Inexpensive tracker. Huawei Honor Band A2 preview
Huawei well established in the market mobile phones and decided that it was time to move on, conquer new heights and get more profit. So the fitness bracelet was born Huawei Honor Band A2, which is inexpensive, has a very nice set of features and looks quite attractive. Will it compete with the main players in the market? Yes, without any doubt, because the product has absolutely everything that the user needs, plus the affordable price, which makes it so interesting. We decided to tell you about the capabilities of the product and explain why we consider it one of the best on the market, and you decide whether you need such a tracker or not. Maybe you are not moving at all and there is simply nothing to track. But, we really like the Huawei development plan itself and we expect even more interesting products from the company, but for now, let's get acquainted with this novelty.
Characteristics
Let's start with the most interesting - the bracelet has a display, its diagonal is 0.96 inches and the display is based on an OLED-type matrix. Thanks to the new type of matrix and such a diagonal, this is a fairly large display for bracelets, it will be very comfortable to use the device, all information is read without problems. Inside the bracelet there is a heart rate sensor that will allow you to monitor your body in real time, there are also a lot of other sensors and a built-in battery that allows the bracelet to live 18 days in standby mode or 9 days in active mode. everyday use. Duration battery life decent enough, so you definitely won’t have to charge the product once a day. All devices on the operating room are supported by the bracelet Android system 4.4 and iOS 8.0 and above, so very old gadgets still pass by.
Case design
It is worth noting that the company presented several color options at once, so if you want a red or yellow bracelet, then you will have the opportunity to buy one. The bracelet is based on a block with a display and all the filling, it is quite light and small, the strap is attached to it with a not quite standard mount. The strap itself is made of a special material, which is firmly held on the hand, does not stretch once again, does not cause irritation on the skin, which is also very important. There is IP67 protection, which indicates the ability to run in the pouring rain and not worry about the device.
Capabilities
Naturally, the product received the entire standard set of fitness tracker features - a pedometer, a calorie counter, a distance meter, and so on. That is, the main functionality is available here, plus a heart rate counter that allows you to monitor your performance in real time. Also, the bracelet can perform the functions smart watch- show time, information about incoming calls or messages. And, of course, sleep phases can be determined so that it is easier for you to wake up in the morning.
Outcome
The cost of this bracelet is $ 30 and this is quite an attractive price, considering how much they ask for competitors in the market. Even Xiaomi with its bracelet does not look so cheap, because the price is approximately the same. But, Huawei has no problems with customs and you can order a product directly from China and not overpay local resellers, while this will not work with Xiaomi. This is another plus that can be written into the piggy bank of a new device from Huawei. How do you like the gadget, is it worth buying it for Everyday life and sports?
Comments:
Recently, gamers have no problem choosing a computer case at all, as there are a whole lot of...
Intel introduced a rather unusual Honeycomb Glacier laptop, which is a gaming solution ...
Nothing new has been happening in the gaming peripherals market for quite a long time, as companies have already used everything ...
FSP showed at Computex 2019 the CMT710 computer case, which has a design...
Today we will get acquainted with the communicator in detail.Huawei Honor 2 U9508. This device is positioned as a direct competitor, popular in China,Xiaomi Mi Two. The device has very impressive features and is very attractive price. To put it in one sentence:"Performance horse at an affordable price"
And now let's take a closer look.
Specifications:
Appearance:
Huawei Honor 2 U9508 has a strict, rectangular shape without any fancy frills. Although I note a very stylish, thin frame around the front side of the smartphone. Can you just say "large screen and three touch buttons". The smartphone looks strictly, simply and tastefully. Likewise, the fact that Huawei does not try to copy the design known to us by Apple, Samsung or HTC.
The device is presented in the market in black and white colors. We have a black model. Back cover made of rubberized matte plastic, so that the absence of fingerprints only pleases.
The lid is removed easily, and closes very clearly, there is absolutely no backlash, creaking or gap. Under the cover is a removable battery (which is undoubtedly a PLUS), as well as a slot for a memory card and a SIM card. The memory card can be replaced without pulling out the battery, but to change the SIM card, the battery will have to be removed. Screen coverageCorning Gorilla glass , tested with a knife and a nail, so we can say that it DOES NOT SCRATCH.
