Home » Hands-on: Torque’s budget phones with rotating cameras

Hands-on: Torque’s budget phones with rotating cameras

Written By Kevin Bruce Francisco
Published • December 5th, 2014
Hands-onMobile
5 Comments

Torque yesterday introduced four new handsets that took the rotating camera technology from other high-end phones and made it affordable. How affordable? Think as low as Php4.4K. Here’s our hands-on with the DROIDZ Swivel, DROIDZ Pivot, DROIDZ Rotate, and DROIDZ Axis.

We’ve compiled our hands-on in one video so hit the play button to see more of each devices including its rotating cameras, button placements, and form factor.

Torque DROIDZ Swivel initial specs:
4.7-inch qHD IPS display, 540×960 pixels, 234ppi
1.2 GHZ Quad-Core processor
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
expandable via microSD
8.0-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, rotating up to 180 degrees
3G 850/2100 MHz, Quad-band
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
GPS
Android 4.4 KitKat
1700mAh battery
Price: Php4,599

The Swivel is a 4.7-inch smartphone with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. As you can see, it has the rotating camera up top that sports an 8-megapixel sensor and LED flash. The back has a faux leather protection that doesn’t make the device look cheap even if it’s affordable. We have the speaker grille at the bottom, with the volume rocker and lock button on the right side. The left is devoid of anything, while three capactive buttons are at the base of the device. It has cornered edges on the sides, but the top and bottom edges are curved.

Torque DROIDZ Pivot initial specs:
5-inch qHD IPS display, 540×960 pixels, 220ppi
1.2 GHZ Quad-Core processor
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
expandable via microSD
8.0-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, rotating up to 180 degrees
3G 850/2100 MHz, Quad-band
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
GPS
Android 4.4 KitKat
1700mAh battery
Price: Php4,999

Another dual-SIM phone is the Pivot which has a bigger display than the Swivel at 5 inches diagonally. The frame is made of aluminum which feels solid to the hands. The company situated the audio jack in an odd place at the left side of the handset. Up top, you have the 8-megapixel rotating camera that’s accompanied by a single LED flash. Button placements like the lock and volume are still similar to the Swivel. And lastly, sitting down under are the microUSB port and mic for calls. While the surroundings are made out of a well-built frame, the back cover still remains plastic and is a fingerprint magnet.

Torque DROIDZ Rotate initial specs:
7-inch WSVGA display
1GHz quad-core CPU
1GB RAM
4GB internal storage
microSD card slot
8 megapixel 180-degree rotating camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
3G
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
GPS
Android 4.4 KitKat
1,850mAh battery
Price: Php4,399

The Rotate is the lowest-spec’d handset from the group, but stretches its display to 7 inches. Just like any other 7-inchers, it’s quite big for one-handed usage so you have to dedicate both your hands while navigating it. Its got the same 8-megapixel rotating camera with LED flash on black against white. The DROIDZ Rotate is the most affordable among the bunch so you get polycarbonate plastic as its body. The back has a segmented design with the speaker grill also located in this same area. Its camera is easy to rotate depending on what you’re going to use it for, and you have your usual buttons still on the right side. Although the device is big, it’s not that heavy on the hands so users can work or play on it for extended periods of time.

Torque DROIDZ Axis initial specs:
7-inch WXGA HD display
1.2GHz quad-core CPU
1GB RAM
8GB internal storage
microSD card slot
8 megapixel 180-degree rotating camera
Dual-SIM, Dual-Standby
3G
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
GPS
Android 4.4 KitKat
1,850mAh battery
Price: Php5,799

The last phablet to complete the lineup is the Axis. It’s the most expensive model out of the four since it carries an HD display. It has a pretty vibrant screen, but with somewhat thick bezels. It also touts three capacitive buttons for navigation. Like the Rotate, the back is also segmented that combines matte and glossy finish. You have your utility ports at the bottom with the speaker grille also on the back cover. They also went for contrasting colors for the power/lock button with the volume rocker on the right side. Of course, the 180-degree rotating camera is present with the same color scheme and houses the LED flash as well. It is chrome-trimmed so it looks nice and elegant. Meanwhile, the audio jack is conveniently-placed at the top.

These devices are some of the cheapest you can find in the market today that sport rotating cameras. So if you’ve been wanting to get this feature but don’t want to shell out a lot of dough, these Torque DROIDZ are your next best bet.

budget phones with rotating camerascheap phones with rotating camerasrotating cameras philippinestorque droidztorque droidz axistorque droidz pivottorque droidz pivot pricetorque droidz pivot specstorque droidz rotatetorque droidz rotate price

Kevin Bruce Francisco

Kevin Bruce Francisco is the Senior Editor and Video Producer for YugaTech. He's a Digital Filmmaking graduate who's always either daydreaming of traveling or actually going places on his bike. Follow him on Twitter for more tech updates @kevincofrancis.

http://www.yugatech.com

Aston Martin DB10 – James Bond’s new car

Contest: Win an Asus Monitor in Lazada’s 12/12 Sale

5 Comments

Adidas Joe says:

10 years ago

Magkatulad din ng Oppo na nakita ko swivel yung camera. Di ako fan sa mga moving parts na integrated sa smartphone.hahaha Save it to clamshell/feature phones.
- Reply
carlo says:

10 years ago

where’s the audio jack slot for Rotate? And how much is it?
- Reply
anon says:

10 years ago

Those battery capacities are making me cringe.
- Reply
Hentai Kamen says:

10 years ago

Juice-colored those batteries!!
I dont expect much from Torque, all of their phones are waste of our hard earned cash.. i hope those swivels can last a year.
- Reply
yuja says:

10 years ago

ang ganda….ganda nga ng battery cap nila for a 7incher
- Reply