Lenovo Vibe S1 review: ‘Selfie fiends can rejoice, now a smartphone packed with two front cams’Mumbai, Nov 23(AZINS) 2014 might have been the year of the Selfie – with the epic Ellen DeGeneres Oscar selfie and the Obama selfie but 2015 might become the year when the Front cam might take over as the ‘primary cam’. Lenovo’s unveiled the Vibe S1 at IFA Berlin in September with one headline feature – the first smartphone with two front cameras. Now that’s it here in India, is this the device for compulsive selfie addicts?
The Vibe S1 is a good looking device with clean lines. There’s no standout design element but we dig the curved gorilla glass back and the aluminium frame that lend the device an elegant presence. At 132 gms it’s nice to hold and finds that balance between form and function with a 5-inch screen.
The Full HD IPS LCD (1920 x 1080 pixels) screen packs an impressive 440 PPI (pixels per inch). The volume rocker and power key sit on the top right spine of the device while a single slot on the left has room for 2 Nano SIMs and a Micro SD card. We love how Lenovo has managed the space utilisation on this slot. A set of grilles at the bottom might suggest that the device has two speakers but the single speaker embedded under the right grille packs a punch.
It’s the dual front camera that is the Vibe S1’s major standout feature. The device integrates an 8MP shooter with a 2MP shooter to open up a host of selfie possibilities. If you are familiar with HTC’s One M8 and M9 dual cameras, the Vibe S1 brings the same functionality to a selfie cam. You can shoot selfies on both single cam and dual cam modes. The quality of images on the single cam mode is quite terrific – one of the best we have seen on any front facing camera.
QUICK SPECS

    Mediatek 6752 (64-bit, 1.7 GHz Octa-Core) processor
    3GB RAM / 32 GB onboard memory (Extendable up to 128 GB)
    13MP rear camera with dual LED flash
    2 front facing cams (8MP and 2MP)
    5-inch Full HD IPS LCD (1920 x 1080 pixels / 440 PPI)
    2420 mAh battery
    Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
    Dual SIM (Both Nano SIM)

If you need to look good after a wild weekend this device can do the trick. There’s no flash for the front cam but the device still manages a decent performance in low light. The dual cam mode allows you to create zoom blur and ‘unfocus’ selfies that allow you to blur the background and stay in the centre of all attention!
Suddenly 3GB RAM has become par for the course even for devices in the Rs 15,000 to 20,000 price band. The Vibe S1 features a Mediatek 6752 (64-bit, 1.7 GHz Octa-Core) processor with 3GB of RAM. We found the device extremely responsive and swift across applications.
The S1 comes with 32GB memory onboard (aside from room for Micro SD cards up to 128GB) so you’re really sorted. The 2420 mAh battery should work for most users. We managed 12 hours with a mix of 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity with about two hours of talk time, minimal camera and video playback and WhatsApp messaging.

Lenovo’s user interface might offer the same ‘pure play’ Android experience like its Moto ‘cousins’ but its fairly easy on the eye and not overly ‘skinned’. The S1 comes preloaded with a select list of Apps that you will actually use and not annoying bloatware.

There’s also a cool crop mode that allows you to cut yourself out of the frame and super impose your image across a variety of backgrounds. Aside from the pre-set backgrounds in the device you can also use images from your gallery or the internet to crop yourself in. The 13MP rear camera (clearly not the ‘primary’ cam in this case) with a dual LED flash manages decent results but is not in the same league as the front cam.


Crop mode that allows you to cut yourself out of the frame and super impose your image across a variety of backgrounds Image Credit: Lenovo
 

There have been quite a few reports about how Android flagships in the Rs 30,000 plus price range are finding it tough to justify their premium price tag. The Vibe S1 is yet another Android device that ticks most boxes and throws down the gauntlet to the pricier Android devices with an attractive sticker price. And yeah, it’s the perfect Christmas gift for the self indulgent!  

What we liked: Excellent front camera, cool form factor and design
What we didn’t like: average rear camera
Price: Rs 15,999 /-