Oppo has officially announced its arrival in Malaysia today with the launch of its latest flagship device, the N1. Touted as the world’s first swivelling smartphone camera, the Oppo N1 will retail at RM1798. Update: the Oppo N1 will be available in Malaysia at its flagship retail store in Plaza Low Yat from the end of this month, before gradually hitting other markets.
Announced to the world back in September last year, the Oppo N1 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 1.7GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, and sports a 5.9-inch Full HD IPS display. It features 16GB of storage, as well as four sensors: distance, light, G force as well as a 4-directional gyroscope. Rounding up the specs list is a generous 3610mAh battery.
The 13MP f2.0 sensor also features a six-element lens, the first among Android smartphones, and also has its own image signal processor (ISP). The Slow Shutter mode on the N1 also allows for long exposure photography, leaving the shutter open for up to 8 seconds.
On top of that, the N1 also sports a dual-mode LED flash: one for normal rear-facing shots, and another diffused softer flash for front-facing pictures. The brightness of the dual-mode flash is also customisable via the N1 camera software.
On to the party piece of the N1. The upper portion of the N1 containing the camera sensor and flash can be swiveled up to 206 degrees and can lock at any angle. The result of over a year of development, the rotating mechanism also locks in any angle, and has been tested to rotate over 100,000 times – 7 years of usage if you rotate it 40 times a day.
The Oppo N1 also sports what the company calls the O Touch Panel: a 12cm² touch panel at the back of the N1 that supports gestures such as sliding (in all four directions), tapping, double tapping as well as long-pressing. All these gestures work as if you are doing the gestures on the display itself, without blocking the display – something Oppo claims to aid one-handed usage of the phablet. For example, you can snap a selfie by tapping the O Touch panel, without stretching your finger to tap the on-screen shutter button.
And, as some will be aware,unlike other mainstream Android manufacturers Oppo is shipping the N1 with Color OS, developed by Oppo and based on Android 4.2. In addition, the bootloader will ship unlocked, while there will be an option to flash to the popular CyanogenMod ROM.
Finally, there is the O-Click. A Bluetooth accessory to the N1, it acts both as a remote camera trigger as well as a device locator. Utilising Bluetooth LE, the O-Click has a connection range of up to 50 meters. Unfortunately, the O-Click will not be bundled in with the N1, and will be offered as an accessory at a separate date.
In addition to the N1, Oppo also launched three other smartphones for the Malaysian market, each aiming for a different target market. Find out more about the Find 5 Mini, R1 and Oppo Neo here.
Stay tuned to the site for our first impressions of Oppo’s flagship smartphone!
