Kobe Bryant’s Lenovo K900 Smartphone, Out Now in the Philippines, Has Introductory Price of Php 21,999
Endorsed by no less than the LA Lakers superstar and 5-time NBA Champion, Kobe Bryant, Lenovo’s flagship Android handset - Lenovo K900 - is now available across the archipelago. And if you purchase it from July 12 to 14, you can advantage of the discounted introductory price of only Php 21,999!
Obviously, Lenovo's objective in getting Kobe Bryant as the phone's endorser is to attract a specific target market: the young urban male professionals. Filipinos are the biggest basketball fans in the world and many of them idolize the Laker superstar so this makes a lot of sense from a marketing perspective. Think about buying rubber shoes because Kobe wears them -- this campaign hopes to get similar results.
From a design standpoint, the Lenovo K900 is wrapped in gorgeous brushed aluminum, which gives a visual impression that it is indeed a premium device. Looking at photos of the handset, I believe it will be a true headturner when you take it out in public places. Its size also contributes to its physical charm. Its footprint is quite big as it sports a Gorilla Glass-protected 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display with 441 ppi (higher resolution than that of iPhone 5) but it's a really slim device measuring only 6.9 mm in thickness.
As for hardware, the Lenovo K900 is running on a 2.0 GHz Dual Core Intel Atom Processor, which is said perform just as well as latest high-end processors by Qualcomm and Samsung. The phone is also equipped with a Sony-made 13 MegaPixels camera with BSI sensor and a 2 MP front-facing cam. Perhaps to keep the phone's profile svelte, Lenovo opted to give it a non-removable 2,500 maH built-in battery, which - while not the biggest pack you'll find in a phablet - should be enough to last you throughout the day.
Memory capacity is a mixed bag. It has a generous 2 GB RAM but only 16GB internal storage, of which 9.77 GB is usable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a microSD slot and that could be a big issue for some consumers who really require an expandable storage for their media files collection. Nonetheless, you can work around this limitation because the phone is USB-OTG capable. This means that, with a connector, you can run and transfer files to this phone directly from an external USB storage device.
On the software aspect, the K900 runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean customized or skinned by Lenovo. The phone also has various software features such as the Super Camera App, Flip to Mute, Shake to Lock, Pocket Mode, Volume Keys Unlock, Auto Forward SMS, Popup SMS w/ Quick Reply, Smart Sound. Hopefully, we could do an actual test of these features to determine their usefulness in real-life situations.
All those features and specs look impressive. But how does it compare to one of the best flagship devices currently available in the market? In terms of benchmark performance, I would like to go back to the article written by Mark a few months ago. In that post, he said that "Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 powered by Intel Atom Z2580 - the company's current flagship handset - slays the recently released Samsung Galaxy S4 when it comes to Antutu Benchmark Test score."
As of writing, Lenovo K900's official regular pricing in the Philippines has yet to be dislosed. But as I've said earlier, just for this weekend (July 12-14, 2013), this device can be purchased for Php 21,999. That's Php 8,000 less than the official price of Samsung Galaxy S4 and Php 10,000 more affordable HTC One upon release.
About the author: A big Samsung fan, Mon Arguelles' first smartphone was a Samsung Omnia.
Obviously, Lenovo's objective in getting Kobe Bryant as the phone's endorser is to attract a specific target market: the young urban male professionals. Filipinos are the biggest basketball fans in the world and many of them idolize the Laker superstar so this makes a lot of sense from a marketing perspective. Think about buying rubber shoes because Kobe wears them -- this campaign hopes to get similar results.
From a design standpoint, the Lenovo K900 is wrapped in gorgeous brushed aluminum, which gives a visual impression that it is indeed a premium device. Looking at photos of the handset, I believe it will be a true headturner when you take it out in public places. Its size also contributes to its physical charm. Its footprint is quite big as it sports a Gorilla Glass-protected 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display with 441 ppi (higher resolution than that of iPhone 5) but it's a really slim device measuring only 6.9 mm in thickness.