On the right side there is an unlock button, which can be easily reached with the thumb of the right hand, and a volume control button. On the left side there is a microUSB connector through which the smartphone is charged, as well as connecting it to a PC. The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the top and the microphone hole is on the bottom. I would like to note that all mechanical buttons are very easy to use, they protrude from the case, which makes it easier to find any button by touch.
On the front side, in addition to the earpiece, front VGA camera and sensors hidden from the eyes, there is a light indicator that lights up during charging or blinks when you miss calls or messages. In my opinion, this indicator is very useful and functional.
What can be said about the dimensions of the phone, Huawei Honor 2 U9508- a representative of the middle class, he is not too big, but not small either. Smartphone dimensions 134 x 67.5 x 10.5mm, and weight 145 grams.
Screen:
Huawei Honor 2 U9508 uses a capacitive-type touch display, made on the basis of IPS matrices with a diagonal 4.5 inches and resolution 1280720 pixels. The display has a good supply of brightness, juicy color reproduction, picture clarity is excellent, viewing angles are excellent. But it is worth noting that since the screen is glossy, it is difficult to see anything on the screen in the sun, you will have to set the brightness to the maximum.
The reaction of the sensor to the pressure of the fingers is clear and fast. Personally, I have only positive impressions about the sensor during the use of this device.
Memory:
The size of the built-in memory in Huawei Honor 2 U9508 is 8 GB. We are also pleased with the presence of a memory expansion slot, which, according to official data from Huawei, supports cards up to 32 GB up to speed class 10.
Operating system:
On the smartphone that came to us for review, there is the latest of the official international firmware B107 with the version Android 4.0.4, you can say pure Android without heavy and demanding shells. The OS is very fast, the interface is smooth. There were no errors or crashes of the system during the use of the smartphone.
It should be noted that in addition to the official international firmware, there are several firmware based on Android 4.1.2, this is the official proprietary firmware with EMUI 1.5 and EMUI 1.6(EMUI is the official shell from Huawei, famous for its beautiful animation and impeccable smoothness in the interface), as well as firmware MIUI(community site miui.su) and XiUI which we will definitely write about in our next reviews, so keep a close eye on updating our site =)
Performance:
The smartphone runs on a quad-core processor Hisilicon K3V2 (ARM Cortex-A9), clock frequency 1.4GHz, integrated video accelerator Immersion.16 and whole 2 gigabytes random access memory. I would say "Powerful horse". The device plays video without problems. HD-permission. The overall speed of the interface in the device is EXCELLENT, even with a dozen applications in the background. It is worth noting that under good loads, the smartphone heats up.
Camera:
This unit has a rear camera 8 Mpix. The photos are of course not of chic quality, but let's look at things sensibly. For me personally, the camera in a smartphone is just an additional function in the phone and it will never be at the level of semi-professional cameras. Moreover, we take into account that many people use Instagram, which makes a MASTERPIECE out of any picture with its filters. For mobile shooting, in my opinion, the device has sufficient camera characteristics.
The video is also average. Supports shooting in Full HD which is very nice, especially when you watch the video not on the smartphone itself, but on the PC. A couple of times, inadequate autofocus behavior was noticed, especially when shooting a large number people and when shooting a child actively running and playing in the room.
Battery:
Battery capacity 2150 mAh. With moderate use of the device, the battery lasts for a day.
Conclusion:
Huawei Honor 2 U9508 - model with powerful stuffing and stylish design. The materials used are very pleasant to use. I would also like to note the screen, which pleases with good color reproduction, as well as its protection from scratches. The performance of the device is at a high level. In our case, this device will cost about 70,000 tenge, but even for that kind of money, in my opinion, the device has no competitors in this price range.
Certainly not without cons. Unfortunately, the device noticeably heats up under good loads. Not to say that it burns the hand, or that holding it at such moments is completely unpleasant, but still the heating is noticeable and palpable.
|
The design is brutal and therefore the phone is more oriented towards men. |
The screen is well calibrated, contrasting and slightly cold; the color gamut is close to sRGB. Maximum brightness - 372.878 cd/m 2 , black field brightness - 0.293 cd/m 2 , static contrast - 1273:1.
