crack, audible, however, only in a quiet environment.
Below you can find only a small microphone hole.
The back cover is non-removable and, as mentioned above, is made entirely of tempered glass. In the upper left corner there is a peephole of the main camera and a flash LED (they cause many reviews of the similarity of the model on the iPhone). The manufacturer's logo, as we have already mentioned, reacts to some events with a beautiful glow.
The smartphone is assembled well, if not for the aforementioned problem with the SIM card tray. But he clearly lacks ideal rigidity. Model bends and creaks with moderate force. Most mobile phones from this manufacturer have more credible mechanical reliability, but with the Lenovo S850, engineers have overlooked something.
Screen
The 5-inch IPS display on the Lenovo S850 is also typical. It has the usual resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels for its class and the same typical indicators of viewing angles, brightness and color rendition. In general, the picture looks good for a smartphone of this price. The stock of brightness should be enough to work on a sunny day.
The touchscreen is responsive and works without problems. The sensor supports 5 clicks at the same time. In general, we liked this screen, it is quite consistent with this device.
Iron
The MTK6582 processor with 1 GB of RAM is usually installed in a model where you need to provide good performance, while saving on price. However, if you are not a player in the most modern games for mobile phones, this platform will be enough for you.
The interface of the Lenovo S850 is fast, but without the responsiveness inherent in top models. Programs start without long delays, the video spins, the browser does not lag when opening more than this 2-3 pages. What more could you want from a smartphone of this class.
In the Antutu benchmark test, the hero of our review scored 19230 points. The test results in 3D Mark Ice Storm Extreme showed 2079 points. The smartphone warmed itself up during testing, but not much.
16 GB of on-board memory (12 GB available to the user) seems sufficient for an undemanding user. But it will not be possible to expand it, the slot for micro-SD cards is not provided in this smartphone.
Other parameters
The sound in Lenovo S850 is typically "lenovo", with medium volume and the same clarity of sound. Headphones do not improve the situation much.
There are no complaints about the Wi-Fi module, it works as it should. The signal reception quality is on par with other devices.
The GPS module also made me happy with its stable performance. It took off for about a minute, and determined the location quite confidently.
Camera
The Lenovo S850 has cameras with a matrix size of 5 and 13 megapixels, which is (once again we will use this word) a typical indicator for this price and class. The camera interface is standard for the manufacturer, here it is easy to find both "decorations", which some users like to sin, and settings. allowing to slightly improve the quality of the resulting image.
The front camera has a fairly mediocre picture quality, but its capabilities will be quite enough for a video call. The main camera is much more interesting in terms of photos and videos. If you are not particularly picky about photographs and see them mainly on the monitor screen, it is quite possible to buy Lenovo S850, including as a replacement for a budget digital camera. It's nice that the cameras in the mid-range models have evolved to pretty decent devices.
Flash output is average. When shooting a video, you can focus by simply tapping on the desired place on the smartphone screen. The video is available in 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Examples of photos:
Front-camera:
Sample video:
Firmware
The description of the Lenovo S850 firmware based on Android4.4 can also start with the word "typical". We are familiar with Lenovo Launcher from other devices of the company, and we like this shell. There is no main menu for applications that are brought to desktops. But for convenience, you can sort similar applications by folders. In the setting there is a tab "Special", replete with branded features of varying degrees of usefulness. For example, here you can set the screen to lock by shaking, automatic answer when the device is brought to your ear, etc.
The firmware contains a number of useful pre-installed programs, such as a comprehensive Security package, cloud archiving services, a program for transferring files between smartphones, etc. There is a program for drivers with large on-screen buttons and the ability to call a contact by voice.
Battery
The battery of Lenovo S850 has a capacity of 2150 mA * hours, and it is barely enough for the viability of a mobile phone for at least a working day. Of course, we are talking about full-fledged use, when the screen is constantly on, tests are running, GPS and Wi-Fi are working. Most likely, to avoid problems, the user will have to charge this model every evening.
