Lenovo VIBE P1m – the new budget king [Review]
Ever since Lenovo launched A6000 smartphone, the Chinese electronic giant stayed as a strong brand in budget smartphone category. It has been a while since Lenovo got a new model to replace aging A6000. Lenovo VIBE P1M is the new budget smartphone that does just this. Priced close to 8000/-INR, the Vibe P1m is available on Flipkart through flash sale that happens once every week. Is this phone as good as the super hit A6000? Or is it better? Here is our take on the new budget smartphone.
Key Features of Lenovo VIBE P1m
- Android v5.1 (Lollipop) OS
- 8 MP Primary Camera
- 5 MP Secondary Camera
- Dual Sim (LTE + LTE)
- 5 inch HD IPS Capacitive Touchscreen
- 1 GHz MediaTek MT6735P 64-bit Quad Core Processor
- Expandable Storage Capacity of 32 GB
Specification
Lenovo Vibe P1m
![Lenovo VIBE P1m – the new budget king [Review]](https://www.gadgetdetail.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Lenovo-Vibe-P1m-specs-600x600.png)
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CPU:
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RAM:
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Storage:
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Display:
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Camera:
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OS:
Specs
General
| Price | Rs.7,999 |
| Announced | 01 November, 2015 |
| Released | 01 November, 2015 |
| Status | Available |
Display
| Display Type <strong>Display Technology => </strong> A number of display technologies and types used in mobile phones => TFT (Thin Film Transistor), IPS (In-Place Switching), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode), Super AMOLED (an even advanced version of AMOLED), Resistive Touchscreen (Resistive touchscreens contain two layer of conductive material with a very small gap between them which acts as a resistance), Capacitive Touchsceen (Capacitive touchscreen technology consists of a layer of glass coated with a transparent conductor) | IPS |
| Size | 5 |
| Resolution | 720 x 1280 |
| Pixel Density <strong>Pixel Density (PPI)</strong> is refers to the concentration of pixels on a particular display, measured in pixels per inch (ppi). Pixel density is calculated by dividing the diagonal pixel resolution of a display by its diagonal size, higher pixel density better display quality. | 294 ppi |
| Secondary Display | No |
Hardware
| Chipset <strong>Chipset</strong> is a group of integrated circuits designed to perform one or a more dedicated functions, often with real time computing constraints, Popular smartphones are equipped with more advanced embedded chipsets that can do many different tasks depending on their programming. | MediaTek MT6735P |
| CPU <strong>CPU</strong> (Central Processing Unit) mostly known as processors, CPU processes instructions in order to carry out certain functions that make your device operate properly. Processors are often described as the brain of computers, smartphones and tablets, Smartphones and tablets rely on processors to carry out their every task, Processors are an incredibly important factor in selecting any type of computing device, including your smartphone. | Quad Core 1GHz, 64-bit |
| GPU <strong>GPU</strong> (Graphics Processing Unit) is a single-chip processor designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display, This includes things such as lighting effects, object transformations, and 3D motion. | Mali-T720 |
| RAM (Memory) <strong>RAM</strong> (Random Access Memory) is a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes that allows information to be stored and accessed quickly from random locations. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computer systems, smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices. | 2GB |
| Internal Storage <strong>Internal Storage</strong> is a data storage space (flash memory) mostly used in smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices where operating system, apps, music, photos, videos, files and other user data Is stored. | 16GB |
| Card Slot <strong>Memory Card Slot</strong> is a special slot for inserting a memory card. Memory cards allow you to expand the phone's built-in memory, A memory card (sometimes called a flash memory card or a storage card) is a small storage medium used to store data such as text, pictures, audio, and video, for use on small, portable or remote computing devices such as mobile phones, mp3 players, digital cameras. | Yes, up to 32GB |
| Sensors <strong>Sensors</strong> are electronic components that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment. The specific input could be light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure and location, The output is generally a signal that is converted to use in computing systems, a location sensor, such as a GPS receiver is able to detect current location of your electronic device. | Gravitation Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor |
Battery
| Battery Type <strong>Battery Type => </strong> Cell phones run on various kinds of batteries depending on the manufacturer, phone size or shape and features. There are basically four types of cell phone batteries => Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium. | Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) |
| Capacity <strong>Battery Capacity</strong> is a measure (typically in Amp-hr) of the charge stored by the battery, and is determined by the mass of active material contained in the battery. The battery capacity represents the maximum amount of energy that can be extracted from the battery under certain conditions. | 3900 mAh |
