In the last few months we have seen lot of Indian players launching Windows based smartphones and the latest to join the party is Lava. At the start of this month lava had launched Iris Win1 for Rs 4,999.
Among Indian handsets manufacturers, Karbonn, Micromax, Celkon and Xolo have already launched their Windows based smartphones. Karbonn Wind W4 is currently selling for best price of Rs 4,645, thus becoming the cheapest Windows Phone 8.1 device. On the other hand Micromax’s Canvas Win comes in two versions – Canvas Win W121 can be purchased for about Rs 9,500 while the smaller Canvas Win 092 has a price tag of around Rs 6,500. The Xolo Win Q900s too is available for about the same price point.
Here we present to you its review to help in your buying decision.
Specs
Lava Iris Win1 is the first Windows based smartphone from the stable of Lava. It has a 4-inch WVGA dsplay and runs on 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Quad Core Processor. It is based on Windows 8.1 operating system. Iris Win1 has 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage that is expandable to 32 GB via micro SD card. It has a 5 megapixel rear camera with flash and 0.3 megapixel front camera. It is a dual SIM smartphone that supports 3G. Other connectivity options are WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and USB. Lava has provided a 1950 mAh Li-Ion battery in iris Win1. Accessories provided in the box are a flip Cover, earphone and screen guard.
Look and Feel
The Lava Iris Win1 in terms of design looks like any budget smartphone. It has a removable back panel made up of rubberized plastic under which it houses removable batter, two SIM slots and micro SD card slot. At the bottom of display there are three capacitive buttons – home, return and Search.
In the side panel there is volume rocker and power on/off bottom which are easy to access. The 3.5 mm jack and the Micro USB ports are located in the top panel.
Overall, Lava Iris Win1 feels solid and is easy to grip but it terms of design it doesn’t have any X factor.
Display
The Lava Iris Win 1 has a 4 inch touchscreen which inspite of not supporting IPS panel offers decent viewing angle. The display is just okay as far as brightness is concerned for outdoor operations while in indoor conditions it is good. Sharpness is on the lower side and watching video on it will be satisfactory. 
Performance
The Lava Iris Win1 has Windows Phone 8.1 operating system which is run by a 1.2 GHz quad core Qualcomm Processor coupled with 1 GB RAM.
The combination works well if you don’t do heavy duty multi-tasking. During our review, the phone effortlessly managed to run Subway Surfer and Asphalt 8. However, the phone started to stutter when I opened 4-5 other apps including internet Browser along with the game. However, considering the cost of the phone, its performance is definitely appreciable.
As far as battery back-up is concerned, the Lava Iris Win1 is no different than most of its competitors who are offering smartphones priced less than Rs 5,000. One can get a back-up of around 10 hours on heavy usage that includes keeping WiFi or 3 G always on , mail on auto sync, calling of about 20 minutes, surfing for around half an hour, playing games for 15 minutes and clicking 10 -15 pictures.
Camera
The Lava Iris Win1 has a 5 megapixel rear camera with flash and 0.3 megapixel front camera. Picture quality of snaps captured using rear camera is decent in good lighting condition but in low lighting it is bad. Also, it takes time to focus and if you do not have steady hands, you may find it difficult to capture decent images.
Also another issue with the camera is one cannot zoom in while clicking picture. Lava product team has said to us that this limitation is because of the Qulacomm processor. To sum up camera of Lava Iris Win1 didn’t impresses me and is one of the weakest element in this smartphone.
Images by Sushil Kumar