In the Antutu battery test, our subject scored not the worst 5049 points, which is a normal indicator for this platform, although it rather indicates that the results of any synthetic tests are artificial. As we said above, the Lenovo S850 discharged quickly under intense load. The battery cannot be replaced as the back cover is non-removable.
conclusions
It's nice to see how Lenovo improves the design of its devices from year to year, and even the usual inexpensive models of this manufacturer are increasingly not only functional, but also beautiful, which, in turn, increases their chances of being sold. S850, this smartphone is distinguished primarily by glass panels that cover the device on both sides. It looks stylish, especially when combined with the illuminated logo on the back cover, and may attract additional buyers to the model. Otherwise, this is an ordinary middle peasant, not without flaws. Among them are imperfect build quality (although you can't call it bad), and the impossibility of expanding memory, and a non-removable battery with unrecordable battery life.
In addition to the ones already mentioned by us, in comparable price competitors, the Lenovo S850 also has a high-performance, highly-rated and excellent battery life, and many other branded and unknown models from China with more advanced technical parameters, but without a zest in design. And the buyer himself in each case will have to decide what is more important to him. Buy Lenovo S850 will be preferred by those users who care about their image, and not technologists chasing performance. Perhaps, the Lenovo S850 will also appeal to girls who are greedy for bright and shiny gadgets (especially, the model, in addition to the dark one, is available in red and white).
Only one thing can be said for sure - Lenovo S850 will not have an easy fate on the market, but this smartphone does not deserve a failure either.
Smartphone Lenovo S850 looks interesting both in the picture and live. But appearances are often deceiving and very often result in problems during further exploitation. Let's take a look at what Lenovo's new dual-SIM smartphone can offer to potential users besides a nice design.
Equipment
The smartphone comes in a standard rectangular box, inside which is the device itself, a USB cable, a 1A power supply, a wired headset with interchangeable nozzles and paper documentation. The kit is quite standard.
Design
Time passes, and Lenovo smartphones are not standing still either. They've never looked downright bad to be honest, but their looks have gotten a little better lately. Lenovo S850 is no exception, and although its design traces notes of devices from other manufacturers, the smartphone turned out to be quite nice. The S850 comes in three colors: black, white and pink.
The last two got to our test. The pink version is clearly more attractive to girls, but the white one looks quite good in men's hands. In all three colors, the back cover is made of glossy plastic, but with a different pattern. In the white version, it is made in the form of rhombuses, in the pink - vertical lines, and in the black - in the form of circular lines.
The dimensions of the device cannot be called large. In the realities of our time, a 5-inch smartphone will be accepted by most people not large, but normal. Thanks to its rather narrow body, the S850 is comfortable to use. You can compare its dimensions with the main competitors in the table.
| Parameter / Device | Lenovo S850 | LG G3 s |
HUAWEI Ascend G700 |
|
| Screen, diagonal | five" | five" | five" | five" |
| Battery, mAh | 2150 | 2540 | 2150 | 2050 |
| Length, mm | 141 | 137,7 | 142,5 | 148,2 |
| Width, mm | 71 | 69,6 | 72,8 | 72,8 |
| Thickness, mm | 8,2 | 10,3 | 8,95 | 10,3-5,5 |
| Weight, g | 140 | 134 | 155 | 144 |
On the front side of Lenovo S850 there is an earpiece, a front 5 megapixel camera, light and proximity sensors, below the manufacturer's logo. There are touch-sensitive hardware keys under the screen.
The sides are edged with a plastic edging made in a coating with a claim to metal. On the right side there is a volume and power button. On the left is a multimedia speaker and a slot for two SIM-cards of the microSIM format.
In order to change the card, you must use the supplied paper clip. Above is a 3.5mm audio jack and a microUSB port, below is just a microphone. The rear side houses the lens of the main 13 megapixel camera, LED flash. In the middle of the cover is the manufacturer's logo. The logo is not simple, but backlit. It turns on when you unlock the device, when it is charging, when there is an incoming call and when an event is missed. Unfortunately, the back cover is not removable, so there is no direct access to the battery.
