The Huawei Ascend W1 is another interesting addition to the Kenyan smartphone market. This is not the first time that the Chinese Tech giant has tested its fortunes in Kenya. Most Kenyans got a taste of what Huawei has to offer through the best-selling Huawei Ideos U8150 handset.
However, the Huawei Ascend will be an exciting gamble, as it will be running the relatively new Windows Phone OS. It is also interesting to note that the Huawei Ascend W1 is the first Windows powered device from the Chinese phone manufacturer.
Now down to the topic at hand.
Just as we promised, here is a comprehensive review of the Huawei Ascend W1.
Display
The phone has a 4’ IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, which I must admit is quite impressive for a smartphone in its price range.
Additionally, the 480 x 800 pixels display delivers an outstanding 233 ppi, therefore users will enjoy some very decent viewing angles and probably an amazing screen visibility even under direct sunlight exposure.
The phone has a 4’ IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, which I must admit is quite impressive for a smartphone in its price range. Additionally, the 480 x 800 pixels display delivers an outstanding 233 ppi, therefore users will enjoy some very decent viewing angles and probably an amazing screen visibility even under direct sunlight exposure.
Body
Mediocre design is the infamous characteristic of most entry-level handsets. The Huawei Ascend W1 is however an exception. The phone spots an exquisite design giving you elusive touch of a premium handset. Huawei got rid of the dull plastic finish typical of most of its budget phones for a fresh colorful look for the phone.
The phone is quite slim (about 10.15mm thick) and assumes a boxular shape but with rounded edges. In general, it comes in a compact shape and slips perfectly in your palms.
Related: Nokia Lumia 520 Review and Pricing
Technical Specifications
A Dual-core 1.2 GHz Krait CPU powers the feather weighted Windows Phone 8 operating system. Multi-tasking between apps is amazingly fast and the occasional lag that is characteristic of entry-level handsets is literally nonexistent.
The amazing performance is in spite of the fact that the phone only has 512 MB of onboard RAM. The phone will come in packed with 4GB of internal memory and supports microSDHC of up to 32GB.
On the connectivity aspect, the phone supports a 21 Mbps uplink speed coupled by a 5.76 Mbps downlink peed while on a 3G network. However, it is disappointing that phone has the now outdated Bluetooth v2.1 and isn’t equipped with hotspot functionality.
Multimedia
Huawei Ascend W1 comes with a 5MP snapper, which is equipped with a LED flash for shooting in low light scenes. Additionally, the phone has a VGA camera as a front facing camera for video calls and self-shots.
Battery Life
Battery life on the device is amazing. The awesome battery stamina mainly stems from the resource efficient windows 8 OS and the large Li-Ion 1950 mAh capacity battery.
Verdict
The Huawei Ascend W1 is one of the best budget phones in the market. The price tag strikes the perfect tradeoff between cost and specs, which is by the way quite elusive for most phones in its price range.
The phone offers a fresh alternative to a market that is largely a domain of the Android ecosystem. It is the perfect phone for those willing to jump ship and join the Microsoft Mobile Operating system.
Tech Trends Diary
Huawei Ascend W1 [usr 9.9]
Competitors
Rivals to the Huawei Ascend W1 include the Techno Phantom F7 and the Sony Xperia Ray.
Price in Kenya
The Huawei Ascend W1 has a suggested retail price of Ksh 14,999 in Kenya
It will be awesome if you rate this gadget.
Kevin is a tech enthusiast and the lead writer at MobiTrends.co.ke. He has been writing about smartphones and tech related topics since October 2012. About Us | Contact Us
