If earlier it was customary to look at Chinese gadgets, in the words of Mayakovsky, “like a goat on a poster”, then recently the attitude towards them has changed to the diametrically opposite one. In particular, Huawei took one of the central places at the MWC 2012 exhibition, presenting extremely interesting Ascend D Quad and Ascend D1 devices. Unfortunately, the top Huawei smartphones of 2012 have not yet reached Ukraine, so today we will consider their younger brother - Huawei Honor U8860.

Specifications Huawei Honor U8860

• Ranges: GPRS/GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS/HSPA 900/1700/2100.
• Form factor: keyboardless monoblock.
• Operating system: Google Android 2.3.6.
• Display: 4 inches, TFT with transflective substrate, 480x854 pixels, 16 million colors, touch (capacitive matrix).
• Camera: 8 MP, autofocus, geotagging, video recording (1280x720/30p), LED backlight.
• CPU: Qualcomm MSM8255T, one ARM Cortex A8 core, 1.4 GHz; integrated video accelerator Adreno 205.
• RAM: 512 MB.
• Flash memory: 4 GB (3 GB available to the user) + microSDHC cards up to 32 GB.
• Multimedia features: MP3 player, FM receiver, video player, video editor, YouTube integration.
• Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi b/g/n with mobile hotspot support, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR.
• Interface connector: microUSB, headphone output 3.5 mm.
• GPS: yes, support A-GPS, support Google Maps.
• Dimensions and weight: 122x61x11 mm, 140 grams.

Appearance and design

If the appearance of Huawei Honor could be described in one word, it would be the word "plain". The device is completely made of black plastic, there are no bright accents in its design. Personally, I found the combination of different textures interesting (glossy plastic on the front panel, corrugated back cover), but in general the phone looks rather pale. On the other hand, if we consider the smartphone itself solely as a frame for user-generated content, then such modesty in design can be called a plus.

The U8860 is about the same size as the iPhone 4S, but it has a 4-inch screen instead of the 3.5-inch screen that Apple has.

It makes no sense to talk about the controls, since they are the same for all modern Android smartphones. I will only note that Huawei Honor has a separate “Search” button under the screen, which other manufacturers abandoned a year ago.

The battery cover of the U8860, like that of some HTC devices, covers not only the rear surface, but also the sides of the phone. There are also no surprises under it, except for the impressive capacity of the standard battery - 1930 mAh (7.2 Wh). Separately, I would like to note the very high quality of the assembly and finish of the phone. In terms of production culture, Huawei is clearly not inferior to consumer electronics giants such as Samsung and Nokia.

Display

Huawei U8860 is equipped with a 4-inch TFT screen with a resolution of 480x854 pixels. Brightness and color reproduction are good, but viewing angles can be described as mediocre. But the display in Honor has a transflective substrate and therefore retains full readability even in the brightest sun, which not all devices of even the highest price range can boast of.

Interface and software

Huawei U8860 is currently running Android 2.3.6 operating system, and the manufacturer promises to release an update to Android 4.0 by the end of summer. On top of the operating system, the smartphone has its own shell, which I don’t like outwardly (many icons are drawn in it very primitively), but I’m very pleased with its convenience and functionality. To begin with, right from the lock screen, you can go to the camera, call list or messages. The device supports several desktops on which you can place widgets and application icons, and the icons can be grouped into folders. The same applies to the application menu - folder creation is supported, unnecessary programs can be deleted using the "iPhone method" (by clicking on the red cross that appears in the corner of the icon in the menu editing mode). Like all self-respecting Android devices, there are “knife switches” in the notification area for quick control of wireless interfaces, including a separate button for complete turning off the mobile Internet, for which a special thank you to Huawei.

Separately, I want to note a fairly convenient music player; simple, but also convenient FM receiver; built-in file manager; as well as a pre-installed "light" version of the Documents To Go office suite, which can view Microsoft Office documents, but cannot edit them. In general, I repeat, the Huawei U8860 interface is functional and convenient, you can comfortably use the phone without any “tinkering”. The only thing I didn't like was the lack of Russian T9 when dialing a number.

