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Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL. First impressions

When you have two identical smartphones in front of you, one of which runs on a hitherto unknown quad-core processor manufactured by Hi-Silicon - Huawei K3V2, and the second on the well-proven dual-core TI OMAP 4460, making a choice is not so easy. The first captivates with its theoretical power, the second with its price. To figure out whether it’s worth waiting for a more powerful version, we got hold of a model already available on a dual-core TI processor – Huawei Ascend D1.

The sample in question is not intended to evaluate the quality of the case and does not run on the final version of the software. Detailed review commercial sample will appear closer to the start of sales, that is, at the end of October

Design and ergonomics

The design of a smartphone cannot be called unique, or at least one that clearly indicates who its manufacturer is. The case is quite compact and can easily compete in this parameter with devices equipped with a 4.3” screen; in Ascend D1 the display has a 4.5” diagonal. And although Huawei has never announced a record thin frame around the screen, its dimensions are comparable to Samsung Galaxy Nexus and less than LG Optimus True HD, which is very good.

The corners of the case are rounded, while the sides and ends are flat. Glossy plastic is used around the tempered glass on the front of the device. For additional protection glass, the plastic bordering it protrudes slightly above the surface of the body.

At the top of the front panel there are: a metal speaker mesh, a status indicator, proximity and light sensors, as well as an HD camera eye.

Below the display there are three touch keys and a barely noticeable microphone hole at the junction between the glass and plastic.

Despite the fact that previously glass Gorilla Glass was not used in Huawei smartphones, but in Ascend D1 it is used strained glass Corning.

Now let's talk about the connectors and keys installed around the perimeter of the case. At the top end there is only a 3.5 mm jack and a power/lock key. It’s not very convenient to reach for it, but there are no complaints about its operation: a short stroke and a noticeable click when activated. The bottom end is empty. On the left side there is a MicroUSB connector, on the right there is a double volume key. The key is convenient to use; it protrudes above the body and has sharp edges, which facilitates its detection during a blind search.

The back of the smartphone may remind someone of last year’s flagship from a well-known manufacturer, but only from the photo, tactilely it’s perfect different devices. The removable cover, which doubles as the back panel, is made of plastic, on top of which a special material is applied. To the touch and pattern, the back panel of Huawei Ascend D1 is closest to Motorola smartphones with Kevlar (carbon fiber).

At the top center on a small protrusion there is an 8 MP camera lens and two LEDs. Below them is a hole for a microphone and the manufacturer's logo. To the right of the camera its brief characteristics are listed.

The removable back cover extends onto the sides and ends of the case, so it is not possible to remove it with a USB cable or headset connected. At the bottom, where the multimedia speaker is located, the smartphone body thickens a little. The recess for removing the back panel is located next to the hole for the speaker.
Taking off back panel, the user gets access to SIM slot And MicroSD cards. The battery is non-removable, its capacity is 1800 mAh.

Our editorial office visited an early sample of the smartphone, which showed signs of use in the form of scratches on the back panel, as well as creaks in the case. In addition to the black color of the case, there will be a white analogue with the same coating on sale back cover as in our case.

Interface and software

The smartphone runs an operating system Android themes 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich). The familiar interface differs only due to more high resolution display in the model in question. So, for example, the line with shortcuts at the bottom of the screen consists not of four icons, but of five.

The lock screen is divided into two virtual parts. The top part displays a digital clock, which can be replaced with control keys with one movement left or right music player. This means that to launch the player, the user does not have to unlock the device, go to the menu or look for the player widget; three movements are enough: the first is pressing the lock button; second - changing the clock to the player; third – launch the player. On the second half of the screen there is a circle, along the edges of which there are four shortcuts for unlocking the screen, launching the camera, entering the call log and messages.
Having unlocked the screen, the user is taken to the Desktop. By default, the desktop is pure Android, which will certainly appeal to fans of the latter and fans of Nexus smartphones. The only additions include its own set of widgets, the number of which is six more than the standard one.
We will not describe it, since readers can familiarize themselves with it in a separate article, and will focus our attention on the features inherent in Huawei devices, in particular the Ascend D1.

Let's start with the fact that in addition to standard theme Android user can choose “Breeze” or “Zarya”. Their differences come down to the background screen and the type of icons. You cannot edit the number of desktop windows. This is only possible in the 3D Desktop - a proprietary interface with a hint of three-dimensional objects. These effects are best seen when moving from one window to another. The latter, by the way, can be adjusted, and you can also choose one of two transition effects from one window to another. As in the standard interface (2D), for quick transition between Desktop windows there is a strip above the shortcuts located at the bottom of the screen. We saw the same principle in Samsung smartphones. If in a regular Desktop it really is no different from Samsung’s, then in 3D mode it is more reminiscent of SPB Shell 3D. In this mode, you also have the ability to select the type of icons – “Breeze” or “Square”.

Overall, the interface developed by Huawei looks quite attractive, but the functionality still needs work. For example, there is no way to create folders by simply dragging one shortcut onto another, expand the set of widgets, improve fluidity, and add additional shortcuts to the Notification Panel to control display brightness, sound profiles, etc.