Since the screen proportions are non-standard, third-party applications, just in case, run in FullHD with black margins at the top and bottom, transfer them to full screen mode can be done with one touch (however, the application will be restarted). Of the applications that I managed to use, none of the full screen operation caused any problems. Watching FullDH video in full screen is not worth it - the image is enlarged, but it is noticeably cropped in height.
The fingerprint sensor pleased with instant and clear, the first time, recognition of fingers - in a week of testing, I never had to put my finger on again. The sensor can recognize gestures - a left-right swipe of your finger works to scroll through photos in the gallery in full-screen view, and a gesture from top to bottom opens the notification panel.
In addition to the usual accelerometer, gyroscope and other the right sensors, Honor 7x also has a pedometer. Its readings are displayed directly on the unlock screen, next to the clock, and are also used in the pre-installed Health application, which will be discussed later.
EMUI 5.1 and preinstalled apps
At one time, the fifth version of the proprietary EMUI add-on was a big and pleasant discovery for me when I updated my Mate to version 5.0. And in 5.1 it became even better and more interesting. The smartphone interface is very thoughtful and flexible in customization. If you want shortcuts for all applications on your desktop - please, if you want a separate application menu, as in the "official" Android 7.0 - this is it.
For the elderly who find it difficult to learn modern technology, there is a special simplified interface with large icons and large fonts, reminiscent of Windows Mobile.
With a gesture from the top, you can pull out the notification area. Any other movement simply unlocks the screen. By the way, it can also be unlocked with a double tap (this method is disabled by default), but the fastest way is with the help of a fingerprint scanner (if it is active and if the phone is not on the table).
The system is thought out to the smallest detail. So, for example, you can’t just long press the volume down key to switch the phone to silent mode(in other phones this often happens by accident). That is, the signal volume will decrease to zero, but the vibrating alert will remain on. To turn it off, you need to move the switch on the screen. Apparently, adjusting the call volume on the lock screen does not work for the same purpose - so that the phone in your pocket does not turn off the sound itself. You can cancel a sent SMS or MMS message by double-tapping within 6 seconds after "sending" (in fact, sending is simply delayed by this time, of course). When deleting a photo or video in the gallery, you do not lose it forever - the file is simply moved to the "Recently Deleted" folder and stored there for another 30 days, just in case. Fortunately, the amount of internal memory allows.
A top-down gesture on the desktop launches a search for any smartphone content - applications, contacts and notes. Well, my favorite - long screenshots. With one touch, you get a snapshot of all the information on a given page, including what is below the visible area. The phone itself scrolls the screen, takes screenshots and combines them into one. How much is this feature needed? ordinary user– I don’t know, but when writing reviews, it can save a lot of time. For example, full pages application menu and settings menu saved with one touch:
In the same way, you can save web pages in the browser and application windows, except for those that are combined from a static and scrollable part.
Much attention is paid to saving charge and Internet traffic. There are two power saving modes - normal, with some background functions turned off, and "Ultra" - an analogue of the one that is turned on in the Lenovo P2 with a special switch. In this mode, wireless networks do not work, the display brightness is reduced, the backlight dimming time is reduced to a few seconds, there are no wallpapers on the desktop and lock screen, you can’t even take a screenshot, and there are only six applications available (but you can choose any other instead of those on by default).
For each of the applications, you can configure the way notifications are issued and prohibit access to the Internet via Wi-Fi, mobile network or completely, as well as specify which applications will be closed when the screen is locked. In general, here the field is unplowed for perfectionist bores who want to control every byte and every milliwatt.
If you need another one Account in an application that does not support multiple accounts, you can create a clone of the application. True, of all the applications installed on the phone, this function was available only for Facebook and Facebook Messenger.
As for the preset third party applications, then there is a lot of excess. For example, the Yandex, Yandex.Browser and Sberbank applications, which are not very relevant for Ukraine. Huawei is still making one firmware for Russia and Ukraine. Fortunately, these applications are not made system and are easily removed.
Interestingly, the default is active third party keyboard SwiftKey. As for me, standard google The keyboard is good enough and does not require replacement. True, it consumes battery power very actively, perhaps this is the case. By the way, here's another advantage of the Full View display - the Gboard keyboard with a string of numbers, text correction tips and an average key height takes up no more than half the screen.
