CES 2013: Hands On With Huawei's First Windows Phone
Huawei announced its first Windows Phone, the Ascend W1, at CES. We got to spend some time with it.
By Alex Colon
LAS VEGAS—Huawei's mammoth Ascend Mate is shaping up to be one of the biggest phones of CES (both figuratively and literally), but the manufacturer has also been quietly showing the Ascend W1, its first Windows Phone. The W1 is no Ascend Mate, but it's a cute, interesting little phone nonetheless. We got to spend some time with it.
The Ascend W1 runs Windows Phone 8, the latest version of Microsoft's mobile OS. It's a 4-inch phone with an 800-by-480-pixel IPS LCD. Under the hood is a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8230 processor and Adreno 305 GPU, which makes it a perfectly acceptable midrange device. Unfortunately, there's only a paltry 4GB of internal storage, but you can expand it via microSD slot. There's a 5-megapixel camera on the back, and a VGA-shooter up front.
There is no special software from Huawei installed on the phone, but I did notice Microsoft's data and compression app Data Sense, which could mean the W1 will make its way to Verizon Wireless (so far Data Sense is a Verizon exclusive). As far as performance in concerned, Windows Phone 8 is a fast, fluid operating system, and it felt quick and responsive on the W1.
The phone itself is made of a matte plastic, and feels comfortable to hold. It isn't supermodel thin, at 0.39 inches, but it packs in a 1950mAh battery. Huawei says it should be good for up to 470 hours of standby time, which is the longest among all smartphones in its class. And while I'm not quite sure I see the tropical island inspiration Huawei talks about in the phone's design, I do like that it comes in red or blue alongside the more standard black or white.
Overall, the Ascend W1 is notable for being Huawei's first phone to run the Windows Phone OS, but it isn't the most exciting device otherwise. For the right price, it could be a decent introduction to Windows Phone for curious users on a budget, but it's no Nokia Lumia, or even a Lumia 820 for that matter.
Right now, there's no U.S. release date for the Huawei Ascend W1. We'll be sure to get our hands on one as soon as it comes out stateside, so check back for a full review then.
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About Alex Colon
Alex Colon is the managing editor of PCMag's consumer electronics team. He previously covered mobile technology for PCMag and Gigaom. Though he does the majority of his reading and writing on various digital displays, Alex still loves to sit down with a good, old-fashioned, paper and ink book in his free time. (Not that there's anything wrong with ebook readers.)
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