List of unique applications

Backups

Raptide G.P.

Security Guard

Platform

Huawei Ascend D1 has a TI OMAP 4460 system-on-chip installed. As you probably know, Texas Instruments focuses its attention on tablets and readers. This is not surprising, given the fact that fewer and more fewer smartphones use their chips, while among tablets the popularity of TI OMAP is at least no worse than that of Nvidia Tegra 3.

So, TI OMAP 4460 is manufactured using a 45-nm process technology, includes two computing processor cores with an ARMv7 instruction set capable of operating at clock frequencies up to 1.5 GHz, a PowerVR SGX540 graphics chip with a frequency of 384 MHz and 1 GB of dual-channel random access memory.
By default, the processor frequency is limited to 1.2 GHz. To make it work at maximum frequency, you should select the “Performance” mode in the “Power Saving Mode” menu. There are also two other modes - “Energy Saving” and “Balanced”. Depending on the set mode, the operating time of the smartphone changes. In maximum mode, the smartphone lasted just over three hours, while in economy mode it lasted up to 5 hours. Under normal operating conditions, the user can count on a day of operation with 30 minutes of calls, synchronization via Wi-Fi/3G, receiving and sending letters, reading news and listening to the player for one to two hours.
Among the features we also note the “ Fast loading", when activated, it takes 5 seconds to turn on the smartphone, registration in the operator’s network takes another 5 seconds.

Operating time at maximum load

Huawei Ascend D1 performance results in synthetic tests

Battery Saver Mode

Performance mode

Display

Still at MWC 2012 Huawei We managed to pleasantly surprise the audience with the quality of the displays used. Display characteristics: 4.5”, resolution 1280x720 pixels, IPS matrix, brightness from 16 to 247 cd/m². The image quality is above all praise, let down only by the low brightness, but what is pleasing is the absence of an air gap between the display matrix and the glass, due to which the picture seems to be drawn on the glass itself, and the viewing angles are close to maximum.

If we compare Huawei Ascend D1 with LG Optimus True HD in which the display has similar parameters, the winner will be on Huawei's side. LG has lower brightness ratings, 8-230 cd/m² and worse viewing angles, primarily due to the layer between the display and glass.

Camera

The Huawei U9500 has a camera module with 8 MP resolution and the ability to record Full HD video. The same module is also used in Huawei U8660 (Honor), but thanks to different software, the final results are superior to Honor, which can be assessed from the examples below.

Examples of 8 MP photos taken with the Huawei Ascend D1 smartphone

Example of Full HD video shot by Huawei Ascend D1 smartphone

Results

The Huawei Ascend D1 smartphone should go on sale by the end of October at a price of 4,500 hryvnia. At first glance, this is a considerable sum for a device from a little-known brand in our country, but on the other hand, it’s worth thinking about, how much did the flagships of Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG cost when they appeared on the market? Definitely no less. Representatives of the middle class were no less expensive - Sony Xperia P and HTC One S. So if you compare the cost of Huawei Ascend with its analogues, it’s not that much. Another thing is that middle class Nowadays it is literally saturated with various kinds of devices. What is one Samsung Galaxy Nexus worth? Yes, its functionality is somewhat lower, but it has undeniable advantages. We can’t help but say about the LG Optimus True HD smartphone, which is very similar to the device in question at comparable prices. As a result, it turns out that, on the one hand, Huawei is cheaper than its competitors, but on the other hand, lower prices were expected from this brand. Now the user will think twice about whether to buy Huawei, HTC or Samsung. To be fair, we note that Huawei Ascend D1 is good smartphone, with a good camera, display, performance and body materials, which, unfortunately, is slightly overpriced.

2 years ago +1

Clear beautiful screen, the lid does not creak. The volume is good. The camera is super.

2 years ago +1

price-quality ratio

2 years ago +1

Screen (in every sense) Speed of operation Ability to connect to TV

2 years ago 0

Great screen, soft body.

2 years ago 0

1. It has a comfortable shape and fits well in the hand. 2. Has a bright display and a large display. 3. It's not buggy yet.

2 years ago 0

Excellent screen - Nice design for me - Not a bad price (at the time of purchase) - Quite fast (again, at the time of purchase)

2 years ago 0

Price, screen, memory card support. The battery, after the Galaxy, is good. Fast processor.

2 years ago 0

Good hardware, great display

2 years ago 0

1. Main camera 2. Display

2 years ago 0

Great screen powerful processor, nice appearance.

2 years ago 0

1. After half a year, it started to slow down a lot, until you reboot, you can’t even make a call!
2. There are no updates at all, I’m still on Android 4.0.2
3. You can forget about GPS altogether, it doesn’t work
4. The back cover is a little loose
5. Auto-rotate menu does not work
6. The battery drains quickly even with minimum brightness

2 years ago 0

The back cover is loose, the top button is inconvenient, there are a lot of defects.

