Lenovo unveils a camera-phone hybrid, a smartphone, and a pocket projector

BARCELONA, Spain — Lenovo announced a grab bag of products here at Mobile World Congress 2015 today, including a new camera-phone thing, a mid-market smartphone, and a small projector.

First out of the gate is a new “camera phone crossover device” called the Vibe Shot. “It’s first a fabulous camera that shutterbugs will love, and secondly, a performance-laden, standalone smartphone,” Lenovo crowed.

The Vibe Shot has a 16-megapixel rear camera with a full-frame 16:9 low-light sensor for lighting up images shot in dark places. The camera’s tricolor flash adjusts automatically to ambient light conditions, Lenovo said. Optical image stabilization reduces blur.

The infrared focus on the camera sets up shots twice as fast as normal autofocus. There’s also a physical shutter button so you don’t have to hunt around on the screen for the right spot to click.

The front camera is 8-megapixel.

The Vibe Shot runs Android 5.0 Lollipop on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. There’s also 32GB of storage with a microSD slot to add 128GB more.

The aluminum body comes in red, white, or gray. The device will show up in June starting at $349.

Above: The $169 A7000 smartphone.

Image Credit: Lenovo

A7000 smartphone

If the Vibe Shot emphasizes creating content, then the new A7000 smartphone is all about consuming it.

Lenovo said the A7000 is the world’s first smartphone to ship with Dolby Atmos sound, which is supposed to expand the dynamic range of recordings — like movie soundtracks.

“Users will immediately hear the Dolby Atmos difference using headphones: sounds of people, places, things, and music become more vivid and move from all directions, including overhead, with astonishing clarity, richness, and depth,” Lenovo gushed.

The Dolby technology also makes playback volume more consistent across all types of content, the company says.

The A7000 has a 5.5-inch HD display.

The smartphone runs Android 5.0 on a MediaTek processor. It has a 4G LTE radio and dual SIM slots.

It’s 7.9mm thick and weighs 140 grams.

The A700 will be available this month, starting at $169. It’ll come in two colors: Onyx Black or Pearl White.

Above: The Lenovo Pocket Projector.

Image Credit: Lenovo

Pocket Projector

Finally, Lenovo let fly with a new mini projector here in Barcelona today. The Lenovo Pocket Projector snaps onto any compatible Android device and super-sizes movies, photos, or business presentations, Lenovo said. The thing will project images up to 110 inches in size on any surface in low-light conditions.

It has a 50-lumen light source, and automatically corrects for distortion. It also has a couple of speakers built in for sound.

The Lenovo Pocket Projector will be available this month, starting at $199 USD.