Xolo A500 review and Unboxing – 1GHz dual core for under Rs. 7000

The Xolo A500 comes powered by a dual core Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 8225 processor with 512MB RAM, 4 inch LCD screen and 5MP fixed focus camera. The handset is priced at Rs. 6,999 but you can get it for as low as Rs. 6,500 from local market.

I believe the hardware and most of the specs are almost similar to the Videocon A30 that is also priced at around the same. This is a low cost dual core handset by Xolo sold by Lava International.

A500 box pack
The box is white colour and looks similar to the Xolo A800 packing. Inside you will find the handset, charger, battery, earphone, USB to micro USB cable, warranty statement, a screen guard and quick start guide.

Design
The A500 weighs 122 grams with an 11.8mm thickness. It is bulkier in the center and slimmer towards the edges. There are 3 touch sensitive buttons on front side with in-call speaker, sensors and front camera.

The power button is on the right, volume rockers on the left side, 3.5mm jack on top and micro USB port at the bottom. The rear side is back color with matt finishing (depending on the colour you choose (Black or White)).

Under the hood
As mentioned the dual SIM handset is with 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, Dual Core processor (QRD MSM 8225) with Adreno 203 GPU that supports HD gaming. The QRD stands for Qualcomm Reference Design – low cost core to compete with low cost MediaTek processors.

The handset comes with 512MB RAM and 4GB internal storage. The storage space for apps is excellent; however the free RAM is low. The handset runs on the Android 4.0.4 (ICS) OS.

• Of the 512MB RAM about 143 MB is free.
• Of the 4GB internal storage: 1.8GB is allocated for apps storage and 0.96 GB as internal storage.
• You can select preferred install location for example the  external SD card and apps do install on the external SD card.
• When you tap the app option in settings you get two options.

The ROM seems a little different and tweaked. There are few options on the top screen menu and for example when you enable the Wi-Fi, you will see a box with the list of access point and the one you are connecting to. The ROM has been modified it’s not like the ones you see on other handsets.

Display
The TFT LCD screen is 4 inches supporting resolution of 800×480 pixels. Touch is really smooth and responsive. The viewing angle is okay.  You can view the display in direct sunlight with full brightness or with auto brightness option.

Performance
The benchmark scores are as follows:

• Quadrant Benchmark: 2490.
• Antutu Benchmark: 6022.
• Nenamark2: 27.0fps.
• Linpack: Single 42, Multi 72.
• Multi Touch: 2 points.

Connectivity
The handset supports 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS without AGPS support and Bluetooth. With 3G you can enjoy high speed net at max 7.2Mbps (HSDPA).  There is built in GPS without A-GPS support, even then I got a lock within 10 seconds.

Gaming
You can check the gaming video at the end of the article. The Adreno 203 is capable of playing many HD games but I feel the mediatek’s PowerVR 531 SGX is slightly better than this. Moreover the low RAM spoils the fun. But for the price you shouldn’t complain.

I could install many games but some games like the Dead trigger crashed the Google play app (see the gaming video).

Camera
The rear camera is a 5MP fixed focus with led flash. The still picture quality is good, however like with every smartphone the LED flash is not sufficient enough to get better quality images in low light conditions.

There is front camera but native video calling is not supported. The camera interface is slightly modified with several new options. You can record videos in 720p resolution but the quality is not that good. 720p videos are recorded in 3gp mode with 16 fps.

You get a black border on the right and bottom side on all still images check the sample images here – http://www.flickr.com/photos/gogirana/sets/72157632616178136/

Entertainment
The handset cannot play 720p videos smoothly. Sound output is loud, a little higher than as on A110.

Battery
The battery is of 1500 mAh capacity. If you use 3G, Wi-Fi or play games the battery will discharge much faster. I did the gaming video and also played a game for few minutes.  In all I used the device for approx 15 minutes and the battery percent dropped 11%. The handset heats up a little but it’s acceptable.

Xolo A500 review
A low cost dual core smartphone for under Rs. 7,000 ( You can get it for around Rs. 6,500 ). A powerful phone with ICS OS but with limited free memory. Even then the handset performs well but it could lag once you start adding too many apps. The internal storage space is really good that can fit in  a lot more apps.

The A500 can play many games but do not expect every game to work. The 5MP fixed focus camera is good for still outdoor photography but the 720p video quality is not at all good. The 720p videos that played well on Xolo A700 and Xolo 800 did not play smoothly. A good buy for 6,500 but do not expect much from the camera. The A500 is also beats all the single core handsets that are priced at around the same for example the  Micromax A68 that comes for Rs. 6,500.

Image Gallery

Xolo A500 unboxing and review video

720p video shot using Xolo A500

Xolo A500 gaming and video playback review