But what is really interesting is the branded huawei app Health (Health). This is a virtual trainer, like Adidas micoach or Strava, for running, walking and cycling. You can enter data about your age and weight, set a goal (by the number of steps taken or by reaching a certain weight), connect a heart rate monitor and scales, and also choose a ready-made training program, for example, prepare for a half marathon by a certain date. The app will ask for your previous results for this distance (if you have any), specify the planned number of workouts per week, and create a personal plan for you. Naturally, all training data is recorded and detailed statistics are maintained.
The application can be removed if it is not needed. It is free and can be installed on any Android smartphone, but if you run or walk, it is desirable that the phone has a pedometer, otherwise some of the functions will not work.
Smartphone multimedia capabilities
Audio
The Music app plays loseless formats, shows song lyrics (if there is one in the file), is controlled from the lock screen and looks quite nice, besides, it smoothly muffles the sound when you stop and remove the headphones.
The sound of the Honor 7x is quite decent. It does not impress with some kind of magical purity and transparency, but with the default settings (effects are disabled and the appropriate type of headphones is selected), the music sounds pleasant, without any obvious distortions and distortions. background noise missing (of course, if it is not in the entry itself). Of the built-in effects of Huawei Histen, you can use the equalizer to adjust the sound to your hearing and your headphones, but the bass boost and 3D are not impressive - the natural sound suffers. The volume level for music is sufficient, without obvious distortion at the maximum. In general, there are no complaints about the sound.
FM-receiver - in the style of "nothing special". Simple interface, average reception and sound quality, necessary for work wired headphones as an antenna. The only interesting option is a timer switch off (useful if you listen to the radio before going to bed). The recorder records high-quality stereo sound. Recording telephone conversations not provided.
A photo
The main camera of Hohor 7x is dual, 16 + 2 megapixels. A two-megapixel module is used to speed up focusing and add a bokeh (blur) effect. The aspect ratio of the matrix is 4:3, in other available formats (1:1 and 18:9) the image is cropped. In good light, the pictures come out clear, detailed and colorful, phase focusing is really instant and accurate. In artificial light and at night, the camera shoots quite well, but don't expect miracles, the aperture ratio of the lens is not so high - 1:2.2.
There are several special shooting modes in the preinstalled camera app. Live Photo is essentially a short 3 second video with sound. Portrait mode includes two effects - skin smoothing and background blur (the first is configurable, the second can only be turned on / off). It turns out not bad, but there is a nuance - the photo in portrait mode is saved in smaller size- 8 megapixels instead of 16. Here is an example of how the portrait mode works (pictures are cropped and reduced to the same size):
For more flexible blur control, there is a wide aperture mode that simulates lens apertures ranging from f/16 to f/0.95. Of course, the result of such a software simulation cannot be compared with shooting with real ultra-fast lenses, but, nevertheless, this function helps to highlight the main object in the frame and blur everything superfluous and secondary. By the way, it is absolutely not necessary to accurately select the aperture at the time of shooting, you can not waste time on this at all, the main thing is to focus on the desired object, and you can adjust the degree of blur and the position of the "spot of sharpness" later. Such pictures, as well as videos and "live photos" are marked in the gallery with the corresponding icons.
The selfie camera is one, with a resolution of 8 megapixels. The same effects are available for it as in the portrait mode described above. Sample photo from this camera:
Swipe across the screen from left to right in shooting mode provides access to additional modes and effects, and from right to left - to image settings and camera controls.
You can take a photo in several ways - by tapping a button, tapping anywhere on the display, and also using a hand gesture (this starts a timer so that you have time to return your hand to its normal position). True, I did not succeed in getting the camera to react to the gesture. There is also an "Audio control" option - a picture can be taken either by the voice command "Cheese", or by any sufficiently loud sound (shout, blow, clap). In the first case, the camera fires with a noticeable delay, when the pseudo-smile caused by the pronunciation of this word has already left the face. But the automatic shooting function when a smile is detected works fine, only the smile should be full - the lips should be stretched, and the teeth should be at least a little, but visible. And, of course, there is a quick capture function: by double-pressing the volume down key, the camera will turn on, focus and take a picture. This takes a little over a second.
