phone 5 – lenovo e156

released on 2011, i bought it on 2012. my main reason for purchasing it, is just to try out the first generation of lenovo phones. i expected lenovo e156 as a decent phone just like their laptops despite of it being the cheapest one.

i had no significant issues with connectivity. but issues are somewhere else. during calls, i cannot be heard well. on texting, specifically typing, aside from relatively hardpress keys compared to all my previous phones, the feedback is delayed. i can literally finish typing, and the phone still needs to show the last three words i already typed. that kind of lag is worse than the lag on android phones i heard during those times.

the phone is good on hand and pocketable. it may not feel as sturdy as my previous nokia phones, as the back cover easily pops out whenever i dropped it. but at least it is still working as it is up to this day. that means, it is better than my nokia 1100 and nokia 1600 in terms of longevity.

lenovo e156 has sdcard slot, able to accept up to 8gb of storage. this is good for storing audio files and some photos. viewing photos on the phone is impractical due to its 128x128 pixels, 1.5 inches display and can only show photos with small data size as the memory of the phone is not capable of handling photos with big data size.

as for playing music, the loudspeaker is… loud. but, the quality is quite low. it is flat. the phone has no 3.5mm jack, but it uses the miniUSB port for both charging and audio connection. since it is difficult (if possible) to buy such earphones having a miniUSB connector, i need to take it with extra care. it does not have bluetooth connection, too. surprisingly, even after not putting extra care, the earphones that came with it still works. the earphones are useable, but as flat as the loudspeaker.

by the way, this has no camera. so most of my battery testing has to go for music playing.

the 650mah battery was charged for 2 hours and a little more than 30 minutes. it managed to lasts for almost 2 days which is normal as a phone with few features.

battery score card

currently using as a music player aside from a backup phone – sms and calls. the latter seldom happens since i have other backup phones. those are better as it can provide web access and android apps. but then, again, this will be useful during power outages and when i need to digitally detoxify – at least, it still put me into communication line and some music.