Lenovo (LNVGY, Financial) one of the smartphone giants has been trying for quite a long time to surface as the market leader, however it has been shadowed by the Overwhelming success of iPhones from Apple (AAPL, Financial) and the world android leader Samsung (SSNLF, Financial) and off late by its Chinese peer Xiaomi. Even after rolling out great handsets, it did not get success in making to the top slots. Even Xiaomi who gained a foot hold in the tech arena much later than Lenovo made it to the third position by enjoying the home turf popularity and China being the country to house world’s largest population. Lenovo takes a cue from Xiaomi’s home turf strategy and targets India the country to house the second-largest population of the world with its new launch of the 4G smartphone. So let us take a look at what Lenovo is doing with its focus on the Indian market.
Lenovo sets out to win Indian Consumers
Lenovo has launched the budget A6000 smartphone in India, sporting a modest price tag of just $114. The device was first showcased at the CES 2015 and Lenovo headed straight for India along with the rest of the world, making it the most affordable 4G smartphone to have launched in the subcontinent so far.
Interestingly, Lenovo has opted for a "registered sale" model for this budget phone and it will be available exclusively with Flipkart, just what Xiaomi did in China with Alibaba (BABA). “Interested buyers can register on the site until January 27, 2015, 6 p.m. The smartphone will go on sale at 2 p.m. on 28 January, and only those who have registered will get a chance to buy the smartphone,” said a report.
A closer look at the A6000
Design, Screen: The phone packs a 5-inch HD screen, given that it costs just $114. But the unique selling point of the phone is not the screen size but rather the 4G LTE capability.
The display is fairly sharp, though it’s susceptible to fingerprints. Lenovo hasn’t really declared that it has a scratchproof screen so we assume that the screen might be exposed to possibility getting scratched in the pocket and it would be best to buy a screen guard for this device.
The design is not new and it is in line with a common smartphone – it’s 8.2mm thick, although the phone looks quite slim. The back cover is removable and the volume and power buttons are positioned on the right-side. The new change is that Lenovo has moved from glossy finish housing to a matte finish housing which render a more classy look than the previous offerings from the tech giant.
The A6000 smartphone also has stereo speakers on the back that work on Dolby Digital Plus technology. This makes it the phone for music lovers and for people who would like to enjoy a video even in a crowded place.
Storage, Processor, Camera: The A6000 has 1GB of RAM and powered by a 64-bit 1.2GHz Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor, which is a fair deal at such a price tag. It also comes with 8 GB internal storage space, which can be expanded up to 32GB by using a microSD card. Lenovo’s A6000 also comes with an 8 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front camera. Though there is some operational lag time while switching between apps but not a very noteworthy one. It could still play a movie like Avenger and other videos with ease and without noticeable drop.
The cameras, both rear and the front one, do an impressive job at taking photos for a smartphone with a modest sticker price. The selfie-camera, in particular, shoots without any lag and should be handy for the selfie frenzy consumers. The zoom on the rear camera lack gusto and does not do much impressive work.
Battery, Connectivity: The device runs on a 2,300mAh removable battery, which Lenovo claims can provide up to 13 hours of calls and up to 11.5 days on standby. The claim seems quite tall for the price and can be confirmed only after it comes to fair usage in the market, since power supply has always been a challenge in the smartphones. If the claims prove themselves, then it will make the phone stand out in its class and would be worth vying for.
The A6000 is a dual-SIM smartphone and supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. It supports the TDD band 40 and FDD band 1, 3, 7 and 20, which means it would support a variety of LTE networks, both in India and overseas. Unfortunately, 4G is yet to come to India in a big way and hence the credibility of the 4G phone is yet to be ascertained in the subcontinent. However for a phone with a price tag of $114 and having 4G LTE feature in it is commendable and a lot to ask for. The smartphone runs on android 4.4 KitKat, which sports the Vibe UI 2.0 skin.
Our take
The Lenovo A6000 is definitely a promising smartphone in the budget category, which will give the likes of Redmi 1S and Micromax Yu Yureka a run for their money. As far as specifications are concerned, the company has done a great work by including the 4G LTE technology which should be the unique selling point for the company’s sales force and can prove to be a game changer. Even though 4G LTE rollout is still a distant dream in the subcontinent yet the buoyant consumer world in India like any other place in the world is gripped by the frenzy of having the latest and it is no different for the smartphone arena. Lenovo as a company would obviously tend to gain on overall business numbers by focusing on the country with the second largest population in the world and making a futuristic smartphone which is also pocket friendly. It would be wise to keep an eye on the sales numbers once the smartphone hits the shelves.
