First look: Lava Xolo X900

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) we heard about the partnership of Indian handset brand Lava with global processor manufacturing giant Intel for the manufacturing of Intel Atom powered smartphones. Well weeks after the MWC, today Lava and Intel jointly announced the launch of world’s first ever Intel Atom processor based Android powered smartphone in India.

The Lava Xolo X900 comes with older Android Gingerbread operating system but with a promise of Android’s latest Ice cream Sandwich operating system to be made available to the buyers in the coming few weeks.

The price of the device is one of the most exciting things as a 1.6 GHz processor powered device is now available for a price of Rs 22,000. During the launch ceremony, which was held in Delhi on Thursday, we got a chance to get our hands on the device and here’s what we felt about it.

Lava as a mobile brand has always been associated with the word innovation and that is quite visible in the new Intel Atom powered Xolo X900 smartphone too. The device features a slim and sleek design with a total weight of 127 grams making it extremely easy to carry. The Lava Xolo itself is compact and sleek by nature and at 10.99 mm thickness, it surely is a lot comfortable to hold.

The device has got capacitive touch sensitive keys in the front that further enhances the look of the device by giving it a flush and neat look. The back panel of the device features a matte, rubbery finish providing a nice grip. On the sides, the device features Chrome trimmings on all four sides that certainly add a touch of highlight to the device which features a complete black colour finish all over. All in all, the device is good looking, slightly boxy but that is what the candy bar shape for smartphones is all about.
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The Lava Xolo X900 features a 1.6 GHz application processor, which has been provided by world’s largest PC chip manufacturer Intel. The Intel Atom 1.6 GHz single core processor is by far the most powerful and the fastest clock speed bearing processor to have been used in a smartphone.

Though it has an outdated Google Android Gingerbread 2.3 operating system but Lava has announced that the ICS upgrade for the device will be made available soon. With 1 GB of RAM, the device performs tasks with swiftness and quite fluently. The device makes use of the native Android 2.3 user interface which is most easy and same to use as well. The application load up time is certainly on the lower side thanks to the 1.6 GHz processor but more comprehensive report on this can only be said after a through review.

Lava Xolo, in terms of multimedia, has an 8 megapixel snapper encrusted with LED flash. It is capable of recording HD (1080p) videos as well in 30 frames per second. Another feature that has been implemented in the Xolo X900 is the inclusion of a burst mode which allows the device to capture 15 different pictures in just one second making capturing fast action easier.

In terms of hardware specification, the Xolo X900 is almost identical to most Android powered smartphones out in the market within the Rs 20,000 – 30,000 price range but the only difference is in terms of the internal storage that has been beefed up to 16 GB.

The device will be available for purchase through Chroma outlets across the country from April 23 following that more retail partners will be added to the list. There’s a lot more to talk about the Xolo X900 but for that you will have to wait until we get the device for a detailed review at our test center. So till then stay tuned.