Lenovo K900 hands-on: a 5.5-inch phablet with Intel inside
The Lenovo K900 arrived in a market that was rapidly shifting toward larger screens, and the handset offered one of the most distinctive combinations of internal components available in 2013. With a 5.5-inch display and an Intel Atom processor, the device stood out from the Qualcomm- and MediaTek-dominated Android crowd that buyers were used to seeing on Australian shelves. Early coverage from outlets like CNET Australia and Gizmodo AU treated it as a curiosity worth examining, particularly because it shipped with the Clover Trail+ platform rather than the ARM-based silicon most Australians associated with the operating system. Learn more about Lg G Pad 8 3 The 8 3 Inch Tablet With A Snapdragon 600 And Ir Remote.
For shoppers in Sydney and Melbourne browsing the phablet category, the K900 represented something different from the Samsung Galaxy Note II or the HTC One X+ that were filling shop displays. Lenovo pitched the handset as a premium product with a stainless steel frame, a 6.9 mm chassis, and a 13-megapixel camera. The combination of materials and dimensions made it one of the thinnest phones of its size during the first half of 2013, and that engineering choice shaped how the device felt during everyday use.
Pricing for the device hovered around ₹32,000 in India at launch, which translated roughly to AUD 600 depending on import duties and retailer margins. Australians who wanted one generally sourced it through grey-market importers or specialty stores rather than carrier partnerships, since Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone did not officially stock the K900. That indirect availability shaped early impressions and influenced how the phone was discussed in local forums and reviews.
What follows is a look at the hardware, performance, and market reception of the K900, with attention to the elements that mattered most to buyers considering a non-mainstream flagship in 2013.
Hardware and build quality
The Lenovo K900 measured 157 mm tall, 78 mm wide, and just 6.9 mm thick, making it remarkably slim for a device with a 5.5-inch screen. Lenovo used a stainless steel and polycarbonate combination for the chassis, and the resulting weight of 162 grams felt balanced in the hand. Reviewers noted that the flat back and squared edges gave the phone a more industrial appearance than the curved designs Samsung and HTC were promoting at the time.
Build quality received generally positive marks from technology publications. The stainless steel band running around the perimeter added rigidity, and the unibody construction meant there was no removable back cover or user-replaceable battery. For Australian buyers who were accustomed to swappable batteries from previous Android devices, this was a notable shift in design philosophy. The non-removable 2500 mAh cell was a trade-off that enabled the thin profile.
Physical controls were kept to a minimum. A power button sat on the top edge, a volume rocker lived on the right side, and the micro-SIM tray was accessible from the left flank. There was no microSD card slot, which limited storage to either 16 GB or 32 GB depending on the variant purchased. Lenovo did not release a 64 GB version, so users who wanted more space had to rely on cloud services or OTG drives for additional capacity.
Display and media experience
The IPS LCD panel on the K900 measured 5.5 inches diagonally and carried a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels. That gave the screen a pixel density of roughly 400 ppi, which was competitive with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One released the same year. Text appeared sharp, and high-resolution images showed the kind of detail that 1080p had just begun to bring to smartphones in early 2013.
Brightness levels were adequate for outdoor use in Australian conditions, though the display struggled a bit under direct Perth summer sun compared to AMOLED panels of the era. Colours leaned toward natural rather than oversaturated, which worked well for reading and browsing but made video content look slightly less vibrant than Samsung's competing flagships. Viewing angles were solid thanks to the IPS technology, so sharing a YouTube clip with friends sitting nearby did not produce noticeable colour shifts.
Audio was handled by a single rear-mounted speaker, which delivered passable volume but lacked the depth of front-facing solutions. For media consumption on a flight from Sydney to Perth, most users would reach for headphones rather than rely on the built-in loudspeaker. The phone supported Bluetooth 3.0 for wireless audio, which worked well with the Bluetooth headsets sold at Australian retailers like JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman.
Intel Atom Z2580 performance
The Z2580 chip inside the K900 was the centrepiece of the device's identity. Built on Intel's Clover Trail+ architecture, the dual-core processor ran at 2.0 GHz and was paired with a PowerVR SGX544 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. At launch, this was one of the few Android phones shipping with x86 silicon rather than ARM, which raised questions about app compatibility and real-world performance.
In benchmark testing, the K900 posted strong CPU scores that often exceeded the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro found in devices like the Nexus 4 and LG Optimus G. Browser-based benchmarks favoured the Atom architecture, and single-threaded tasks such as launching apps or opening web pages felt responsive. The GPU, however, trailed Adreno 320 in graphics-heavy workloads, which showed up in 3D gaming benchmarks.
