14 DAY TRIAL // Indian OEM Lava Mobiles launched the Iris 503e affordable smartphone back in November, which seems to have been somewhat popular among Android users in India.
This is probably one of the reasons the company decided to launch a sequel to Lava Iris 503, but with slightly lower features but better price tag for customers.
Simply dubbed Lava Iris 503e, the smartphone is now available for purchase via eBay.in for only Rs 6,749 ($110 / €80) outright, which is a great price judging by its specs.
According to fonearena, Lava Iris 503e ships with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, which seems to have become the major platform Indian OEMs include in their entry- and mid-range handsets.
Obviously, potential customers should not expect any major updates for the Lava Iris 503e. In fact, Indian handset makers rarely offer software updates for their products, so this must be something customers in this country are already used to.
Back on the Lava Iris 503e, the smartphone’s main selling point, price tag aside, is the large 5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display. Unfortunately, the big display supports a disappointingly low 854 x 480 pixels resolution.
Still, for the price one would pay for Lava Iris 503e, this shouldn’t present as a problem. Furthermore, the budget smartphone offers dual-SIM support (GSM / GSM), which is another feature that is highly praised among Indian consumers.
You won’t be able to take two calls at the same time, but at least you will be able to fit in two SIM cards and use them alternatively.
Hardware-wise, Lava Iris 503e shows its real weaknesses. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, probably provided by MediaTek. It also packs 512MB of RAM and only 4GB of internal memory.
Even though the actual storage available for users is much smaller, Lava fitted the device with microSD card slot allowing for additional internal memory to be added via memory cards ((up to 32GB).
On the back, Lava Iris 503e sports a 5-megapixel photo snapper with LED flash and video recording, while in the front there’s a secondary 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls.
When it comes to connectivity, the Iris 503e offers most options that should be included in a low- to mid-range handsets, such as 3G and Wi-Fi support, along with Bluetooth, GPS and microUSB.
It is also worth mentioning that Lava Iris 503e is powered by a high-capacity 2,000 mAh battery and packs both FM Radio and 3.5mm audio jack so users can attach their own headphones.