Towards the end of May 2016, Lava launched a mid-range handset for first time smartphone users.
Although the device does not have many high end specifications, the A79 has its own fair share of interesting features that make it worth owning. Part of the A series of gadgets by the manufacturer, this one is focused on being entertainment centric. Thus, this new smartphone could be the right choice to entertain you when you are in the mood for some fun or if you are looking for ways to overcome your boredom. Read on to know more about this dual SIM handset that is available in gray and gold color variations.
Body Material, Size and Weight
The Lava A79 undoubtedly opts for plastic as its choice of body material enclosed in a metal frame just like other devices in this price range. Interestingly, the manufacturer has taken efforts to make sure that the gadget is neither too big nor too bulky. With a size of 155 x 78.6 x 9.2 mm and a weight of 134g, the smartphone accommodates itself very well in both your hand and pocket. This makes the smartphone really compact and easy to operate with even one hand if needed.
Screen Display, Pixel Resolution and Density
The Lava device presents itself with a modest and appealing screen size of 5.5 inches with a TNFWVGA display. Although it does not present very great results with respect to clarity and display sharpness for the screen size, the A79 meets the minimum requirements with 480 x 800 pixel resolution and 170ppi pixel density. The capacitive multi-touch big size touch screen produces 16 million colors like most high end gadgets and proves to be beneficial for reading, gaming, browsing and watching movies. It also features the basic standard ambient light, proximity and accelerometer sensors although it lacks the compass, gyroscope and infrared sensors found in almost all present day handsets.
Primary and Secondary Snappers
The snappers in the Lava A79 are not a complete put off. The rear primary shooter is a 5MP camera with 2592 x 1944 image resolution, 1280 x 720 video resolution and most standard camera features. The video recording rate is 30 fps. In contrast, the front secondary 2MP shooter supports 1600 x 1200 image resolution and 720p video recording @ 30 fps. The LED flash of the rear and front cameras contribute to adding clarity to the shots clicked with the snappers.
The Smart Screenshot is one of the unique features of the A79 that is worth mentioning. This feature is used to transform scrolling pages from an app into a single image. For example if you have your chat window open, you can take a screenshot of the entire chat rather than just the portion currently visible on your screen. This makes it easier for sharing content across social platforms.The Photo timer grid is another interesting camera highlight.
Hardware, Memory and Software
Under its hood, the Lava A79 does not have any spectacular configuration to boast of. The smartphone houses the usual 1GB RAM with 8GB ROM as internal storage. Although it is possible to increase the built-in storage, the expansion is limited to 32GB. The handset uses a quad core processor that clocks at 1.2GHz and an ARM Mali-400 MP2 graphics processor.
With Android’s latest Marshmallow already available on many handsets and Android N on its way, it may be taken with a pinch of salt that the A79 still operates on the Android v5.1 Lollipop.
Battery
While the battery cannot be removed, the fact that the device sports only a 2,200 mAh Li-ion battery can prove to be a drawback considering the screen size. If you are using the handset over 2G or 3G networks, then you can expect an average of seven hours talk time and 200 hours standby time. The battery also supports around a maximum of 20 hours of music playback and five hours of video playback. This is quite less when compared to other smartphones with same size screens and bigger batteries to provide more hours of uninterrupted use. The battery in this Lava gadget also does not support quick charging and wireless charging.
Others
The Lava A79 supports GPRS, Edge, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0 connectivity options. Other interesting features of the handset include flip to mute, smart gestures and smart music. The smart music features allows you to change the music track currently being played without having to unlock or wake your handset.