Lenovo A60 Review: Quality Affordable Android Phone!
I wasn’t really planning on buying a new phone since my current one is still alive and kicking, yet here I am, falling prey to the unparalleled marketing strategies the gadget merchants have especially concocted. And the one that caught my eye among all others is the Lenovo A60. Priced at 6,600PHP by Quality Cellular Phone, this phone is really worth looking into.
This is probably what you’re thinking: “The hell? I’ve never heard of a Lenovo-branded mobile phone before!” Well, they actually have a separate group for their mobile gadgets, but it’s still under Lenovo. Also, this is the first time they entered the Philippine smartphone market so maybe that’s why.
Inclusive: Phone, Earphones, Manual, Warranty, Charger, Battery, USB Cable, Screen Protector, Shell Case
The Works:
Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread w/ Google Play
3.5″ HVGA Multi-touch Screen w/ 256K colors @ 320×480 pixels
MT6573 ARM11 650MHz Processor
Dual SIM, Dual Stand-by
256MB RAM, 512MB ROM
220MB internal storage, up to 16GB via microSD
3G/HSDPA, WiFi 802.11 b/g, WiFi hotspot
Bluetooth w/ A2DP, EDR
GPS with aGPS support
3.2MP rear camera
0.3MP front-facing camera
Li-Ion 1500mAh battery
Desktop User Interface
I’m not really a fan of anything Android, but after diving a couple of times in my siblings’ Droid-operated phones, I was astounded by the literally thousands of FREE and useful applications you can horde online. Well yeah, my old Nokia C3 can also have third-party apps installed in it, but I needed the bigger screen, more powerful processing and a smoother and more practical user interface to improve my overall work and social performance.
Android Keyboard Interface
However, there is a difference between this “affordable” phone compared to the hotshots from HTC, Samsung and Sony who are twice or even quadruple as expensive. There are five main things I find disappointing in this phone, but all are fair trade-offs when the price is considered:
1.) A bit thicker than the top-tier Android phones
2.) Screen is not as sharp and crystal-like (Its 256k colors vs. HTC Wildfire’s 16M colors)
3.) RAM is 256MB compared to Wildfire’s 384MB (you’ll only want this if you always have tons of apps running simultaneously)
4.) Processing power is 650Mhz, compared to the competing 800Mhz
5.) Because of number 3 and 4, it can’t play HD videos, even in 720p
Playing Final Fantasy III with SNESoid Emulator
Of course, we have the good sides despite its cheap price:
1.) Capacitive Touch, meaning it’s awesome smooth and responsive when navigating
2.) Can read up to a 16GB microSD card
3.) Thousands of free and useful downloadable apps via the pre-installed Google Play
4.) Front and back cameras
5.) Dual SIM, dual stand-by
6.) 2.3.5 Gingerbread Android OS! Need I say more?
Piano Perfect’s Piano Simulation (Multi-touch)
Here are some useful apps I downloaded that you might be interested in:
Alarm Clock, Stopwatch and Countdown Timer, Calculator, MX Player (MKV, MP4, FLAC etc.), 9GAG, Facebook, Foursquare, Google Maps, Opera Mini, SimSimi, Twitter, Viber, YouTube, Kingsoft Office (MS Office 2012 Files Compatible), Adobe PDF Reader, Astro File Browser, Anime Radio, Guitar Hero 5, Piano Perfect, Guitar Tuner, PlayStation Network, SNES Emulator, NES Emulator, Angry Birds and many more!
Watching To Aru Kagaku no Railgun OVA at 720×480 using MX Player
So overall, I find it a pretty good buy. For the super-techie person that feeds on technology’s latest, it’s processing power and RAM is sub-par. But for the average user on a budget of 8-10k PHP that would only run about 2-3 apps at the same time, this would be the top choice among its contenders. To know more about this phone, just search in it Google and YouTube. You won’t miss it!
UPDATE: Okay, then I see an upgraded version the Lenovo a65 here priced at 5,500 PHP, 1k PHP cheaper than the older version that I bought. Oh well. @_@ Haha.
