CES 2015: Kodak IM5 Android Smartphone Relies on a Pretty Austere UI

[RoadWarrior]

As we told you before CES 2015 started, legacy camera maker Kodak was expected to unveil its very first smartphones.

You know the drill, smartphones are cannibalizing good, old camera sales and companies like Kodak are striving to try and stay relevant and in the spotlight.

This week in Las Vegas, Kodak brought the IM5 smartphone, manufactured by Bullitt, a company that has been making ruggedized phones.
Kodak tries its hand at cameraphones

Apparently, the Kodak phone intends to appeal to customers who want an easy-to-use cameraphone and don’t want to fiddle with the complexity of a flagship phone.

The IM5 comes equipped with two cameras (13MP on the back and 5MP up in front) and the resulting snapped photographs can be easily shared thanks to the big “print” and “share” buttons.

The handset utilizes a custom version of Android 4.4.2 KitKat, but the Lollipop update will be upon the device later this year.

The UI offers access to basic things such as phone dialer, camera, messages and such.

As for specifications, the IM5 arrives with a 5-inch IPS display with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution and with a MediaTek octa-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz nestled under the bonnet.

Everything onboard is fitted with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage (which luckily is expandable via microSD card).

The IM5 is a dual-SIM handset that weighs 120 g / 0.22 lbs and will be offered with a matte black finish.
The handset goes on sale in Europe first

For the time being, Kodak will launch the handset only in Europe, where it will hit retail locations towards the end of Q1 with a €299 / $357 price tag attached to it.

Kodak fans in the US will have to wait a while longer to get their hands on the handset, but for the time being we don’t have an exact date for when the launch will happen.