Lenovo Vibe Shot Philippines Price, Release Date, Specs, In The Flesh Photos

Lenovo Mobile describes its 2015 flagship release - Vibe Shot - as a Camera Crossover device -- and rightfully so. This handset comes with the best imaging capabilities of all phones that the company has churned out thus far. But really, that's just one of the things that consumers will surely love about this model.

Lenovo Vibe Shot

To quote the Chinese electronics company, "The Lenovo VIBE Shot smartphone brings together craftsmanship, power and style to create a phone you need and a camera you will love. Lenovo’s first camera and smartphone crossover, the sleek and lightweight VIBE Shot is the ultimate smartphone for photos with a brilliant display, powerful processor, 32GB of storage, 4G connectivity and the latest Android OS. The 16 megapixel rear camera includes an infrared autofocus feature with 6-piece modular lens and full-frame 16:9 low-light sensor to take sharp and steady photos, while a physical shutter button makes the phone feel more like a camera delivering the perfect shot every time."

Lenovo Vibe Shot

First, let's talk about the phone's looks. Lenovo Vibe Shot flaunts CNC-prepared anodized aluminum frame that's sandwiched between two sheets of glass; The one in front is a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 3 panel. The combination of these materials doesn't just make the phone durable but also gives it an air of elegance and sophistication.

Lenovo Vibe Shot

As its very name suggests, the real highlight of this model are its camera module and imaging software.

Lenovo Vibe Shot
Even the design of the phone's rear - which looks like that of a point and shoot camera - reflects the main strength of this release.

According to Lenovo, "For budding photographers, we’ve saturated the VIBE Shot’s camera with purposeful technologies, starting with its 16 MegaPixel rear camera featuring a six-piece modular lens. The camera has a true 16:9 image sensor for shooting images in dark interiors or at night. Thanks to the camera’s tricolor flash, photo luminosity adjusts automatically based on the ambient light conditions, and optical image stabilization reduces blur and keeps photos sharp."

Lenovo Vibe Shot

"Life doesn’t always wait for the perfect shot, but the VIBE Shot is ready to keep up with infrared focus that’s twice as fast as normal autofocus and a physical shutter button, which means no more fumbling to find the right spot on the screen to click. Equipped with both Smart preset settings and advanced Pro settings, users can use the camera how they want by easily toggling between the two settings with the flick of a switch," they added.

I got to play with the handset following its official launch in the Philippines yesterday, July 29, 2015, and I can really vouch for its stellar imaging capabilities. The sample shots I got are truly a joy to behold on the device's brilliant 5-inch Full HD IPS display. As you some of you know, I own some of the best cameraphones to have hit the market - including Nokia Lumia 1020, Nokia 808 PureView, Sony Xperia Z3, LG G3, and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge - and I think that the Vibe Shot is more than a decent effort from Lenovo in this regard. In its price echelon, I would have to say that this model is the one to beat when it comes to main camera performance.

Lenovo Vibe Shot
Lenovo Vibe Shot's front-facing cam is no pushover as well. It's an 8 MegaPixel shooter with with advanced beautification mode that instantly improves your skintone and facial features for self-portraits that are ready for sharing on Facebook or Instagram.

Lenovo Vibe Shot

On top of being a great cameraphone, Lenovo Vibe Shot is also a powerhouse when it comes to internal hardware. Powered by a non-removable 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery pack delivering up to around a whole day of uptime with mixed usage, the phone runs its Vibe-UI-skinned Android 5.0.2 Lollipop operating system with its 64-bit Octa Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC supporting Cat4 LTE connectivity, has 3 GB of RAM for multitasking, and comes with 32GB of ROM that you can augment using the device's microSD card slot supporting up to 128GB.

Considering what's inside its gorgeous shell, Lenovo Vibe Shot - more than just being a 'camera crossover' - is definitely capable of delivering great gaming performance and overall touch experience. Off hand, considering everything that I've seen, I highly recommend this stunning model.

Now, let me share with you some my Lenovo Vibe Shot launch experience here in the Philippines.

Lenovo Vibe Shot
The exclusive blogger and media tech event was held at the new Art in Island museum located in Cubao, Quezon City. Lenovo Mobile and its PR agency, Ardent Communications, obviously chose this venue to allow all attendees to try out and experience for themselves the great imaging capabilities of the handset.

Lenovo Vibe Shot
Mr. Dino Romano - Country Head of Lenovo Mobile Philippines - and I with the freshly launched Lenovo Vibe Shot.

We had a group activity where participants had to take creative photos inside the museum as a team and upload the shots on Instagram; The group with the best shot wins. The prize? Lenovo Vibe Shot for each member! Nice, eh? I was in group 8.

My cool teammates!

Team Lenovo

Art in Island is amazing. One of the best, coolest gadget launch venues I've been in. Thumbs up to Lenovo for taking us there. I will definitely come back with my folks or with a date.

Lenovo Vibe Shot Box
Stay tuned for my unboxing and 'sample camera shots' feature posts

So how much is this smartphone and when will it be available locally? Lazada Philippines will hold a Lenovo Vibe Shot flash sale on July 31, 2015 - that's tomorrow - selling the handset for only Php 16,999. That's Php 1,000 off its regular SRP of Php 17,999, which it will don when it hits brick-and-mortar store shelves come mid-August 2015.

Is it the right device for you? If you're looking for a gorgeous, metal-clad smartphone with a fairly powerful set of specs and a great camera allowing it to double as a point-and-shoot replacement and you're not yet ready to spend more than Php 20,000 on such gadget, Lenovo Vibe Shot is ideal for you.

TechPinas Smartphone Technical Specs Table (TSTST)
Name Lenovo Vibe Shot
Type Slate Form Factor (Full Touchscreen), Cameraphone
Price Category High End (Flagship Level)
Dimensions142 x 70 x 7.3 mm
Weight 145 grams
Available Colors Pearl White, Graphite Grey, Crimson
Operating System Android 5.0.2 Lollipop with Vibe UI
Display 5.0 inches (~69.3% screen-to-body ratio), 1080 x 1920 pixels (~441 ppi pixel density), IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, Gorilla Glass 3
Processor 64-Bit Octa Core = Quad Core 1.7 GHz ARM Cortex-A53 + Quad Core 1.0 GHz ARM Cortex-A53, Adreno 405 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615 chipset
RAM 3GB RAM
Internal Storage 32GB ROM, expandable via microSD card slot supporting up to 128 GB
Camera Main: 16 MegaPixels, 2997 x 5328 pixels, Optical Image Stabilization, Infrared Autofocus, Triple LED flash (Orange-Yellow-Orange)
Front: 8 MegaPixels, BSI
Video Capture Full HD 1080p 30 frames per second for main (OIS) and front camera
Audio and Video Playback MP3, WAV, eAAC+, FLAC, MP4, H.264
Ports microUSB v2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack
Connectivity Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, EDR, 3G HSPA+ 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps
GPS Yes, with A-GPS
FM Radio Yes
Sensors Accelerometer, Digital Compass, Proximity
Network 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 and SIM 2, 3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100, 4G LTE Network 800 / 1800 / 2100 / 2600
SIM Card Type Dual microSIM
Battery Non-removable 3,000 mAh Li-Po battery
Uptime TBD
Value-Added Features Premium Design, Top-Notch Imaging Capabilities, Vibe UI
Announcement Philippines: July 29, 2015
Availability Lazada Philippines: July 31, 2015
Offline Channels: Mid-August 2015
Price Official: Php 17,999
Lazada Sale (July 31, 2015): Php 16,999