Monday, August 25, 2014

Change is here! Lenovo launches its smartphones in Pakistan

Honestly speaking, I have been feeling quite abandoned by global smartphone brands, like HTC, Sony, LG, and even Apple. It seems like these companies do not consider Pakistan a market whereas they are vouching for a market share in the neighboring China and India.

However, it seems our Chinese friends have spotted the potential in our market. Weeks after Oppo's launch in Pakistan, China's largest smartphone brand (and world's largest PC manufacturer) Lenovo has decided to setup shop in our humble homeland.

Hosted at the lavish Mövenpick Karachi, Sharay Shams, Head of Smartphone Business for Lenovo Middle East and Africa, introduced five devices that cater to different segments of the market. During his introductory speech, he said that he was proud that Lenovo takes his homeland serious. Yes, Mr. Shams is a Pakistani!

Now, let's talk about the devices.

Lenovo has divided its devices market into three categories: Vibe, S, and A. Vibe is the "Smart Size" category (or in layman terms, Flagship) whereas S is "Smart Style" (or Functional) and A is "Smart Start" (or First-step).

Here is a brief look of the devices.

Vibe Z2 Pro

Announced earlier this month, the Vibe Z2 Pro is the top-of-the-line offering from Lenovo. The smartphone has a 6-inch QHD screen, one of the largest and certainly most brightest in the market. It has a 16 MP camera (with Dual LED) which has the capability to record 4K videos. The camera UI looks very (yes, very) similar to Nokia Camera app. But, the real difference is in the hardware. The camera has 6-piece lens module which gives 14% better image results. For your selfies, there is a 5MP snapper at the front-end. It comes with Android KitKat.

Inside the hood, it has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 chipset (MSM8974AC) with a 2.5GHz quad-core Krait 400 CPU, 3GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU. The phone has 32GB internal memory; however, there is no mention of microSD. The best part: it comes with a whopping 4000mAH battery. No word on the price, though.

S850


Now, isn't that a sexy blue phone? Well, the S850 will also be available in pink and white too. This little all-glass beauty comes with a 5-inch HD screen, 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, and Mali-400MP2 GPU. It has a 13MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front camera. It has 16GB internal memory, but no microSD card slot. It runs on Android KitKat. It will be available in early September for Rs. 29,700.

S860

If the S850 was beauty, then the S860 is the beast. This phone surely fits the Lenovo motto of "For Those Who Do". The Lenovo S860 comes with a 4000mAH battery, almost twice of the industry norm. It has a large 5.3-inch HD screen with great angle views. Under the brushed metal exterior, there is a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, and Mali-400MP2 GPU. The phone has 8MP LED Flash back camera and a smart 1.3MP front camera for your selfies. The availability is scheduled for early September for Rs. 36,500. It's a Android KitKat device.

S650

Finally, a sensible KitKat phone for the masses. Unlike the disappointing Core 2 from Samsung, the Lenovo S650 has a 1.3GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB internal memory. It also has an microSD slot. It comes with a 8MP AF rear camera and a VGA front camera. It has 4.7-inch QHD IPS screen which is great for watching your YouTube videos. The availability is scheduled for early September for Rs. 19,700.

A369i

Lenovo A369i is the most affordable in the lot. Made for the first-time users, the phone runs on Android Jellybean 4.2. It has a 1.3GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory with microSD slot, 4-inch WVGA screen, and 2MP rear camera. No front camera on this one. It is priced at Rs. 8,900.

Change is indeed here!

This is not it. There are five more devices—A328, A536, A606, S580, and S856—that Lenovo plans to launch in the coming weeks. Seeing Lenovo smartphones in Pakistan gives me hope of getting a device which is not a rebrand of a brand (aka Qmobile).

In all honesty, Lenovo has a fair chance with its devices, especially with S850, and S650. The devices are priced very suitably. I hope the same will be the case for Vibe Z2 Pro. Furthermore, the Lenovo team needs to learn how to present a device. I overheard the CEO showing someone how one of the Lenovo smartphones can take a selfie if you blink at the front camera slowly. This cool feature was not mentioned in the entire presentation.

All in all, change is indeed here and we now have more options in the market apart from Samsung and Huawei. In the end, it's an ultimate win for the consumer! :)

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