An interesting point: when connected to a computer, a virtual CD-drive with drivers and software for working with the phone appears in the system (I could not check its performance and functionality due to the lack of computers with the Windows operating system at hand).

Performance and autonomy

The U8860 is powered by a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with Adreno 205 integrated graphics and 512MB of RAM. In other words, its technical characteristics are at the level of the flagship devices of 2010. To date, a device with such a filling can be called a strong "middle peasant", which is confirmed by the results of performance tests. In everyday life, the phone performed well, no significant plugging was observed. Due to the relatively high battery capacity, the device is one of the most enduring Android smartphones: it can work for a full day even with active use, and if at least the minimum rules for saving energy are observed, it can last for two days.

Camera

I will say right away, without blunts: the camera is the weakest point of the Huawei U8860. Despite the excellent declared characteristics (8 MP, autofocus), even in sunny weather it takes “not very good”, and at the slightest deterioration in lighting (clouds ran into the sky) - very “not very good”. The photos are not very clear, with pronounced noise, and even in the center of the frame there is a noticeable “pink spot”, which is typical for many camera phones. However, enough words, judge for yourself:

In the dry matter

As you probably guessed, the Huawei U8860 Honor smartphone made the most favorable impression on me. Its undoubted advantages include excellent workmanship, a good overall screen, a convenient and functional shell and sufficient performance for any task. It is worth noting 4 GB of internal memory, of which 3 GB are available to the user (2 GB in the form of an internal SD card and 1 GB in the form of a drive). The device has only two drawbacks - a mediocre camera and a small amount of RAM (512 MB), which can adversely affect responsiveness when several applications are running simultaneously. Overall, the Huawei U8860 Honor is on par with quality phones like the HTC Incredible S, Samsung Galaxy W - and costs about the same as they do. It can be argued that if the price of the U8860 drops by at least 200-300 hryvnias, then another bestseller will appear on the Ukrainian market. 6 reasons to buy Huawei U8860 Honor:

• good workmanship;
• screen with transflective substrate;
• comfortable branded shell;
• good speed;
• 4 GB internal memory;
• capacious battery and good autonomy.

2 reasons not to buy Huawei U8860 Honor:

• weak camera;
• only 512 MB of RAM.

Huawei has consistently supplied low-end mid-range smartphones such as the Ideos X5 and the Ascend series. Although the manufacturer often reserves its best models for Asia, they have begun to appear in Europe and the US. The Huawei Honor U8860, which was priced at $249.99 at launch, runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is equipped with a 4-inch screen, 1.4GHz single-core processor, 8MP rear and 2MP front cameras, as well as a battery that ensures the operation of the device for at least one day. In 2011, it was at the top of the mobile phone spectrum, although it still lagged behind premium models.

Design

According to owners, the Huawei U8860 Honor is a rather nice smartphone that, with its dimensions of 122 x 61 x 11 mm, falls into the popular range - not too big and not too small. The reason for some fullness of the phone is the battery. The black glossy bezel of the screen is surrounded by a silver bezel, and the back panel is available in six colors: glossy and textured black, burgundy, white, hot yellow and pink. The plastic material of the case significantly reduces the class of the device. There is no scratch-resistant glass or coating, but daily use does not damage the screen of the smartphone much. The phone is long and rather thin, with rounded corners and straight, sharp-edged sides, very reminiscent of the iPhone 4. It weighs 140g, fits comfortably in the hand, and is almost imperceptible in a narrow trouser pocket.

Above the display is a 2-megapixel front camera, and below it are four touch buttons for menu, home screen, back and search. There is also a small message indicator that glows when notifications are received. The micro-USB charging port is on the bottom, the volume rocker is on the left, and the power button and 3.5mm headset jack are on the top. On the back, you can find the camera lens and LED flash. Unfortunately, user reviews find access to the microSD card slot in Huawei Honor U8860 not very convenient - you have to remove the battery to do this. Installing a SIM card requires a lot of maneuvers. Judging by the feedback from the owners, they would like the manufacturer to simplify this procedure.

