Huawei Philippines launched their very first Windows Phone 8 smartphone in the Philippines last week. The Huawei Ascend W1 is considered to be one of the more affordable WP8 in the local market.
Next to HTC, Nokia and Samsung, Huawei is only the 4th company to locally release a Windows Phone 8 in the country (although Samsung isn’t doing anything to push their WP8 handset).
Here’s a quick hands-on video of the device.
For an entry-level WP8 handset, the Ascend W1 looks really good — a 4-inch IPS display, a very capable Snapdragon Krait chip and good enough battery capacity. The build quality is pretty good and the design is simple, yet elegant. Reminds us a bit of the Xperia Sola where the glass display is slightly raised from the front panel.
The back side is somewhat flat and has a smooth, matte finish. The 5MP camera is at the center, flushed towards the top end along with the LED flash. The device feels good on the hands, has a bit of heft to it, considering the size, and also somewhat chunky at 10.5mm.
Windows Phone 8 runs very smoothly on the device, very fluid and snappy. We did not notice any custom apps done by Huawei to add to the OS but that’s alright since we didn’t really expect them to.
Huawei Ascend W1 specs:
4.0 inch IPS OGS display @ 480×800 pixels, 233ppi
Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon 1.2GHz dual-core Krait
Adreno 305
512MB RAM
4GB internal storage (microSD card support)
3G/HSDPA up to 21Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP
5MP rear camera @ 720p
VGA front-facing camera
GPS w/ aGPS, GLONASS
Li-Ion 1950mAh battery
124.5 x 63.7 x 10.5 mm
130 g
Windows Phone 8
Despite the presence of an expandable mciroSD card, we’re a little concerned about the 4GB internal memory which is dedicated to the apps. Some might find it somewhat lacking, especially if they’re looking to install file-heavy games.
The Huawei Ascend W1 will retail for Php8,990 in stores and available in blue, red and black. Check us back for the full review in a week or two.
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