Perfect Renders
33 Comments
hi, i just want to know if i can bring this kind of phone to Middle East..im planning to buy one but since im not that technical and i have less knowledge about operating systems i need to make sure if i can use this kind of phone when i get there. Please email me about the detials…thank you
hi, liz! i’m not pretty sure myself but i guess if it isn’t locked (meaning you can use smart, globe or any kind of sim card in it), then i guess it’s fine. just punch in the sim card from the middle east and you’re good to go! :)
thank u…i’ll doublecheck on that
I think the screen is too small for smartphone. thanks for your review
4″ is definitely better, but if compared to other smartphones like Samsung Galaxy Y (3″) and HTC Desire (3.2″), it’s much bigger. Thanks for the read!
Can i use this A60 cell phone to countries like Japan and Korea? My sim card is Smart pre paid.
My other sim card is Globe line.
It should work in other countries, so long your Globe or Smart SIM cards are roaming-enabled. If not, you should be using SIM cards from the country you’ll be going instead.
Hello there! I am planning to buy a new phone, I’m torn between this and Samsung Galaxy Y, thou some said that this one is much better than Samsung Galaxy Y daw, Is it true? What do you think? I am not a techie person naman, since need ko lang na talaga palitan yung phone ko kasi naghihingalo na sya as long as my wi-fi at makakapagfb ako at makakapatext. hehe How bout the camera? Is it good ba? Thanks in advance! Cheers!
Hi, Jen! I have a friend who has a Samsung Galaxy Y and after comparing the two, I can say they both have specs that are either inferior or superior to the other. For example, the Galaxy Y has 70MB more RAM (which means you can use a bit more programs without the phone slowing down) and you can expand its memory to 32GB while the Lenovo A60/65 has a bigger screen, bigger camera resolution, dual sim and longer battery life. All in all, I find the Lenovo phone much better- actually yung mas malaking screen lang talaga yung pinaka-rason kaya yun pinili ko :) Hope this helps!
You can find a full comparison of both phones here: http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4117&idPhone2=4912
Yep, I already read that article. Actually since yesterday pa ko nagbabasa about sa cheap android phones, thou sa December or November pa naman ako bibili. Pero oo nga mas gusto ko kung bigger yung screen as mas okay ang camera. I think Lenovo na nga lang siguro. Hehe Bahala na si Batman haha baka magmura pa soo yung Lenovo p700 at A750 ba yun, okay din sila. Well anyways, thank you! :)
hello, i would like to know how to set the alarm using mp3 from my memory card? thanks :)
Hi, Nio! You can’t do that with the current Android System but if you install a third-party application like GO SMS Pro, you can.
Simply go to the stock Clock app, click on the set alarm on ‘Alarms’, then Ringtone, then use GO SMS Pro to complete action. If you select music, then you’ll be able to select from your music folder.
Cheers!
thank you for the review. was very helpful, especially showing that it can play SNES and NES roms.
No prob! Glad to be of help! :)
Hey Chad,
Re your lenovo A60 review, how’s its wifi connectivity? can it sned/receive data? I’ve read somewhere a review about the A60+ and it did mentioned that A60+’s downside is that it can connect to wifi without any hassle but that’s it. It can’t send/receive data. Back to the A60, how’s the transition from portrait to landscape? Is the O.S. upgradable? Thanks man.
Hi Ean! The A60’s wifi connectivity just works fine- I’ve never had a problem with it since. And regarding the A60+, isn’t it a plus that ‘it can connect to wifi without any hassle’?
If you’re thinking of buying one, please do get the A60+ as it is the upgraded version 350mhz more speed! The A60’s transition from portrait to landscape is okay, so long that you aren’t running too many programs. Otherwise, it will be slow as hell. That’s why I turned that feature off to save me more RAM. Like I said, 256mb RAM isn’t really big >.
matibay ba ang lenovo phones? medyo clumsy kasi ako and I never tried any other brands except nokia kasi di agad nasisisra sa akin. do you have any thoughts on this? thank you so much.
Hi, mem! I think they’re quite sturdy. I’ve accidentally dropped mine a few times to the ground with about 3-4 feet distance and the result? It’s like nothing happened. But I guess it all comes down to how amazing your clumsiness is ;)
hi! im planning to buy a new phone this nov.
