Hands-on with the Huawei Honor

Huawei Honor - A Compelling Package

Huawei's Flagship Model

If a phone maker is to survive in today's highly competitive smartphone market, it should not rest on its laurels; instead, it should strive for constant improvements in its product portfolio. This is even more so for the dozen of Android vendors who struggle to outdo one another and stay ahead. Whenever the industry talked about the next powerhouse, a name that frequently popped up in the discussions is Huawei.

Primarily known as a manufacturer of USB modem devices, Huawei has gradually gained momentum as a smartphone brand in the industry. We have seen its range of Ideos and niche smartphones in the first half of 2011 and the unveiling of the Huawei Vision in August. Earlier today, we had an exclusive preview of the Huawei Honor, the company's flagship Android smartphone for the mainstream market. 

The Huawei Honor joins the league of superphones with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.4 GHz single-core processor and a 4-inch display. It runs on the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and features an exclusive Huawei user interface which makes it easier for you to customize and manage your phone. 

As the company's flagship smartphone model, we feel that Huawei should have used more premium materials to construct the chassis of the Honor, which pales in comparison with the aluminum alloy unibody of the Vision. Although it weighs the same as an Apple iPhone 4S at 140g, the Huawei Honor clearly lacks the solid build quality. Moreover, it is rather thick at 10.9mm (at its thinnest point), making it look like a brick beside some of the ultra thin top-end Android smartphones.

Closing Thoughts and Availability

Looking at the Huawei Honor, we couldn't help but ask ourselves how or where such a device would find a place in a market flooded with dual-core smartphones. When asked about this, Huawei commented that it remains committed to the company's beliefs of delivering affordable but highly innovative products to the mass market segment. Huawei believes that the Honor strikes the fine balance between value, power and performance. 

In terms of value, it is true that the Huawei Honor is a compelling option for anyone who is yet to jump onto the smartphone bandwagon. Our hands-on experience with the Honor's user interface debunked the myth that a high-end processor is needed for smooth operation of the user interface. In addition, with battery life as the top concern among users these days, Huawei invested heavily on research and development to enhance the power management on the Honor. Huawei claims that the Honor provides up to 30% more standby time and talk time compared to better equipped smartphones due to its efficient power management. 

For a company that's been making smartphones for less than two years, due credit ought to be given to Huawei for continuing to provide affordable mass market devices. You can expect Huawei to unveil more competitive offerings such as devices with Super AMOLED displays and dual-core processors during Mobile World Congress 2012.