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Lenovo outs three budget phones, we go hands-on (video)
As it promised, Lenovo became a manufacturer of US smartphones when it purchased Motorola for $3 billion -- instantly. Meanwhile, it's still producing its own models for Asia, and just announced a trio at MWC 2014. The most highly spec'd of the three is the metal-backed $349 5.3-inch S860 (pictured above), which comes with a 720p screen, quad-core 1.3GHz MediaTek CPU, 2GB of RAM and 8-megapixel front / 1.6-megapixel rear cameras. But Lenovo is boasting more about the battery life, saying it'll last a rather stunning 40 days on standby and give 24 hours of talk time. As you might expect for its target Asian market, there are also dual-sim slots (but no 4G, sadly). Stepping down, the S850 model is aimed more at the "fashion-savvy," according to Lenovo, thanks to a thin, lightweight all-glass body. It also packs a 1.3GHz quad-core MTK chip and 720p screen, but drops the RAM to 1GB. Oddly, there's a better 12-megapixel rear / 5-megapixel front camera, and a considerably cheaper $269 price. Finally, the S660 brings an upmarket metal back to downmarket specs, with the aforementioned MTK CPU, 960 x 540 screen, 1GB RAM, expandable storage, 8-megapixel camera and $229 price tag. Lenovo said all the models will arrive to "selected countries," but don't count on the US being one of them.
Samsung touts six still cameras, to be released this spring
Samsung's been pretty busy as of late, releasing everything from a new RFID fridge to the new i760 slider. But don't think that it was skimping on the digital camera side of things, no sir. Good ol' Sammie's got a sextet of shooters slated for release this spring (sans pricing on all of 'em, sadly) -- so let's get started. First up at the top of the heap is the S1050 (pictured), a point-and-shoot weighing in at 10.1 megapixels, 5x optical zoom lens, 3-inch screen, SD slot, 1600 ISO and a shutter speed that gets all the way up to 1/2000th of a second. It can also shoot video anywhere from 160 x 128 to 800 x 600 at 20fps. Moving along, we've got the S850, which packs its 8.1 megapixel lens and a 5x optical zoom and the same maximum ISO and shutter speed as its older bro. It'll also do video, as expected, from 320 x 240 to 800 x 592 at 30fps, except the highest setting forces a drop down to 20 fps. Third of six is the S730, a seven megapixel shooter with a 3x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD, 1600 ISO and 1/2000th of a second shutter speed. But don't think that just 'cause this model has a smaller number that Samsung is lowering the video features on this bad boy -- you'll get a respectable 640 x 480 resolution at 30fps. Fourth on our list is the L700: it's an awful lot like the S730 as far as specs go (they're identical), however, from what we can tell the L700 has a little bit more of a compact design. Also in the L line is the L73, a "sleek and pocket-sized" cam that comes with a seven megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, 1600 ISO and that same shutter speed that we've seen so far. This one also offers Sammie's "Face Recognition Technology" which will adjust for optimal image quality in portraits. Bringing up the rear is the S630, a six megapixel camera with a 2.5-inch screen and two video settings in 320 x 240 and 640 x 480 at 30fps. Want more details? Sorry, we suppose we'll have to just wait until spring to suss out supplementary specifics. While you're waiting, be sure to peep some snaps of the cams, respectively, on the next page. Read - S1050Read - S850Read - S730Read - L700Read - L73Read - S630