2 years ago 0

1.The sound is not loud enough when calling.
2. The location of the power and volume buttons is atypical, so you need to get used to it.
3. The size is still a little large. 4. Does not have a branded case.
5. The back cover turned out to be not ribbed, as shown in the photo, but rubberized. It’s still not clear how it really should be.

2 years ago 0

DISGUSTING and TERRIBLE software. I have seen all sorts of glitches, network dropouts, random reboots, periodically non-working camera and much, much more.
- HORRIBLE build. After a month of use, it creaked, as if it had not a lid, but a piece of wood that made terrible sounds when rubbing against the device.

2 years ago 0

Everything that is not listed in the advantages

2 years ago 0

Haven't discovered it yet!

2 years ago 0

battery, vibration response, gets hot

2 years ago 0

Unreliable back cover

2 years ago 0

Spruce noticeable creaking of the body
Camera could be better
You have to charge it at least once every two days

2 years ago 0

For the first six months it just flew, then it started to lag and for some reason the speaker stopped working. You have to talk over speakerphone. Applications crash very often, the sensor slows down, the front camera is very bad. The sound is quiet, vibration is almost not felt. For headphones I had to download an equalizer that increases the volume. Shrinks within 4 hours with active use.

Announcement of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad communicator at Mobile World Congress 2012. At that time, the Chinese company was actively advancing on all fronts of the mobile market and announced that this device was the world's fastest quad-core smartphone. Along with it, several more communicators were presented, among which is the current hero of the review: Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL.

The whole difference between the two devices is the volume of the battery: if the first smartphone has 1670 mAh, then the second, with the XL prefix, has 2600 mAh.

The fate of the two devices on the domestic market turned out to be slightly different: Huawei Ascend D1 Quad went on sale in the spring of last year, in full accordance with the manufacturer’s reports, while the journey of Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL turned out to be very long - for some reason Huawei was in no hurry to release it in Russia. As a result, the appearance of last year’s champion coincided with the entry into the market of its more interesting successor -. You can’t even guess how this fact will affect the sales level of Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL.

Be that as it may, the hero of the review himself is a rather interesting and original communicator, and it would be imprudent to lose sight of him. In addition, the device manufacturer, Huawei, can always separate its two creations into different market segments, providing more old model tempting discount.

Before we begin describing the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL, we need to make a reservation that the editors received a test sample of the communicator - this was eloquently indicated by the lack of retail packaging and the inscription on the smartphone’s body.

Contents of delivery

We cannot say anything definite about the accessories of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL, as well as its packaging. The test sample of the smartphone arrived at the editorial office in one plastic bag. Judging by the description of the configuration on foreign websites, a standard set of accessories is supplied with the communicator: USB cable, Charger and headset. It does not include a memory card, nor does it include a battery, which in the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is not removable at all.

Specifications of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL (U9510E) mobile computer

SoC HiSilicon K3V2 Hi3620: CPU - four ARM Cortex-A9 cores, frequency 1.2 GHz¹; GPU - 16 Vivante GC4000 video cores;
operating system Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich);
IPS+ display, 4.5″ diagonal, 720×1280 pixels (326 ppi), capacitive, with multitouch;
RAM 1 GB, main flash memory 8 GB (5.6 GB available);
Supports microSDHC memory cards up to 32 GB;
Communication GSM EDGE/GPRS (850/900/1800/1900 MHz);
Communication 3G HSPA (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz);
Bluetooth 3.0;
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n;
FM radio;
GPS + A-GPS;
Position sensor, accelerometer, magnetometer;
CMOS camera with a resolution of 8 megapixels, autofocus, dual LED flash, an additional camera with a resolution of 1.3 megapixels;
DLNA, MHL, Wi-Fi Direct;
Lithium-ion battery, capacity 2600 mAh;
Dimensions 130x65x11 mm;
Weight 150 g.

In the characteristics of the communicator, the platform that first attracts attention is the former division of Huawei, HiSilicon, which includes four ARM Cortex-A9 computing cores and 16 graphics cores in two Vivante GC4000 chips. Indeed, remarkable characteristics for 2012, and even now quad-core processors have just begun to appear on the market en masse. The second thing you can pay attention to is the support for a large number of 3G communication bands, so with Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL you can safely travel to many countries around the world, while remaining with fast mobile communications. The third point is the relatively large mass of the smartphone, which is obviously due to battery large size and capacity. This battery is non-removable and, accordingly, cannot be replaced independently in the event of a breakdown.

	Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL	Jiayu G3	HTC One	Samsung Galaxy S 3	Samsung Galaxy S2
Screen	4.5″ IPS+, 326 ppi	4.5″ IPS, 326 ppi	4.7″ Super LCD 3, 468 ppi	4.8″ SuperAMOLED, 289 ppi	4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus, 218 ppi
Permission	720×1280	720×1280	1080×1920	720×1280	480×800
O.C.	Android 4.0.4	Android 4.0.4	Android 4.1.2	Android 4.0.4	Android 4.0.4
CPU	HiSilicon K3V2 Hi3620 (4 ARM Cortex-A9 cores), 1.2 GHz¹	MediaTek MTK6577 (2 cores ARM Cortex-A9), 1 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 (4 Krait 300 cores), 1.7 GHz	Samsung Exynos 4412 (4 cores ARM Cortex-A9), 1.4 GHz	Samsung Exynos 4210 (2 cores ARM Cortex-A9), 1.2 GHz
GPU	Vivante GC4000	PowerVR SGX 531	Adreno 320	ARM Mali-400 MP4	ARM Mali-400MP
RAM	1 GB	1 GB	2 GB	1 GB	1 GB
Camera			Rear 4 MP, front 2.1 MP	Rear 8 MP, front 1.3 MP	Rear 8 MP, front 2 MP
Battery	2600 mAh	2750 mAh	2300 mAh	2100 mAh	1650 mAh
Dimensions and weight	130×65×11 mm, 150 g	135×65×10.8 mm, 131 g	137×68×9.3 mm, 143 g	137×71×8.6 mm, 133 g	125×66×8.5 mm, 116 g
Average retail price	N/A(0)	N/A(0)	$507()	$164()	$103()

¹ maximum clock frequency reduced only in the test sample; in communicators on sale, the processor operates at a frequency of 1.4 GHz.

If you compare the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL with flagship devices over the past few years, you can clearly see that the hero of the review fully matches the parameters of the 2012 champions.

Design and appearance

Everything about the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL can be called standard: the standard body form factor is a streamlined candy bar; standard manufacturing material - matte and glossy plastic; standard colors - the communicator comes in black and white; standard layout of controls - however, this is even better.

The key question when discussing device design is: “Does it stick?” In the case of Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL, the answer is “No”.

If you take a break from evaluating the design of the communicator “as a whole” and take a closer look, you will begin to see some interesting details. For example, the color of the grilles of the two speakers and the plastic frame of the camera is red, which somewhat stands out from the overall dull palette of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL.

Again, you need to remember that the sample in question is a test sample, and in its final version, the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL may look a little different.

Due to its streamlined shape, long and thick (by today's standards, of course) body and rough back panel, the reviewer fits perfectly in the hand. Of course, it’s impossible to reach all corners of the 4.5-inch screen with your thumb without sacrificing grip security, but in this era, that’s nitpicking, to be honest. Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL does not seem bulky or awkward, it fits easily in both a trouser pocket and a jacket pocket.

Protective glass Gorilla Glass 2 covers almost the entire front panel of the communicator. Below it are located: display, three backlit touch keys, lens additional camera, sensors and information LED. The glass panel is framed by a stiffening rib of the communicator, which has recesses for a telephone speaker and microphone. There is a gap between them, into which dust will begin to accumulate over time, and if the speaker is covered with a grille, then the microphone hole at the bottom of the front panel is not protected by anything.

All sides of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL case and its “battery” compartment are covered with a lid. It is made of soft-touch plastic, which feels like rubber to the touch; its back part is rough due to a special fine texture. The cover is easy to detach and replace and has holes for the camera, microphone, speaker and connectors. Underneath it hides a non-removable battery, a SIM card slot and microSD memory cards.

The bottom end of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL case is empty; a lone Micro-USB-compatible connector is located on the left side of the smartphone. On the right side of the review hero there are volume control keys, on the top end there is a power control button and a headphone jack.

There are no serious complaints about the design of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL. The only drawback noticed - the creaking of the back cover under strong compression - can be attributed to the fact that we visited a test sample of the smartphone.

Impressions (of course, purely subjective) of appearance and the designs of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL remained restrained. If you don't take into account the non-replaceable battery, then there's nothing to complain about or scold it for - well, maybe for the lack of a camera control key. The smartphone is easy to use, just like many of its brothers, but it won’t attract the attention of others, and the owner will most likely quickly put it away in a case.

Software

The Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL communicator runs Android 4.0.4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system. At the time of writing the review, a more recent version of the firmware was not found - the check was carried out by a program built into the system.

Installed on top of the system in Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL branded shell, which can roughly be called 2D/3D Home. Despite the obvious focus on adding special effects to standard user and system actions, it also introduces several useful features. So, from the lock screen you can not only get to the desktop and the camera control program, but also open lists of phone calls or messages. If there are missed calls or received SMS, a number with their number will appear next to each icon, and the information LED on the front panel of the communicator will begin to blink.

Of course, all this “beauty” and 3D graphics consume battery power, which in some cases can be critical. To save battery, the smartphone developers have provided for disabling all graphic bells and whistles, calling this operating mode simply - 2D Home. In fact, it represents the most common, natural interface of the Android OS.

From additional software Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL also has a good third party keyboard, developed specifically at Huawei. Large contrasting keys allow you to quickly enter text, but otherwise there are no differences from the standard keyboard for the Russian language (the main task of this software module is to facilitate the input of hieroglyphs in Asian languages).

