Lenovo P780 Unboxing and Initial Review: Energizer Bunny Beware

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The Lenovo P780 is potentially one of the best everyday workhorse smartphones you can get in the market today. Not only does it have very competitive internals (quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, HSPA+ connectivity) but it’s powered by a monstrous 4,000mAh battery! With that much juice in it the Lenovo P780 can last for days even with moderate usage. At the very least you can get a full day’s worth of battery (with a few hours to spare) even with extreme heavy usage.

We were able to secure a review unit courtesy of Open Communications, the authorized local distributor of Lenovo Mobile products. We’ll do a full review next week but for now please do check out our unboxing!

Lenovo P780 Spec Sheet

1.2GHz MTK 6589W Quad Core Cortex A7 Processor
1GB RAM
4GB Internal Storage, Expandable up to 32GB via microSD Card
5.0-inch HD 720P IPS Display
Dual SIM, Dual Standby
8.0-megapixel primary camera with auto focus and LED Flash
VGA secondary camera
3G, HSPA+, WiFi Hotspot, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with aGPS, FM Radio
USB On-the-Go
4,000mAh Battery
Android Jelly Bean 4.2
SRP: Php13,999

By the way, we asked some help from Nero (Devil May Cry) to help us out with this post, hehe.

Packaging and Hardware Inspection

Lenovo used a new design for the packaging of the P780. Very different from the tribal-like man design from before.

One thing we immediately noticed when we got the box of the P780 was that Lenovo changed the design and packaging compared to their previous products. Gone is the weird looking tribal man design and now we have a cleaner and simpler pattern up front. They also added a slip-on carton which makes the box looks nicer.

To unbox we pulled off the slip-on and peeled the tape away holding the carton together. After removing the tape, we popped open the box and we were immediately greeted by the solid yet sleek body of the Lenovo P780.

Cut away the tape... — Cut away the tape…

Solid yet sleek is probably the best way to describe the chassis of the P780. Despite the monstrous 4,000mAh battery, Lenovo was able to keep the over-all form factor of the phone quite thin. It’s definitely not the slimmest smartphone in the block but it’s not fat either. It’s just right.

For the body they used a mix of plastic, glass, and aluminum. Yes folks, this isn’t an all-plastic smartphone (yay)! The Lenovo P780 looks very professional because of the finish. It looks and feels refined, classy, and elegant. Those words usually don’t describe a smartphone with a 4,000mAH battery.

The aluminum back plate actually reminds us a lot of the back of the Lenovo K900 (aka the Kobe Bryant phone). Hopefully it doesn’t scratch as easily though, hehe. Definitely looks nice but we’re kinda worried with the durability.

All the buttons and controls are neatly placed along the sides of the device. To add a little more flare, Lenovo also put in a very thin silver band running along the sides of the phone. The thin implementation of the band actually makes it look much better.

Over-all we’re pretty amazed with how Lenovo was able to keep the phone thin, light, and sleek even with the giant 4,000mAh battery. Makes you wonder why a lot of other manufacturers can’t pull it off also. It’s as if Lenovo has some sort of exclusive rights to long life battery technology.

>>> SEE ALSO: Lenovo K900 Full Review

When it comes to the hardware, the Lenovo P780 gets major props from us!

Initial Performance Impressions

Smooth experience. Lenovo UI getting better.

We’ve only been playing with the P780 for a couple of days now but we’re also impressed with the performance. The user experience is fluid, smooth, and intuitive. The Lenovo Android custom UI has definitely improved over the years both with the design and over-all flow. We’ll do more comprehensive tests and benchmarks for the full review next week.

Lenovo P780 on the Unbox Podcast

If you want to see the Lenovo P780 live on video, check out the latest episode of the Unbox podcast. We actually did a hands-on review and unboxing of the P780 together with the S920 and S820. We’ve embedded the full episode below for your viewing pleasure.

Full Review Coming Soon

General Zod lays the smackdown using the Lenovo P780

We’ll be putting the Lenovo P780 through the paces over the weekend. If you want something included in our full review next week, just leave a comment below so we can include it in our testing. If you can’t wait for the review you can actually buy one already. It’s available in Lenovo resellers and shops for Php13,999.

Congratulations again to Open Communications and Lenovo Mobile for the P780! Hope you sell a lot of these, hehe.