| Standby <strong>Standby Time</strong> is the total amount of time that you can leave your is fully charged, turned on and ready to send and receive calls or data transmissions before completely discharging the battery. | Up to 23 days |
| Talk Time <strong>Talk Time</strong> is the longest time that a single battery charge will last when you are constantly talking on the phone under perfect conditions, Ambient temperature and highly dependent on the cellular network environment such as the distance to the closest cell network tower. | Up to 36 hours |
| Fast Charging | Yes |
Camera
| Primary <strong>Camera</strong> is able to capture photographs and usually videos, The most important characteristics of a camera are the resolution (measured in megapixels), lens focus type (fixed or automatic), higher megapixel cameras are known to capture higher quality photos, but not always a good measurement of the photos quality. | 8mp |
| Secondary | 5mp |
| Video | Up to 720p |
| Flash <strong>Flash Light => </strong> There is commonly two types of flash lights are used in camera mobile phones, LED Flash (LED flash offers lower power consumption with drive circuitry that takes up very little room, LEDs can be strobed faster than any other light source), Xenon Flash (xenon flash produces an extremely intense full-spectrum white light for a very short duration) | Yes, LED |
Design
| Type <strong>Design Type</strong> called form factor refers to a mobile phone's size, shape, and style as well as the layout and position of major components of phone. There are three major form factors seen in mobile phones => bar phones, folding phones and sliding phones. | Bar |
| Dimensions | 141 x 71.8 x 9.3 mm |
| Weight | 148 grams |
| Protection | Polycarbonate with splash proof nano coating |
| Colors | Black, White |
Network
| SIM <strong>SIM</strong> (Subscriber Identity Module) is a small card that contains mobile network subscriber's account information. This allows the phone using the card to attach to a mobile network. The SIM card is most commonly associated with GSM and UMTS mobile networks. Moving a SIM card from one phone to another allows a subscriber to switch mobile phones without having to contact their mobile network carrier. SIM cards can also be used by a phone to store limited amounts of data, such as phone numbers and text messages. | Micro SIM |
| Dual SIM | Yes |
| 2G Network | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz |
| 3G Network | 900, 2100 MHz |
| 4G Network |
(TDD) Band 1/3/5/7/8/20 (FDD) - Band 40 |
Software
| Operating System <strong>OS => </strong> Every computer system run on a base software called Operating System (OS). Operating System controls all basic operations of the computer (such as smartphone, PDAs, tablet computers and other handheld devices). The Operating System allows the user to install and run third party applications (apps), apps are used to add new functionality to the device. | Android 5.1 Lollipop |
| User Interface <strong>UI</strong> or user interface of a device is the look and feel of the on-screen menu system. How it works, its color scheme, how it responds to button presses, all of these things are part of the user interface. | Vibe UI |
Connectivity
| Bluetooth <strong>Bluetooth</strong> is a wireless communications technology for exchanging data between mobile phones, headsets, computers and other network devices over short distances without wires, Bluetooth technology was primarily designed to support simple wireless networking of personal consumer devices. | v4.1 |
| Infrared <strong>Infrared</strong> connectivity is an old wireless technology used to connect two electronic devices. It uses a beam of infrared light to transmit information and so requires direct line of sight and operates only at close range. | |
| Wi-fi <strong>Wi-Fi</strong> is a popular wireless networking technology using radio waves to provide high-speed network connections that allows devices to communicate without cords or cables, Wi-Fi is increasingly becoming the preferred mode of internet connectivity all over the world. | 802.11 b/g/n |
| USB | v2 |
| GPS <strong>GPS</strong> The Global Positioning System is a satellite-based radio navigation system, GPS permits users to determine their position, velocity and the time 24 hours a day, in all weather, anywhere in the world, In order to locate your position, your device or GPS receiver must have a clear view of the sky. | Yes |
| NFC <strong>NFC</strong> (Near field communication) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish peer-to-peer radio communications with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, usually no more than a few inches. |
Benchmarks
Reviews
Package
Unlike other phones, Lenovo has provided full package with the Vibe P1m. The content is:
- Vibe P1m phone
- USB data cable
- Fast charger (5.2V ; 2.0A output)
- Basic headset
- Screen guard
- Protective case
Design
Lenovo VIBE P1m feels sturdy in hand, thanks to the metal frame. Advantage of metal frame is that it makes the phone strong and also gives clean look. The removable back panel is made of thin plastic that flexes a lot and reminds of Samsung Galaxy S3’s back panel. For a phone that costs below 10,000/-, the build quality is excellent. When you hold the phone in hand, you can feel the sturdiness. The removable back panel is a bit too soft and this results in not so ideal grip. The rear protective case that was included in the box is absolutely useless. It makes the phone very slippery and also makes it difficult to use the phone’s controls on either side.
