Hands On: The Slightly Unnecessary But Gorgeous Kodak Ektra Phone

LAS VEGAS—Kodak isn't making phones, but the new Kodak Ektra smartphone sure looks like a Kodak phone. With its big lens, dual-detent shutter button, side grip and gorgeous leather case, the Ektra—coming to the US in April for $549—proclaims its owner to be a photographer.

The Ektra is the latest creation from Bullitt, a chameleon-like British phone maker whose stock in trade is building phones that connect with famous brands. Bullitt is behind Caterpillar's CAT phones, most notably the CAT S60($495.95 at Amazon), a cult hit with a Flir infrared camera in it. It's also working with Land Rover.

The Ektra is designed to evoke the feel of a classic camera, said Charlie Henderson, Bullitt's head of lifestyle and peripherals. Thus, the really big lens enclosure on the back, which doesn't in fact hide spectacular hardware—just a nice piece of glass with OIS backed by a standard 21-megapixel smartphone sensor with 4K video recording. It uses phase detection autofocus and is f/2.0 aperture.

You hold this phone like a camera to take pictures. There's a bulge that orients itself into a grip for your right hand, and a dual-detent shutter button on the top which can lock in focus before you shoot. Maybe the Ektra doesn't have the spectaular sensor in the Google Pixel($649.99 at Verizon)—we'll only know when we test it—but it feels like a camera.

Hands On With Kodak's Ektra Camera Phone

Kodak and Bullitt spent a lot of time on the software. The custom camera app has a wheel interface that reminds you of turning the settings wheel on a traditional camera, and the phone is pre-loaded with a way to order prints from Kodak. There's an extensive manual mode with great shutter speed controls. The Snapseed photo-editing app is built in, and can be accessed right from the gallery screen.

I took some shots, and the Ektra focused quickly; I especially appreciated the shutter speed controls in the manual mode. You can fool with focus easily to create various effects, and as a phone with a camera focus, it hit the spot in my brief hands on.

The Ektra is an unlocked phone for AT&T and T-Mobile, and runs Mediatek's slightly exotic high-end Helio X20 processor at 2.3GHz. It's an Android Marshmallow phone, which is forgivable as it came out in Europe a few weeks ago; a Nougat update is in the works, but Bullitt is waiting for Mediatek on that. There's a 13-megapixel selfie camera, 32GB of storage, 3GB of RAM, a 3000mAh battery, and a MicroSD card slot.

The most striking feature, though, might be an accessory—a leather camera case (whose US price isn't set yet) that makes the Ektra look like a classic pocket camera on a neck strap. It's really gorgeous and only fits the Ektra.

The Kodak Ektra looks like a pretty good phone that will stand out in a crowd. Put it face down on a table, and people will want to talk about it. If you think of your phone as a statement of fashion and identity, that may strike a chord.