Display

The 4-inch capacitive touchscreen is perfect for those who find 5-inch devices too big. Its resolution is FWVGA 480 x 854 pixels with support for 16 million colors. The pixel density is 245 dpi. The screen is very bright, colorful, and the large icons are clearly detailed and easy to press. According to user reviews, this is the best display among budget smartphones in 2011, the disadvantages of which are insufficient brightness for working in the sun and a glossy surface that casts glare and attracts fingerprints.

Interface

The Huawei Honor U8860 is running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but was the first phone that could be upgraded to Android 4.0 by downloading the software from the manufacturer's website. In the past, the company has played with the addition of various skins to distinguish its smartphones from those of other manufacturers. This time the user interface is slightly different.

The lock screen is similar to those found on HTC devices. It allows you to move the circle over the lock, phone, map, and camera icons to unlock the device and show the home screen, call log, text messages, or photo app, respectively.

The user is offered five customizable home screens with default animation, which makes them look like they are the sides of a cube. The drop-down menu has shortcut buttons to enable wireless communication over a mobile network, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, geolocation, automatic screen orientation.

The app bar contains two large static buttons. One allows you to go to the home screen, and the other "activates" the application icons, making them vibrating squares that can be rearranged in the application list. This is not a very necessary and not the most intuitive feature.

Input Devices

According to user feedback, the TouchPal virtual keyboard, which is one of the four input options, is better done. The rest are Android keyboard, MobiDiv and Huawei IME. While not all innovations are necessary, users have been very pleased that any virtual key can be swiped up to uppercase and down to the corresponding number instead of simply holding down the button until its alternative value pops up. The TouchPal virtual keyboard offers the fastest and most convenient way to change case and dial numbers. The only thing that is a bit inconvenient is the on-screen keys are too high and narrow. In addition, you can slide your fingers on the keyboard without taking your eyes off the screen, while swiping right and left allows you to choose from three keyboard configurations. There are quick settings buttons, elements for editing and a shortcut for working with voice.

Recovery cost

Phone repair Huawei Honor U8860 will not be very cheap. According to the owners, you will have to pay $30 to replace the display. A new camera, speaker or call for Huawei Honor U8860 will cost half as much. Replacing the touchscreen will cost $25. Therefore, it will be useful to purchase a protective case.

Functionality

The Huawei U8860 Honor has standard connectivity features such as Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth, access to multiple email accounts, and create multimedia messages. Supports the use of social networks and web surfing. There is a clock, calculator, calendar, basic music player and FM radio. The Android App Store allows you to install a large number of additional software. Google services are one of the main advantages of Android, and they are here, as always: Google Maps with voice guidance for driving directions, Places, Talk, YouTube, and more.

Additional software is also installed. It includes Facebook, Twitter, DLNA and voice recorder. There's also Cloud+ Drive, a backup app, TouchPal settings, and a traffic manager. The third package contains the weather forecast, alarm clock, application installer, document viewer, notepad, and voice dialer. Even without operator software, the list of pre-installed programs is impressive.

Additional features can be found in the settings. Everything is here - from enabling traffic distribution to customizing the appearance of the phone interface.

cameras

As already mentioned, the phone Huawei U8860 Honor is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash. Its application allows you to choose from several types of scenes and take pictures in 8, 5, 3 or 2 megapixels, as well as a small VGA format. There are the usual presets for white balance and color effects, autofocus, support for HDR (high dynamic range, often used in landscape photography). The last feature, according to user reviews, does not work quite the way they expected. Artistic filters are available, including sepia, negative, and solarize. There is no physical shutter button, as well as zoom and focus functions at the touch point. The camera is responsive, but not as fast as the Sony Xperia S or HTC One X.

According to user reviews, in automatic mode, pictures are of varying quality, but in general they lack clarity and sharpness at the edges of high-end smartphones. As usual, outdoor photos turn out better than indoors, especially in scenes with even lighting.

Smartphone Huawei U8860 Honor allows you to shoot video in 720p format at 30 fps. When played back on the phone screen, it looks good, without any noticeable compression, pixelation, blurring or jerking. The recorded sound is a little compressed and seems mechanical.

