Lenovo gets the Vibe

A NEW FLAGSHIP smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer Lenovo, the Vibe X3 is designed to deliver a good entertainment experience with high-resolution audio, great sound and 3D movie playback.

The Vibe X3 uses TheaterMax technology together with a VR headset to deliver a full 3D-movie experience and also boasts high-performance 32-bit mobile audio DAC (digital-to-analogue converter) to deliver top quality sounds in the high dynamic range.

Powered by a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor with four A57 cores running at 1.82 GHz and four A53 cores running at 1.44 GHz, this smartphone performs well. Gamers on the go will be impressed by the Adreno 418 GPU chipset and its 600 MHz 3D graphics accelerator.

The smartphone has 3 gigabytes of working memory or RAM thus allowing for easy multitasking. The 32 GB of internal storage is expandable with a microSD card up to 128 GB and it operates on the Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system.

The Vibe X3 comes in a strong aluminium body though at 9.3mm thicker than most phones in its class. It uses a 5.5-inch IPS 178-degree, wide-angle view display with 1920x1080-pixel resolution. Bright with a 1500:1 contrast ratio, the screen is really good for watching video clips and viewing high-resolution photos. A scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3 panel adds the protection.

The Vibe X3 supports LTE 4G connection and was satisfactorily fast when I tested it on TrueMove H’s 4G network. The Oopla app recorded a download speed of 50.16 Mbps and upload speed of 21.42 Mbps.

Menus and touchscreen were responsive and apps and games ran fast and without glitches.

The Vibe X3 supports the fastest 802.11 ac wireless network connection and connection through my Linksys WRT1200AC was fast.

But the highlight of the X3 is the TheaterMax technology which, when mated with a VR headset, delivers a virtual reality immersive experience. You activate TheaterMax by pressing and holding the power button then selecting the VR Glasses Split-screen mode. You need to mount the phone on a VR headset, which delivers each side of the split screens to each eye. Each split screen has different details and the different pictures received by your eyes create a perception of 3D with real depth.

You can also download apps like Orbulus and Cardboard to further explore the 3D world or play 3D games.

The Vibe X3 can function as a powerful and high-quality portable music player. Apart from supporting the high-resolution audio format of FLAC 24bit/192 kHz, Vibe X3 features several high-quality sound components.

I played FLAC 24bit/192 kHz files through Sony's MDR-1ABT high-resolution headphones and found the songs loud and clear |with very good details of the musical instruments and powerful bass.

The Vibe X3 is also designed to allow you to share music with friends out loud thanks to the Dolby Atmost technology on two 1.5-watts large-chamber (1cc) front-facing speakers.

The phone can even be used as a high-quality sound recorder by using a 3-mic system with Wolfson audio codec to filter out ambient noise.

The Vibe X3 also captures good quality photos with its 21-megapixle PDAF (phase detection autofocus) main camera and can shoot 4k Ultra HD video clips too.

The Pro mode lets you manually set the values of white balance, ISO, exposure compensation, and shutter speed as well as focusing manually. Art Nightscape mode has four sub-modes – City nightscape, Moving people, Stage and Indoor low light – and they are all fun to use.

Other interesting shooting modes are Artistic HDR, Blur background and Panorama selfie, which automatically switches to the front camera and prompts you to pan for a group selfie.

I particularly liked the Smart auto mode, which allowed me to capture clear and sharp photos with ease.

The phone comes with fingerprint sensor that lets you quickly unlock the phone. It is a touch-type sensor that’s easy to set up.

The Vibe X3 is preloaded with several useful apps including the Step Counter that lets you count your steps and the calories |burned.

Lenovo’s Doit apps allow you to share, back up, and sync your digital life. Combine SHAREit with CLONEit to share files rapidly and wirelessly across devices without a WiFi connection or back up and restore contacts, SMS messages and call logs with SYNCit.

The Vibe X3 comes with a large Li-polymer battery of 3,600 mAh that will last a day even with extensive multimedia usage. |The phone also has Ultimate |Power Saver mode that lets you to save the battery for basic phone use by disabling most apps and turning the display to black and white.

The phone is available in pearl white or champagne gold and has a suggested retail price of Bt15,990 or Bt16,690 with the he VR headset. 

 

Key Specs

- Network: 4G Network: LTE TDD Band38 40,41NW (2555MHz—2655MHz); FDD Band 1,3,5,7,8,20; 3G Network: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz; 2G Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

- Operating System: Android 5.1, Lollipop

- Processor: 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core processor

- GPU: Adreno 418 (up to 600MHz 3D graphics accelerator)

- Memory: 3GB LP DDR3

- Internal storage: 32GB eMMC built-in storage, expandable with up to 128GB microSD

- Display: 5.5-inch Full HD (1920X1080) at401ppi, IPS, 16M colours , 1500:1 contrast ratio with Gorilla Glass 3 panel

- Audio: 2x1.5W (1cc each) speakers, 3.5mm lossless combo output jack, Lenovo-configured 3-array microphone system; ESS ES9018K2M DAC; Lenovo configured 3xTIOPA1612 amplifier unit; Wolfson WM8281 audio codec

- SIM: Type: Dual nano SIM

- Camera: Rear: 21MP PDAF with 6-piece composite lens allows 4K Ultra HD video recording; Front: 8MP fixed-focus

- Sensors: Gravitation, Proximity, Light, E-Compass

- Wireless Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 LE, A-GPS

- Battery: Type: 3600mAh (Li-polymer), embedded

- Dimensions: 76.5 x 9.3 x 154 (mm)

- Weight: 175g