The Indian smartphone manufacturer Lava introduced its low budget Android smartphone Lava A68 in early August 2016.
The 3G handset has soame distinguishing features and good looks for those who want the best from their devices without having to spend too much. Some functions worth noting are smart screen gestures, video PIP, LED flash and smart music. When it hits the stores for sale, the dual SIM handset will be available in black, silver and gold colors. However, like most gadgets with dual SIM facility, only one SIM will be active at a time. In other words, if you are on a call using one SIM, you will not receive calls on your other number at that time.
Dimensions, Weight and Body Material
The Lava A68 comes in a very handy and compact size that makes it easy to keep in your pocket and operate with one hand. The device comes in a size of 134 x 66 x 9.6 mm. Although slightly thick, the gadget is not bulky. Weighing between 130g to 140g, the smartphone is not very heavy either. The only shortcoming here is the plastic body that makes it less sturdy than its counterparts which make use of a metallic body. However, plastic is often the preferred choice for handsets in this price range.
Screen Display and Size, Pixel Resolution and Density
The A68 comes with a TFT FWVGA (full wide video graphics array) display for its screen. The 4.5 inches capacitive multitouch screen has a pixel resolution of 480 x 800 and a pixel density of 207ppi, along with an aspect ratio of 5:3. Given the fact that the screen size is not very big, the values are good enough to give decent display results on the screen. Added to this, the FWVGA technology assures you of wide viewing of videos.
Rear and Front Shooters
Although the shooters do not have very high pixel ratings, photos and videos shot with the Lava A68 produce quite satisfactory results. The key highlight is that both the cameras use LED flash to enhance the quality of the rendered shots and record videos at 30 frames per second. On the rear, the device has a 5MP snapper that utilizes a CMOS sensor to produce photos with 2592 x 1944 image resolution and 1280 x 720 resolution videos. Continuous shooting, scene mode, face detection, geo-tagging, HDR and digital zoom are some of the vital features supported. At the front, there is a VGA selfie and video calling camera with 640 x 480 resolution for both photos and videos.
Under the Hood Configuration
Typical of other smartphones in this category, the Lava A68 supports 1GB RAM with 8GB ROM as internal storage. This storage can be expanded by a further 32GB using a memory card. Other hardware setup details include a Spreadtrum chipset, a quad core ARM Cortex A7 central processor ticking at 1.2GHz and a 400 MHz dual core ARM Mali-400 MP2 graphics processor. For its operating system, the handset uses Android 6.0 Marshmallow, the latest operating system that is available on such devices.
Connectivity Options
With the A68, you can opt for more than one of the standard connectivity modes. These include Wi-Fi (both direct and 802.11 b/g/n), 3G, Bluetooth, USB and GPS for both home network and location based applications.
Battery and Battery Life
The battery in the Lava A68 is not very powerful, but gives acceptable results for a device of its size. The 1,750 mAh Li-ion removable battery supports 6 hours of talk time on 2G and 3G networks, while the corresponding standby time on these networks is close to 180 hours. This guarantees extended usage once the smartphone is fully charged before you recharge the same.
Noteworthy Features
While smart screen gestures help users with multitasking when they are on the move, video PIP allows them to open and play a video of their choice in the background even as the smartphone is used for other activities like browsing the Internet or sending messages to friends. The LED flash ensures people don’t miss a call even of the gadget is used in silent mode. As for smart music, the advantage with this feature is that users can listen to music by just using a swipe of their fingers without having to even unlock the A68.