Sony Xperia C3 'selfie phone' now official

Sony’s selfie phone or the Xperia C3 is now official. The company has also announced a dual-SIM variant dubbed Xperia C3 Dual. The smartphone is aimed at selfie lovers and hopes to cash in on the trend with special features for the front camera.   The highlight of the device is 5MP front shooter along with a 25mm wide lens. It supports Superior Auto mode, but lacks autofocus. There’s an LED flash on front too. It comes with auto scene recognition function that works with HDR and LED flash for optimal lighting when you click a selfie. Sony also adds AR effect on the front camera. Users can also access Portrait Retouch camera app to style close-ups in real-time and post pictures in one of 10 different Deco frames. The back camera, which is clearly not the focus here, is an 8MP unit with LED flash.   “Xperia C3 is a unique new smartphone from Sony, created to offer the ultimate social sharing experience with a new powerful ‘PROselfie cam’. It also presents a combination of the best of Sony, with leading digital imaging technology and brilliant specs and performance all for a mid-range price” says Calum MacDougall, Director of Xperia Marketing at Sony Mobile Communications. “The rise of selfies shows no signs of abating – its usage has increased by 17,000% since 2012 with the word officially being added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. We’re excited to offer SONY’s first ‘PROselfie Smartphone’ and play a part in this global phenomenon.”   Specs-wise, it comes with a large 5.5-inch HD IPS display. It’s powered by a quad-core  Snapdragon 400 chipset clocked at 1.2GHz and coupled with 1GB RAM. It also includes Adreno 305 GPU.  Sporting a 7.6mm sleek profile, the device tips the scale at 150 grams. On the storage front, it gets 8GB onboard storage.   Dipped in black, white and mint, the Xperia C3 will be available in August. Initially it will be launched in China, followed by a global launch.