When Xolo announced its first Windows Phone, I wasn’t really positive and it was mostly because I have not seen other OEMs to come up with a really good Windows Phone to the market apart from Nokia Lumia devices. Xolo proved me wrong here and in this post, I am detailing every aspect of the devices that is totally worth knowing about. If you want to watch the video, scroll down to the end!
Display & Screen:
This phone has left us impressed with its stunning, 4.7 inches 72P HD IPS 332 PPI display which can show more things i.e. text on the same screen size. The texts are sharp, action center has one extra item on quick settings, less scroll everywhere, and readability is a treat here.
Also, I noticed that screen is pretty bright compared to the Lumia phones I have used till date. Even at a low profile, the screen is visible but when you get out to daylight, switch to medium and it should work out. However, if you used a Lumia with clear black, you going to miss it all the time.
That said, the response to touch and swipe is very good. You feel that when playing games like Asphalt 8 and Temple Run where you do swipe a lot.
Build & Design
While it’s not one of the toughest phones in the market but it’s definitely the lightest of all Windows Phone devices out there. The phone is really sleek, has an amazing grip with matt finish rear case. Xolo had to compromise a bit to get this sleek design out which means you should be careful not to drop the phone.
That said the phone is just 7.2 mm thick with rounded corners and a metal rig runs around the body to make it look premium and adds to the strength. The buttons are placed just beside the rig its inwards making it almost invisible when seen from the front. This arrangement also makes sure you do have easy access to buttons though they are little hard to press and it’s probably because you cant have thick buttons.
The rear of the phone houses the camera and led flash on the extreme top left. This has little inconvenience though if you are used to cameras which are located on top center. Keep your fingers off the lens when taking the picture.
Those who want to know how strong is the scratch-resistant Dragon Trail Glass, its little disappointing. I already have a few scratches after using it over a week in spite of being pretty careful about using phones. Recommend using the screen guard which comes with the package.
Camera (Picture and Video Quality)
We have done a detailed review of the Camera for both daylight and low light. If you want to get into details, follow this link up else just watch this video below.
Application Performance
This phone is powered by Snapdragon 200, 1.2 GHz processor, and has 1GB RAM to do all the heavy lifting.
The hardware makes sure you won’t feel any lags when using any app. I have used WhatsApp Heavily, Twitter and Facebook all the time and there was no problem. The notifications show up properly and launch time is pretty fast.
If you are new to Windows Phone 8.1 Make sure to check out that link to learn about all the features. Also, I have an FAQ at the end.
Game Performance with Asphalt 8: Airborne
If I have to say it in one line—Brilliant Display, Amazing Performance, and no Heating Issue. This device is perfect for gaming from every possible angle. The display makes sure the gaming experience stays sharp, there is no color variation and you experience every bit of it.
During my gameplay which ran over an hour, there wasn’t any performance lag even though the game was on Class 10 MicroSD card. A lot of wrecks were enough to tell us that. However, I did feel the FPS was kind of low which came in the way a lot many times.
Also, even being thin there is no heating issue even when you play for such long hours. Check out the gaming review below.
The battery drop was 1% on an average for every 15 minutes of gameplay with this game. It may change though when you change the game.
Battery:
- Day 1 & 2 ( 3G & Casual Usage) : Average of 15 to 16 hours. (1st Charge)
- Day 3: 3G / WIFI / Download / Music and Games: 12 to 13 hours. (2nd Charge)
- Day 4: Everything Possible and it still lasted for 14 hours.
- Day 5: This was crazy and with almost everything it survived for 26 hours with 6 hours of standby time.
What you should notice is that the phone’s battery life improved after 2 charges. I used the phone a lot from every aspect on Day 4 and it still lasted for straight 14 hours. Not to miss the Day 5 results.
Apps used: WhatsApp, Camera, Asphalt 8 Airborne, Mehdoh for Twitter, Music, Facebook App, and Messenger.
Overall, the battery performance is impressive The phone is going to last for all-day i.e. 16 to 18 hours and you should be back to your charging station by that tome on an average.