Although there is a 2-megapixel front camera, users do not recommend using it for taking glamorous selfies. Even the best image is highly grainy at close inspection, noticeably inferior in quality to other phones.

Connection quality

According to user reviews, the Huawei U8860 Honor quad-band GSM mobile communication module demonstrates acceptable connection quality. The voice sounds a bit boomy and muffled, and each caller's word is accompanied by a high-pitched sound. Although the squeak is weak, it is clearly audible and hard to ignore. After prolonged use, it will be very annoying. Subscribers on the other end of the communication line hear the owner of Huawei Honor quite well, although it is clear from the quality of the connection that the call is made using a cell phone. The voice seems a little muffled.

Users rate the speakerphone worse. The interlocutor's voice is distorted to such an extent that it is difficult to recognize it. The sound is intermittent and too deep, as if the person is speaking with their cheeks and lips compressed. On the other end of the line, the voice is quiet and hard to hear, but otherwise crisp and clear.

Performance

The Huawei Honor U8860 has 1 GB of built-in memory, which is clearly insufficient for storing applications, but this is compensated by support for microSD memory cards up to 32 GB. The processor is powered by 512 MB of RAM.

There are few complaints from owners about the speed of the smartphone, which uses the Snapdragon MSM8255T chipset, which combines a 1.4 GHz Scorpion CPU and Adreno 205 GPU. The animation is smooth, applications open quickly, but not all. The gallery is especially slow if it has accumulated a lot of content.

The gaming index of the phone is higher than that of Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V or HTC Sensation. The Smartbench 2012 test shows a performance index of 1077 points, while AnTuTu gives the smartphone 3713.

But the same cannot be said about the speed of working with data. The phone, theoretically capable of 3G at 14.4 Mbps down and 5.7 Mbps up, proved capable of maximum EDGE. The reception speed is horrendously slow and doesn't match the normal user experience. NFC is missing.

Battery Life

Battery life with a capacity of 1900 mAh does not exceed 10 hours in talk mode. The manufacturing company claims that this should be enough for three days. According to users who tested the Huawei U8860 Honor Black in video mode with wireless enabled, the phone lasted 7 hours and 40 minutes.

Conclusion

At one time, a good mid-range smartphone Huawei Honor U8860, the price of which was $ 250, is distinguished by a small amount of internal memory, a mediocre camera and poor communication quality. Fingerprints are a big problem and the brightness of the LCD leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the sun. But the phone's 720p video capture is satisfactory, and the hardware and software work quickly and easily. The smartphone does not seriously compete with such analogues as Samsung Galaxy S Plus, HTC One V and Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro both in terms of functionality and cost.

The Chinese company Huawei appeared on the domestic market of mobile gadgets relatively recently - just a couple of years ago. Despite this, it is successfully pushing back the technological giants that have been present in Russia and other CIS countries for decades. What is the secret of such success?

Not the last role in what made Huawei models so famous and in demand was the quality of the products. Phones sold under their logo have all the necessary qualities of a successful product: exquisite design, powerful hardware, optimized software and, of course, low price, which is typical for many devices from China.

The hero of today's review will be the Huawei U8860 Honor. It is not new, it was released to the market back in 2011. Despite this, even today the device seems to meet the requirements of buyers and does not lag behind advanced devices. Read more about what the creators of Huawei Honor 3 U8860 can offer to their public in this review.

Smartphone position

When the device was released for sale, it was positioned as a very powerful and fast smartphone at an affordable price. At least for Chinese developers, the Huawei U8860 Honor phone was a real flagship - nimble, functional and attractive just by all criteria. As it turns out later, the company is trying to make each of its models as such. Perhaps this is the secret of her success. In parallel, competing with Samsung, HTC and others, the Chinese did not forget about the low price of their phones.

For example, Huawei U8860 Honor at the time of the start of sales cost only 14 thousand rubles.

But let's move on from a general description of the model to a more specific description of its functions.

