Performance and battery life
The specifications sheet clearly shows that
Huawei had pretty much saving when it came to the internal components. We
played with the Snapdragon S4 Play MSM8230 that powers the device in late 2011;
and the Adreno 205 GPU that came from the same age. Suffice to say Microsoft is
worth praising for Windows Phone works very well on the underlying hardware,
and we would be surprised if casual users realized they were using 2-year-old
device. Navigating is not choppy and the Ascend W1 was even able to prevail over
Nokia’s basic Lumia series in the tests. It was a similar story in the browser,
which was smooth (but not too fast) and we were able to switch between mobile
and desktop versions without any stutter or delay. When we tested it with a 3D
game like Brutal Chase, there was the weird stutter, but nothing else.
Suffice
to say Microsoft is worth praising for Windows Phone works very well on the
underlying hardware.
Huawei
Ascend W1
·
WPBench: 212.25
·
Pin: 2:57
·
SunSpider: 1,127
·
AnTuTu: 9,281
Huawei
Ascend W1
Nokia
Lumia 520
·
WPBench: 178
·
Pin: 2:41
·
SunSpider: 1,400
·
AnTuTu: 7,350
Nokia
Lumia 520
Nokia
Lumia 620
·
WPBench: 180
·
Pin: 3:41
·
SunSpider: 1,443
·
AnTuTu: 7,479
Nokia
Lumia 620
Nokia
Lumia 720
·
WPBench: 179
·
Pin: 4:36
·
SunSpider: 1,440
·
AnTuTu: 7,348
Nokia
Lumia 720
HTC
8S
·
WPBench: 180
·
Pin: 3:30
·
SunSpider: 1,415
·
AnTuTu: 7,333
HTC
8S
HTC
8X
·
WPBench: 221
·
Pin: 2:30
·
SunSpider: 914
·
AnTuTu: 11,775
HTC
8X
The place where Huawei spent money was in
the battery section, by providing a battery with the huge capacity of 1,950mAh.
During WPBench’s intensive battery rundown test, it survived for two hours and
57 minutes, and we realized that the W1 continued to run throughout a day and
we did not need to worry about plugging the power. Considering that we set up
the high screen brightness and were shooting images all day, we could only
claim that the low-resolution screen and low- specifications hardware sipped, rather
than consumed the power.
The
place where Huawei spent money was in the battery section, by providing a
battery with the huge capacity of 1,950mAh.
If you are one of the few who still use the
smartphone as a phone, then be careful. The call quality on this device is a
bit jarring to anyone who has been overindulged by the noise-reducing
microphones or HD voice. It is not unendurable, but the call quality is not
equal to what we would expect from the phone that has newly been released.
Competitors
·
Huawei Ascend W1: $230
·
Nokia Lumia 520/521: $149
·
Nokia Lumia 620: $180
When discussing the closest competitors of
the Ascend W1, we are really just mentioning the Lumia 520 (521 in the US) and
the Lumia 620. Surprisingly, Huawei's new product is likely to surpass these
two devices in almost all of the tests - because we believe that the longer
battery life of the 620 is partly due to its smaller screen, and therefore less
demanding. When we reviewed the two Lumia phones, we realized that the 520 had
poor shooting ability, lacked a front-facing camera and the low-end
specifications that made the phone feel like an irrelevant thing. By
comparison, the 620 comes at a $45 premium and boasts many of the additional
features and a slightly smaller, but more outstanding screen. However, both of
Nokia’s phones have 8GB of storage and can accept microSD cards up to 64GB,
compared to the 32GB you are able to insert into the W1.
Conclusion
Huawei
Ascend W1 is well-built device that will impress anyone making their first steps
into the world of smartphones.
Huawei Ascend W1 is well-built device that
will impress anyone making their first steps into the world of smartphones. If
you are attracted by the price, do not mind about the limited storage options
and will not be capturing a lot of images, then this is a reasonable purchase.
It is only when you consider the device in a broader context, its flaws start
to appear, and we feel obligated to let you know if there is a better option
available.
For example, if you compare it with the
Lumia 520, the W1’s superior design, and better build quality, front-facing
camera, longer battery life and general performance make it stand out. But, the
520 has double the internal storage (8GB) and double the capacity of the
microSD card (64GB), which may attract those who take their music collection
with them. The two devices have the poor primary cameras, and thus we still
think if you have more money, it is best for you to buy the Lumia 620.
Info
·
Product name: Huawei Ascend W1
·
Price: $230
Pros
·
It has the cheap price.
·
Hardware is appealing and well-designed.
·
The performance is excellent.
·
The battery is big.
Cons
·
There is only usable 1.88GB of storage.
·
The camera is erratic
Verdict
·
This Windows Phone 8 device is very good but
lagged behind by the lack of storage and the poor camera, but the good
performance can appeal to speed enthusiasts.
|
Huawei
Ascend W1 Technical Specifications
·
Dimensions: 124.5mm x 63.7mm x 10.15mm (4.9 x
2.5 x 0.4 in)
·
Weight: 4.2 oz. (120 grams)
·
Screen size: 4.0 inches
·
Resolution: 800 x 480 (233 ppi)
·
Screen type: IPS LCD with OGS
·
Battery: 1,950mAh (removable)
·
Internal storage: 4GB (1.88GB user accessible)
·
External storage: microSD (up to 32GB)
·
Rear camera: 5 MP AF
·
Forward camera: 0.3 MP
·
Video capture: 720p (rear only)
·
NFC: No (Ed. note: PR confirmed optional NFC
is a typo)
·
Radios GSM: 850/900/1,800/1,900
·
UMTS: 900/2,100, 850/1,900/AWS
·
HSPA+: 21 Mbps d/l, 5.76 Mbps u/l
·
Bluetooth: 2.1 HS
·
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Play (MSM8,230)
·
CPU: 1.2GHz dual-core
·
GPU: Adreno 305 300MHz
·
RAM: 512MB
·
WiFi: 802.11b/g/n
·
Wireless charging: No
·
Operating system: Windows Phone 8
|