In terms of ergonomics, as mentioned above, almost everything is fine. Yes, the smartphone will be elongated, but the thickness of the case is small. Mechanical keys are pressed clearly - there are no complaints about them. In white, prints on the back are visible only from a certain angle.
Operating system and shell
Lenovo S850 is powered by the current version of the Android 4.4.2 operating system. The shell is Lenovo Launcher v5. The manufacturer should be commended for using one of the latest versions of the operating system. But the shell of the smartphone could already be found on other devices of the company.
The shell itself consists only of the desktop. Thanks to the ability to create folders in the menu, it is very easy to organize the installed applications. In addition, thanks to the large number of settings, you can customize a lot for yourself. Do not forget about the standard Theme Center application. It has the ability to choose one of 9 design themes and modify it. In this regard, the shell is very good. But to say that it is smooth is impossible, because sometimes something slows down.
There is an Auto application for motorists. In it, the smartphone interface changes and is translated into a horizontal view with five icons - call, messages, navigation, music and voice control. There is a digital clock in the center.
Hardware platform
Lenovo S850 is powered by a MediaTeK MT6582 quad-core processor with a clock speed of 1.3 GHz each. The well-known Mali 400 MP acts as a video accelerator. The amount of RAM is 1 GB, of which only 300 MB is available after switching on. The volume of the built-in storage is 16 GB, but a little less than 12 GB is available to the user. There is no memory card slot.
Despite not the most advanced features, the performance of the smartphone is sufficient for both simple tasks and games. In general, MediaTeK MT6582 is a successful processor model - this is confirmed not only by the test smartphone, but also by other devices.
The smartphone is equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11 b / g /, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. Wi-Fi speed is good. The device clings tenaciously to the network and does not lose it. Search speed for satellites is pretty good, even with a cold start.
The voice speaker is not the best, but at the same time extraneous sounds do not appear during a conversation. The volume is good. As mentioned earlier, you need to use a branded paper clip to change SIM cards. If you need to change the card, but do not have a standard paper clip with you, you can use a regular paper clip instead. But the work with two SIM-cards is quite standard, without any innovations. It should be noted that there is a possibility of recording a conversation on a dictaphone. The volume of the multimedia speaker is good, but the vibration in the device is weak and almost not felt.
The latest version of the Antutu benchmark has the ability to check supported video-audio codecs. The test results can be found below.
| Codec / Name | FinalDestination5.mp4 | Neudergimie.2.mkv | Gran Turismo 6.mp4 | Spartacus.mkv | ParallelUniverse.avi |
| Video | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920 × 798 29.99fps | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920 × 816 23.98fps | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1920 × 1080 60fps, 19.7Mbit / s | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280 × 720 29.97fps | MPEG4 Video (H264) 1280 × 536 24.00fps 2726kbps |
| Audio | AAC 48000Hz stereo 96kbps | MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo | AAC 48000Hz stereo 48kbps | Dolby AC3 44100Hz stereo | MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo 256kbps |
| Built-in Player / MXVideoPlayer | FinalDestination5.mp4 | Neudergimie.2.mkv | Gran Turismo 6.mp4 | Spartacus.mkv | ParallelUniverse.avi |
| Video | Yes Yes | Yes Yes | Yes Yes | Yes Yes | Yes Yes |
| Audio | Yes Yes | Yes Yes | Yes Yes | No Yes | Yes Yes |
Lenovo S850 is equipped with a relatively small battery of 2150 mA * h. In addition, it is not removable, but despite this, one cannot say that the smartphone is discharged before our eyes. In an average load mode with enabled wireless interfaces, he easily lives a day.
