GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL .................Guide PHONES FOR SELFIES

GADGET GIZMO SPECIAL Guide  PHONES FOR SELFIES





Let's face it, selfies are here to stay.

People were doing it way before the term selfies came to be. Thanks to Kim Kardashian and that big Oscar selfie, the mere act of pouting into your front facing smartphone camera for a photo has become an integral part of pop culture. So much so manufacturers are jumping on the bandwagon with special selfie phones with kitted out front cameras and selfie specific apps.

Lava Iris Selfie 50

There's several budget phones under Rs 10,000 with great selfie cameras like the Xiaomi Redmi Note. However, one that stands out a bit more is the Lava Selfie 50.While the rest of the specs are pretty standard, the highlight of the Selfie 50 is the front facing 5 MP camera with flash for those low light situations. Also packing a big 2400 mAh battery, a quad core processor and 1 GB of RAM, the Iris Selfie 50 is quite a decent budget selfie phone. 

Sony Xperia C3

The Sony Xperia C3 at just under the Rs 20,000 range, features a large 5.5 inch screen, but has very basic specs otherwise. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 400, 1GB of RAM and a 2500 mAh battery. In the camera department it packs a simple 5MP camera on the front and a 8MP on the back. Yes, there are several cheaper phones with 5 megapixel front cameras, but what the Xperia C3 really brings to the table are a some fantastic selfie apps. Like Portrait Retouch, which actually smoothes your skin, draws sexy, sultry or cute makeup in realtime, for you and for another person in the frame. However, it should be noted that the app is also available on other Sony phones. 

Huawei Honor 6 Plus

The Huawei Honor 6 Plus is not really selfie phone in the conventional sense. Though the 8MP front camera does a fantastic job, the actual standout feature is the dual 8MP rear cameras that work in tandem to give you stunning depth of field that reaches DSLR levels. You may have to blind click some of the selfies, but the portraits the rear camera takes, you can adjust the focus in real time, even blur lights in the background form neat bokeh circles. The specs are great too, with an octa core CPU, 3GB RAM, 16 GB storage with MicroSD, and a metal body with a 5.5 inch full HD display.All if this, for just over Rs 25,000. 

HTC Desire Eye

Why pack a swivel camera when you can pack two 13 megapixel cameras on the front and back, with two tone flash. Retailing well above the Rs 30,000 mark, the HTC Desire Eye is a selfie machine in a superbly designed phone. With smile shutter, that takes a photo when you smile or at a voice command, beautification effects, HDR and a plethora of editing tools. The Dual tone flash is perfect for getting flesh tones right.Packing in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB storage with MicroSD, a 2400 mAh battery, a glorious 5.2 inch display and BoomSound speakers. 

Oppo N3

One of the first smartphones that came out with the swivel camera, like that on the Gionee Elife E7, is the Oppo N1. Now, slated to release soon in India is it's successor, the Oppo N3. Taking the swivel camera to new levels with a 16 megapixel Omnivision camera with Schneider electric motorised optics with dual flash. Apart from taking some really high res beautiful selfies, the N3 can also take some fantastic panoramas using the motor. Along with that you also get a shutter control unit as an accessory, that lets you control the swivel remotely. The specs are really good, with a Snapdragon 801, 2 GB RAM, 32 GB internal memory that's expandable via Micro SD, a 3000 mAh battery with flash charge and a big beautiful 5.5 inch display. The phone is expected sometime in the next few months, however, a price has not been announced yet. 

Gionee Elife E7 Mini

Why pack two cameras, when you can have one big 13 Megapixel Autofocus camera with flash you can rotate. The Gionee Elife E7 Mini retails under Rs 20,000 and packs a 180 degree free rotating camera capable of large 13 MP images as well as full HD video recording.The Elife E7 mini has several selfie tools at your disposal with a crisp IGZO 4.7 inch display. The phone is powered by a Octa Core 1.7 Ghz processor with 1GB of RAM, 16 GB storage, Dual SIM, DTS 3D Surround Sound and a decent 2200 mAh battery.

Andre Rodrigues

MM2APR15