Xolo has recently started offering affordable quad-core smartphones
under its 'Q series'. The first smartphone in this series was the Xolo
Q800. Recently the company added the Q700 to the list. The Xolo Q700 is
priced at Rs. 9,999 and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).
In this
review we try to find out whether this smartphone is a worth the bucks
or has Xolo cut corners to deliver a sub-Rs. 10,000 offering.
Hardware/ Design
Xolo
as a company is known for launching good looking smartphones such as
Xolo X1000 and Xolo A1000. We were pleasantly surprised that the company
did not comprise on the design and build quality for their under Rs.
10,000 smartphone either.
The Xolo X700 does not offer a path
breaking design, sporting a rectangular frame with rounded corners. It
comes with 4.5-inch qHD display, which has an edge-to-edge glass. The
smartphone seems to be just the right size, neither too large nor too
small. The device is 10.2mm thick, so it is not going to fit in the
category of the size zero smartphones doing the round. The smartphone
weighs 151.3 grams but does not feel too heavy.
The body of Xolo
Q700 is made primarily of plastic and its back has a rubberised finish,
which helps in giving this smartphone a premium look and also makes it
easy to hold.
The volume rocker is placed on the right panel while
the power/ standby button is on the left panel. The top panel houses
the USB port and 3.5mm jack. The front panel also has three capacitive
buttons for Menu, Home and Back. However, these buttons are not backlit,
which makes them difficult to use in dark.
Display
The Xolo Q700 comes with 4.5-inch qHD (540 x960 pixels) OGS IPS display capable of showing 16M colours.
The
resolution and the viewing angles are good for a smartphone worth Rs.
10,000. You can easily read texts, browse pictures and watch YouTube
videos on this screen.
Under sun visibility on the Xolo Q700 is
average and the screen used in this smartphone is reflective. The
downside of this screen is that it is a finger print magnet and even
prone to scratches. However, the company has bundled in a screen guard
along with the purchase of this smartphone.
The touchscreen on the Xolo Q700 is fairly responsive.
Camera
The
Xolo Q700 packs in a 5-megapixel rear camera with Back Side
Illumination (BSI) sensor. The pictures captured through this camera in
the broad day light are good. The images are sharp and the colour
reproduction seems to be good.
However, the same cannot be said
for the low-light shots. The camera is also capable of capturing videos
at 720p HD resolution, which are of average quality.
The
smartphone also comes with 0.3-megapixel front camera for capturing
self-images and doing video chats. The images clicked through the same
are grainy.
Software/ Interface
The Xolo Q700 runs on
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) out of the box. Hence, one can enjoy many
features such as lock screen widgets, Day dream, Quick Settings, et al,
which are not available on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).

There are five
customisable home screens to fill with apps and widgets. The lock
screen and the setting menu of the Xolo Q700 looks pretty much like on
any other stock Android smartphone. However, the app categories on this
smartphone have been tweaked slightly. The apps are listed under four
major heads Main, Apps, Games and Widgets, as opposed to having just two
main categories for Apps and Widgets.
The company has not
pre-loaded many apps on this smartphone but one can download all that
you need from the Google Play store. Xolo has bundled in some of its own
apps such as Xolo Care, Xolo Power, Xolo Secure and Xolo Switch on this
smartphone.
The Xolo Care app was also pre-installed on some of
the previous Xolo smartphones that we have reviewed. Its primary
function is to help access the customer care in a jiffy. However, the
apps Xolo Power and Xolo Switch have been introduced for the first time
with this smartphone.
With the help of the Xolo Power app you can
manage the battery of the Xolo Q700 in a better fashion. The Xolo Power
app gives an estimated battery back that the user will get based on the
applications that are currently running. It also suggests the battery
you can save by cutting one or more apps or connectivity options. The
app also comes with a 'Low battery mode'. If you enable this mode, then
the smartphone will disables Wi-Fi, data GPS, Bluetooth and reduces
screen brightness to converse battery, when the battery is about to
drain off.

As the name suggests Xolo Secure app is an app that
helps in keeping your smartphone protected. It helps in locking your
smartphone and to track it remotely in case it is lost.
With the
help of the Xolo Switch app, you can create multiple profiles on the
smartphone and easily switch between them. The app also comes with a kid
mode, which can be switched on.
The smartphone also comes with an
app called Kids Tube, which filters content on YouTube and only shows
content fit to be viewed by children.
Performance/ Battery Life
The
Xolo Q700 is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589M processor
with PowerVR SGX544 GPU. The smartphone also packs in 1GB of RAM and 4GB
of internal storage, out of which 2.70 GB is user accessible.
The
smartphone functions smoothly while performing routine tasks and
navigating through menus. The smartphone is also capable of handling a
bit of multi-tasking. Playing popular games such as Subway Surfer,
Temple Run 2 and Fruit Ninja is a pleasant experience.

The Xolo Q700 comes with a native Android browser, which renders web pages well.
The
Xolo Q700 is also does a good job playing back audios and videos from
the microSD card. The audio quality through speakers is good but average
through headphones. The native video player on board did not support
MP4 videos. However, this problem can be fixed by downloading an app
from the Google Play.
The call quality on the smartphone is satisfactory.
The
smartphone features a 2,400mAh battery, which we think gives an
impressive battery backup. Based on our usage, the smartphone is easily
able to last almost a day and half on a single charge. With medium to
heavy usage, including 2-2.5 hours of phone calls, about 30 minutes of
Skype call, one Gmail account with push notifications, screen at maximum
brightness, Twitter and Facebook notifications and WhatsApp chats, the
Xolo Q700 lasted good 30-31 hours.
It's also worth pointing out
that we had turned on Wi-Fi and switched off auto-brightness. Altering
these settings and using the Xolo Power app might help in running the
phone for a longer duration, depending on your usage pattern.
Verdict
In
our mind the Xolo Q700 is a great value for money proposition. The
smartphone offers a good battery backup, looks sophisticated for a Rs.
10,000 phone and has a decent display. The only real disappoint for this
smartphone comes from the camera department, which does not perform too
well especially in low light.
If you are looking for options
other than the Q700, you might want to check out the Sony Xperia E dual . This smartphone has a better
brand name but you will have to comprise in screen size and battery
performance.
You can also check out Micromax's Canvas 2 and Karbonn S1 Titanium.
However, Karbonn S1 Titanium is about a Rs. 1,000
more expensive than the Xolo offering.
Pros
- Good design and build
- Good battery back-up
Cons