S660
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Lenovo outs three budget phones, we go hands-on (video)
As it promised, Lenovo became a manufacturer of US smartphones when it purchased Motorola for $3 billion -- instantly. Meanwhile, it's still producing its own models for Asia, and just announced a trio at MWC 2014. The most highly spec'd of the three is the metal-backed $349 5.3-inch S860 (pictured above), which comes with a 720p screen, quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek CPU, 2GB of RAM and 8-megapixel front / 1.6-megapixel rear cameras. But Lenovo is boasting more about the battery life, saying it'll last a rather stunning 40 days on standby and give 24 hours of talk time. As you might expect for its target Asian market, there are also dual-sim slots (but no 4G, sadly). Stepping down, the S850 model is aimed more at the "fashion-savvy," according to Lenovo, thanks to a thin, lightweight all-glass body. It also packs a 1.3GHz quad-core MTK chip and 720p screen, but drops the RAM to 1GB. Oddly, there's a better 12-megapixel rear / 5-megapixel front camera, and a considerably cheaper $269 price. Finally, the S660 brings an upmarket metal back to downmarket specs, with the aforementioned MTK CPU, 960 x 540 screen, 1GB RAM, expandable storage, 8-megapixel camera and $229 price tag. Lenovo said all the models will arrive to "selected countries," but don't count on the US being one of them.
Philips' forgettable S660 candybar
We wanted to give this thing a chance, we really did -- but the unforgivable GSM 900 / 1800 dual-band GSM radio was the final nail in the coffin for us. Don't get us wrong, Philips' new S660 might go on to make quite a splash in the international low-end market, but without support for any North American band, US consumers looking for a solid, inexpensive handset had best not get too attached. The S660 lacks any sort of expandability and brings a mere 128 x 128 display and VGA cam to the table, but offers a surprisingly solid (for its class) 128MB of built-in storage. Its 18mm of thickness is also bit pudgy by 2006 standards, but the lack of GSM 850 or 1900 is an error far more grave in our books.[Via Slashphone]
