Lenovo may be, at least unofficially, planning to assimilate its Lenovo Mobile unit into Motorola in the future, but for now, it is still pushing through with its own VIBE brand. At IFA 2015, it has revealed not just one but three smartphones, And all of them with their own story to tell. From the classy VIBE P1 to the sporty VIBE P1m to the selfie-loving VIBE S1, Lenovo is trying to cover all the bases of the smartphone world, perhaps giving Lenovo Mobile its one last grand hurrah.
Lenovo VIBE S1
A lot of smartphones these days advertise selfie-friendly features. Some even have whopping 13 megapixel front cameras. While the VIBE S1 doesn’t really have a sensor that big, it still takes the cake with dual front cameras. Yes, you heard that right. Two front cameras. The primary 8 megapixel front camera is the one that really takes the quality photo and has all the features you’d expect, like Backside Illumination or BSI for better low-light performance. The other 2 megapixel front camera is charged with gathering depth information. Taking a page out of Google’s Project Tango book, this dual camera setup allows users to embellish photos after they have been taken, from changing the focus of the shot, to applying a “bokeh” effect blur, to even cropping out people and placing them elsewhere.
As for the smartphone itself, the VIBE S1 could be considered Lenovo’s flagship for this half of the year. It is powered by a 64-bit 1.7 GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6752 processor with a generous 3 GB of RAM. The display though, might disappoint some, stuck at 1080p though in a handy 5.0-inch size. Storage is an OK 32 GB, supplemented by a microSD card slot capable of holding 128 GB more. The battery, however, might be problematic. At only 2,500 mAh, and non-removable at that, it could severely hamper all those selfie sessions.
• CPU: 64-bit octa-core 1.7 GHz MediaTek MT6752
• RAM: 3 GB
• Storage: 32 GB, microSD up to 128 GB
• Display: 5.0 inches, 1920×1080
• OS: Android 5.0
• Main Camera: 13 megapixels, Phase Detection AF, dual-color Flash, BSI
• Secondary Camera: 8 megapixels BSI plus 2 megapixels
• Network: 4G LTE
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
• Battery: 2,500 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions: 143.3 x 70.8 x 7.8 mm
• Weight: 132 g
Lenovo VIBE P1 and VIBE P1m
This time, Lenovo is taking a cue from Motorola’s X Style and X Play, but with a focus on batteries as the defining feature. As leaked before, Lenovo’s VIBE P1 flaunts the market’s largest battery inside a handy smartphone while the VIBE P1m trails just a bit behind. In fact, Lenovo is confident about the battery life of these two that the smartphones even double as extra battery packs for charging other devices, like maybe Bluetooth headsets, thanks to OTG charging. But in case they do start losing power, Lenovo put in a OneKey Power Saving switch to quickly put the smartphones into low power mode.
Of the two, the VIBE P1 has the higher specs, running on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 and paired with 2 GB of RAM. The 5.5-inch display reaches 1080p resolutions. It has a fingerprint scanner hiding beneath the home button and NFC for easy pairing with other devices. And, of course, the ginormous 5,000 mAh battery. That, however, comes at the price of some size and heft.
• CPU: 64-bit octa-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615
• RAM: 2 GB
• Storage: 32 GB, microSD up to 128 GB
• Display: 5.5 inches, 1920×1080
• OS: Android 5.0
• Main Camera: 13 megapixels, Phase Detection AF, dual-color Flash
• Secondary Camera: 5 megapixels
• Network: 4G LTE
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC
• Battery: 5,000 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions: 152.9 x 75.6 x 4.6-9.9 mm
• Weight: 189 g
The VIBE P1m may be smaller but it isn’t any less noteworthy. The 4,000 mAh battery is still laudable even among today’s flagships. The smaller 5.0-inch display, however, goes only as far as 720p. And it is also the least powerful in terms of processors, with a 1.0 GHz octa-core from MediaTek but still with 2 GB of RAM. None of the VIBE P1’s special features, but the VIBE P1m does make up for it with a bit of life-proof readiness thanks to splash-proof nano coating.
• CPU: 64-bit octa-core 1.0 GHz MediaTek MT6735P
• RAM: 2 GB
• Storage: 16 GB, microSD up to 32 GB
• Display: 5.0 inches, 1280×720
• OS: Android 5.0
• Main Camera: 8 megapixels, AF, LED Flash
• Secondary Camera: 5 megapixels
• Network: 4G LTE
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS
• Battery: 4,000 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions: 141 x 71.8 x 9.3 mm
• Weight: 148 g
Availability
Sadly, it seems that Lenovo has no plans to bring any of these three smartphones to the US, though that could change in the future. If ever that happens, these are their styles, prices, and dates:
• Lenovo VIBE S1 – Pearl White and Midnight Blue, $299 starting November
• Lenovo VIBE P1 – Platinum, Graphite Gray, and Gold, $279 starting October
• Lenovo VIBE P1m – Onyx Black and Pearl White, $159 starting October
