Review: Huawei Ascend P1

If you want to play with the big boys, you have to get out of the sandbox. And that is exactly what Huawei is trying to do with the Ascend P1 smartphone.

Huawei is not known for making top-of-the-range smartphones, but the Ascend P1 is the Chinese manufacturer's way of saying it can actually bring out the big guns beyond just 3G dongles and modems.

The new handset piles just about everything you'd expect from a smartphone these days into a neat and unassuming package. The P1 will not blow you away with its looks, but it may charm you with its specs.

The handset is super slim, at 7.6mm, and light, at 110g. The body is shiny plastic - and unfortunately feels that way, too. Luckily, there's Corning Gorilla Glass on the front, which gives the phone a slightly sturdier feel. Overall though, the phone borders on feeling cheap (but perhaps I've just been tainted by the look and feel of the likes of the Galaxy SIII and iPhone 4S - and given the P1's price, perhaps the phone snobs among us should just pipe down.

For those who feel the iPhone's screen is a bit on the small side, while the SIII is just too close to a phablet, the Ascend P1 stays in the middle ground with a 4.3-inch super AMOLED display. Now the super AMOLED display is great - and pretty much the industry standard now for anything other than the iPhone - but it does tend to appear over-saturated. But this can just come down to a matter of personal taste.

Unfortunately, the camera lens on the back of the phone juts out quite unattractively (and uncomfortably), just like the bulge at the base of the handset (which presumably houses everything that couldn't fit in the thin body of the phone), making it seem a bit unbalanced. The buttons on the top and sides of the phone also feel a bit loose and don't inspire a great deal of confidence in their longevity.

The P1 has a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and provides enough power for all the necessary tasks. Of course, if you keep an excessive number of apps open in the background, you're going to experience some lag, but the P1 was more than capable of handling standard usage and then some.

The capacitive touch-screen was generally very responsive and easy to use, and typing on-screen was no problem. The high glossy finish of the phone did mean it ended up covered in fingerprints - but then again, what phones don't these days?

While ICS is no longer the pinnacle of the Android platform, it's still a great deal better than previous iterations of the OS. This particular ICS OS has been slightly tweaked by Huawei with features like extra launch functions from the homescreen (so you can go directly to the camera, messages or make a call). Huawei has also added the option of a '3D home'. This essentially just changes the appearance of the homescreens, and the transitions between them, making everything appear just a little bit more dynamic.

As for the interface itself, it took me a little while to get used to the fact that there is no dedicated multitasking button. The three buttons along the base comprise an options button, home button and back button. Recently opened applications are accessed by holding down the home button.

Android users will be instantly familiar with the interface and options for customisation. Out of the box, the P1 curiously comes with the display text set to the smallest setting possible - something that put me off at first, but that could be easily changed.

All the standard Google apps also come preinstalled on the handset, so there's easy access to YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps and Google+. The Google Play store also provides access to a vast range of apps, but one should probably invest in a microSD card to ensure there's enough room on the phone for all the versions of Angry Birds, if you're a big app user.

In terms of battery life, the Ascend P1 performed relatively well - lasting for a full day of standard usage without needing to charge. If you use a lot of apps though, you may be reaching for the power cable before the end of the workday.

All in all, the Ascend P1 is a pretty impressive smartphone that offers most of the features of the top smartphones, without the hefty price tag. The lower price does come with its drawbacks though, as it noticeably lacks the attention to detail and fine finishes of the iPhone 4S and Galaxy SIII. This handset does have the potential to put some great features in the hands of people who may otherwise not be able to afford them though - and for that, Huawei should get a lot of credit.

The Ascend P1 has a recommended retail price of R5 499, but is currently available exclusively through Vodacom for R279 per month on a 24-month Business Call contract, which includes a 250MB data bundle.