Boardroom marathoner

Lenovo Smartphone P770 has all the juice to keep one hooked to it

The Lenovo Smartphone P770, with its understated looks, qualifies for the boardroom. This is one Android device you can pull out of your jacket pocket with elan. Let's find out what more the handset can do.

The P770 looks hefty. The phone is thicker than other phones because of the big battery the handset packs in. The handset is black in colour with a metal rim running around it. One side of the phone is devoid of buttons while the other has the volume rocker key. The top of the phone has the power/lock button, the microUSB port and the headphone port. Ideally, placing the power button on one of the sides of the phone would have made it easier to use.

The back cover of the phone opens to reveal the 3500mAh battery, a microSIM slot and two SIM slots. The phone has 4GB of internal memory and supports microSD cards up to 32 GB. Also on the back is a 5MP snapper with an LED flash. The camera takes decent photos but the flash misfires sometimes. The front camera is only 0.3MP and can be used just for video chats.

The phone feels tough but the back cover is a fingerprint magnet. The phone sports a 4.5-inch five-point touch IPS display, which gives good viewing angles and performs satisfactorily in sunlight.

The P770 sports a thick bezel above and below the screen. Above the screen is the front camera and a notification LED, helpful if one wants to check on alerts during meetings. Below the screen are the usual Menu, Home and Back capacitive keys.

The phone runs Android 4.1 with Lenovo's custom user interface. Lenovo calls the home screen the IdeaDesktop, which has a large widget containing shortcuts for five applications. The P770 also allows heavy customisation of the home screen. A nice touch is the Novice Tutorial that educates one about the various features of the phone. The phone comes bundled with several useful apps.

The standout feature of the phone is its ability to connect to another phone and transfer data to and fro, as well as charge either device. But for that to happen one needs to carry the bundled USB OTG cable and microUSB cable along. Once connected, a menu automatically pops up on the P770 and guides one through the steps.

Call quality was good on the phone and so was browsing  over 3G and Wi-Fi. The P770 also bundles in an FM radio. Opening up multiple tabs or apps didn't heat up the phone and we didn't find any noticeable lag till one of the running apps was a game.

The battery of the phone, which makes it a little more heavy than other Android handsets, is worth its weight,as we were able to get through more than a day with moderate calling and music, heavy browsing and some videos. But we did feel a little sore about the 4GB built-in memory.

Long-time Android users have always complained about how their phones run out of juice before the end of the day. This phone seems to be the answer to their dreams, provided they don't mind the extra heft and just a 5MP snapper at this price point. And it will impress business users with its long battery life and the USB OTG function. 

LENOVO SMARTPHONE P770
Price: Rs 17,599
Screen: 4.5-inch 540x960 IPS
Weight: 162g
OS: Android 4.1
RAM: 1GB
Processor: 1.2GHz dual core
Memory: 4GB, expandable via microSD (up to 32GB cards supported)
Camera (rear/front): 5MP with LED flash/0.3MP
Battery: 3500 mAh