Camera and Internal Storage
Lava Iris 500 comes with a very standard 5 MP AF rear shooter, LED flash and an elementary VGA camera at the front. We don’t expect great photography experience at this price point, and thus imaging hardware shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Xiaomi Redmi 1S and Lumia 520 are some of the devices in the nearby price range with capable imaging hardware. Internal storage is paltry 4 GB and this should be a limiting factor for aggressive users. You can however use up to 32 GB of secondary MicroSD storage.
Processor and Battery
Lava Iris 500 employs the tried and tested 1.3 GHz quad core MT6582 SoC but with scanty 512 MB RAM. for around 500 INR more you can opt for Android One phones like Karbonn Sparkle V which will offer 1 GB RAM for efficient performance over a longer period of time. Battery capacity is 1800 mAh which again sounds decent enough for the asking price. Lava hasn’t revealed battery usage stats as of now.
Display and Other Features
The IPS LCD display is 5 inches in size with 480 x 854 amounting to 196 pixels per inches. It’s not the sharpest one around but should be usable for first time Android users. Lava hasn’t used any kind of scratch resistance layer on the display. Software is Android 4.4 Kitkat while other features include 3G, GPRS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro-USB and Bluetooth 4.0.
Comparison
Lava Iris 500 will compete with phones like Asus Zenfone 4, Xiaomi Redmi 1S, Spice Dream Uno and Karbonn Sparkle V in India.
Key Specs
What we Like
5 Inch IPS LCD DisplayAndroid KitKat
What we Don’t Like
Only 512 MB RAM
Conclusion
Lava Iris 500 appears to be a decent device for first time Android users. Some justified compromises have been made to accommodate the low price tag and perhaps by spending another 500 to 1000 INR, you can get several better performance options.
