Back in February at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014 in Barcelona, Lenovo announced three new smartphones – S860, S850, and S660 – with different market segments in mind. After all of this time, Lenovo is finally releasing the top-of-the-line S860 model with a whopping 4000mAh battery. The most interesting feature about the device is its ability to allow you to use your S860’s enormous battery to charge other devices using a microUSB cable. The S860 will first be released in India for approximately $355 – in fact, if you live in India and would like to purchase the S860, you can pre-order now on Lenovo’s online store.
This new Phablet sports a 5.3-inch IPS HD LCD display with a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution. It is powered by a MediaTek MT6582 quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz. It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory and there is no microSD card for expansion. The camera is an 8MP with autofocus and a 1.6MP front-facing camera (ffc) for video chatting and the occasional selfie. The device does offer several photo options such as geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, and High Dynamic Range (HDR). It comes with Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, 3G and a microUSB port, GPS, 21Mbps HSPA and dual-SIM capability.
To hide that 4000mAh battery, the S860 is 149.5 x 77 x 10.3mm and weighs in at a hefty 190 grams. Lenovo is claiming that the battery will provide up to 43 hours of 2G and 24 hours of 3G talk-time, as well as 40 days of standby on 2G and 28.5 days on 3G. It has a brushed unibody metal exterior – they are calling the color titanium. Lenovo will also include a number of premium apps on the device.
Sudhin Mathur, Director-Smartphones, Lenovo India said: “The new range of S series smartphones complements the users’ aspirations. Bundled with stylish design, blazing fast processing speeds, and integrated Lenovo proprietary apps, these phones provide customers a great user experience without sacrificing performance.”
It is a shame that the Lenovo S860 only comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean – although Lenovo does promise that a KitKat update will be in its future. So what we have is a beautiful looking device, large screen, and huge battery, all with midrange specifications, but at a competitive price. It will be interesting to see how the S860 does in the Indian market and beyond.
Please let us know on our Google+ Page what you think of the S860 and its 4000mAh battery…as always, we would love to hear from you.