Equipment

Before looking at the device, let's take a look at the bundle it comes with. Let's face it, the Chinese have always taken care of their customers in terms of the availability of accessories. Inexpensive devices from the Celestial Empire are often supplied with a headset, protective films, and cases. It's not that original or unusual, but it leaves a good impression on the buyer.

In the case of Huawei Honor U8860, everything is quite modest. The device comes in a box along with headphones, instructions, a battery, as well as a charger and a USB cable.

Design and appearance

By tradition, we start reviewing the phone directly from its appearance. In this regard, the Honor 3 models do not have much to boast about. The device is made in a traditional rectangular shape and has smooth corners. Along the entire perimeter of the phone, you can see a silver edging - this is a decorative line that visually separates the screen of the device. True, from the point of view of practicality, one could make claims to the developers. Reviews indicate that this line scratches very easily, while it is very noticeable and can thus spoil the appearance of the device.

The back cover of the phone is made in a glossy texture. This model came out when it was not yet such a banal move as it can be characterized today. Therefore, in general, the phone looks nice, although there is nothing unusual about it.

Navigation

Under the display of Huawei U8860 Honor there are physical control buttons. There are four of them (whereas, according to tradition, there are three of them on all Android smartphones). The search button is unusual. In addition to these, there are other controls for the gadget, in particular, the device's power button (on the top edge of the device), as well as the swing for changing the volume of the model's sound.

In all other respects, the device is not much different from other similar smartphones. At the bottom is a connector for the charger, above the screen you can see the eye of the proximity sensor and the front camera; The rear panel houses the main camera and flash. The headset plugs into the jack on the top edge near the power button.

Screen

The Huawei Honor U8860 model (the specifications confirm this information) has a 4-inch display based on TFT-LCD technology. This means that the phone is able to display a lot of colors (about 16 million), be moderately bright and colorful, but lose saturation when the screen is tilted. So, if the viewing angle changes, you can notice the complete brightening of the picture. In this regard, of course, the device loses to competitors with an LCD display.

The screen resolution is 480 by 854 pixels, due to which the graininess is almost imperceptible here. The model supports up to 2 simultaneous clicks.

For additional protection of the display, the Huawei U8860 Honor Black model is equipped with a special layer of glass that is glued on top of the screen. It resists most of the everyday scratches, chips, and other damage that can occur in everyday phone use. However, you should not rely on it. As reviews show, even protective glass can be damaged. The best way to protect the model continues to be a film on the screen.

autonomy

In 2011, when the model was introduced, there was already a question for Android phone manufacturers regarding the duration of their devices. Even then, users noticed the low autonomy of many devices on this operating system.

It is quite difficult to say anything definite about Huawei Honor U8860. This model does not have official specifications regarding the duration of the work. At the level of private reviews, it was found that in continuous talk mode the device can work for about 7 hours, while listening to music - 25, and video - about 8 hours.

The scores are quite decent. With them, the device could work normally for two days. In principle, even for active users of Huawei Honor U8860, Android fans, this should be enough.

Camera

As already noted, two cameras are installed on the smartphone at once - front and main - cameras. Of course, the first one has much less capabilities than the main one, but exact data on it could not be found. The rear camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels and is equipped with a flash. Due to this, the pictures are of mediocre quality (despite the high and promising parameter - 8 megapixels). Huawei U8860 Honor is able to shoot in detail and beautifully, but for this you need to try.

The “autofocus” function is present, but in general, pointing the camera at the object is pretty bad. The smartphone does not have the option to focus on an object after clicking on the screen. Because of this, in order to switch the attention of the camera, it is necessary to take it to the side and point it at the subject of photography again. This, as you understand, is extremely inconvenient.

The device is capable of creating videos in fairly good quality.

The only thing openly complained about in the reviews is the quality of the sound received by the camera. It is terrible and is transmitted at the lowest bitrate.

CPU

The model works on the basis of Quallcomm MSM8255 in the Turbo modification. At a clock frequency of 1.4 GHz, the model shows quite good results. For example, they are noticeable when opening the phone menu, when performing various operations with the device. Everything happens very smoothly and measuredly, no “twitches” typical for Android devices were noticed. In this regard, it is pleasant to work with the model.

