By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Users who want a basic smartphone and who don't need 4G-LTE, the latest bells and whistles as well as some of the more premium features such as large megapixel cameras, HD screens and the very latest version of the Android OS now have a reasonable and capable smartphone to consider with the Huawei Ascend Y210 on TELUS.
If you haven't heard of Huawei (pronounced 'WAH-WAY"), they are the Chinese smartphone manufacturer who are also the largest maker of telecommunications equipment in the world. Huawei's products and services have been deployed in more than 140 countries and the company currently serves 45 of the world's 50 largest telecoms operators and they're now getting seriously into mobile phones on a global scale and from what we've seen in certain tradseshows, they are a player with limitless potential.
Many of their models in Canada are of the lower end-variety, which means sensible devices that will meet 80 per cent of people's needs. We often get so worked up over having the largest screens, latest processors, biggest memory, fastest data connectivity that it is easy to turn our noses up on basic handsets that are affordable and work well.
So, the Huawei Ascend Y210, sold in Wal Mart and available on TELUS for $80 on prepaid plans (no contract), is such a smartphone. It is affordable and it works great. It runs an older version of Google Android (2.3 Gingerbread), has a 1GHz processor, 256MB of RAM, a 3.5-inch 480x320 resolution touchscreen, and up to 7.5 mpbs data speeds.
It also has a 2 megapixel camera with video recording and playback, Bluetooth and a large 1750 mAh battery capable of 698 minutes of talktime or a remarkable 425 hours of standby time. The camera is nothing to write home about but will do in a pinch.
The Ascend Y210 is made of durable polycarbonate with responsive buttons, a single microUSB charging port and has a microSD card capable of up to 32GB expansion (our review unit came with 4GB of storage).
The Ascend Y210's looks are basic and slightly generic, but the device feels better put together and more robust than some $600 flagship smartphone's I've reviewed recently, and says a lot about Huawei's build quality even at this entry level.
The design is functional and doesn't look or feel too cheap. There's a nice ridge at the bottom of the front screen that acts as a lip, this makes it possible to tell where the phone is oriented in your pocket or in the dark, which is clever. The Ascend Y210 doesn't have any elements or materials that are frivolous or flippant, it is all about function, which I like.
The display's quality is average, but clear and bright, and I found the multi-touch to be responsive. Getting signed into my Google account was a cinch and surprisingly, so was setting up my iCloud email which is usually an ordeal with newer Android devices. With the Ascend Y210, it only required my email address, password and I was good to go in one minute. I didn't have to enter any server information or any IMAP settings. Just wonderful.
User experience and intuitiveness out of the box is above average for an Android device, and even users who are not accustomed to smartphones should find their way around the device quite easily. Huawei has also refrained from pushing their own overlay or user interface save for a few visual and functional tweaks.
Call quality was very good and this device's lavish battery life makes it extremely functional for users who primarily use their smartphones to make calls. Data speeds were impressive as well as consistent and I could access email from the basement level two of my apartment building.
Huawei's Ascend Y210 is an impressive smartphone at an even more impressive price. It is running a 2011 version of the Android OS and will accept the apps that run on that version, so the latest apps may or may not be available but for $80, it is hard to argue.
Parents wanting to give their teenagers affordable smartphones won't find too many options better than this, same for companies that need to provide handsets for their staff but who don't want to break the bank. Entry level it may be, but the Huawei Ascend Y210 makes a big enough first impression that will give the brand great recall moving forward.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Contest! - Keep posted for a contest here on Canadian Reviewer where we will give a way a brand new Huawei Ascend Y210 on TELUS to a lucky reader.