Xolo Play T1000 Review
Xolo, a product from Lava International, has
been pushing Android smartphones into the Indian market like hot cakes. A
while ago, we did see a few X and Q series smartphones powered by the
famous MTK SoC sporting dual and quad-core processors. We also did see
the X1000 based on the Intel chipset variant, which did not quite make
it to the top. This time, Xolo has roped in Tegra chipsets in its latest
flagship smartphone, the Play T1000. Supposedly meant for hardcore
gaming, this quad-core processor-based smartphone is aimed towards the
mobile platform gamers. Let’s have a peek at how the Play performs apart
from what it speaks on paper.
Design and build
At first glance, the Xolo did not manage to impress us with the aesthetics. It looked like a regular smartphone with an all-black exterior. The front panel is all-glass with a shiny trim around it. Three LED backlit buttons for Home, Back and Menu are available on the bottom and the earpiece with the front-facing camera are seen towards the top. Sadly, we did notice the backlight a little too dim than normal. The rear panel has a rubber finish, which helps gripping the phone while using it. The rear panel sports the main shooter, an LED flash and the speaker grille. Below the rear panel is the battery, SIM slot and the storage expansion slot as usual.
On the build front, we did find a minor flaw—the rear panel does not flush neatly with the rest of the frame and there is a gap of less than a millimeter between the two. It seems as though the rear panel is not an original one because of the offset. It could be a possibility that the piece we received has the faulty rear panel, but we are not sure and cannot comment on it. A little research on the Internet about the phone and we bumped into another Chinese make handset, the Beidou Little Pepper Q1, which is an identical replica of the phone, both internally and externally. The only difference is the name printed on it and a few differences here and there. Other than this issue, we did not find any other flaws or drawbacks with the phone to report. The power and volume rocker take their place on the right side while the micro USB and audio ports are on the top. We also noticed that the volume and power buttons lack proper tactility. This could mean that the rear panel is not properly designed for the chassis. The unit seems a tad heavier and thicker than most new smartphones that are heading the opposite way in size and weight. It measures 70 x 138.4 x 10.4 mm and weighs 167 g.
Features
Surprisingly, the Xolo Play is the first budget Android smartphone we have seen sporting a single SIM GSM slot unlike others which provide two. Similar to the HTC One X and the LG Optimus 4X HD, the Xolo Play T1000 is also based on the Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset. The Tegra3 SoC sports a quad-core processor with a clock speed of 1.5GHz and a 12-core ULP GeForce GPU. A fifth core is also reported to be present on the SoC and is especially put in charge of battery saving. We did expect the next generation Tegra 4 to be seen in newer handsets, since Tegra 3 is almost two years older. Tegra 4 chipset is almost 6 times faster than the older sibling and is expected to give you richer details and better gaming experience.
Moving on, the system is supplied a total of 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The storage is shared by the system and apps and you get around 1.9GB of space to store your data. You can expand the storage by up to 32GB using a microSD card as usual. The display panel is a decently sized 4.7-incher sporting an HD resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The panel is an IPS type and uses the OGS or One Glass Solution Technology, where the LCD display and the touch panel is actually laminated into one single layer of glass to eliminate any gaps causing reflections and help reduce the overall thickness of the phone.
The two cameras featured here are 8 megapixel and 2 megapixel—for the rear and front panel respectively. The rear camera has an LED flash for night shots. The Play has the standard connectivity options, which include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 3G and a micro USB PC interface. The Play is fuelled by a 2000 mAh battery, with the manufacturer claiming a total talk time of 9-11 hours and a standby time of around 227 hours. The Xolo Play T1000 is powered by Google’s Android Jelly Bean v4.1.1 operating system, but there are no talks about an upgrade to V4.2 or Key Lime Pie as yet.
4.7-inch HD IPS display, rubberised rear panel
Design and build
At first glance, the Xolo did not manage to impress us with the aesthetics. It looked like a regular smartphone with an all-black exterior. The front panel is all-glass with a shiny trim around it. Three LED backlit buttons for Home, Back and Menu are available on the bottom and the earpiece with the front-facing camera are seen towards the top. Sadly, we did notice the backlight a little too dim than normal. The rear panel has a rubber finish, which helps gripping the phone while using it. The rear panel sports the main shooter, an LED flash and the speaker grille. Below the rear panel is the battery, SIM slot and the storage expansion slot as usual.
2000 mAh battery, 8MP rear camera with LED flash, Single SIM GSM smartphone
On the build front, we did find a minor flaw—the rear panel does not flush neatly with the rest of the frame and there is a gap of less than a millimeter between the two. It seems as though the rear panel is not an original one because of the offset. It could be a possibility that the piece we received has the faulty rear panel, but we are not sure and cannot comment on it. A little research on the Internet about the phone and we bumped into another Chinese make handset, the Beidou Little Pepper Q1, which is an identical replica of the phone, both internally and externally. The only difference is the name printed on it and a few differences here and there. Other than this issue, we did not find any other flaws or drawbacks with the phone to report. The power and volume rocker take their place on the right side while the micro USB and audio ports are on the top. We also noticed that the volume and power buttons lack proper tactility. This could mean that the rear panel is not properly designed for the chassis. The unit seems a tad heavier and thicker than most new smartphones that are heading the opposite way in size and weight. It measures 70 x 138.4 x 10.4 mm and weighs 167 g.
volume rocker and power button on the right side
Features
Surprisingly, the Xolo Play is the first budget Android smartphone we have seen sporting a single SIM GSM slot unlike others which provide two. Similar to the HTC One X and the LG Optimus 4X HD, the Xolo Play T1000 is also based on the Nvidia Tegra 3 chipset. The Tegra3 SoC sports a quad-core processor with a clock speed of 1.5GHz and a 12-core ULP GeForce GPU. A fifth core is also reported to be present on the SoC and is especially put in charge of battery saving. We did expect the next generation Tegra 4 to be seen in newer handsets, since Tegra 3 is almost two years older. Tegra 4 chipset is almost 6 times faster than the older sibling and is expected to give you richer details and better gaming experience.
Built using a Tegra 3 processor with 1GB RAM and 4GB internal storage
Moving on, the system is supplied a total of 1GB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. The storage is shared by the system and apps and you get around 1.9GB of space to store your data. You can expand the storage by up to 32GB using a microSD card as usual. The display panel is a decently sized 4.7-incher sporting an HD resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The panel is an IPS type and uses the OGS or One Glass Solution Technology, where the LCD display and the touch panel is actually laminated into one single layer of glass to eliminate any gaps causing reflections and help reduce the overall thickness of the phone.
10.4 mm thick, 167 grams in weight. Notice that the rear panel is not in sync with the chassis
The two cameras featured here are 8 megapixel and 2 megapixel—for the rear and front panel respectively. The rear camera has an LED flash for night shots. The Play has the standard connectivity options, which include Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 3G and a micro USB PC interface. The Play is fuelled by a 2000 mAh battery, with the manufacturer claiming a total talk time of 9-11 hours and a standby time of around 227 hours. The Xolo Play T1000 is powered by Google’s Android Jelly Bean v4.1.1 operating system, but there are no talks about an upgrade to V4.2 or Key Lime Pie as yet.
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