The Lenovo S850 is great for selfies, and has a mean rear facing camera too.
By Andrew Yew
It seems that every device manufacturer has its own selfie dedicated device. Oddly enough, that particular feature set (a potent front-facing camera) is not baked into flagship devices as it is instead relegated to purely mid-range offerings. It is as if owners of premium devices are not fond of the occasional vanity shot. However, this move makes sense: usually consumers gun for the affordable solution, hence the brands positioning their selfie-friendly products in the affordable front. In review is Lenovo’s S850, a device that comes with powerful front and rear cameras.
Back Again
The S850 shares a similar feature as its lower-spec sibling, the S660 – namely the ‘Magic Cover’. Essentially a bumper case, it does nothing to protect the back of your case from scratches and smudges. It also retains the same slap-band ‘extension’ that lets you prop the device horizontally. It is useful when you want to view your media during your downtime or want to have your hands free during video calls.
Slightly Chunky
The S850 is wholly plastic with a silver trim lining the sides. The back has a cross-stitch pattern underneath the glossy shell, giving it some style points. The gloss does mean that it will catch smudges very, very easily. Oddly enough, the bottom is bare, with only a small cutout for the microphone. The left side has the speaker and dual-SIM slot, while the right has the power button and volume rocker. The microUSB charging and data transfer port is located beside the 3.5mm audio jack on the top of the device.
Decent Innards
Powered by a quad-core Mediatek processor and paired with 1GB of RAM, the S850 isn’t going to win benchmarks but it will at least run smoothly without massive slowdowns. There is 16GB of internal storage with no means of expansion, so you will have to plan your installations accordingly. The 5in display has a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, and hiding within is a non-removable 2150mAh battery. The operating system is Android 4.4 KitKat with Lenovo’s own overlay.
Eye See
At the back, the Lenovo S850 has a 13MP shooter, which is serviceable for most situations. What is interesting is its 5MP front-facing camera, which can actually capture quite a fair bit of detail compared to other front-facing cameras. Images are generally sharp while colours are well-saturated for both snappers.
Dimensions: 141 x 71 x 8.2mm
Weight: 140g
Display: 5in, 1280 x 720 pixels
Processor: Quad-core Mediatek MT6582
Memory: 1GB
Storage: 16GB
Camera: 13MP rear-facing, 5MP front-facing
Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat
Battery: 2,150mAh
3DMark Ice Storm: 3155
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme: 2078
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited: 2892
AnTuTu: 18216
GFXBench T-Rex: 389 (6.9fps)
GFXBench T-Rex 1080p Offscreen: 231 (4.1fps)
Anomaly 2 Normal Quality: 273673
Anomaly 2 High Quality: 114687
Basemark OS II Overall: 403
Basemark X Medium: 4836
Basemark X High: 1690
Value: 9/10
Features: 9/10
Performance: 8/10
Design: 8/10
Usability: 9/10
Total Score: 8.6/10
Verdict: This is for selfie fans who also like to take some good shots with their rear-facing camera.
