We go hands-on with the Starmobile Up Snap!

Aside from announcing their newest flagship, the Knight X, Starmobile also announced their newest cameraphone, the Up Snap. Part of the ever growing Up family of smartphones, the Up Snap has a feature that has so far shown up in HTC’s flagship smartphones – ultrapixel technology. Today we’ll be doing a deep dive and taking a look at the specs of the device and giving you a look at what makes the tech special, but first, let’s take a peek at the specs:

Starmobile Up Snap specs

• 1.2GHz quad-core Broadcomm BCM23550M processor
• VideoCore IV GPU
• 1GB of RAM
• 5-inch FWVGA IPS display with scratch resistant glass, 480 x 854 resolution
• 8GB of storage, expandable via microSD up to 32GB
• 8-megapixel rear camera with Ultrapixel tech, f2.0 aperture
• 5-megapixel front camera with AF
• Dual SIM
• 3G, HSPA+
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, USB OTG
• Android 4.4 KitKat
• 2900mAh battery
• 147 x 73 x 9.5mm

Initial impressions: a cameraphone that doesn’t fear the dark

Before we get to the nitty gritty of the camera’s main feature, let’s take a quick gander at the outside of the smartphone. While the Up Snap features a tech that’s rarely seen outside of international flagships, the externals of the device is a bit bland. While it’s not visually arresting, it’s not ugly either. It just looks a bit too formalaic with its plastic back and rather plain appearance. To be fair, we got to look at the white version of the device, and Starmobile says that the Up Snap will come in a variety of colors when it officially hits retail channels.

Looking at the specs, the Up Snap is obviously not the fastest smartphone out there. It uses Broadcomm’s quad-core BCM23550M processor, which isn’t what you’d exactly call quick. Starmobile told us that one reason why they went with that particular SoC was that it was the only one that had the necessary drivers for the ultrapixel tech that’s the main selling point of the device. In other words, the Up Snap is one of those devices where you’d have to choose which one is more important to you – blazing fast performance, or superior low-light shooting.

Speaking of low-light shooting, this is where the Up Snap excels at. For the uninitiated, the Up Snap uses ultrapixel technology, which basically means that the camera sensor in the device has bigger pixels in the same area compared to that of a regular sensor. The bigger pixels mean that the sensors are able to capture more light compared to smaller pixels.

This, in theory, means that the Up Snap will be able to capture better photos in low light compared to regular sensors that don’t use the tech. The caveat here is that a photo’s image quality isn’t just about the sensors – the image processor also comes to play, as well as the lens, AF and a whole host of other factors.

In the camera sample above taken in almost pitch black conditions, it seems that the Up Snap’s camera is indeed able to take in more light compared to last year’s flagships. Again, this is a single test of the camera – we’ll still need to take a variety of photos in different lighting conditions to see if the camera is able to perform like the company says it will, though initial tests look promising.

Starmobile has not announced when the device will become available nor the definite price point. They’ve only said that it will be available soon, and will retail for less than 10K pesos.