Hands On | Lava Icon

Yesterday, Indian smartphone vendor Lava expanded its smartphone portfolio with the release of a new device – the Icon. With a price tag of Rs. 11,990, the device stands against some current offerings in the market like Micromax Canvas Nitro and Huawei Ascend P6. Meanwhile, we got an opportunity to get our hands on the latest device and here is our experience with the new smartphone.

The Icon is 7.7 mm thick and has a sleek finish. It touts a silver metal frame, while its back panel is a shiny black with a glass finish. The glass back does add to the aesthetic of the device, though we have to admit it seemed prone to scratches. The handset feels nice in hand, though we won’t vouch for its overall sturdiness.

The device features a 5-inch HD IPS 720p display with 550 Cd/m2 brightness, which the company claims is one of the highest in the industry. The display of the handset is protected with Asahi Dragon-Trail glass that offers resistance against scratches. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The onboard storage space is 16GB, which can be expanded via a MicroSD card slot up to 32GB.

The front of the phone has an earpiece at the top, along with a 5MP camera. The front camera comes with Omni vision sensor and BSI-II sensor with blue glass filter, which is said to protect the image sensor against overexposure in the infrared wavelength range.

Lava Icon runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and has the company’s Star UI on top. The user interface provides a variety of customizable gesture controls. The back of the phone has 2500mAh battery, which is decent for a phone of this size and resolution. The primary camera is 13 MP with dual-LED flash and Sony Exmor sensor. We tried our hand at the camera, and were left unimpressed.

The dual-SIM handset offers connectivity options like 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Micro-USB. Overall, we’d say it has a premium design, however it feels extremely delicate. Lava Icon is available at select retails stores in India and will also be available online via exclusive online partner Snapdeal.com. The e-commerce website is making the deal sweeter by offering a free selfie stick with Lava Icon.

Here’s a brief at its specs:

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