The list of third-party software that fills the memory of the review hero continues Chrome browser, needs no special introduction. Clients of social Facebook networks, Twitter, Google+ also won’t surprise anyone now.

Polaris Office allows you to open, edit and create new files in the popular Microsoft Office format.

The list continues Riptide G.P.- arcade racing on jet skis, and Studio- an unpretentious video editor. It ends with a program for Reserve copy, an application for downloading, purchasing and reading press Park reader and Flashlight, which uses the camera's LED flash to illuminate the path of the communicator owner. The funniest of them is, undoubtedly, Park Reader: such a variety of new, old, popular and completely unknown publications can rarely be found anywhere, much less downloaded and read.

Display and sound

The display resolution of Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL (720×1280) and its dimensions (4.5″) correspond to the highest category of smartphones - but only from the past 2012. Now, after numerous announcements of Full HD communicators, these values have already lost their attractiveness, and their exclusivity has disappeared along with the advent of inexpensive Chinese smartphones with the same 720p IPS displays. At the same time, the IPS+ matrix of the review hero has a pixel density of 326 ppi, that is, the display of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL corresponds to such a marketing term as Retina, and individual pixels on it are really difficult to distinguish. The addition of "+" presumably means that when displaying a uniform white color across the entire screen with maximum backlight, this IPS display consumes less power than an AMOLED matrix.

Subjective impressions of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL screen are positive. Like all IPS displays, it reproduces high-quality color, has good contrast and is practically not subject to color inversion.

The brightness reserve is sufficient for comfortable work in any conditions, except such extreme ones as bright sunlight. However, in this case, almost all LCD displays give up. The backlight power changes manually and automatically, based on light sensor data.

The quality of touch recognition by the capacitive sensor is excellent, the maximum number of simultaneous touches is 10.

Both speakers of the communicator deserve a good rating. The phone speaker is powerful enough for phone calls and the sound quality is good. The main speaker also differs in sound quality, any extraneous noise, squeaks and rattles are absent even when playing bass at maximum power, and its volume is very significant.

Support for Dolby Digital Plus technology does little when playing music through the communicator's speaker; it only increases the volume and enhances the lower frequencies. When listening through headphones, its activation adds some “volume” to the sound, but, apparently, again due to an increase in the power of the lower frequencies and mixing of signals from both stereo channels. Obviously, the main task of this technology is to support multi-channel audio playback via an MHL cable on audio and video equipment that has the appropriate capabilities. In general, the quality of the audio output for headphones is excellent even without additional “improvers,” and the amplifier power is also high.

When a headset or headphones are connected, the FM radio receiver built into the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL becomes operational. Advantages of the radio control program: automatic search stations across the spectrum, signal strength and quality indicator, easy frequency adjustment, signal output to the communicator speaker. Cons: lack of support for RDS and audio recording. The signal reception quality is good.

Alexey Kudryavtsev, editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, will tell you more about the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL screen.

The smartphone screen is covered with a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface and, judging by the reflection of bright light sources in it, if it has an anti-glare filter, it is very weak. The outer glass is clearly mineral, but either it is not very scratch-resistant, or this device has been exposed to something very hard - either way, you can see a few small scratches on the screen when viewed at an angle. The surface of the matrix itself under the glass is slightly matte, so the screen reflects both direct light sources (by the outer surface) and diffuse light (by the surface of the matrix) - this negatively affects readability in conditions of strong external illumination. There is a special and quite effective oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating on the outer surface of the screen, so fingerprints do not appear as quickly as with regular glass, but are removed more easily.

When manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was about 500 cd/m², and the minimum was 5 cd/m². The maximum value is high, so even in bright daylight the screen will remain readable. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable level. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located on the front panel to the right of the front speaker slot). In complete darkness, the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 30 cd/m² (acceptable), in an artificially lit office, the brightness is set to about 90 cd/m² (comfortable value), and in a very bright environment the brightness increases to maximum (which is logical). Note that choosing the power saving mode does not affect the brightness of the white field. At lower brightness, there is no backlight modulation at all, so there is no backlight flickering.

This smartphone uses an IPS type matrix, as a result the screen has good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shifts, even with large deviations of the view from perpendicular to the screen. When deviated diagonally, the black field brightens quite a bit and, depending on the direction of the deviation, acquires a violet or red-violet hue. When viewed from a perpendicular perspective, the uniformity of the black field is average, since along one edge the black field is noticeably lighter. The response time for the black-white-black transition is 33 ms (17 ms on + 16 ms off). The transition between halftones 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) and back takes a total of 48 ms.

The contrast is typical for IPS matrices - about 640:1. The gamma curve constructed using 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 2.68, which is higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates quite a bit from the power-law dependence:

Note that depending on the selected modes (Smart backlight and Battery saving modes), the brightness of the backlight may change (or not change) in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - increase for light images and decrease for dark ones. Therefore, we measured the real contrast on a template in which one half of the screen was black, the other was white, and the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) may not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on whole screen.

