Software
If you have read any of our reviews of the
previous Windows Phone, then please comfortably jump to the next section. It is
very easy to summarize what is next "the limited app selection, not as
diverse as Android or iOS, etc. and so on".
Those whose Windows Phone 8 experience has
been restricted to Nokia's smartphones (and we would not blame you if that were
true) should be prepared for a culture shock. While other manufacturers have
attempted to support the operating system’s features that have not been fully
developed yet, Huawei does not provide anything other than the stock built OS
version. Thus, your first step is going to look for apps like Nokia Here Drive
and Itsdagram (now known as Instance) to smooth out the rough aspects of the
software.
If
you are taking the W1 into consideration to replace a feature phone, Windows
Phone will then offer all of the features and functionality that you are
looking for at the cheap price.
For those who prefer Android, iOS or BB10:
defecting to WP8 poses a risk. It has to be admitted that Micrososft is trying
its best to fill out its application list, but if you are not willing to wait
for a first-party Instagram or Vine client (for example), then it is the best
way for you to stay away.
However, if you are taking the W1 into
consideration to replace a feature phone, Windows Phone will then offer all of
the features and functionality that you are looking for at the cheap price. The
only problem you will have is that with 512MB of RAM, some of the applications
you have been keeping a keen eye on will not work, so be careful.
Camera
Capturing
images with 5-megapixel, rear-facing, autofocus lens was like gambling. That is
because the results were too erratic, with weak focusing and a color balance
are very different from image to image.
During the time use of the phone, we found
that capturing images with 5-megapixel, rear-facing, autofocus lens was like
gambling. That is because the results were too erratic, with weak focusing and
a color balance are very different from image to image. The presence of an LED
flash compensated for the W1's weak low-light efforts, but in general we would
not rely on this device as the main camera. In the plus column, the company
packs Bing Vision (It is equivalent to Microsoft’s Google Goggles) and other
Lenses are available from the Windows Store.
The 0.3MP front-facing camera (VGA) is
nothing to write about, but it is not the worst low- resolution webcam we have
ever seen. The weird overexposed self-portrait images are likely to take a few
of the years old (and wrinkles) away, but we doubt that we would share these
photos online if it was not our job. That is, it is a completely acceptable
camera for a short Skype session.
The
0.3MP front-facing camera (VGA) is nothing to write about, but it is not the
worst low- resolution webcam we have ever seen.
Recording video is also as erratic as
shooting images. Colors were either as awfully washed out or oversaturated as
an early '80s Bowie video, leave the blurred details out of consideration. The
only positive thing we can say is that no matter how drastically we panned
around, we were unable to cause an interlacing problem, but we had noted some
heavy transitions and frame dropouts in exchange for higher-quality footage.
Recording
video is also as erratic as shooting images. Colors were either as awfully
washed out or oversaturated as an early '80s Bowie video, leave the blurred
details out of consideration.
Another issue we found is that the W1’s
microphone does not fare so well in recording audio to come with the video.
Even on a windless day, it gained a lot of wind noise, which obscured much of
what we said. When we used the device in a jog, the footage was disturbed with
the popping noise that would have made it useless for its intended purpose. We
were also astonished to find that, regardless of the poor quality of the video,
clips were recorded at a data rate of 1.6MB/s, which would quickly consume all
meager built-in storage.