The Adreno 205 graphics accelerator, common on other touch models, is also installed here. This module allows you to run colorful games and applications at high settings.

Memory

The phone has 512 megabytes of RAM. As you can see, this is quite enough for the phone to work without freezes and delays. Physical memory is about 4 GB. Of these, only 1 GB is allocated for applications. However, the device supports memory cards, so you should not worry about the lack of space for multimedia files. According to the reviews, the mobile device is capable of reading cards up to 32 GB.

Connection

Traditionally, the device supports several communication formats. As a rule, they are typical. And Huawei Honor 3 U8860 (the smartphone we are describing) is no exception.

These formats include conventional GSM networks, Bluetooth for sending and receiving files, Wi-Fi for working with a high-speed wireless Internet connection. The device also has a GSP module based on GLONASS maps. When used with a headset used as an antenna, the phone is capable of playing FM radio.

operating system

According to the technical specifications, the model operates on the basis of Android 2.3.6. However, it should be understood that 3-4 years have passed since the launch of the device for sale, and the developers could adapt one of the subsequent OS versions for this model. For example, there were rumors about the introduction of Android 4.0 on this device. It may well be that they were justified. True, given that updates often lead to even more problems, it is difficult to say how the Huawei Honor U8860 will behave in the future.

Design, body materials

The smartphone has a strict rectangular shape without frills, you can only note smooth bevels on the battery cover around the perimeter and a thin frame around the front side, made “under the metal”. By design, this is a very simple device, you can say about it “a large screen and four touch buttons”, there is no charm and magic of Apple phones here, but I personally can’t call Honor a Chinese craft. It looks simple and tasteful.

In Russia, the device is presented in black and white, although in Asia the smartphone is also sold in more cheerful colors. For review, we took a white model, the battery cover in it is made of glossy plastic, which quickly gets dirty, but it is difficult to see traces and prints on it, so this cannot be called a critical minus. The screen cover is tempered glass, after a month of operation, one small scratch appeared on my sample, otherwise the screen looks like new. True, it also gets dirty.

Dimensions

In terms of size, Huawei Honor is a typical representative of a mid-range smartphone, not too big, but far from compact. In terms of weight, the model is slightly heavier than expected when you see the device, the situation is the reverse of what occurs when looking at the Samsung Galaxy S II, which weighs less than expected.

• Apple iPhone 4S- 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm, 140g
• HTC Desire S- 115 x 59.8 x 11.6mm, 130g
• Huawei Vision– 122 x 61 x 11 mm, 140 g

The smartphone is convenient to carry in the pockets of any clothing, no discomfort. If people carry their favorite “iPhone” weighing 140 grams in their jacket pockets, then why not carry Huawei Honor too?

Controls

The set of controls in Huawei Honor is standard for a smartphone based on Android OS. This is a panel of four touch keys under the screen, as well as volume buttons on the left edge and power on the top. From left to right under the screen are the keys "House", "Menu", "Back" and "Search". The touch block with a bright white backlight, when you touch the keys, the body vibrates slightly, which simplifies the work with the block of keys.

A long press on the "House" key brings up a convenient manager of running applications. Programs are represented by thumbnails in the lower area of ​​the screen and scroll left and right, next to each mini-picture there is a cross to close the application, you can also close all programs with the button of the same name.

Pressing the "Back" key on the main screen brings up a matrix of all available desktops, and holding the "Search" button, like in any other Android smartphone, the voice control and search function.

The volume key on the left edge is comfortable, it protrudes noticeably above the surface of the edge and can be pressed blindly. The power button on the top left is small and also comfortable.

Also on top is a 3.5mm mini-jack for headphones or a headset.

On the front side, in the upper part, there is a speaker, covered with a mesh. Here are light sensors and a proximity sensor hidden from the eyes. To the right of the speaker is the eye of the front VGA camera, and even to the right is a light indicator that lights up during charging or when connected to a PC, and also blinks if there are missed calls or messages.

