Regardless of your take on them, selfies have become such a phenomenon as to spawn specially designed cameras and shooting modes. Now Sony is getting in on the action with the Xperia C3, proclaiming it as the "world’s best selfie smartphone."
Sony is framing the phone's marketing around its 5 MP wide-angle front-facing camera that allows users to fit more than would usually be possible into the frame from a short distance. The camera has a 25 mm lens with an 80 degree field of view.
A soft light flash aims to help users take flattering self-portrait shots and users can trigger shots by smiling using Sony's Smile Shutter technology. A Superior Auto mode can be employed to have the C3 automatically select what it deems to be the best shot settings for the light conditions and an high-dynamic range mode is available for producing more vivid images.
The C3 provides a variety of apps and effects to enhance shots. Portrait Retouch allows users to give photo subjects a "makeover," adding effects like eye reflection patterns or blush (it looks similar to Apple's Photo Booth feature in OS X and iOS, only focusing more on makeup effects). There are also options for adding real-time effects like pirate costumes and teddy bear heads.
In addition to the front-facing camera, the C3 has an 8 MP rear camera, which features an Exmor RS CMOS image sensor, which aims to produce a high quality of image whilst being small in size. The main camera also features Sony's SteadyShot technology to help minimize blur and distortion.
Among its other useful features, the C3 offers dual-SIM support, letting users pop in different cards to make calls from different phone numbers. SIM cards can also be set up with different profiles, so, for example, each SIM can have a different ring tone.
Rounding out the specs, the C3 runs Android 4.4 KitKat with a quad-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor under the hood. The C3's screen is one key area where it reveals its mid-range status, with 720p resolution spread across 5.5 inches (that's just 267 pixels per inch).
No word yet on pricing, but we know that the Xperia C3 will launch this August, starting with China. If Sony's selfie-friendly pitch piques your interest, you can check out the video below.
Source: Sony
