Huawei Ascend Y220 Smartphone Reviewed – Good or Bad

Huawei's Y-series of entry-level smartphones are marketed towards anyone on a budget who would like to have the convenience of owning a smartphone, while paying as little as possible. Within the Y-series, the Huawei Ascend Y220 is currently one of the cheapest options.

Being one of the cheapest means that the Y220 also has less features and capabilities than other members of the Y-series. The question to be asked is whether this tradeoff between price and included features is a good or bad one. A review of the Y220 is therefore in order.

What is good about the Huawei Ascend Y220

Here's what's to like about the Ascend Y220:

• Smartphones have been getting cheaper in recent years and the Y220 has reached levels previously unheard of. The phone can be had for around $70 to $80, which is less than what you to pay for feature phones in the past. This means that more people in the world can now own their first smartphone.
• Despite the low price, the Y220 is not poorly build as you might suspect at such a low price. The plastic will not bend under light pressure and should not break easily. Often times, cheap products are of poor quality, but the Y220 is not one of them.
• The Y220 is a quad-band phone, meaning that it should work everywhere where GSM connections are used, which is everywhere. The Y220 also supports 3G connections for reasonably fast Internet.
• The Y220 comes with a 3.5 inch screen, which show you how much budget smartphones have improved. As a point of reference, the original Apple iPhone came with a similar sized screen and resolution that is now found on the Y220. What was once found on really high-end devices has now made its way onto even the most entry-level devices.

What is bad about the Huawei Ascend Y220

Here's what's not to like about the Ascend Y220:

• The Ascend Y220 is not extremely thick, but it's still thicker than most samrtphones out there. You will notice this when carrying it around in your pocket. If you have small pockets or you wear tight jeans, the thickness can cause the Y220 to really stick out.
• As expected, the Y220 is missing a few features that you might expect from a smartphone. While this is unavoidable at such a low price point, the Y220 is missing features that are crucial in my opinion. For example, the Y220 does not include a GPS receiver. The ability to get directions or navigation is one of the killer apps of a smartphone and the Y220 is lacking in this regard.
• The Y220 includes a camera, but it's not of much use. The photos are too small and of poor quality to be satisfactory. Most people will want to use something else for taking pictures.
• The Y220 comes with 256 MB memory and 512 MB of internal storage, which is less than what many software apps require in order to function. If you like to try out a lot of apps, the Y220 is not a good smartphone to have.
• The biggest weakness of the Y220 in my opinion is that it doesn't offer as good a value compared to other smartphones such as the Ascend Y320. The Y320 is about $20 more expensive, but offers a lot more in return. Between the two, the Y320 seems to offer more than the Y220, even if the Y220 is the cheaper option.

By author

Overall impressions of the pros and cons of the Huawei Ascend Y220

The Ascend Y220 is an okay option as an entry-level smartphone for the budget user, but it's not a great choice as there are other options available. If price is what's most important and you want to spend as little money as possible, then the Y220 is your choice because of its very low price.

The Y220 may be suitable for a few people. Parent wanting to give their young children or teenagers something with which they can keep in contact may find the Y220 useful. If it breaks as can happen with kids, it's no big loss as it doesn't cost that much.

However, if you can afford and are willing to spend a little more, then other smartphones such as the Ascend Y320 may be a better phone for you. They are both from the same manufacturer, but the Y320 offers the following extras over the Y220:

• The Y320 has a bigger and high-resolution screen
• The Y320 has double the amount of memory
• The Y320 comes with 4 gigabytes of internal storage
• The Y320 includes a GPS receiver
• The Y320 has a better camera

All of the above is included in the Y320 for about $20 more than the Y220, which I think is a small price and worth paying in my opinion.

The Y220 has made too many sacrifices in order to lower the price to the point that it's no longer a good deal. Most people are better off looking at other phones that offer a better value. They may be slightly more expensive, but they offer much more value and bang for the buck. The Y220 is not a bad phone, there's not much reason to buy it when there are better smartphones out there.


Pros:

• Very low price
• Big screen for a cheap phone
• Sturdy enough for its low price
• Quad-band smartphone will work everywhere

Cons:

• Very bad camera
• No GPS receiver
• Not compatible with all apps
• Thicker than most smartphones
• Offers much less value than other smartphones

Huawei Ascend Y220
Reviewed by Gadget Revue on April 14 2014
Rating: 2

Comparisons of Huawei Ascend Y220 and Y320 specifications

Name	Ascend Y220	Ascend Y320
Brand	Huawei	Huawei
Type	Smartphone	Smartphone
Style	Bar	Bar
Color	Black / white	Black / white
Dimension (H X W X D)	116.5 mm x 60.6 mm x 12.3 mm	123.3 mm x 63.2 mm x 11.1 mm
Weight	130 grams	123 grams
Operating System	Android 4.3 Jelly Bean	Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Skin	Not included	Not included
Network bands (varies)	UMTS: 900 / 2100 MHz	UMTS: 900 / 2100 MHz
-	UMTS: 850 / 1900 MHz	UMTS: 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
-	UMTS: 850 / 2100 MHz	-
-	GSM / EDGE: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz	GSM / EDGE: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
Processor	MediaTek MTK MT6572M, 1.0 GHz dual-core processor	MediaTek MTK MT6572, 1.3 GHz dual-core processor
Graphics	Mali 400 GPU	Mali 400 GPU
RAM	256 megabytes (MB)	512 megabytes (MB)
Internal storage	512 megabytes (MB)	4 gigabytes (GB)
Expandable memory slot	Included, up to 32 GB MicroSD card	Included, up to 32 GB MicroSD card
Screen type	3.5 Inch Multi-Touch LCD	4.0 Inch Multi-Touch LCD
Screen colors	16M colors	16M colors
Screen resolution	HVGA (480 x 320, 165 PPI)	WVGA (800 x 480, 233 PPI)
Rear camera	0.3 megapixels	2.0 megapixels
Front camera	Not included	Not included
Wireless Connectivity	WiFi 802.11 b/g/n	WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
-	Bluetooth 3.0	Bluetooth 3.0
Connectors	microUSB (USB 2.0)	microUSB (USB 2.0)
-	3.5 headphone earjack	3.5 headphone earjack
Sensors	Accelerometer	Accelerometer
-	-	G sensor
GPS Navigation	Not included	GPS + A-GPS
FM radio	Included	Included
Battery	Lithium-Ion 1350 mAh	Lithium-Ion 1350 mAh
Special features	-	-