Fast but not furious

A NEW POWERFUL 4G SMARTPHONE that goes for less than Bt9,000, the Lenovo P90 is powered by Intel’s latest 64-bit Intel Atom Z3560 quad-core processor running at 1.83 GHz and is the first mobile device to use a combination of Intel Atom Z3560 and Intel’s 5-mode XMM 7262 modem. 

The powerful CPU and modem allow for fast processing speeds and also support LTE-Advanced FDD & TDD for high-speed connectivity in global markets.

In addition to the fast LTE connection, the P90 also supports Wi-Fi 802.11 ac connection. I connected using the Linksys WRT1200AC and was amazed by the speed of the wireless LAN connection.

It has two gigabytes of RAM or working memory and 32 GB of internal storage. However, there is no option for expanding storage as the phone has only one slot and that’s reserved for a micro SIM card.

The P90 runs on Google Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. 

The large 5.5-inch IPS display has 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, making it good for viewing HD video clips as well as photos. The touch-screen supports 5-point multi-touch.

The P90 is available in three colour options – Pearl White, Lava Red, and Onyx Black. I tested the white one and thought the white back cover looked good with the black glass on the front.

Hooked up to TrueMove H’s 4G LTE network and tested with the Ookla speedtest app, the P90 achieved a download speed of 46.45 Mbps and upload speed of 20.16 Mbps. Worth noting though is that the speed is affected by the connection speed of the server to which the upload and download are made.

Using the LTE network of TrueMove H, downloading the Ookla app was a breeze. Posting snapshots to my Facebook wall and checking my Hotmail and Gmail accounts were also fast as was backing up snapshots to my Microsoft OneDrive.

The phone has good performance. Its touch screen and menus were very responsive and scrolling was fast. Graphics games flew and I was impressed at the rendering of the graphics on the Gameloft Asphalt 8 racing game.

The cameras are also more than satisfactory. The main camera boasts 13-megapixel resolution with optical image stabilising and the front camera has five-megapixel resolution with a beautification feature and gesture controls. Flash a V sign or wave in front of the front camera and it will count down from three to take a selfie. You can also choose the voice command to fire the shutter of the front camera by saying “snap” or “cheese”.

The main camera has Auto shooting modes, plus Night, Portrait, Landscape, Night-portrait and Sports as well as Barcode shooting mode.

I tested the P90 with the Auto mode and I was pleased with the quality in most lighting environments including in the newsroom.

The P90 has been pre-loaded with several useful apps. One of these is Security, which protects the smartphone against virus software while also protecting your privacy. The app can also speed up the phone by closing running apps to free the system memory as well as disabling apps during the start-up to shorten start-up time. It can also clean up cache memory.

The P90 can also double as good quality music player although it does not support high-resolution audio formats. I tested it with my Razor in-ear headphones and I was impressed by the clarity and deep bass.

The P90 provides a hefty 4,000 mAh embedded Li-polymer battery, which can comfortably survive a day on one charge. Moreover, the P90 also comes with Ultimate Power Saver Mode. The mode will turn the screen to black and white and disable most apps, leaving only the call and SMS as well as clock functions. When this mode is activated at 70 per cent of remaining battery, the phone can last about 36 hours.

Lenovo P90 has a suggested retail price of Bt8,990.

 

Key Specs

- Processor: Intel Atom Z3560, up to 1.83GHz 64-bit Quad Core

- Operating System: Andriod 4.4 (KitKat)

- Display/Resolution: 5.5-inch (1920x1080) FHD IPS display with 400ppi; 5-point multi-touch

- Memory: 2GB RAM 

- Storage: 32GB internal storage 

- Sound: 1x Speaker; 3.5mm Jack 

- Connectivity: 4G LTE; FDD Band 1,3,7,20; DL 150Mbps / UL 50Mbps ; comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac; Wi-Fi hotspot 

- Bluetooth: Bluetooth 3.0 HS; Bluetooth 4.1 LE 

- SIM Support: Single microSIM

- Camera: 13MP auto-focus rear camera with OIS and LED Flash; 5MP fixed-focus front camera 

- Battery: 4000mAh (Li-polymer, embedded)

- Colours: Pearl White, Lava Red, Onyx Black 

- Dimensions: 150 x 77.4 x 8.5mm 

- Weight: 156g