Lenovo has just added a whole new perspective to the increasing popularity of capturing selfies.
The company launched the new Vibe S1 in Germany on Sept. 2, and on Nov. 23, it announced the smartphone's launch in India. Lenovo touts the Vibe S1 as the first smartphone to have dual selfie cameras. It has an 8MP front camera with BSI sensor for taking photos with crisp image quality and a second 2MP front camera that analyzes depth of field data akin to a human binocular vision.
When used together, the twin cameras allow selfie buffs to create a number of possibilities in captured images, allowing them to achieve more customized and professional-looking photos.
"Selfies are now the most popular type of photos snapped on a smartphone, with over a million selfies taken a day and 48 percent of that are shared on Facebook alone," said Jerry Hsiao, VP of product management and operations, Lenovo Mobile Business Group. "People expect more from their smartphones today. They want their selfies to stand out in their social media circles."
The Lenovo Vibe S1 was first unveiled at the IFA 2015 along with the announcement of the Vibe P1 and the Vibe P1m. Apart from its unique dual front cameras, the smartphone also has a 13MP rear camera that has a phase detection autofocus feature. It boasts a 5.0-inch Full HD IPS LCD display and comes with a 1.7Ghz octa-core 64-bit MediaTek MT6752 CPU.
Other notable features include Corning Gorilla Glass 3, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage which can be expanded up to 128GB through a microSD card, a non-removable Li-Po 2,500mAh battery and Android 5.0 Lollipop.
As for the design, the Vibe S1 is built with a curved-glass, rear-panel and premium rounded metal frame. It measures 2.79 x 0.31 x 5.64 inches and weighs 0.29 pounds, which makes it one of the lightest smartphones ever built.
In order to achieve more creative photos, the camera has options that include Background Swap and One-touch Refocus. It also offers a wide range of shooting modes for maximum flexibility in image capture. Lastly, it comes equipped with a host of photo editing tools that include Blur (for selfie refocusing and adding an effect known as "bokeh") and Cut Out (for cropping out the person's image in a selfie and then placing it on another image). This type of feature also allows users to create selfies with breathtaking backgrounds such as the Taj Mahal or Eiffel Tower without the need to actually go to these locations.
The Lenovo Vibe S1 is priced at Rs 15,999 or approximately $240.