App compatibility turned out to be less of a problem than skeptics anticipated. By mid-2013, the vast majority of Play Store apps had been recompiled for x86 or shipped with ARM-via-translation support. Popular Australian apps such as AFL Live, CommBank, and Spotify all ran without major issues. PowerVR graphics drivers occasionally produced rendering glitches in less-optimised 3D titles, but those were the exception rather than the rule.
Camera quality and imaging
The rear-facing camera carried a 13-megapixel sensor with an f/1.8 lens, which was a bright aperture for a phone released in 2013. Lenovo included a single LED flash, autofocus, and the ability to record 1080p video at 30 fps. The front-facing camera weighed in at 2 megapixels, which was sufficient for video calls over apps like Skype and Hangouts but underwhelming for selfies by later standards.
In daylight conditions, the K900 produced detailed images with reasonable dynamic range. Macro shots benefited from the wide aperture, which allowed for some natural background blur without relying on software tricks. The camera interface borrowed elements from Lenovo's earlier Android skins and offered an HDR mode, panorama capture, and a handful of scene presets.
Low-light performance was where the camera showed its limits. The small sensor struggled in dim environments, and noise reduction smoothed out fine detail in shadow areas. Compared to the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4, the K900 fell behind in night photography, though it remained competitive with mid-range offerings from brands like Huawei and ZTE. For Australians using the camera at beach barbecues or evening functions, the results were serviceable but not class-leading.
Software and battery life
The K900 shipped with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and Lenovo's custom skin layered on top. An update to Android 4.2 followed a few months after launch, which brought lock screen widgets and additional notification options. Lenovo's skin was relatively light compared to competing Chinese manufacturers, and the result was an interface that felt closer to stock Android than MIUI or EMUI.
Daily battery life depended heavily on usage patterns. The 2500 mAh cell could get through a full day with moderate use, including some browsing, messaging, and music playback over Bluetooth. Heavy users who streamed video over 4G or played 3D games drained the battery faster, often requiring a top-up by late afternoon. Charging was handled via a micro-USB port, and the phone did not support wireless charging.
Software quirks occasionally surfaced. Some apps that relied on specific ARM-optimised code paths showed minor slowdowns, and a few titles crashed unexpectedly on first launch. Lenovo issued firmware updates that addressed many of these issues, but the experience was less polished than what buyers received on flagship devices from Samsung or HTC. For Australian customers who relied on carrier-branded support channels, troubleshooting was complicated by the lack of an official local presence.
Pricing, availability, and market reception
In India, the K900 launched around ₹32,000, positioning it as a premium alternative to the Galaxy Note II and the Optimus G Pro. Australian pricing was harder to pin down because the phone did not receive official carrier distribution. Importers typically sold it for around AUD 600 to AUD 700 unlocked, which put it in line with mid-tier flagship pricing from officially supported brands.
Reception among reviewers was generally positive. The phone earned praise for its build quality, display sharpness, and raw CPU performance. Critics pointed to the GPU limitations, the non-removable battery, and the lack of microSD expansion as drawbacks. For readers interested in how the K900 stacked up against other large-screen devices of the era, LG G Pad 8.3 offers useful context on how competing manufacturers approached screen size and chipset choices during the same period.
How the K900 compared against the leading flagships of its launch window:
| Feature | Lenovo K900 | Samsung Galaxy Note II | LG Optimus G Pro | HTC One |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 5.5" 1080p IPS LCD | 5.5" 720p AMOLED | 5.5" 1080p IPS | 4.7" 1080p S-LCD3 |
| Processor | Intel Atom Z2580 dual-core 2.0 GHz | Exynos 4412 quad-core 1.6 GHz | Snapdragon 600 quad-core 1.7 GHz | Snapdragon 600 quad-core 1.7 GHz |
| RAM | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 16/32 GB, no microSD | 16/32/64 GB, microSD | 16/32 GB, microSD | 32/64 GB, no microSD |
| Rear camera | 13 MP, f/1.8 | 8 MP, f/2.6 | 13 MP | 4 MP UltraPixel |
| Battery | 2500 mAh, non-removable | 3100 mAh, removable | 3140 mAh, removable | 2300 mAh, non-removable |
| Thickness | 6.9 mm | 9.4 mm | 9.4 mm | 9.3 mm |
| Weight | 162 g | 183 g | 172 g | 143 g |
The K900 never became a household name in Australia, partly because of limited marketing and the absence of carrier partnerships. It found a small but enthusiastic audience among buyers who valued its unique internals and appreciated the slim, metallic design. For shoppers comparing devices at retailers like New Mobile Arrivals, the K900 remains a memorable entry in the early phablet era and a reminder that Intel's mobile ambitions once extended further than many current readers might recall. Browse the latest smartphone coverage and buying guides across the site to see how the category has evolved since.