Friday, December 20, 2013

Huawei Ascend D2 Reviewed – Good or Bad

The D-series are the most high-end smartphones that Huawei has available. High-end smartphones tend to come with the latest bells and whistles, but that also raises the cost and makes these phones the most expensive around. The Huawei Ascend D2 is one such example of a smartphone.

The D2 is Huawei's best smartphone in terms of features. However, simply packing a smartphone with lots of features doesn't necessarily make it a perfect smartphone. The phone has its own set of pros and cons that people need to be aware of them if they're evaluating the Huawei D2.


What to like about the Huawei Ascend D2


The Huawei Ascend D2 offers a number of premium features that will appeal to people. To start off, the phone is made of aluminum in contrast to the plastic that most smartphones are made off. Metal is of course much more sturdy than plastic and should hold up better over time.

Not only does it protect the phone against damage in a way that's not possible with plastic, it also makes the phone very attractive from the exterior. The D2 has a definite high-end look to complement its strong body.

On top of that, the phone is resistant against dust and water that can both prematurely end the life of a smartphone. Dust can cause overheating and water is deadly against all electronics, including smartphones.

The five inch Full-HD screen with a resolution of 1920x1080  is also protected by a layer of scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass. To help power such a large screen, the phone comes with a 3000 mAh battery, that's much larger than what's usually found on similar smartphones.

There seems to be an issue with the battery, where some users of the D2 experience the battery being drained rapidly. If you're one of these people, a software update may resolve this problem. The D2 should last you a long time under normal use.

There's 32 gigabytes of internal storage to complement the quad-core processor and 2 gigabytes of random access memory (RAM). All of this in a package that costs less than what the competition is asking for their best smartphones.



What to dislike about the Huawei Ascend D2


The Huawei Ascend D2 does come with a number of drawbacks. Although it has a quad-core processor from Huawei, the chip is slower compared to other quad-core processors from for instance Qualcomm that are often found on high-end smarphones.

While it has lots of internal storage, the phone is not expandable due to the lack of a MicroSD slot. That means you're forced into using Cloud or Internet storage as your only option. The cameras are decent, but lag behind those of the competition.

The 13 megapixel camera in the back has a BSI sensor, which improves picture quality. However, it lacks the advances features such as optical stabilization that are found on other high-end smartphone cameras.

Despite being a high-end smartphone, the D2 does not come with all the latest bells and whistles. For example, it doesn't support a number of the latest technologies such as 4G LTE, but instead has to settle for slower 3G Internet.


Summary and comparison of the pros and cons of the Huawei Ascend D2


The Huawei Ascend D2 is a high-end smartphones with both strengths and weaknesses. If you're looking for a good-looking smartphone that will hold up because it's very well protected, then the D2 might appeal to you.

It's metal look is protected on several levels to ensure that that phone will not break easily unlike many other smartphones. He phone is especially suitable outdoors and in dusty and wet environments. Its large screen makes the D2 a pleasure to use.

On the other hand, the D2 is not really a state of the art smartphone, even though it's supposed to be a high-end smartphone. Some of its internals are somewhat dated compared to what's found on other high-end smartphones. A slower processor and lack of LTE support are examples.

However, if this doesn't bother you, then the Huawei D2 is a good phone that costs less than comparable smartphones from other companies. It's rugged, sturdy and appealing build sets it apart from most smartphones. It's definitely a smartphone that many people won't mind owning at all.


Pros:
  • Five inch scratch-resistant touchscreen supports Full-HD
  • Appealing body made of aluminum
  • Resistant against dust and water
  • Cheaper than other high-end smartphones
  • Large battery
Cons:
  • Slower than most high-end smartphones
  • Internal storage is not expandable
  • No support for 4G LTE, 3G only



Huawei Ascend D2
Reviewed by Gadget Revue on December 20 2013
Rating: 4


Huawei Ascend D2 specifications

Type Smartphone
Style Bar
Brand Huawei
Color Crystal blue / white
Dimension (H X W X D) 140 mm x 71 mm x 9.4 mm
Weight 170 grams
Operating System Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Skin Emotion UI
Network bands UMTS: 850 / 900 / 2100 MHz
- GSM / EDGE: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Processor Huawei Hi-Silicon K3V2, 1.5 GHz quad-core processor
Graphics -
RAM 2 gigabytes (GB)
Internal storage 32 gigabytes (GB)
Expandable memory slot Not available
Screen type 5.0 Inch Multi-Touch IPS LCD /w Gorilla Glass
Screen colors 16M colors
Screen resolution Full-HD (1920 x 1080, 441 PPI)
Rear camera 13.0 megapixels, LED flash
- BSI, autofocus, HDR, 1080p@30fps
Front camera 1.3 megapixels, 720p@30fps
Wireless Connectivity WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n
- Bluetooth 4.0
Connectors microUSB (USB 2.0)
- 3.5 headphone earjack
Sensors Accelerometer
- Gyroscope
- Proximity sensor
- Compass
Navigation GPS + A-GPS
FM radio Included
Battery Lithium-Ion 3000 mAh
Special features Aluminum body and metal frame
- Resistant against dust and water


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