Oppo N3: Beautiful, but too big

The power-packed phone has a great camera but is heavy and lacks elegance expected for this price

Ever heard of a swivel camera? If not, check out the Oppo N3. The Schneider camera on top of the device is motorised and can rotate. Thus, the rear camera can serve as the front one whenever you want to click a selfie. And this camera is easily the best one I have seen for selfies. Sounds interesting? To me, it does. But a good smartphone is one that ticks a lot other boxes too. What's Oppo N3's score? Let's find out:

Design & display
The phone is huge. It's 9.9-mm thick and weighs 192g. The 5.5-inch IPS LCD screen offers a pleasant visual experience. The colours reproduced are rich and sharp. However, I found the bezel to be too big. You shall not have any problems with viewing angles. Some might complain about Oppo's Color OS, but I found it refreshing and much better than the stock Android user interface.

SPECIFICATIONS

• PRICE: Rs 44,500
• DISPLAY: 5.5 inch, 1,920x1,080p at 403ppi
• Processor: 2.3GHz quad core
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 4.4 Color OS 2.0
• CAMERA: 16-megapixel swivel
• Weight: 192g
• BATTERY: 3,000mAH

Performance
The 2.3Ghz quad-core processor backed by 2GB of RAM is good enough to run all you apps smoothly. I did not experience any lags even while playing heavy games.

The 16-megapixel (MP) swivel camera is undoubtedly the best feature of this device. The images produced are super sharp and rich. The multiple editing options make clicking pictures with this even more interesting. In fact, there are times when you might end up finding the images fake because it automatically clears all unwanted marks from your face.

Another impressive feature that Oppo N3 offers is the fast charging technology called Vooc. The device goes from zero per cent to 100 per cent within 35-40 mins of charging. And the 3,000mAH battery easily lasts for about 10 hours.

Verdict
At Rs 44,500, the N3 is easily one of the most power-packed devices available. What might pull you away from it is its massive size and weight. Single hand usage is not easy and the elegance that one wants in expensive gadgets is missing.