The right edge is empty, at the bottom there is a universal microUSB connector for connecting a charger and cable, as well as a microphone hole.

Slots for a memory card and a SIM card are located in the lower area of ​​the device under the battery cover, in order to change the SIM card or memory card, you need to remove the battery.

Screen

Huawei Honor uses a capacitive touch display made using TFT technology. Screen diagonal 4”, physical dimensions 89x50 mm, resolution 480x854 pixels (FWVGA). The display has a good supply of brightness and in the sun it remains quite readable, although the colors become faded. Viewing angles are not the best, even with a slight deviation the picture starts to fade, and if you deviate the display too much, the whole image becomes whitish.

The clarity of the picture is excellent, the color reproduction is not bad, the response to finger presses is clear and fast, among the shortcomings we can note the “multi-touch” technology with only two simultaneously processed clicks, but during the time I used Honor, I did not notice any practical problems using zoom and other functions that involve " multitouch".

Camera

The device is equipped with an 8 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash. The camera eye is located in the upper part of the rear side of the case, flush with its surface. The flash is on the left.

The smartphone uses a standard Android interface for the camera, the shooting button is at the bottom right, a little higher is the photo-video switch and the transition icon to the gallery. A little to the left is a vertical panel with basic settings, where you can select detailed settings or set the flash mode, white balance, scale and geotagging. The maximum image resolution is 3264x2448 pixels. You can evaluate the quality of the photo from the examples below, in my opinion, the device does not shoot very well, although, probably, I simply chose too difficult conditions for shooting.

Shooting text:

Zoom example:

Video

Video is recorded in mp4 format (mpeg-4 codec) at an average speed of 26 frames per second. Audio is recorded using the samr codec. The maximum resolution for video is 1280x720 pixels (720p). During the video, you can not scale the picture, there is no tracking autofocus.

Offline work

The smartphone has a Li-Pol battery with a capacity of 1930 mAh. The unusually large capacity battery for an Android smartphone, of course, does not give a huge increase, but I think it is largely thanks to it that the device works stably for two days in quiet mode: an hour of talks a day, two mail accounts in Pushmail mode and 10-20 text messages . If you listen to music for 2-3 hours a day and go online for 1-2 hours, the work time is reduced to one and a half or one day. In my opinion, the indicators are not bad, I have already lost the habit of not charging Android by the evening of the first day, and Huawei Honor is just like that, the device usually has to be charged the next morning.

Performance

The smartphone is based on the Qualcomm MSM8255T platform. The central processor has a frequency of 1.4 GHz, the device is equipped with 512 MB of RAM. For data storage, there is a total of approximately 2,800 MB of memory and a slot for a microSD card.

The device plays video in HD resolution (1280x720 pixels) without problems, however, it is better to choose a third-party player for this. The overall speed of the interface in the device is excellent.

For those who are interested in the benchmark results, they are listed below:

Quadrant Standart

Interfaces

The smartphone works in GSM (850/900/1800/1900) and UMTS (900/2100) networks. Both high-speed data transfer standards, EDGE and HSDPA, are supported. Enabling and disabling various communication modules can be done in the settings menu or using widgets that are placed on the desktop. For synchronization with a PC and data transfer, the included microUSB cable is used. USB 2.0 interface. Copying a 10 MB file to a memory card in Drive mode takes less than three seconds. When connecting a smartphone to a computer, you can select the connection mode to synchronize with the Hi Suite program, transfer data to a memory card (Drive) or use the device as a modem (for accessing the Internet via a 2G/3G channel).

The Hi Suite app supports synchronization via cable or Wi-Fi connection. In the program, you can set automatic synchronization, create a backup, in addition, using Hi Suite on your smartphone, you can install new applications from .apk files on your computer, as well as delete existing ones, download music and pictures to the device and, accordingly, take them from there.

Embedded module Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. All common profiles are supported, including A2DP. I tested this profile with Creative WP-300 headphones, the sound quality, to my simple hearing, is acceptable.