The color gamut is slightly narrower than sRGB:

The spectra show that the matrix filters mix the components with each other:

However, in general, the colors on this screen are close to natural in saturation. The balance of shades on the gray scale is acceptable, since the color temperature may be higher than 6500 K, but throughout the entire significant part of the gray scale this parameter changes insignificantly, while the deviation from the blackbody spectrum (delta E) is less than 10, which is considered for a consumer device a good indicator, and the variation in delta E is quite small. (Dark areas of the gray scale can be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

The screen has high brightness, adequately functioning automatic adjustment of the backlight brightness, good color rendering and acceptable black stability when the gaze is deviated diagonally. The only thing that reduces its consumer qualities is a weak anti-glare filter and a slightly matte surface of the matrix under the front glass.

MHL interface test

Additionally, the MHL interface was tested. To test it, we used an LG IPS237L monitor that supports direct MHL connection using a passive adapter cable from Micro-USB to HDMI. In this case, MHL output was carried out at a resolution of 1280 by 720 pixels at a frequency of 60 frames/s. The display on the monitor screen in portrait orientation of the smartphone screen is carried out in portrait orientation only if current program in principle, it does not support landscape orientation, while the height of the image on the monitor screen is slightly less than the height of the display area, and black fields are displayed on the right and left. In all other cases, regardless of the orientation of the smartphone, the image on its screen and on the monitor screen is forced to be displayed in landscape orientation. In this case, the image on the monitor fits exactly into the display area. The actual resolution on the monitor screen is equal (except for portrait display) to the resolution of the smartphone screen. Sound is output via MHL (in this case, the sounds were heard through headphones connected to the monitor, since there are no speakers in the monitor itself) and has good quality. At the same time, at least multimedia sounds are not output through the loudspeaker of the smartphone itself, and the volume is adjusted using buttons on the smartphone body. The smartphone connected via MHL is charging.

Video output using the standard player deserves a special description. To begin with, using a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)), we checked how the video is displayed on the screen of the smartphone itself. Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: Resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). The results of this (block entitled " Screen") and the following test are tabulated:

File	Uniformity	Passes
Screen
watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4	average	No
watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-60p.mp4	average	average
watch-1280x720-50p.mp4	Fine	few
watch-1280x720-30p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-24p.mp4	Fine	No
MHL (monitor)
watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4	did not play
watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4	Great	No
watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-60p.mp4	Badly	a lot of
watch-1280x720-50p.mp4	Badly	a lot of
watch-1280x720-30p.mp4	average	No
watch-1280x720-25p.mp4	Fine	No
watch-1280x720-24p.mp4	Fine	No

Note: If both the Uniformity and Dropout columns are rated green, this means that when watching movies, there will most likely be no or no amount of artifacts caused by frame spacing or dropouts visible. will not affect viewing comfort. "Red" marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the corresponding files.

It turns out that none of the files play back perfectly - the intervals between frames alternate unevenly, in one case a significant part of the frames is skipped, and 1080p files with 50 and 60 fps are actually not played back. For example, here is a screenshot of this smartphone obtained when playing a 1080p 24 fps video file:

It can be seen that all frames are shown, but alternating at intervals of 2-3 (this is the most The right way demonstration of 24 frames when the screen is actually refreshed with a frequency of 60 Hz) is broken in some cases (ideally, light and dark rectangles on the upper scale should alternate exactly one after another).

When playing a video with a standard player, only the image of the video file is displayed on a monitor connected via MHL, and buttons, sliders and other elements of the player are not displayed on the monitor. When playing video files with a resolution of 720p (1280 by 720 pixels) on the monitor screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed one-to-one, exactly along the border of the screen in true 720p resolution. The brightness range displayed on the monitor slightly does not correspond to the standard - all shades of the “video” range are displayed in the shadows, but shades up to 255 are distinguishable in the highlights, so the brightness of white in the case of typical video files on the monitor will be lower than possible. Whereas on a smartphone screen, in highlights and shadows, almost all gradations of shades are displayed precisely in the “video” range (that is, in the range 16-235), and only in the shadows are a couple of the darkest shades indistinguishable from the black level.

The test results are shown in the table above in the “ MHL (monitor)" It can be seen that only 1080p files with a frame rate of 30 fps (a rather exotic file type) are reproduced ideally. 1080p files at 50 and 60 fps are not actually played back, all other file types are at least played back with uneven alternating intervals between frames. As an example, here is a photo of an ideal output option:

However, the remark is the same as when discussing the display of the smartphone itself: with the exception of video files with 50 and 60 fps, artifacts may not be visible on fragments of other real films.

Overall, despite some caveats, an MHL connection can be used for gaming, watching movies, surfing the web, and other activities that benefit from multiplying the screen size.

Wireless Interfaces and Communications

Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL smartphone supports major modern technologies mobile transmission data except LTE. All modules wireless communication presented in their most popular options: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, 3G-HSDPA up to 21 Mbit/s.

Module operation cellular communication was tested in all modes: 2G/3G with data transmission, it did not cause any problems or complaints.