After i read your review about the lenovo a60…. parang that’s the phone that i wanted to buy now… Im not that a “techie” person… but i wanted to know, what are the possible problem that i may encounter using that lenovo A60? and then..,
what about the lenovo A65?? thanks! :)
Hi, Chrisna! If you’re planning on buying the Lenovo A60, let me suggest the A60+, since it’s better and cheaper than either the A60 or A65 :)
Though let me suggest a better option for you, if you’re willing to wait: import phones from China. That’s also where Lenovo phones come from. They practically have other brands with cheaper yet better specs. Take the NEO NO2-M for example: http://www.fastcardtech.com/goods.php?u=49407&id=7722. It costs 174$+15$ shipping so you’ll get your own dual core 4.5″ phone for less than 9k! Buying it at fastcardtech (it’s SAFE) would take a month to ship. I’m actually planning on buying one this December or January, and of course I’ll write a blog about it. Keep tuned! :)
thanks for the reply! which is much better… lenovo or samsung?? haayy.. can’t decide >.
I’d go for Lenovo…Samsung for me is a bit overpriced, even though the specs are the same. Lenovo is actually better since it has a bigger screen if compared to its Samsung counterparts.
Hi Chad,
I’m a Filipino expat here in Indonesia and I can tell you that the tech market here is actually deluded with China phones. It’s quite amazing to see that the Lenovo A60 is being sold for more than 5k there in the Philippines whereas here, we often can get rather cheap China phones of the same specs and workmanship as well as performance for about 600,000 to 800,000 Rupiahs (that’s about 3-3.5k in pesos). Also, I just would like to point out to some of your readers regarding the use of the phone in certain parts of the globe, like the Middle East of even East Asia. They need to find out first the telecom frequencies which these countries operate on. It has nothing to do on whether you can use a Smart or a Globe SIM on it then you can also put almost any other SIM out there. It just doesn’t work that way. This is the reason why you have to check the operating frequencies of both the unit and the region you are going to use it on. Hope this helps. By the way, we have quite a few Chinese-made Galaxy Note-type models here anyone might be interested in.
Hi, Pete!
I’m not really surprised that it’s much more expensive in the Philippines compared to other Asian countries. With the scarcity of cheaper hi-spec China phones here and oversupply of branded ones like HTC, LG and Samsung, their prices are bound to go up. And of course, most Filipinos aren’t tech savvy so there’s also that to take advantage of. The turnover of technology here is pretty slow- every merchant is hell bent on milking every little upgrade and product release there is. And the worst part is, the buyers are succumbing faithfully. Oh well.
Also, thanks for pointing out on how to determine on what phones would be compatible to people’s SIM cards. I didn’t know that one :)
Cheers!
Hi Chad,
Please suggest me to buy a dual sim mobile phone in India. I m planning to take LG Optimus dual 405 around Rs.8500/-. But after reading all the above your reviews i m in dilemma. Please suggest me the apt mobile for me. Features and specifications of Lenova A 60 plus is enough for me. But small doubt that Lenova is Chaina mobile. That’s y i m asking u about Lenova A 60 plus.
Hi, Siva S!
Between LG Optimus dual 405 and Lenovo A60+, any would do. But if we’re going to talk about specs, the A60+ is faster by 200 mhz and has a larger screen by .3″. Personally I’d go with the A60+. It’s China, but I think LG Optimus is China too. Also, China phones are becoming really good nowadays. :)
Thanks Chad!
But what about Lenova a 60 (not Lenova a 60 plus)? Where can we buy it in INDIAN Online stores? Pl Inform me that.
Thanks !
Hi Chad!, I want to take Lenova a60 (not a 60 +) mobile. Pl tell me where can i get it. And price also. And what about Lenova a65?? Is it available or supply stopped by Lenova??
Thanks & Regards
Madhu.K
hi gud pm po, bumili ako ng Lenovo A60plus khapon, nung nag co2nnect nako sa wifi ayaw niyang gumana, nag co2nnect siya pero nag di2sconnect agad, pano po ga2win ko?.. pls help po.. pede po ba matnong yung settngs niyo sa phone niyo?.. thanks po
Hi, Zillah! I’m not sure what the cause is, since I didn’t have any problems with my A60 with regards to Wifi ever since I bought it. Did you try other Wifi connections? If it’s not in the phone it’s probably the router or the internet provider itself. Hope this helps.
,hi! I’ve read your review about Lenovo A60 just recently… I just want to ask if puwede makapag-view sa ng mga videos sa youtube with Lenovo A60?… Thanks a lot!