LAVA IRIS X5 REVIEW: REDMI 1S KILLER ?

In 2013, if you told someone that you could get high-end features from a smartphone in the sub 10k segment, they would probably call you crazy and hit you on your head with their Nokia.! But thats exactly what has happened in 2014. The Sub-10k Rupees segment has become All-Important. 


With phones like Moto E & later Redmi 1s, companies are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the budget Smartphone space.! This Cellular Warfare will get more intense with only one surefire winner in sight, the Consumer. The smartphone market has been dominated forever by foreign brands but we must not underestimate our Desi brands who are making a name for themselves around the world. See GSMarena for listings of indian brands. 

The Moto E was a Game-changer but Xiaomi Redmi 1s(priced at Rs 5999) was an an absolute explosion that blew up in the faces of other smartphone makers. No other brand can offer so much value at such a low price but one brave brand has certainly tried- Lava ! Can it take down the budget Monster Redmi 1s ? Find out below.

The Indian Brand has given us such "Firsts" as First Intel powered smartphone and several unique products powered by Nvidia Gpus. The Redmi 1s was made available in India in early September, around the same time, Lava launched the Lava Iris X5. Even When Moto E started tearing through the market, it was Lava that responded first with the IRIS X1.

The Lava Iris X5 is being marketed as a phone that is "Made For Selfies" owing to its 5 mp Front camera with Flash ! Other main Specs are as follows:

• 5.0 Inch HD IPS LCD screen 
• 1.2 Ghz Quadcore processor
• Broadcom Videocore IV GPU
• 8 mp rear camera & 5 mp front camera with flash
• 2100 Mah battery
• Android 4.4.2 Kitkat 
• 1 gb Ram & 4 gb Rom (around 2.49 gb available) 

Now I will examine these features in brief 

SCREEN: 

The device has a 5 inch IPS LCD OGS(One Glass Solution) display with 720x1280 pixel resolution. That is about 294 PPI density. Geek terms aside, the texts look sharp and colors look vivid. It is not a stunning display but it is more than enough for the average smartphone user. The viewing angles are Excellent and  the screen can be viewed from various angles without discoloration. It does not have Gorilla Glass protection but there are two screen protectors provided with the phone. Here is a screenshot of a video I played. 

PROCESSOR & GPU

The Lava Iris X5 houses a 1.2 Ghz Quadcore processor of unknown make. Now since the manufacturer is not named, it obviously makes us think that a low quality processor is used. Regardless, the performance of the phone is decent. Scrolling through the menus is smooth but every now & then I noticed a slight lag. 

Lava has not burdened the phone with any bloatware except Whatsapp ! It is pretty much stock Android on the device & considering that, the device has about 500 to 600 mb Ram free which is pretty decent.

It comes with Kitkat (4.4.2) out of the box with no indication of an update by Lava. The processor is a 1.2 Ghz Arm7 with 4 cores. Web browsing, Multi-tasking & App launching were smooth most of the time. The targeted budget consumer shall have no problems with the processor at all. The phone handled 1080p videos flawlessly. 

Coming to the GPU, it is the Broadcom Videocore IV model. I tried out some games like Dead Target & Captain America The Winter Soldier. Gameplay was smooth in all the games I threw at it but I didnt try out heavy graphics games because thats just asking for too much in a Rs 8k phone.

Camera:

Now its time for the alleged USP of this phone, the camera ! The rear 8 mp camera comes with dual led flash which is blinding ! Smartphones from Indian brands were never appreciated for their cameras but this phone breaks that tradition ! The rear camera takes Great pics even in complete darkness. Here is a sample from the rear camera.

 The front camera is even better than the rear camera. It also has front flash right beside the  5 mp front snapper. The front cam takes quality photos even in the dark. Selfie-freaks and Party-animals will love the phone. The rear cam can record videos at a maximum resolution of 720x480 pixels which is very disappointing compared to the X5 rivals which can record 1080p videos. The camera comes with the usual bells & whistles of android camera.

Battery:

The Lava Iris X5 comes with a 2100 Mah Li-Ion battery. The battery hold enough juice to last you a full day with moderate use like listening to music, Surfing, Gaming etc. With heavy use the battery will in around 4-5 hours.

 

Verdict:

Pros: 

• Good Camera
• Kitkat
• 5 inch HD display
• Free Leather flip cover in the box
• Price VFM
• Good quality headphones in the box
• Very slim & Sleek

Cons:

• Very Low Speaker volume
• No mention of update to Android 4.4.4
• Negligible but noticable lag(rare)
• Internal memory is just 2.49 gb while Lava is advertising it as 8 gb !
• Dubious anonymous processor

Compared to its main competitor Xiaomi Redmi 1s, The Lava Iris X5has a few pros and a few cons. Redmi 1s is cheaper, has Gorrilla Glass protection & has MIUI. The Iris X5 has the newer OS, Better camera, looks better & has a bigger screen. Redmi 1s is also very hard get a hold of because recently they sold 60k phones in just 4 seconds ! In case you dont want to wait for another flash sale from Flipkart, The Lava Iris X5 may just be the better device. Despite being marketed as a "Made for Selfies" phone, it is a solid device overall.