Storage:
The phone comes with 8 GB of internal storage of which you get 4.5 GB to use. While 8 GB is just fine for most of the users but if you want to expand, grab a microSD card of Class 10 and move all your apps. That class will make sure that you get performance and space both to get you the best experience.
Music Experience:
WIN Q900S comes with powerful speakers, loud enough for listening to music, watching movies, and playing games. While the sound stays loud when you are holding, but it cuts down by half when you lay it on flat on a table. The phone rear is a perfectly flat and there is no curve for the audio to escape.
When used with earphones, it delivers an amazing experience. I had no issues with the level of loudness or bass.
A lot of people asked if the phone comes with equalizer and the answer is no and none of the players on Windows Phone, as of now, support that.
F.A.Q
- It runs on Windows Phone 8.1
- Playback HD video but it’s limited to 720P
- You can do internet sharing and in the coming days, it will be possible to share it over Bluetooth as well.
- The apps and games can be moved to SD Card and they do well there.
- All your SMS is backed up on the cloud and you can have it back even after a reset.
Video Review
Conclusion:
[wp-review]
Overall, it’s a highly recommended phone at this price point. Not only you get a screen guard and a flip case as a deal, the amazing display quality, but the lightness of the phone and performance is also brilliant. While the camera is a great deal for daylight pictures, the low light are not that good even though it has flash. Not to forget the battery life which will last for a day anytime.
That said, the phone is priced at Rs 10,000 or less and you can go ahead and buy it!
Hello Ashish, I am Vijay here… I am in so much dilemma about which windows phone to choose… I have trust in you, as only you will give satisfactory answers to following questions…. Please.. your urgent help needed in that matter….
I am in love with this phone viz XOLO win q900s. I am already big fan of Nokia Mid range devices and I posses 3.5 yr old Nokia c6-01 with belle refresh working in good condition. I love Windows OS 8.1 and wants this as my primary smartphone os… followings are my Qs:-
1) Does this phone supports 720p HD Video recording with/without flash? or its stuck with 480p only? much confusing statements on Internet and not reliable…
2) Does this phone has Clear Black coating? Is IPS display ok? as I am using AMOLED Clearblack right now… will it suffers a lot?
3) This phone has reversed the keys for back and search. Anything to revert to original windows os flavour can be done? any external software?
4) Is XOLO good enough OEM to roll out device specific firmware update? as u mentioned Autofocus is bit glitchy most of the time…will it get corrected…?
5) Last but not the least, Is it upgradeable to upcoming Microsoft OS? / OS 9?
I liked recently released Nokia Lumia 830 but not afford right now or should I move to Lumia 530, a more sorry but basic device to tinker the OS?
Your heartily opinion much needed in this regard and will also be beneficial to other readers as well. Thanks in advance…. Reply soon…
1) No. Its only 480P Recording. If you check the camera review, I have mentioned it there.
2) There is clear black but sunlight readability is good. Only thing you need do is increase brightness level to medium or hight.
3) The buttons cannot be swapped and its not a problem but there is no option.
4) Cannot guarantee on what OEM will do but since its a new device, The updates will be rolled out for next 18 months for sure. MS delivers the update directly to phone, so it should not be a problem.
5) Again, I cannot comment if its upgradable to next version as I have no idea. However Things wont change drastically as it happened with Windows Phone 7.5
I would suggest you to pickup a 10K device like the XOLO and not a 530. Here is my review of Lumia 530. The problem with low end is storage and ram both. While RAM can still be overlooked, 4 GB is not enough.
The only thing you will miss on Non Lumia device will be the Lumia experience. Lot of apps and features which only Lumia devices have.
hey! what apps are there for navigation!? is it here maps? or bing maps? because of it’s bing maps i dont think they’re good! can you please tell me about the gps and navigation in the phone?
