If you thought Lenovo was done with smartphones, then you might be partly right. Now it’s gong for phablets next! Trying to convince the market that mobile users these days actually seldom use their smartphones to make or take calls, Lenovo’s goal is to sell devices design for consuming content, particularly videos, images, and pages. For those purproses, the new Lenovo PHAB Plus and its larger but weaker cousin the Lenovo PHAB are almost perfect contenders, offering big sizes but at the same time big savings.
Lenovo asks when was the last time you actually used your smartphone for a phone call. Chances are, if you did, you either used a headset or did a video chat. These days, smartphones, especially those always connected to the Internet, are used more for viewing videos, taking and sharing photos, checking social media, and, at the very least, typing out messages. That is why Lenovo believes that phablets are the better deal, and the PHAB Plus is its primary contender. With a large 6.8-inch 1080p FHD screen, this Lenovo phablet is built for viewing. The Snapdragon 615, though, might not be all that up for the heaviest tasks but it will do. With 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, the PHAB Plus can handle content of almost any size. For its size, however, the 3,500 mAh battery might be a bit wanting.
• CPU: 64-bit octa-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615
• RAM: 2 GB
• Storage: 32 GB, microSD up to 64 GB
• Display: 6.8 inches, 1920×1080
• OS: Android 5.0
• Main Camera: 13 megapixels, AF, dual-color Flash
• Secondary Camera: 5 megapixels
• Network: GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, TDD-LTE, FDD-LTE
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
• Battery: 3,500 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions: 186.6 x 96.6 x 7.6 mm
• Weight: 229 g
The Lenovo PHAB is a bit of an oxymoron. It doesn’t have “Plus” in its name but it is larger with a 7.0-inch screen. However, it is also less powerful as it is the “basic” model of Lenovo’s new phablet line, running on an even older Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, half the memory and storage, and with a 720p HD resolution only. However, it also has the larger battery size at 4,250 mAh. In almost everything else, however, the two are practically the same.
• CPU: 64-bit quad-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
• RAM: 1 GB
• Storage: 16 GB, microSD
• Display: 6.98 inches, 1280×720
• OS: Android 5.1
• Main Camera: 13 megapixels, AF, LED Flash
• Secondary Camera: 5 megapixels
• Network: GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, TDD-LTE, FDD-LTE
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
• Battery: 4,250 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions: 186 x 97 x 8.9 mm
• Weight: 250 g
Despite their sizes, Lenovo is claiming that the phablets are still optimized for usability with one hand only, which is definitely a bold claim. This “OneHand convenience” comes through features that you can indeed use with one hand, like double tap to wake, long press anywhere to take a photo, shake to lock, and a one-hand keyboard.
The Lenovo PHAB Plus and PHAB will go on sale starting this month for $299 for the PHAB Plus and $179 for the regular PHAB. The PHAB Plus will come with premium-looking color options of Gunmetal Gray, Titanium Silver, and Honey, while the PHAB is more colorful with Tuxedo Black, Polar White, Aqua Blue, and Cherry Red.
