We go hands-on with the N3!
Today, Oppo officially unveiled their new flagship cameraphone, the N3. The N3 builds on the previously released N1 with a new camera sensor and nifty rotating camera, but the more jaded among you are prbably thinking that the N3’s motorized camera is more of a gimmick than an actual innovation. In truth, it’s a little bit of column a, and a little bit of column b, as we found out when we went hands-on with it.
Oppo N3 specs
- 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8974AA quad-core processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 5.5-inch full HD display, 1920 x 1080 resolution
- 32GB of storage
- 16-megapixel rotating camera
- Dual-SIM
- 3G, LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS
- Android 4.4 KitKat with Color OS
- 3000mAh battery
Initial impressions: the rotating camera isn’t a complete gimmick
If you didn’t catch our announcement post earlier about the N3, then let us help you catch up: the while sporting the same swiveling feature that the N1 had, the N3’s camera can now rotate by itself using small motors integrated in the camera. There’s a couple of ways to rotate the camera – you can swipe up or down in the camera app to do it, or use the small button on the back to slowly rotate it into the position you want (we’ll go in depth about this later). You can also use the selfie mode button inside the camera app that quickly flips the camera front front to back and vice versa. There’s also Oppo’s O-Click 2.0 that connects to the device that allows you to flip the camera remotely, as well as trigger the device’s shutter button.
As far as overall size goes, the N3 isn’t all that bigger compared to the Find 7a, which is surprising considering there’s a honking camera placed right on top of the device. Controlling the camera’s orientation using the button on the back takes a bit of getting used to as well – if you don’t position the pad of your finger precisely on either top or bottom half of the button, the camera won’t rotate. There’s definitely a technique to it, though once an Oppo rep showed us how we were able to do it repeatedly without any issues. The rotating camera allows you to take excellent panoramic photos as well, though if your hand moves while taking the photos, the camera will stop and reset to its original position.
The processor in the N3 isn’t mindblowing, as it’s simply the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor (paired with 2GB of RAM) that we’ve been seeing on other devices launched by other companies. The good news is that it’s able to power the phone without any issues, and paired with the mild 5.5-inch full HD display, it’ll be able to run most apps without any issues.
The N3 is priced at USD 649, or around 29K. No local pricing has been set, and a local Oppo exec said that the N3 will launch early next year in 2015.
