Lenovo P700 - Dual SIM, Double Life (Updated with Game Demos)

Software, Performance and Conclusion

Not Your Average Entry-Level

During our review of the A60, we found that Lenovo didn't change much on the interface of the stock Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS. With ICS, the story is the same, although Lenovo has added the "Lotus" shortcut widget which we saw on their tablets, along with some redesigned circular icons. With its 1GHz CPU, which is pretty fast for something at this price point, we were able to navigate said UI quite smoothly (although it wasn't snappy), without lags to speak of, except in some video playback during our battery test. Our smartphone battery test consists of playing an 800 x 480 video on loop at maximum volume and brightness, with Wi-Fi on and constant email and Twitter updates. Under these conditions, the P700 lasted a very impressive 487 minutes, or 8 hours and 7 minutes. Take note that our battery test is meant to push it to its limits. A result of over 8 hours could easily translate to 24 hours or more in real-life usage. 

As for system tests, we ran the P700 through our Quadrant benchmark test, and stacked it up against the similarly appointed but much more expensive HTC One V. Despite the almost identical specifications, the P700 came out on top, but by a narrow margin. It must be noted though that the One V has a much higher SRP of PhP 16,990 and does not have dual-SIM function nor a high-capacity battery, having only 1500mAh.

We also tried the P700 as a gaming device. Need for Speed: Shift ran very well on the handset, but it manifested lagging when it handled Dead Space. See the videos below:

As for imaging, we found the P700's 5-megapixel camera to work pretty well outdoors in direct sunlight, but without an LED flash, it struggles when the sun goes down, resulting in some pretty blurry photos. Video on the other hand, is pretty much what one would expect from a cellphone camera, despite the HD resolution. Check out the samples below for a closer look.

As far as entry-level Android smartphones go, this is one of the most bang for bucks model we've seen so far. For PhP 10,999 you get a decently-performing ICS handset, with dual-SIM capabilities, and solid battery life. Some may balk at the relatively bulky form factor, but there's good reason for it, and for the budget-conscious among us, we don't think it's going to be a problem. If you're on the lookout for an Android smartphone for around PhP 10,000, this may be your best bet. If you want to know more about the P700 or other Lenovo smartphones, check out their official website.