Samsung just took the selfie craze to a whole new level. If you thought Microsoft’s ‘World’s largest selfie’ was insane, then you’ll probably find this one more interesting. Samsung recently launched its Galaxy A5 and A3 smartphones in South Africa and the company went ahead to set a world record for Most Selfies Taken in One Day. The exact number that set the record is 12,803 selfies snapped over a 24 hour period during multiple events in Johannesburg.
The company organised events all over Johannesburg, inviting people to take selfies using the Galaxy A series phones. The record improves on the previous attempt by 3,000 more selfies. Samsung also gave away 100 Galaxy A series smartphones and a bunch of selfie sticks in order to get people to participate.
The Galaxy A5 and A3 smartphones had originally been launched in various markets back in December 2014. The devices came to India on January 6, in an event organised in Mumbai. Both the smartphones have 5MP front cameras and Samsung played up the selfie aspect for them. They are powered by the Snapdragon 410 SoC along with 5 inch 720p displays and 2GB of RAM.
Samsung has overpriced the phones in India though, at around Rs. 20,000 each. We’ve been monitoring the performance of the Snapdragon 410 SoC in the Lenovo A6000 for some time now and we don’t think it should cost anywhere above Rs. 10,000.
Below is the Press Release issued by Samsung announcing the record attempt
Samsung Electronics South Africa has joined forces with GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ to attempt the coveted title for the most contributions to an online album of self-portrait photographs (selfies) in 24 hours. The attempt will take place at Sandton City in Johannesburg and the Canal Walk in Cape Town, on the 31st January.
Samsung in partnership with 947 FM and KFM, will host exciting live events that will bring the campaign to thousands of consumers – who will be part of the launch of the new GALAXY A Series Smartphone. Samsung will give away one hundred GALAXY A smartphones at the activations, that will be one device every 30 minutes and the first ten people to arrive at the venues in each city will receive Samsung GALAXY A smartphones and other spot prizes. South Africans who wish to participate and be a part of this incredible attempt can get to any of the activation points as early as possible. Secure your spot and get ready for the most exhilarating experience. The process will include a quick registration process and then entrants will take their selfies and receive a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ certificate of participation.
The art of taking selfies is not just about contributing to the creation of good content but importantly, it’s a form of heightening self-confidence. Whether one’s head is tilted to the side, pouting or smiling, the selfie has brought a whole new meaning to the act of taking a self-portrait. Justin Hume, Director of Product Marketing, Integrated Mobility at Samsung Electronics SA: “At Samsung, we continually strive to shape initiatives that are creative and expressive and as such we are delivering an enhanced selfie experience to consumers, with the GALAXY A. It gives us great pleasure to be able to offer this opportunity of taking a selfie, posting it on social media and being part of the greatest record breaking phenomena.”
The GALAXY A features enhanced selfie modes such as Wide Selfie, Palm Selfie, Animated Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) and Beauty Face Features, letting users capture attractive selfies in high resolution by automatically detecting and focusing on a person’s face. Young consumers looking to express their unique style, while constantly staying connected – can use the advanced 5 MP front-facing camera, which is perfect for taking colourful selfies for those popular Instagram moments.