Lenovo is one of our favourite smartphone manufacturers when it comes to combining design, power and productivity into one budget-friendly package, and it seems Lenovo does know where their priorities are — better battery life. Their latest offering, Lenovo Vibe P1m, comes with a 4000 mAh battery power which can easily give you 2 days worth of battery time even with high usage. We have had the phone for a while now, and have tested it against a number of factors to see how this Android phone stacks up against all the other competition out there.
Vibe P1m is more of a ‘mini’ version of the original Lenovo Vibe P1. It comes with a few toned down specs, but is still good enough to stand out in the saturated market of budget smartphones. It has dual-SIM support, 4G LTE compatible with a big 4000 mAh battery and an 8 megapixels camera that takes great outdoor shots. Let’s take a look at the various features this phone has in a detailed review below.
You can get the Lenovo Vibe P1m for only PKR 17,900 (US $170) and we think this is a great price for such a power house of a phone. Some of the highlights of this phone include: big battery with built-in quick charge feature, splash-proof coating by P2i for total protection, power saver switch extends battery life, large and vibrant display screen and a powerful processor with expandable storage for keeping up your collection of music and videos.
Let’s take a look at some of the technical features of the Lenovo Vibe P1m:
- Display: 5.0-inch IPS capacitive display (720 x 1280 pixels), light sensor, proximity sensor
- Processor: Mediatek MT6735P 1.0 GHz Quadcore CPU, Mali-T720 GPU
- Camera: 8 megapixels rear camera with autofocus, geo-tagging, HDR support — 5 megapixels front camera for those gorgeous selfies
- Video: 720p HD video recording
- Memory: 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and a SD Card slot for expansion
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.1, WiFi, microUSB
- Other: A-GPS, 3.5 mm jack, accelerometer, dual-SIM support, FM Radio, 4G LTE support
- Battery: 2-3 days on normal usage, 4000 mAh Li-Po battery, non-removable
- OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop with custom Lenovo theme
Now let’s go through the features in a bit more detail.
Vibe P1m: Hardware and Display
This phone has a soft touch feel to it, even though the entire body of the phone is plastic; but it still feels good in hands and has a nice grip to it. It certainly does not feel ‘cheap’ or “low quality”. Most of phones by Lenovo in 2015 have had good build quality, unlike their past phones that felt weird and very plastic-y all over.
The Vibe P1m is the perfect phone for an active lifestyle which involves a lot of spilling, smudges etc. on the phone. It comes with a splash-proof, nano-coating technology that protects the phone from everyday splashes and spills. The hydrophobic layer ensures superior liquid repellency, leaving no weak points to attract moisture and corrosion. Something we know by experience that happens on many smartphones very often while playing games.
The front panel of the phone is basic like other phones. Just the screen, and top of that your selfie camera and light sensor along with the earpiece. At the bottom of the screen, there are three capacitive buttons that light up when you press them: multitasking, home and back buttons. At the back side of the phone, you can find the 8 megapixels shooter, an LED flash and a secondary mic along with the Lenovo and VIBE logos.
There is a dedicated button on the left side of the phone that allows you to quickly switch on or off the power saving mode. On the right side, you can find volume controls and the power button. At the top, there is a microUSB slot and a 3.5mm audio jack — and at the bottom, there is only the speaker grill.
The Vibe P1m packs in a crisp 5.0-inch IPS display with a 720p display having a 1280 x 720 resolution. This screen lets you enjoy hi-res images, gaming, and video at their finest. This is an average display screen that we have seen in many other Android devices of the same range. The Vibe P1m is capable of offering nearly 180° of wide-angle viewing – perfect for sharing with friends while watching a video. Screen quality is decent enough in direct sunlight and the light sensors work as expected.
Vibe P1m: Performance and Battery
The Vibe P1m’s 1.0GHz 64-bit quad-core MediaTek processor delivers the optimal balance of performance and power. We put the phone through various tests and usage patterns, and it seems the 2GB RAM holds up everything really well. Switching apps and playing games on the phone work flawlessly with no lag anywhere. You can watch a screencast of the Lenovo Vibe P1m user interface and how everything works when browsing the phone around.
This phone also supports high-speed 4G LTE networks for the fastest data connectivity – enabling you to enjoy websites, apps, and games at their best. One of the only phones in this price range to feature 4G support.
Screencast:
We will running some additional benchmark tests soon for the Lenovo Vibe P1m so we can compare it with other similar devices. That will be up soon in a separate post.
Lenovo Vibe P1m packs a huge 4000 mAh battery that can easily give you 2-3 days of battery time under normal usage and 4G LTE. Whether you are a social media addict, an avid gamer or just enjoy chatting your entire day on WhatsApp / Facebook — this phone is for everyone. When the VIBE P1m eventually runs out of juice, its quick charge feature gives you a few hours of talk time with just a 15-minute charge.
And as we talked about the built-in power saver switch, once you enable that, you can extend your battery life even more with just your essential apps and features running on the phone.
Vibe P1m: Conclusion
When you go to buy a new phone, you need to have a priority set in your mind. If battery time and decent performance (with multitasking) is what you are looking for, then you should go for the Lenovo Vibe P1m — or the Lenovo Vibe P1 if you want to spend a bit more than the $170 price tag.
Vibe P1m: Unboxing
Here are some pictures of the unboxing of the Lenovo Vibe P1m phone:
Vibe P1m: Gallery
how to do screencast in p1m