A phone needs to pack serious optics and image processing power to call itself a camera phone. In a brave attempt, Lenovo has called its latest phone the Vibe Shot. But is it picture perfect? We’ll investigate.
What’s Good?
Lenovo Vibe Shot is a slim, compact, and well-crafted smartphone. The dual-SIM 4G phone comes wrapped in a metallic frame that runs around the sides of the 5-inch smartphone. The front and back of the smartphone have Gorilla Glass 3 reinforcements that makes it resistant to drops and scratches.
The design of the phone is indeed a plus point here, as it looks premium and is very light to hold. While the front maintains a simplistic stance, the rear of the phone is what stands out. The back has a horizontal design, and almost a quarter of the phone has been given a brushed metal look. It reminds one of those compact cameras, which ironically got killed by the smartphones.
The Vibe Shot has 3GB of RAM with 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snadragon 64-bit octa core processor that doesn’t get bogged down even with heavy duty apps and multi-tasking on the go. We didn’t experience any lags or crashes in our tests. The phone come with 32GB storage on-board, which can be expanded to 128GB via a microSD card.
The Android 5.1 (Lollipop) smartphone has a 3,000 mAH battery that packs enough juice to survive the day with 2-3 hours of phone calls, regular internet connectivity, videos, web-surfing and WhatsApp messaging.
Now coming to the central attraction – the cameras. Lenovo Vibe Shot has a 16 megapixel back and 8 megapixel front camera. The rear camera has laser auto-focus, Optical Image Stablisation and a dedicated switch to toggle between Auto and Pro modes. The front camera allows panoramic selfies to fit in more people in the shot.
The cameras performed well, reproducing colours quite naturally in decently-lit environments. The details were also well-preserved. But with a dip in the light, the camera wasn’t able to keep up, and disappointed with grains and hazy shots.
Key Specifications: Lenovo Vibe SHot
- Display: 5-inch Full HD Display with Gorilla Glass 3
- Processor: 1.7 GHz 64-bit Snapdragon Processor
- RAM: 3GB
- Rear Camera: 16MP Camera with OIS
- Front Camera: 8MP Camera
- Operating System: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
Storage: 32GB, expandable to 128GB via microSD card - Battery: 3,000 mAh
- Price: Rs 25,499
What’s Bad?
Vibe Shot has good display, but the colors appear to be a little over-saturated, which hampers the viewing experience. On the botton, the phone has a single speaker, whereas we would have liked dual speakers with pumped up volume, to enhance the multimedia experience.
In terms of user experience, the interface, the features are all similar to much cheaper smartphones in the market. Lenovo uses a customised UI on Android 5.1, but that doesn’t add much as far as the looks or features are concerned.
Another problem that plagues this smartphone, like most other power performers, is it heats up. It gets along fine with regular use, but the phone gets uncomfortably hot even after just five minutes of gameplay.
Why Buy It?
With the Vibe Shot, Lenovo has attempted a premium product at a competitive price. The smartphone has got the looks and the specifications to complement the strategy.
Lenovo may not have the best camera in the segment, but it really ups the game for other brands. Easy to hold and good to see, we think the Vibe Shot is worth a shot.
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