The new lot of mid-range phones are packed with features:
They come with biometric security, good battery life, great cameras and have
powerful processors purring under their hood.
LETV LE 1S
The Le 1s' build quality belies its budget pricing. It
comprises a metal unibody construction and a 5.5 inch Gorilla Glass 3 screen.
The device looks and feels premium, and its power button and volume rocker are
solid and without any unnecessary play.
Its Full HD IPS display is capable of deep blacks and punchy
colours and it is brightly visible even under direct sunlight. Also, there is
little colour degradation when viewed from acute angles. In fact, this device
has the best screen when compared to the other handsets in this roundup.
The handset's speaker is loud enough for movie watching.
With headphones, it is an average performer. The mids and highs are balanced,
though bass lovers might find it slightly lacking.
Both its cameras come with four shooting modes: slow-motion,
video, photo and panorama. Besides, you can also control variables like
exposure, white balance, saturation, ISO and contrast. What you also get are
nine filter settings that allow you to experiment with your snapshots.The
output from both shooters are average and not too detailed or sharp, but it
works well for sharing on social networks and on services like Instagram.
The Le 1s, however, boasts of solid processing muscle that
handles productivity tasks, Full HD movies and 3D games effortlessly. Multitasking
be tween apps posed no problems, and in benchmark tests, this handset notched
the highest scores in this comparison review. Also, its fingerprint sensor
works with minimum lag to unlock the phone, and it can also be used for shutter
release in the camera app. As a plus, you also get an IR blaster that can be
configured to be used as a remote control for TVs and air conditioners.
This device comes with a USB Type-C cable and a fast charger
that juices up its battery in an hour's time to give you slightly more than a
day of average use on a single charge. It should be noted that your existing
microUSB OTG pen drive will not connect directly to this phone.
That said, the Le 1s promises value for money: It looks
fantastic, call quality is clear, its fingerprint scanner adds an extra layer
of security , and you get 32GB storage. Buy if you want a device that ticks all
the right boxes when it comes to productivity, and which works well for movie
watching and gaming.
HONOR 5X
The Honor 5X sports an aluminum alloy body with a brushed
metal finish. The device feels solid and its slim profile only helps to
accentuate its premium looks.
Its display is bright, renders vibrant colours and crisp
text. Now while viewing angles are good, there is a slight dip in brightness
and a change in colour when viewed from acute angles. Still, this is not a
major issue.
The Honor 5X is equipped with a powerful speaker. You will
be able to watch a movie even in a noisy room.Switch to earphones and the audio
experience gets better: The mids and highs sound clear, though you may find
bass slightly lacking. Its overall output lacks the punch that the Oppo F1
delivers with its dedicated audio processing technology. On the imaging front,
you get basic set of shooting modes like good food, time lapse, HDR and
slow-mo. An “all focus“ mode lets you choose the object you want to focus on
after clicking a photograph. Both cameras are responsive and adjust exposure
quickly in different lighting conditions. The rear camera is capable of
capturing quite a bit of detail with natural colours. However, selfies taken
with the front snapper appear soft and are only good enough for sharing online.
This handset's user interface offers a great deal of
customization options. You can adjust overall colour tone, configure gestures,
work in a split screen mode to view two apps simultaneously , enable an SOS
feature, and more.
Like the rest of the phones here, the Honor's biometric
sensor is quick to un lock the device. However, it is the only one that lets
you save up to five fingerprints and enable gestures to mute an alarm, answer a
call, etc. You can even configure each finger to quick launch an app with just
a tap on its sensor.
In terms of overall performance, the Honor 5X fairs better
with productivity related tasks than with resource-intensive games. We faced
random lags and halts while switching between multiple apps and launching new
ones. Also, this handset did not recognize any of the micro USB pen drives we
connected to it. On the positive side, this smartphone's battery is capable of
providing over a day and a half's service ore requiring a recharge. before
requiring a recharge.
Buy the Honor 5X for clear and crisp voice calls, its highly
customizable fingerprint sensor, and stellar battery life.