WiFi (802.11b/g/n). The work of the Wi-Fi module did not cause any complaints. On your smartphone, you can configure Wi-Fi sleep rules, use only a static IP address when connecting, and add security certificates. During Wi-Fi operation, the device practically does not heat up. There is an access point mode, as in any other Android smartphone with OS version 2.3 and higher, in addition, the device supports the DLNA standard.

Navigation

For navigation, the device uses a gpsOne chip based on the Qualcomm platform. There is no special navigation software, only Google Maps, Navigation and Yandex.Maps are installed, however, if desired, the user can independently install any navigation software and turn the smartphone into a compact navigator.

Text input

There are two ways to enter text in Huawei Honor, Android standard keyboard and Swype keyboard. I liked the standard one more, the English layout is convenient in Swуpe, but in Russian there are very narrow buttons, I often missed them, however, in terms of functionality, Swype, of course, is better than the basic keyboard.

Software

The smartphone runs Android 2.3 and uses the $5 aHome skin as the interface. There are dozens of different themes available for download in the Android Market for this skin, 99 percent of which, in my opinion, are terrible inside and out and boldly fall into the category "hell hell". The design theme chosen for Huawei Honor is one of the most calm and beautiful, however, if you wish, you can install any other theme.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

The official firmware up to Android 4.0 ICS is already available for the Huawei Honor smartphone. You can download it (site in Chinese). For those who want to upgrade right now, there is a detailed instruction and firmware repack (with morelocale to install the Russian language) on the 4pda.ru forum. The main thing, remember that you install the update solely at your own peril and risk, besides, I repeat, officially there is only a Chinese version of the firmware so far, although it supports most languages, including English in different versions.

I want to note that, in my opinion, the release of an update to Android 4.0 for Huawei Honor in such a short time gives the device serious advantages over its competitors. Even if the company is not so quick to release updates for the smartphone in other languages, the Chinese firmware is already enough for people to upgrade.

I used the firmware for only one day, during which there were no problems with it, everything works clearly and without glitches. Below are screenshots of Huawei Honor with the latest firmware installed and English selected.

Conclusion

For a month of operation, I did not have any complaints about the device in terms of communication quality. I can rate the loudspeaker volume as above average for standard melodies, if you put your own mp3 files on the call, they sound not so loud, but still good. The call speaker is average in terms of volume, the vibrating alert is also average or slightly weaker than average, I sometimes did not feel it when the device was in my jeans pocket and started to vibrate.

The average cost of Huawei Honor at the end of January is 14,000 rubles. For this money, you get a smartphone with a good large screen, a productive platform with a 1.4 GHz processor and almost 3 GB of internal memory for data storage and in a nice case, albeit made of plastic. Of the shortcomings, I note the soiled body, mediocre viewing angles of the screen, and not the best quality of the camera. Of the significant advantages - the presence of an update to Android 4.0 ICS, which takes 10 minutes to install and completely transforms the device. In my opinion, if you need an Android smartphone with good functionality, and, most importantly, you want to start using the fourth version of the “robot” right now, Huawei Honor is perfect.

Description:

• Class: smartphone based on Android OS
• Form factor: monoblock
• Body materials: plastic
• Operating system: Android 2.3, aHome shell (upgrade to Android 4.0 ICS available)
• Networks: GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, UMTS/HSDPA 900/2100
• Qualcomm MSM8255T platform, 1.4 GHz processor
• RAM: 512 MB
• Storage: ~2,800 MB + microSD card slot
• Interfaces: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP), microUSB connector (USB 2.0) for charge/sync, 3.5 mm for headset
• Screen: TFT, capacitive type, diagonal 4” with a resolution of 480x854 pixels (FWVGA), automatic backlight level control
• Camera: 8 MP with autofocus and flash, video is recorded in HD resolution (1280x720 pixels)
• Navigation: Qualcomm platform gpsOne chip GPS (A-GPS support)
• Optional: FM radio, accelerometer, light sensor, proximity sensor
• Battery: Removable Li-Pol 1930 mAh
• Dimensions: 122 x 61 x 11 mm, 140 mm
• Weight: 140 g.