GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL..................... Lenovo S860

Lenovo S860

When you take this handset out of its box, you immediately feel its heft. The Lenovo S860 isn't just a big phone, but a heavy one. The reason for that extra weight is the 4000mAh battery, the biggest USP —literally — of this device. If you travel a lot or for some other reason feel battery life is the most important feature you can't live without, the S860 is aimed squarely at you. The screen on this phone is actually 5.3  inches (these are measured diagonally) and we know that there are much bigger phones floating around. But on this phone it feels bigger because of the weight and the fact that the edges are all straight, making you more than ever aware of its rectangularity. The back of this phone is the good looking part. It's titanium brushed metal and immediately gives that expensive impression. The 720x1280 resolution screen is good on colours and brightness but should have had better viewing angles. Tilt it and you get  some reduction in clarity. The pixel density is 277 ppi. There's a 1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek MT6582 processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage (no micro SD slot) powering the S860. There's a bit of stutter on browsing but great improvement after you upgrade its software. This phone is now on Android 4.4.2 and there's quite a bit of customisation by  Lenovo. The camera is an 8MP and it's about average. The front camera is 1.6MP and hasn't caught up with the selfie age. The camera app is however, full of options. Sound is pretty loud. The S860 is a dual-SIM phone, as mid-range phones tend to be in India. Officially at Rs 19,999 it could be available for less, but has a lot of competition in this segment. Consider it, above all, if you're really bothered about battery life. Mala Bhargava BW 11-08-2014