On the software side, we're happy to see that Vivo has finally ditched the old settings menu that it shamelessly copied from iOS (and the same goes for the X1S, the 720p plus quad-core refresh of the X1), but fans of vanilla Android 4.2 may still struggle to love Vivo's ROM. That said, the company's thrown a handful of surprises that may change one's mind. For one, to solve the ergonomic issue, the Xplay comes with a single-hand mode dubbed "Free Touch." Shake the phone sideways twice and you'll get a small window mirroring the current screen in your preferred lower corner (as pictured below) in real-time, which lets you tap your desired spot or scroll the web page with your holding thumb. What's more, you can also set your preferred window size to suit your tastes.

Other nifty features include several touch-less gestures: wave across the front of the phone to flip a page, hover over an icon to launch apps with a cursor, hover over the phone to unlock, and place a hand on front side of the phone to mute an incoming call. There's also native support for transfer of files larger than 4GB, meaning you're more likely to use WiFi Display or DLNA to stream large video files, if not the videos supplied by Vivo's online store (in collaboration with LeTV and Baidu's iQiyi video platform). Last but not least, you can watch video in a pop-up window over other apps.

The 16GB Xplay -- available in either black or white -- is now ready for pre-order in China for ¥2,998, or about $490, and the package includes some NFC tags, an OTG cable, a screen protector and a nice pair of earphones. No word on a date or price for the 32GB version, but hopefully it'll arrive soon after the 16GB's launch in the second half of May. Stay tuned for our upcoming hands-on -- we'll try to do a brief assessment on the audio quality.

Update 2: Sadly, the software on the phone wasn't quite stable enough to ensure that the DAC chip was working properly (plus the venue was rather noisy, anyway), so stay tuned for our review instead.

Bonus: A hands-on video of the electronic invitation card for Vivo's Xplay launch event.

Bonus 2: And here's a video of the whacky performance right before the unveiling of the Xplay.