NEW DELHI: Handset maker Lava on October 31 launched a new series of Iris Smartphones under the 'Fuel' brand, which will focus on offering longer battery life. The first device launched in the series is the Iris Fuel 50, priced at Rs 7,799.

The Android Kitkat operating system-based smartphone features a 3,000-mAh battery capable of lasting up to 1.5 days without charging. It has a five-inch display, 8MP auto-focus rear camera, 2MP front camera and 8GB internal memory (expandable up to 32GB). The device is powered by 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and has a 1GB RAM.

The super-efficient smartphones under this series are specially designed to last for long working hours without the need of frequent charging, Lava said in a statement. "Amidst the hardware progression that has happened ever since smartphone category was introduced, battery has remained a cause of concern with the users throughout. Smartphones are increasingly becoming a very integral part of our daily lives and drive a lot of tasks for us," LAVA International Chairman and Managing Director Hari Om Rai said.

Devices that are able to support heavy usage without having the need to carry power banks for frequent charging are needed, he added. "Our new Fuel series of smartphones will address just that. We shall soon come up with more products at different price points in this series," he added.