Lenovo S820 Unboxing: Super Slick Quad-core Smartphone

Lenovo S820 Unboxing: Super Slick Quad-core Smartphone

Supes helping us out for the unboxing!
Supes helping us out for the unboxing!

Lenovo S820 UNBOXED!

Last month Lenovo announced two new slick quad-core smartphones — the Lenovo S920 and the Lenovo S820. The Lenovo S920 crosses over to the phablet category with a 5.3-inch display. The Lenovo S820, on the other hand, remains as a viable easy-to-use and manage smartphone because of it’s 4.7-inch display. The good folks over at Lenovo Mobile PH sent us a review unit and we’d like to kick things off once again with our ceremonial unboxing.

Lenovo S820 Spec Sheet

  • MTK 6589 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor
  • 1GB RAM
  • 4GB Internal Storage, Expandable via microSD Card
  • 4.7-inch HD IPS Display, 1280 x 720 resolution with Wide Viewing Angle
  • Dual SIM, Dual Standby
  • 12.0-megapixel primary camera with Auto Focus and LED Flash
  • 2.0-megapixel secondary camera
  • 3G, HSPA+, WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, FM Radio, GPS/aGPS, Bluetooth
  • 2,000mAh Battey
  • Android Jelly Bean 4.2
  • SRP: Php12,999

For this occasion we asked the Man of Steel to help us out, hehe.

Packaging and Unboxing

Lenovo started using their new packaging and box for with this line-up of smartphones. It definitely looks much cleaner and better compared to the weird tribal man print they had plastered on their previous box. The new packaging now has the product hero shot up front, specifications at the back, and a nice shiny embossed Lenovo logo proudly displayed on top of the product shot.

Instead of us doing our usual unboxing we asked help from the Man of Steel to take a crack at it. Check out the photos below.

Go Superman!
Go Superman!
Rawr!
Rawr!
Another cover?
Another cover?
This is a job for Superman! Rawr! And there you go. Lenovo S820 officially unboxed!
This is a job for Superman! Rawr! And there you go. Lenovo S820 officially unboxed!

Other than the phone we found the usual stuff inside: charger, USB to micro USB, manuals, certificates, and the earphones. Nothing out of the ordinary there.

Hardware Initial Impressions

Very nice build
Very nice build

Lenovo has definitely made major strides in the design of their smartphones. That continues with the Lenovo S820. The chassis is dominantly glossy white plastic but it’s very compact, rigid, and solid. There’s no soft spot or squeaking sound if you press down on the back. The curved edges and back also make it more ergonomic — easier to hold and use even with just one hand.

We also love how the glass looks like it curves downwards into the polycarbonate back shell. It makes it look much nicer and it really does stand out if you put it side-by-side with other Android devices. The Lenovo S820 gives an impression that it’s worth much more than the price tag and that it’s more premium that it looks.

Very thin device
Very thin device
Minimalist and clean back plate
Minimalist and clean back plate

The display is also quite good. They have a resolution of 1280×720 which is enough to deliver crisp images but to be honest you will kinda feel the difference if you’re coming from a Super AMOLED HD display. It’s nice to note by the way that Lenovo also used IPS technology for this one which gives it superb viewing angles.

Software Initial Impressions

Lenovo's custom ROM
Lenovo’s custom ROM

Lenovo uses their custom Android ROM for the S820. This is the same UI as the one installed in the Lenovo K900 (the Kobe Bryant smartphone). I’m not really a fan of the UI but the awesome thing about Android is that it’s very easy to change it and customize it to your liking. I’m not really into rooting so what I usually do is just change the launcher via Nova Launcher Prime.

In terms of performance, there were jittery times at first but after several minutes running the device delivered a smooth Android experience. We’ll definitely know more in the coming days though as we do the full and comprehensive review.

Full Review Coming Soon!

Nice smartphone by Lenovo
Nice smartphone by Lenovo

As far as initial impressions go we’re pretty satisfied with the S820. There are definitely points for improvement on the software side but that can be settled and fixed by customizing the UI (like we mentioned earlier). If there’s one major concern we have that’s probably the price. We’ll fill you in if it’s worth every peso come the full review. Watch out for our that next week! 🙂

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