Checking the Wi-Fi module revealed a problem with the compatibility of the review hero with the TP-Link WR1043ND router: in the 802.11n mode of the router, the smartphone completely refused to connect to the network, although it detected it, and other devices, for example Samsung Galaxy S 2 or iPad mini, successfully connected to it. The problem disappeared after changing the router's operating mode to 802.11b/g, in this case the data exchange rate between the two devices was 24 Mbit/s. Directly from Wi-Fi module connected technology, which found a place in the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL - we are talking about DLNA. With its help, it was possible to provide other devices with access to media files inside the communicator’s memory, as well as connect to available media servers, but there are also complaints about its operation. So, it was not possible to transfer any data from the smartphone to Smart TV Samsung UE32D6500.

The speed of data exchange via Bluetooth (file transfer) between the review hero and MacBook Pro Mid 2009 was 1.1 Mbit/s. Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL supports many Bluetooth operating profiles, including A2DP, HSP/HFP, modem mode, file transfer, object transfer. Connection to wireless headset Sony MW1 was successful, after which it became possible to control music playback and make calls. Unfortunately, the smartphone does not transmit track names to the headset, but shows the names of callers from phone book Instead of their numbers, Sony MW1 became only after installing additional software on the communicator.

Camera

In full accordance with modern trends, Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is equipped with two cameras. The main one is located on the back panel of the communicator next to the dual LED flash. Matrix type - CMOS, resolution 8 megapixels, maximum photo resolution - 3264×2448 pixels. The matrix is made using BSI back-illumination technology, which theoretically should have a positive effect on the quality of images taken in low light. There is also HDR support and an autofocus system.

The matrix of the additional camera on the front panel of the communicator has a resolution of 1.3 megapixels, which allows you to take pictures measuring 1280x960 pixels.

The absence of a separate hardware key to control shooting is partly compensated by the ease of launching the corresponding program - through the communicator's lock menu.

The appearance of the camera control program is simple and clear, large and contrasting icons provide easy access to shooting settings. There are many of these settings; you can not only change the camera’s operating mode, but also adjust white balance, ISO, timer, enable GPS tag recording, and select various artistic shooting modes.

Automatic focusing works without the participation of the owner; you can also specify the desired area in the frame by touching the display in this place. Autofocus speed is average; in low light it often misses. Another advantage of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL camera is the ability to shoot close-up objects.

The image quality of the camera built into the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is good, but only if there is sufficient lighting. If the brightness of external light sources is not enough, the pictures will turn out dark and blurry - autofocus will not work correctly. Only an LED flash can help in such conditions, and even then not always. In general, the camera capabilities of the review hero are enough to take good pictures, the main thing is not to count on too much.

The maximum video recording resolution of the main camera of Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is 1920 × 1088 pixels. The frame rate is variable, but the average is 25 frames per second. Recording format - MPEG-4, AVC [email protected]/AAC-LC. The length of the video depends on the amount of free memory.

Battery life

The prefix in the name, the large mass and the likely long delay in launching into the market all have to do with the battery increased capacity(2600 mAh). The reduction in processor frequency also appears to be caused by concerns about extending the life of the smartphone without recharging. It should also be noted that the HiSilicon K3V2 chip has proprietary A.I.P.S. energy saving technology. (Artificial Intelligence Power Scaling), which allows you to disable unused computing and graphics cores, thereby saving energy. So, has all this helped ensure that the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is a leader in this “sports category” of mobile market competition? Let's look at the performance of the review hero in our traditional time tests battery life and compare them with the results of other smartphones that have been reviewed by the editors.

The test conditions were as follows: reading a book with 50% brightness, power saving mode - saving energy; listening to music with the screen off and the same energy saving mode; Video playback with automatic backlight adjustment and power saving mode - maximum performance.

The communicator really showed good results in tests for battery life. The high-capacity battery allowed Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL to take one of the leading positions among communicators with quad-core processors and large displays. Of course, the results do not reach the results of smartphones based on the more economical MediaTek platform, but the performance of these devices cannot be compared with powerful filling hero of the review. It is especially worth noting that the implementation of hardware acceleration of HD video playback provided the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL with almost twofold superiority in battery life in the corresponding test over the Jiayu G3, where it was absent at the time of writing the review of this smartphone - while the D1 Quad XL even almost didn't heat up.

The GLBenchmark 2.5.1 test drained the battery in two hours. During testing, the communicator heated up to a terrible temperature, but honestly worked all the time to the end without any problems.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that the process of replenishing the battery charge of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is slow. When connected to the USB port of a computer (MacBook Pro Mid 2009), the review hero charged the battery within 4.5 hours. You also need to remember that the processor frequency of devices on sale is higher, therefore they will demonstrate slightly worse battery life results.

