The Xolo X500 is another Intel Atom powered Android phone clocked at 1.2GHz with Hyper Threading technology coupled with PowerVR SGX 540 GPU running ICS OS. The handset is priced at approx Rs. 9,000.
Box Pack
The all white and simple looking box pack houses the Xolo X500 handset, 1500 mAh battery, earphone, micro USB to USB cable, power adapter, warranty card and user guide.
Design and display
After reviewing many 4,4.5, 5 and even 6 inch handsets this handset looks too small. It is with a 3.5 inch screen that too with a HVGA resolution (What!) well yes its 480×320 pixels. You can get better resolution handsets for such a price.
The power buttons is placed on the right side, the volume rockers on the left and 3.5mm jack with micro USB port on the top. There are 4 touch buttons on the front side.
Performance
The Xolo X500 comes loaded with Intel Atom Z2420 CPU model Dual Core X86 (Hyper threading) (SSSE3) clocked @ 1.2GHz with PowerVR SGX 540 GPU. The performance is excellent. This handset runs ICS OS with 512MB RAM with 4GB internal storage. The OS is upgradeable to Jelly Bean.
- Of the 512MB RAM : 211 MB free and 255MB used.
- Of 4GB internal storage 1.4GB is available and 203MB is used.
Benchmark scores are impressive but I guess the low resolution screen also contributed a lot.
- Quadrant Benchmark : 3171.
- Antutu Benchmark : 12141.
- Nenamark2 : 60fps.
- Linpack : Single 63, Multi 57.
- Multi touch : 10 point (on a 3.5 inch screen try it 🙂 )
Entertainment
The handset looks smaller than most handsets, weighs about 132grams and is 12.5mm thick. However the Xolo X500 can play full HD videos i.e. 1080p resolution.
Connectivity
There is 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 3.5mm jack and micor USB port.
Camera
The 5MP auto focus camera does a decent job. There is not LED flash support and there is no front camera either. You can check the sample images at the end of the article. The auto focus is good but at times is not able to focus properly.
The rear camera can also record full HD videos 1080p at 28fps. You can check the sample video at the end of the article.
Others
The sound quality is loud and clear. The display is not that sharp. If you have used a higher resolution handset before you will be disappointed.
GPS works well. There are light, proximity, Gsensor and magnetic sensor. There is only 1.4GB storage space (which is used for apps) there is not option to move apps to external SD card.
Battery
I did not get time to check the battery performance but based on the brief experience I believe it will easily go beyond 24 hours on a full charge.
Xolo X500 review
No doubt the benchmark score will temp you to buy this handset, but what good is the performance when the display is not good enough. The 480×320 pixels (HVGA) resolution with 16M colours is the weakest link and probably will keep many uses away. The low resolution also helps pump up the benchmark scores. If you have used a 4 or higher screen sized smartphone before, the X500 will be more disappointing.
Image Gallery
Sample images shot using X500
Xolo X500 unboxing and review video
1080p raw shot using the X500 camera
[poll id=”50″]