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A pretty companion [New Straits Time (Malaysia)](New Straits Time (Malaysia) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) HUAWEI'S Ascend P7 smartphone has got the style but lacks the thrills and frills, writes Nicholas King. Smartphones from China have it rough when it comes to proving their worth to the international mobile market. Much like every other product that comes out from the largest country in Asia, scepticism abounds, and Huawei isn't immune to the scrutiny. The good news is that the company's current top range Ascend P7 holds up well as a good example of what mid-range smartphones should be. On the flip side, the phone is faced with fierce competition in the market. SMART DESIGN The Ascend P7's 5.5 inch body borrows some very familiar -and popular -design elements from other smartphone brands, namely Sony's Xperia Z series' glass-plastic physique and Apple's iPhone aluminium rims. With the abundance of smartphone models out in the market, it doesn't come as a surprise when a company gets its product inspiration from its competitors. It is well placed here as these are two very defining attributes to two different and popular series of smartphones which isn't lost in transition. Adding to its 6.5mm thin body design, the entire composition does give the Ascend P7 a touch of appeal. It looks good and feels good in the palm, just the right size to fit in. VANILLA IN FLAVOUR If the Ascend P7 was an ice-cream flavour, it would most definitely have to be vanilla - it is pleasant, light in taste, doesn't offend and doesn't take much of a risk with anything. Aside from the pleasing design, it is a mid-range delight on all other fronts. It is average in performance, it has a mild contrast 5- inch display screen, it has a decent camera with no added features to match the phone's price tag of RM1,499, which says that there is nothing too extravagant or outstanding about it. This may be a tipping point for many, because it is a pretty- looking phone that surely doesn't disappoint but neither does it offer you more than what you've already seen in the market. The one aspect which did catch my attention as to performance was the immensely long stand-by battery time over the span of a week. However, during that period, the phone wasn't used for anything - not even to connect to the internet via WiFI. CONCLUSION The Ascend P7 is a phone you wouldn't mind carrying around for sure. It is lightweight, sufficient in screen size and pretty to have and to hold. It makes a good companion as a phone or a backup smartphone if you have to manage two different numbers but don't fancy dual-sim phones. But whether it is enough to warrant a must-buy is an entire matter altogether. The phone doesn't pack enough punches to make it a strong competitor when you have so many smartphones out in the market to choose from. The phone's greatest enemy would be its pricing. It's a good phone but at RM1,499, it falls short to deliver anything to top its competition and its performance and features just doesn't have much to show for. To make things even more challenging, there are smartphones at an even lower price range out there which could fare just as well, if not better, than the Ascend P7. There's a really tough crowd to please and options just doesn't favour the Ascend 7 - because in the end it is like you're asking yourself if you want a very basic pretty smartphone at the aforesaid price. In all, Huawei's Ascend P7 is still worth checking out if it is within your price range and if you don't have a preference for anything fancy or packed with features. Its design, size and weight makes it extremely appealing to carry around. Huawei Ascend P7 Price: RM1,499 Enquiries: www.huawei.com/my Pros * Appealing design * Decent performance * Good camera Cons * No outstanding features * Not competitive enough in price segment of the market * Inconsistent battery life performance Our verdict: *** 1/2 Physical design: **** Documentation: *** User-friendliness: **** 1/2 Features: *** Performance: *** 1/2 (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |