Every time a new year rolls around, us in the tech industry find ourselves giddy with excitement over what we’ll see in the next generation of smartphones (and now smart accessories). While we’re excited to see the what we already know is coming (Galaxy S, HTC One, Galaxy Note, iPhone, etc.) the prospect of seeing something completely new is equally as, and in some cases more, exciting at the end of the day. Such is the case with the hope that Lenovo’s alleged new Android lineup will somehow end up being sold in the United States.
As our own Alex Wagner had reported yesterday, leaks from Thai tech blog mxphone indicate that Lenovo may be hosting a riveting showcase of their own during MWC 2015. Lenovo, who hasn’t been previously known to feature smartphones in the United States, is definitely a company that I would consider buying a smartphone from.
Perhaps I’m a bit biased considering my own personal experience with Lenovo products (currently using the Lenovo Y510p as my own personal laptop) but even before I owned anything made by Lenovo I was intrigued by their smartphone hardware design and UI. Back in 2013 I wrote an article talking about how impressed I was by the K900; a year later I wrote another article detailing my initial want for Lenovo to wander over yonder. Should these rumors of upcoming Android devices be true, my want for a Lenovo smartphone in my hands is even stronger, particularly because of the rumors surrounding the Vibe Shot and Vibe P1 series.
Not a lot of Android smartphones come with a feature that I’ve recently come to respect about Windows Phone devices, and that’s a physical camera key. I get that physical keys are largely a thing of the past at this point, but any time I have access to a physical camera key on a phone, I use it. I find it much easier to push down a physical key to take a photo rather than pushing a virtual button - especially if I want to take a selfie from the rear-facing camera rather than the front, as the front-facing camera is often second best to the rear. The Lenovo Vibe shot looks to be one of the few Android devices that will feature the elusive physical camera key.
The specs on the Vibe Shot aren’t too shabby either. It will allegedly be using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615 processor (octa-core, 64-bit), which was revealed last year. This phone also ships with Android Lollipop, which would help with performance optimization. The 3GB of RAM that would come with the Vibe Shot grants any user prime multitasking abilities as well. The phone also has another quality that is oft not seen in smartphones today, which is a microSD card slot.
For most people, though, the real device to make a lasting impression would probably be the Vibe P1 and the P1 Pro. These main focus behind these devices would be exceptional battery life, with the P1 allegedly having a 4000 mAh battery and the Pro featuring a 5000 mAh battery. Specs would be similar to the Vibe Shot in regards to the processing power, although would allegedly only feature 2GB of RAM - which is still a good amount.
Also expected to make a debut would be a Lenovo phablet that may be similar to that of a Galaxy Note, and a lower-end Vibe that looks to be tailored to a youthful crowd with bright colors.
Lenovo’s design, UI, and hardware are all aspects that I believe would impress U.S. consumers. Then again, I feel the same way about Sony, who also can’t seem to catch a break over here. The likelihood that Lenovo would actually make an appearance this way is slim, but every year I hold out just a little bit of hope that this year is the year that it’s going to happen. Given that Motorola, a company that has recently made a decent comeback in the United States, recently teamed up with Lenovo, perhaps holding out hope once again this year for a Lenovo smartphone debut isn’t as far-fetched this time.
