Quad-core chip and brushed metal in Lenovo’s dirt cheap Android phone: Lenovo S660 goes official

Lenovo announced a trio of new Android smartphones at MWC, and the Lenovo S660 is the most affordable in the lineup. Yet, it packs the same 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek system chip as the others, a relatively high-res 8-megapixel rear camera, and a brushed-metal finish. Not bad for a device that costs $229 off-contract, is it?

The brushed metal back is said to resist scratches and fingerprints, and it’s definitely one of the highlights of a device in a class where most other gadgets are plastic. It’s not among the slimmest (9.95mm), or lightest (0.33lb) phones out there, but the sturdy material should be appreciated. The other big highlight? A huge, 3000mAh “all day battery” that is also user replaceable.

Apart from that, the Lenovo S660 comes with a 4.7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels (qHD), and that relatively low resolution is probably the biggest compromise involved in this phone.

There is a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek chip under the hood (likely, the MT6582) with 1GB of RAM that should be more than enough for delivering a smooth Android experience. Speaking of Android, it comes with 4.2 Jelly Bean.

The Lenovo S660 features an 8-megapixel rear camera (and that’s a higher than the average resolution for its class), and a 0.3-megapixel VGA front shooter. Internal storage is 8GB, but it’s expandable via microSD cards of up to 32GB. Finally, the device also supports 3G connectivity, and dual SIM cards.

All in all, we’re excited to see features like a metal body and a huge battery in such an affordable phone. What about you?