The recently concluded Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016 in Barcelona was all about VR. And today, Lenovo shows it’s serious about getting in the game with a couple of VR-focused products – the ANTVR TheaterMax headset; Vibe X3 and K4 Note smartphones.
I got to play with the ANTVR headset at MWC together with the Vibe X3. The Vibe X3 alongside the budget phablet K4 Note, are the world’s first smartphones with TheaterMax built in.
The headset is lightweight and comfortable, easy to put on and wear. A huge plus is that you can wear it even with spectacles.
So what exactly is TheaterMax?
TheaterMax technology lets you explore, watch and interact, making it a more immersive experience than merely viewing from your smartphone display. You can watch VR videos, your favourite movies or play games with the headset and phone combo.
The cool thing is, it’s now built into Lenovo’s two new smartphones.
Vibe X3
I had a hands-on with the Vibe X3 at MWC and it certainly packs some pretty impressive hardware for a mid-range device. It sports a 5.5-inch Full HD display, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 hexa-core chip running at 1.5GHz. This is paired to 3GB of RAM and generous 32GB of expandable storage.
In terms of design and look-and-feel, it’s well-built, and feels good in the hand.
It runs Android 5.1 Lollipop and performance based on the brief time I spent with it, is snappy. Lenovo didn’t do too much with the UI, and it looks stock-ish. Android fans will likely appreciate that it still has an App Drawer.
On the optics front, it gets a whopping 21MP Sony sensor on the rear, with LED flash and PDAF. The front gets an 8MP selfie shooter.
We’ve seen and experienced Dolby Atmos on the A7000 and PHAB Plus, and now it’s been integrated into the Vibe X3. If you remember, the A7000 is the world’s first smartphone with Dolby Atmos technology. This works well with the X3’s front-firing stereo speakers, enhanced by OPA1612 amplifiers from Texas Instruments.
Keeping it running the entire day and more, is a large 3,500mAh battery.
Surprisingly, there’s also a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.
Vibe K4 Note
The K4 Note is really an A-Series Lenovo smartphone in disguise, and it looks similar to its more expensive Vibe X3 sibling. In fact, they’re almost indistinguishable from the front and back. Compared to the Vibe X3 though, this is easier on your pocket despite being a multimedia powerhouse.
It packs a 5.5-inch Full HD IPS display protected by Gorilla Glass 3. Under the hood, there’s an octa-core MediaTek MT6753 processor mated to 3GB RAM and 16GB of expandable onboard storage.
Camera-wise, the K4 Note sports a 13MP f/2.2 rear shooter with PDAF and a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies.
Like the Vibe X3, you’ll be rewarded with an immersive audio experience, thanks to Dolby Atmos and front-facing stereo speakers. If you haven’t already, you need to hear it to believe it.
It’s a Dual-SIM 4G LTE device and also includes NFC and a fingerprint sensor.
On the battery front, a commendable 3,300mAh unit keeps the device running for the entire day.
Pricing and availability
The premium mid-range Vibe X3 retails for MYR1,899 while the K4 Note goes for MYR999.
The Lenovo ANTVR headset sells for just MYR99.
11street is throwing a special promo for the K4 Note starting today. The first 30 customers who pre-order the K4 Note will be entitled to a free VR headset. This offer kicks off today and is valid till 8 March 2016. Orders will be shipped out on 9 March.
Ready to be immersed?