Hii Mr. Asish…
I have been reading your reviews for quite some time now on wpxbox.com and it had helped me a lot. Just yesterday, i purchased a Xolo Win Q900S and having facing this weird problem ever since. It fails to connect to my microsoft account..stating that it needs an activation code. I called up their customer support and they suggested me to visit the service centre..and in the centre they don’t have any clue about the problem. They told me to contact them by next week as they were trying to find out some solution. I am unable to access the WP store right now. As i saw in ur video review, u were playing asphalt 8…i presume u didn’t face such problems. Please help me with this one .
P.S. Now i can feel the difference between nokia and the indian OEMS….having already owned a nokia lumia 720
Hi Avishek, Can you post a screenshot of the activation code?
surely….but where do i post it?
okay i have posted in the facebook page of your review of mmx win 121….as a LIKE..found it easier to do so….sorry
Hi Ashish, This is Siva here. I have recently purchased this phone and the video playback for 720p videos seem to be choppy at best. Videos of lower resolutions seem to be running fine. Is this a problem only in my particular case? or have you encountered the problem as well? I would be very thankful for any help in this matter.
It’s not the Dragon Trail Glass that got scratched, it’s the oleophobic coating added on top of it. This is why I prefer the screens without any oleophobic coating. (I suppose Micromax Canvas W121 doesn’t have oleophobic coating, does it?)
Playing 720p is obviously tricky for any Snapdragon 200 powered device. Just look at how Lumia 530 performs.
Sir.. i have seen people telling that it has wifi problem ….is it real i mean did you find any such problems???
Hay Nayacker, I did not face any such problem. What is the exact issue?
Interesting. Problem is when I show this to others, they feel its a scratch though. Nope Canvas W121 doesnt have this. Does this coating makes thing smoother?
Hey Siva, It runs ok for me, but let me try out more. I know the processor has bit of restriction though. For example the processor on Canvas Win 121 doesnt play HD videos.
hi how to get my sms frm android to windows mobile…here in xolo…
all people are telling that WiFi signals are not able to receive by this device from router when you r long from router approx only 4 meters it was working so many comments are here in gsmarena
and wht about the video playing on this device 1080p will play are not
Hey what OS u use in your laptop…if you use win 8..u can synch that account to your mobile also. And really its no big deal…go to hotmail.com and log in…if you have problem in logging in..simply click trouble in logging in and change the setting for activation method…well i use Q900S and Win 8 in my laptop so all settings got synchronized..I was a hard core android user..but i m a fan of windows lightening performance and transition effect..and xolo 900s is the best one at its range… for your problem microsoft is responsible..so take support from them..
Yes the wifi antenna is not very powerful and the signal disrupts….but again u have to see wat type of router u r using..defintely XOLO wifi anteena not good as good as samsung or Sony.. but it works fine in an open area… it depends on wall thickness of your home..but i ll also accept changing frm 2g to 3g is really good in xolo…
Its not true for 4 meters..i have used it more than 6 meters..it still catches..and it doesnt play 1080p..u cant expect even at 8700 INR with another offer to get 10% cashback.. lol
THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEW.
YOU TOLD THAT SCREEN GUARD AND FLIP COVER INCLUDED,IS IT WRITTEN ON BOX ALSO.
I HAVE CONIRMED FROM SNAPDEAL AND AMAZON THAT BOTH ARE NOT INCLUDED IN BOX ACCESSORIES.
IS IT WRITTEN ON BOX ALSO PLEASE CONFIRM.
Try downloading MoliPlayer from the Store for playing 720p videos. Since the Processor is a Snapdragon 200 and Adreno 302 it might be choppy.
Sir i came to know that this phone dont have xbox and how can i download games like asphalt 8
Does your issue resolved ?
Yes, Wifi reception is very bad in this mobile and HD vidoes are not playing unless you convert it.
If you are 5 m away from the router, internet connectivity is lost.
I contacted customer support, they adviced me to take the set to XOLO service center.
Does it plays 1080p video ?…please tell soon, i’m thinking of buying this phone
Nope. Even if it does, its damn slow and crappy
Great review Ashish. However, is there a real problem with WiFi as is being reported by many people? Also, does it play 720p videos without a problem?
akash