When size does matter
THE Samsung Galaxy Note was a game changer. The device, with its 5-inch screen, made it cool to be seen with a phone-tablet hybrid – the phablet – and the Note II (reviewed Oct 21 in Times Life) only improved on the form factor with a stellar hardware upgrade. But rivals are already nipping at Samsung’s heels. We take a look at two new quad-core phablets to see if
they have what it takes to compete with the Note II.
LG Optimus Vu
Phablets are supposed to be large, but the Vu is just humongous. This is mainly due to its squarer 4:3 screen. The ‘5-inch’ size of phone screens is a diagonal measurement; so this proportion is always going to make for a wider display when compared to other 5-inch devices that use the widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio.
What we like
The Vu’s big screen boasts of very good legibility – whether it’s reading or web browsing – even in direct sunlight. Photos, movies and games are rendered with rich colours and the right amount of saturation. On the flip side, the 4:3 aspect ratio causes all widescreen apps and videos to be displayed in Letterbox mode with black bands on either side. Still, this is not a deal-breaker.
The Optimus Vu offers great overall performance. It played FullHD videos smoothly, handled highdef games with aplomb, and multitasking is seamless.
The camera clicks good pictures, but the Vu really shines in video recording, with a powerful microphone that captures clear audio with less ambient disturbances.
What we don’t like
The phone is just too wide. It’s unwieldy to hold during a phone call and can prove to be uncomfortable for people with average to smaller-sized hands.
There’s a shortcut button on the top of the Vu that lets you access Notes, the app where you can pen notes quickly with the accompanying stylus. Strangely, the phone does not have a slot to carry the stylus.
At its price, I expect the Vu to come with a battery that lasts from morning till night, but the Vu doesn’t deliver, lasting less than 10 hours in the day.
Lenovo K860
With its dominance in the PC market, Lenovo’s entry into the mobile market
carries with it a lot of expectation. But does the K860 – the cheapest
quad-core phablet around – have what it takes to challenge old hands like
Samsung and LG?
What we like
The K860 promises bang for your buck. Its performance matches other quad-cores, handling everything we threw at it: FullHD videos, high-def games, heavy-duty multitasking.
Starting at 100% at 9am, the battery didn’t need charging till 11pm even after a day of 3G gaming, plenty of phone calls, an hour of music, mild GPS usage and lots of web browsing.
For reading, the K860 is the best of the lot.
What we don’t like
While it is the smallest in size, the K860 is by far the heaviest phablet of the three, and isn’t comfortable for phone calls. The rear camera protrudes, so it can never be laid flat on a table. This leads to a lot of noisy shaking if the phone vibrates on a table when you receive a call. Such build quality just isn’t worth the money that the K860 demands. We’re used to seeing such fabrication on phones costing between 15,000 and 20,000. On a premium device, it’s a no-no. Apart from the build quality failings, Lenovo has overlaid the beautiful Android v4 Ice Cream Sandwich interface with a custom skin that’s unappealing. It’s baffling why Lenovo would tweak it only to make it worse. The interface is garish (most prominent in the phone dialer) and the custom icons for common apps aren’t classy. In short, the software and hardware of the K860 only makes me want to think of excuses to not use it.
While it is the smallest in size, the K860 is by far the heaviest phablet of the three, and isn’t comfortable for phone calls. The rear camera protrudes, so it can never be laid flat on a table. This leads to a lot of noisy shaking if the phone vibrates on a table when you receive a call. Such build quality just isn’t worth the money that the K860 demands. We’re used to seeing such fabrication on phones costing between 15,000 and 20,000. On a premium device, it’s a no-no. Apart from the build quality failings, Lenovo has overlaid the beautiful Android v4 Ice Cream Sandwich interface with a custom skin that’s unappealing. It’s baffling why Lenovo would tweak it only to make it worse. The interface is garish (most prominent in the phone dialer) and the custom icons for common apps aren’t classy. In short, the software and hardware of the K860 only makes me want to think of excuses to not use it.
In conclusion
The Note II marries hardware and software better than any of the other phablets. Features like the stylus, the split screen and S Note app really maximise the utility of a large screen, making it the best purchase among these three. The Optimus Vu is for those who want larger screen real estate. Step into a shop and actually use it; if it doesn't seem too large to you and doesn’t strain your hand, it’s a good device to buy. If you absolutely must have a quad-core phablet, but the price of the Note II is too high and the Vu seems too large, then the Lenovo K860 is a decent buy; but really, you would be better served by the Samsung Galaxy S3, which retails in the same price range. –Mihir Patkar TL121223
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