LENOVO K4 NOTE
The Lenovo K4 Note is an allplastic affair with a metal
finish. And while it doesn't look as elegant as the other smartphones, it still
feels sturdy. The gentle curve on its back panel makes it comfortable to hold
and operate with one hand.
Its scratch-resistant Full HD display is bright and colours
appear punchy . However, there is a noticeable colour cast while watching dark
movie scenes. On the `bright' side, its viewing angles are markedly better than
the Honor 5X.
The K4 Note's Dolby-certified, front-facing speakers are
capable of distortion-free sound with discernible bass. And you can even use
its sound enhancement tool (found in the Settings menu) to adjust the equalizer
to your listening preferences. This is best enjoyed with earphones as the
changes are more perceptible in this listening mode. This handset's cameras
capture pictures that appear soft and which lack in detail. Its accompanying
app is scant with just the bare minimum shooting options like HDR, panorama, a
handful of photo filters and the ability to manually set exposure, ISO and
white balance.While the K4 Note's pictures work for sharing on social networks,
it is not a phone you will buy for its shooters. Its user interface, however,
makes up with some nifty configuration options. You can record calls and create
a separate secure zone for your office work and related apps; configure the
fingerprint sensor to function as a shortcut to the homescreen or show
background tasks; and even double press the volume key to take an instant
photo.
In benchmark tests, the K4 Note faired a little better than
the Honor 5X. The experience was relatively smooth and lag-free.That said, it
is not suited for heavy gaming. That said, it is not suited for heavy
gaming.Given that this handset's battery is capable of giving almost two days
of usage and supports USB OTG, you can consider the Lenovo K4 Note for
productivity, watching movies and playing casual games.
OPPO F1
The F1 comes with an aluminum-alloy unibody and a 5-inch
display that's protected by Gorilla Glass 4. The result is a sleek, good-looking
handset that fits well even in smaller hands and which feels smooth to hold.
Unlike the other Full HD phones on review here, this is the
only device that comes with an HD display . Still, when it comes to the
rendering of colours and visibility under sunlight, the F1 is on a par with
what we saw on the Lenovo K4 Note and the Honor 5x.There is a slight
discolouration when the display is viewed at an angle, but this is not a deal
breaker. That said, for movie watching, the smaller screen with its lower
resolution, makes it slightly underwhelming.
The F1's speakers work just as well as those on the other
devices reviewed here, but use it with headphones and it is a clear winner. The
handset comes with Dirac HD Sound (an audio optimization system) and this
result in an output that's balanced, complete with a deep bass that you can
almost feel. Besides, in Settings under the Sound tab, you can also find a
3-channel equalizer that lets you customize your audio experience.
The cameras are another area where the F1 scores over the
rest in this review. Selfies shot with the front cam appear brighter, and you
get three beautification modes that remove skin blemishes. The F1 can also use
its screen as a soft flash for well-lit snap shots. It can be configured to
shoot a picture when you say “cheese“ or wave in front of the lens. Its rear
snapper is quick to focus and comes with features like Ultra-HD (which shoots
four photos consecutively and combines the best parts of each to make one 50MP
image), Double Exposure (which takes two photos and overlaps them in the final
im age), Super GIF (for animated photos), and Slow Shutter (for light painting
pictures with a long exposure). Result ing photos are sharp, detailed and captured
with vibrant colours.
When it comes to pure productivity , the Oppo F1 is no
laggard, and performs just as well as the K4 Note and 5x, though it seemed to
have a slight edge in graphics processing, especially when it came to benchmark
scores. On the downside, it is the only smartphone here that does not come with
fingerprint unlock.
That said, what you do get is a device that supports USB
OTG, which can be used with two SIMs (a micro and a nano) or alternatively with
a micro SIM and micro SD card, and which gives you micro SIM and micro SD card,
and which gives you nearly a day and half of use on a single charge. Buy this device
if you want a smartphone with a good camera, for casual gaming, and which
doubles up as a quality MP3 player.
[Courtesy: The Times of India - Ahmedabad Edition]