Standard comparison table with indicators of operating time in different modes.
| Runtime indicators | ||||
| Mode \\ Device | Lenovo S850 | LG G3 s | Fly IQ452 EGO Vision 1* | Huawei Ascend G700* |
| Music | 40:00 | 81:49 | 28:34 | 33:20 |
| Reading | 9:31 | 10:31 | 7:24 | 11:07 |
| Navigation | 4:46 | 6:53 | 5:24 | 7:42 |
| ViewHD-video | 6:40 | 8:20 | 6:27 | 10:00 |
| ViewHD-video withYoutube | 4:05 | 6:27 | 6:04 | 8:20 |
| AnTuTu Tester (points) | 6002 | 7117 | 526 | 661 |
| GFXBench (minutes) | 4:22 | 5:29 | 5:33 | 3:17 |
| GFXBench (scores) | 387 (6.9 fps) | 614 (11 fps) | 274 (4.9 fps) | 695 (12.4 fps) |
In mode
reading
all wireless communications are disabled, including data transmission in the mobile network, and the display brightness is set to 200 cd / m2. While listening
music
automatic data synchronization and data transmission worked. Headphone volume at 12 out of 15 possible levels. All music files in MP3 format, bit rate 320 Kbps.Navigation
includes getting directions in the Google Navigation app. The brightness is set to 200 cd / m2, all communication modules are disabled. During playback
video
data transmission in the mobile network is active, the display brightness is set to 200 cd / m2, the sound volume in the headphones is at level 12 out of a possible 15. Video file format MKV, resolution 1024x432 pixels, frame rate 24. Video playback from
Youtube
was accompanied not only by work in the Wi-Fi network, but also by active data transfer. Display brightness is set at 200 cd / m2, headphone volume at 12 out of 15 possible levels.
* - data obtained under similar conditions, but with brightness set to 50% and possible
You can get acquainted with the testing methodology in
this
material
Display
The smartphone has a 5-inch IPS display with HD resolution. The pixel density is 294 ppi. It is difficult to subjectively see individual pixels. The brightness ranges from 8.7 cd / m 2 to 359 cd / m 2. At 75% brightness - 273 cd / m2, and at half value 180 cd / m2. There is an automatic brightness control that works correctly and smoothly. The contrast is 1: 855.
In sunny weather, the brightness of the screen is enough for the information displayed on it to be read easily, and at night a small minimum brightness helps out perfectly, thanks to which you can read from the phone without straining your eyes. Viewing angles are close to maximum. Subjectively, the screen is excellent for this class of device, the colors are juicy with a preponderance towards cold shades.
Factory calibration check shows that the color gamut is slightly different from the sRGB reference. Namely, the green color is shifted towards light green. The gamma curve is significantly different from the reference values. In dark shades, it goes higher - making them colder, and in lighter shades - making them warmer. The color temperature is above the reference value, thus proving that the picture on the screen looks colder.
Cameras
The smartphone is equipped with two cameras - a 5 megapixel front camera and a 13 megapixel main camera with flash. The main camera has a fairly large list of features, including HDR mode, Exposure Bracketing, Portrait, Panorama, Photo in Photo and Macro mode. Otherwise, we see pretty common settings.
The front camera does not have so many settings, and it does not need them either. But even the front camera has smart backlighting and automatic photo correction. Both cameras are capable of recording video and if the front one writes a video with the maximum possible VGA resolution, then the main camera is already more advanced and writes in Full HD resolution.
Basically, both cameras are good. The photo and video quality of the front camera is sufficient for Skype. But the main camera is able to take good pictures in sunny weather, especially if you do not get carried away with viewing photos at 100% scale, otherwise you will notice that the picture is pinched and the noise reduction is very clearly visible. In addition, the white balance is not always adequately set. As a result, some photos are overexposed.
Sample photos taken by the Lenovo S850 smartphone with the main camera in automatic mode
Sample photos taken with a smartphoneLenovoS850 to front camera in automatic mode
An example of a Full HD video captured by a smartphoneLenovoS850
Outcome
Lenovo S850 is, first of all, a beautiful and fairly productive smartphone with a good screen and the latest version of the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. If you look at the competitors, then the hero of the review will not be sweet. Especially if you remember that the amount of built-in memory cannot be increased, and the autonomy could be higher.
Pros: High-quality screen, two SIM-cards, current version of Android 4.4, appearance
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