The back panel is extremely thin (a bit more like Galaxy S3 back cover), has VIBE and Lenovo branding and need to be detached with care else you may end up breaking it. The battery seems to be removable but is sealed by two stickers (probably for the review units only). There are two micro-SIM card slots above the battery and a micro-SD card slot.
The capacitive touch buttons are placed below the 5″ display and the usual array of sensors and the front camera are placed above the display. On the left side, there is a power saver toggle.
The right side of the phone has volume rocker and power button. The 3.5mm audio port and USB port are at the top and the bottom of the phone houses speaker grille and microphone. Though it looks like the phone has dual speakers, the speaker is inside the left grill and we guess the right grill hides the microphone and that Lenovo added the grill for uniformity. While watching movies or playing games, you have to be careful with your finger positioning as the sound gets completely blocked if you keep your finger over the grill.
One thing that I felt very uncomfortable with, are the keys. The notification key cannot be operated using finger. I have to use my nails to toggle the switch. The volume rocker and power keys on the other hand are only slightly raised above the frame and until one gets used to them, it is hard to access them without looking at the side. It gets worse if you use a back cover provided with the phone as it does not provide any reference point for the keys. It is all flat! If you are planning to buy the phone, we suggest you to get a better after market case that does not hinder side button usage.
Overall, for a phone that costs 8,000/-, the build quality is very good and while it is not at the level of Mi 4c or Mi 4i or Mi4, its definitely better than that of countless other phones available inside 10,000/-.
Display
The display is a 5” 720p display. The top layer of glass is not 2.5D and the bezel is raised above the display and this will protect the display from cracking when the phone slips out of hand and falls on floor, well, unless it falls on a sharp object. The display exhibits decent amount of brightness and contrast but the automatic brightness mode is pretty bad. The sensor always sets the display to lower than optimum brightness and many times, I had to switch to manual brightness to read the content on display. I guess this is something that a small software patch can fix. Touch sensitivity is good so it the text sharpness. Thanks to the IPS panel, the viewing angles are perfect. Even from near 180 degree angle, the text and colors look accurate.
Hardware and performance
Lenovo P1m is powered by Mediatek MT6735P, there is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage onboard. There is no lag at all while switching between applications, while going through the UI, thanks to the minimalist Vibe UI. Played a few games and there was no visible lag. The ARM Mali-T720 is a good. GPU, racing in Asphalt showed no lag at all, the game’s load time was also good.
Thanks to the MT6735P chip, there was only a little bit of heating while playing games, mostly below the camera module.
Here is the list of benchmarks that we ran
| Antutu | 20528 |
| Antutu 64-bit | 21033 |
| Quadrant | 10340 |
| Velamo Metal | 805 |
| Geekbench 3 Single Core | 485 |
| Geekbench 3 Multicore | 1405 |
| GPU Benchmark | 12,589 |
Software
Vibe P1m runs on Android 5.1 out of the box with Vibe UI skin on top. Apart from the limited customization for the look and feel, the P1m offers extensive feature level customization. The notification bar has notifications features are extensively customizable The UI offers permission control on app level, power management for improved battery life and a secure zone in case you needed a private area to keep personal apps and data. The UI offers the right mix of customization features and does not go overboard just for the sake of it. Similar to phones from other Chinese brands, there is no application drawer and all applications are added to the home screens. If you do not like this, all you need to do is go to Google Play Store and install launcher like ‘Nova Launcher’ or ‘Apex launcher’.
We did not add too much of detail w.r.t user interface as we believe there is no need to do a full fledged overview of UI. The UI is very similar to the UI used by most Chinese OEMs (by Chinese, we mean that Chinese brands, not the generic ‘China made’ phase).
Battery
The battery is humongous. Rated at 4000mAh, P1m can easily go on for more than a day. In our battery tests, the phone easily lasted more than a day, all when Wi-Fi was disabled and when 3G and 4G connections were fluctuating a lot. This is the kind of network coverage that drains the battery very fast. Lenovo did mention in the specification that the P1M supports fast charging but in reality it took about two and a half hours to fully charge the phone.
Conclusion
ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser is the only budget smartphone that has overall better specs when compared to the P1M but not every one is a fan of 5.5” display. Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime is another great phone but is hampered by laggy MIUI. Lenovo P1m has impressive feature set and if you are looking for a sub-10,000 rupee phone with clean user interface and amazing battery life even when on 4G LTE network, this is the one you should check. The design is bland and there are other phones that look good and work well too but there is none that offers this kind of battery life and smoothness inside 10k. Moreover, unlike other brands that omit charger or headphones, Lenovo has included all standard accessories with the Vibe P1m.
