To strengthen its smartphone portfolio and counter challenge from other Indian brands Lava has launched the new Iris 504q smartphone. It is priced at Rs 13,499 and flaunts some cool gesture-based applications.
We spent some time with the device during its launch and here is our first impression of it.
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Specifications
Android 4.2 based Lava Iris 504q has a large 5 inch HD 720p IPS display and is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core MediaTek processor and 1 GB of RAM. It also has 4 GB of internal memory.
On the camera front it has an 8 Megapixel rear camera, which is capable of capturing video in 1080p resolution, and it has a 2 megapixel front camera.
Lava has added interesting features in the Iris 504q, like gesture controls for taking pictures or browsing the picture gallery and changing the music or radio station by just hovering a hand over the device.
Iris has also borrowed One Glass Solution (OGS) technology, which promises a better viewing angle, sunlight readability, touch response and up to four custom profiles with distinctive identities for different lock screens from Xolo smartphones.
Lava Iris 504q provides for Over the Air Software upgrades, which has still not been be adopted by most Indian makes.
Iris 504q also comes pre-loaded with Opera web browser, Hungama Music App and a couple of games from Gameloft.
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Body
Unlike old Iris series phones, Lava Iris 504q has a slim waist, rubberized back panel and looks quite stunning.
Iris 504q has quite a clean and impressive design with a narrow metal strip around the body. The front panel has a camera above the display and three capacitive buttons below the display: home, return and multi window.
The 3.5 mm Audio Jack and Micro USB port are on the top panel. The volume rocker is on the left panel while on the right there is the power button.
The camera, along with dual LED flash, is on the back panel. In the bottom of the back panel is a square shaped speaker grill which is quite different from those found in other smartphones and its sound output is good.
Since the back panel is removable you will find a 2,000 mAh removable battery with slots for two SIM cards and a micro SD card under the cover.
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Display
Lava Iris 504q has a large 5 inch HD 720p IPS display and uses One Glass Solution (OGS) technology, which promises a wider viewing angle, sunlight readability and touch response.
Display quality is quite good in normal to well-lit conditions. Its response to touch is fair and during the short time we used the phone we didn’t have any complaints about the display quality, keeping in mind its price tag.
Processor and performance
Iris 504q has a 1.2 GHz Quadcore MediaTek processor and 1 GB of RAM. It also has 4 GB of internal memory. As we didn’t have access to WiFi or data network we couldn’t test internet browsing or download some app from the Play Store.
Instead, we played some pre-loaded games on the phone and it was satisfactory. We will be in a better position to talk about its performance after we review the device in a couple of days.
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Camera
Lava Iris 504q has an 8 megapixel real camera, which is capable of capturing video in 1080p resolution, and it has a 2 megapixel front camera. It has all the standard camera settings and features that come on Android smartphones.
We tested the front and rear cameras and were satisfied with the output. The rear camera gave good results even in low light.
Conclusion
Lava Iris 504q is quite a good phone and has also been priced attractively. It terms of design and specifications too it has muscle. As of now it looks like a phone worth buying, but we will reserve our final comment till we do a review.