As for hardware, the Lenovo K900 is running on a 2.0 GHz Dual Core Intel Atom Processor, which is said perform just as well as latest high-end processors by Qualcomm and Samsung. The phone is also equipped with a Sony-made 13 MegaPixels camera with BSI sensor and a 2 MP front-facing cam. Perhaps to keep the phone's profile svelte, Lenovo opted to give it a non-removable 2,500 maH built-in battery, which - while not the biggest pack you'll find in a phablet - should be enough to last you throughout the day.
Memory capacity is a mixed bag. It has a generous 2 GB RAM but only 16GB internal storage, of which 9.77 GB is usable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a microSD slot and that could be a big issue for some consumers who really require an expandable storage for their media files collection. Nonetheless, you can work around this limitation because the phone is USB-OTG capable. This means that, with a connector, you can run and transfer files to this phone directly from an external USB storage device.
On the software aspect, the K900 runs Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean customized or skinned by Lenovo. The phone also has various software features such as the Super Camera App, Flip to Mute, Shake to Lock, Pocket Mode, Volume Keys Unlock, Auto Forward SMS, Popup SMS w/ Quick Reply, Smart Sound. Hopefully, we could do an actual test of these features to determine their usefulness in real-life situations.
All those features and specs look impressive. But how does it compare to one of the best flagship devices currently available in the market? In terms of benchmark performance, I would like to go back to the article written by Mark a few months ago. In that post, he said that "Lenovo IdeaPhone K900 powered by Intel Atom Z2580 - the company's current flagship handset - slays the recently released Samsung Galaxy S4 when it comes to Antutu Benchmark Test score."
As of writing, Lenovo K900's official regular pricing in the Philippines has yet to be dislosed. But as I've said earlier, just for this weekend (July 12-14, 2013), this device can be purchased for Php 21,999. That's Php 8,000 less than the official price of Samsung Galaxy S4 and Php 10,000 more affordable HTC One upon release.
About the author: A big Samsung fan, Mon Arguelles' first smartphone was a Samsung Omnia.
| Name | Lenovo K900 |
| Type | Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen) |
| Price Category | High End (Flagship Level) |
| Dimensions | 78 x 157 x 6.9mm |
| Weight | 162 grams |
| Available Colors | Black/Gray |
| Operating System | Android 4.1.2.1 Jelly Bean |
| Display | 5.5 inches Full HD 1080p 1920x1080 pixels with 400+ PPI IPS Display 16M colors |
| Processor | 2.0 GHz Dual Core Intel Atom Z2580 Clover Trail+ Processor with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology |
| RAM | 2 GB RAM |
| Internal Storage | 16, non-expandable |
| Camera | 13 MegaPixels f/1.8 Wide Aperture Rear Camera with Sony Exmor RS BSI Sensor + 88°Wide-angle 2MP Front-facing Camera |
| Video Capture | Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second for main camera, TBD for front camera |
| Audio and Video Playback | MP4/DivX/Xvid/FLV/MKV/H.264/H.263/MP3/WAV/eAAC+/Flac |
| Ports | microUSB v2.0, TV-out (via MHL A/V link), 3.5 mm audio jack |
| Connectivity | Intel XMM 6360 HSPA+ DL 42Mbps, UL 11Mbps |
| GPS | GPS w/ AGPS |
| Sensors | G-Sensor, Light and Proximity Sensor, E-Compass |
| Network | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz |
| SIM Card Type | microSIM |
| Battery | 2500 mAh Li-Polymer (Built-in) |
| Uptime | TBD |
| Value-Added Features | Slimmest in class 6.9mm design, Non-magnetic stainless steel and Polycarbonate Unibody Chassis, Super Camera App, Flip to Mute, Shake to Lock, Pocket Mode, Volume Keys Unlock |
| Announcement | 2013, January (International) |
| Availability | Philippines: July 12, 2013 |
| Price | Php 21,999 (Introductory price only) |
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