Speed and performance

It’s time to get acquainted with the capabilities of the not very common HiSilicon K3V2 Hi3620 platform, developed by one of Huawei’s divisions and used in devices from this company, including the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad. It is necessary to recall that the K3V2 includes four ARM Cortex-A9 cores capable of operating at frequencies up to 1.4 GHz, however, the hero of the review has a maximum frequency reduced to 1.2 GHz (for Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL smartphones on sale, the processor works with maximum frequency 1.4 GHz). The HiSilicon single-chip system also includes 16 Vivante graphics cores, grouped into two GC4000 chips. The amount of RAM in Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is 1 GB.

4472 2533 5601 2171 3125

The hero of the review entered into a fight with last year's Samsung flagship and performed on an equal footing with him, despite the reduced operating frequency computing cores. Somewhere Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL gave way to the representative of the third generation Galaxy smartphones, in some places bypassed him. The gap in AnTuTu Benchmark 3.1.

Huawei has demonstrated that it can not only produce interesting communicators, but also develop hardware for them that is not inferior to the best examples of the leaders in the mobile market. A few more test results, now for statistics.

NenaMark 2.4

Geekbench 2

All that remains is to check the playback of videos of various formats and resolutions. The list of videos and the reasons for their selection are detailed in the article devoted to the methodology for testing video signal display devices.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	not playable
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	not playable
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3	plays normally	plays normally
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3		plays with minor delays
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	plays with minor delays	plays with minor delays

The Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL communicator can play most popular video formats, if not in hardware decoding mode, then in software. The golden mean in video playback turned out to be a video in MKV/H.264 format with a resolution of 720p and a bitrate of 3 Mbit/s. This is what the review hero was able to reproduce with hardware decoding without any delays.

conclusions

Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is a good communicator, even a great one, despite all its shortcomings. An excellent hardware platform, long battery life, high-quality display are undoubted advantages. The only downsides are the nondescript case, non-removable battery and some problems with Wi-Fi.

The hero of the review can compete with the flagships of 2012, and if it had entered the market a little earlier - say, last summer - it would have been much easier to predict its fate than now. In the spring of 2013, its characteristics and capabilities still look remarkable, but it is no longer able to compete for leadership with the new products of this season. As sad as it may be to note, Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL was late in entering the market, which had already been shared by other models. At the top of the market they rule the roost Samsung devices and HTC, in the top segment there is a struggle between the flagships of these same companies, the budget segment has been unconditionally captured by various small Chinese companies (we are, of course, talking exclusively about Android devices). Where, in this case, will the hero of the review be located and what will his fate be? In answering this question you will have to start from the cost of the communicators.

The price of the Samsung Galaxy S 3 fluctuates significantly, averaging about 18,300 rubles for a model with 16 GB of memory at the time of writing, but it is comparable to the price of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL - 16,000 rubles at the time of writing. In this case, does the hero of the review have a chance of becoming popular? It’s unlikely, given the attitude towards the brand among buyers. Of course, there are people to whom the name Huawei will also say a lot, but they are unlikely to want to buy this particular communicator - rather, they would prefer to save money and buy more budget model. So, in order to win a place in the sun for its brainchild, Huawei needs to do one simple thing - reduce its price by at least a third.

General characteristics

Type

Deciding on the type of device (phone or smartphone?) is quite simple. If you need a simple and inexpensive device for calls and SMS, it is recommended to choose a telephone. A smartphone is more expensive, but it offers a wide variety of options: games, videos, the Internet, thousands of programs for all occasions. However, its battery life is significantly less than that of a regular phone.

smartphone operating system Android OS version at the start of sales Android 4.0 Case type classic Housing material plastic Control touch buttons Number of SIM cards 1 SIM card type

Modern smartphones can use not only regular SIM cards, but also their more compact versions micro SIM and nano SIM. An eSIM is a SIM card integrated into the phone. It takes up virtually no space and does not require a separate tray for installation. eSIM is not yet supported in Russia. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

regular Weight 130 g Dimensions (WxHxD) 64x129x8.9 mm

Screen

Screen type color IPS, touch Touch screen type multi-touch, capacitive Diagonal 4.5 inches. Image Size 1280x720 Pixels per inch (PPI) 326 Aspect Ratio 16:9 Automatic screen rotation There is

Multimedia capabilities

Number of main (rear) cameras 1 Main (rear) camera resolution 8 MP Photoflash rear, LED Functions of the main (rear) camera autofocus Recording videos There is Front-camera yes, 1.3 MP Audio MP3, FM radio Headphone jack 3.5mm MHL Video Output

Connection

Standard GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G Interfaces

Almost all modern smartphones have Wi-Fi and USB interfaces. Bluetooth and IRDA are a little less common. Wi-Fi is used to connect to the Internet. USB is used to connect your phone to a computer. Bluetooth is also found in many phones. It is used to connect wireless headphones, to connect the phone to wireless speakers, as well as for transferring files. A smartphone equipped with an IRDA interface can be used as universal remote control remote control. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB Satellite navigation

Built-in GPS and GLONASS modules allow you to determine the phone's coordinates using signals from satellites. In the absence of GPS, a modern smartphone can determine its own location using signals from base stations mobile operator. However, finding coordinates using satellite signals is usually much more accurate. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones

GPS/GLONASS DLNA support yes