Literally on the last day of testing, it turned out that the camera can also take pictures by pressing the call button on a Bluetooth headset connected to a smartphone, although I did not find anything like that in the settings.
Of the settings available in normal auto mode, there is only exposure compensation in the form of a slider next to the focus point. The remaining settings are hidden in the settings menu or are available directly on the screen in the "Pro" mode, in which you can manually select:
Exposure metering method (over the entire image, center-weighted and spot);
Sensitivity (ISO 50…1600 in 1/3 steps);
Shutter speed (from 1/4000 s to 8 (!!) seconds),
Exposure compensation (±4 EV in 1/3-stop increments);
Focus type (single, continuous or manual)
White balance (auto, 4 presets and manual color temperature selection in 100K increments).
The only complaint about the professional mode is that the parameter buttons and the scale-regulators of their values are small and closely spaced.
The ability to set a long exposure is priceless! If you securely fix the phone, you can shoot stationary objects almost in complete darkness with minimal sensitivity, which means minimal noise and natural color reproduction. The first photo in the gallery below was taken in a room with curtained windows on an overcast day (the phone is fixed, the "audio control" function is activated to release the shutter). For comparison, the second photo was taken under the same conditions in auto mode without flash, the third one was taken with flash.
And finally, about one more set of effects. Both the main and selfie cameras can take pictures with "augmented reality" - all sorts of ears, antennae, noses, etc. All these accessories with amazing accuracy are located on the face and move with it when turning and tilting the head. True, the size of such photos is only 720x960 pixels, but they are only needed to send to friends on the phone, so that's enough.
Examples of other photos taken with the Honor 7x smartphone camera:
Video
If you need 4K video recording, look for another phone, this one shoots maximum in FullHD. Stereo sound is present, the localization of sound sources is good thanks to the microphones as far apart as possible. There is no stabilization and wind protection. A simple video editor allows you to crop your video and reduce the resolution.
Example regular video with the highest possible quality:
Shooting at night:
It is possible to shoot a video with the effect of slowing down at the right time. As with wide apertures, the start and end of the slow-motion section are selected after shooting. But the resolution of such videos is only 640x480 and the picture quality, frankly, is terrible due to excessive compression.
Example video with slow motion effect:
Performance and autonomy
Although the hardware in Honor 7x is not top-end, it seems that the only point where it lacks performance is synthetic tests. During testing, the device never slowed down, did not crash, did not overheat, and even more so did not turn off or reboot without a command.
Results of standard tests:
Autonomy is quite consistent with the expected battery capacity of 3340 mAh. In the "always online" mode (web surfing, social networks, some mp3 and Youtube, a lot of photos and a lot of screenshots synchronized with Google Photo), the phone worked from 12 to 20 hours.
From morning until late in the evening there was always enough charge. With normal use, I think it will last up to two days, especially if you spend a little time adjusting the energy consumption and traffic of applications.
Usage impressions
It is unrealistic to study all the functions and understand all the nuances of the behavior of a modern smartphone, and even more so to catch bugs in a week, but the first impression of Honor7x is positive. good display, good quality sound transmission during calls, stable operation of the system and all wireless interfaces, good camera and a well-thought-out branded shell with very beautiful pictures on the lock screen - this is what I will remember Honor 7x.
A Full View display with thin bezels is convenient and beautiful, I think pretty soon the 18:9 format will cease to be exotic and become the same standard as FullHD is now.
This is one of those cases when you don’t want to give away a test device and you can recommend it for purchase with a clear conscience if the purchase budget is limited to nine thousand hryvnias.
4 reasons to buy Honor 7x:
- You need a beautiful, durable, fast and not too expensive phone
- Do you feel like more screen and smaller body
- you need a lot fast camera with bokeh mode
- You want a smartphone with a fast, functional and thoughtful shell
3 reasons not to buy Honor 7x:
- You need 4K video capability
- Do you prefer a front-facing fingerprint reader?
- Are you planning to use Android Pay, therefore, a smartphone without NFC is not suitable for you
| Specifications Honor 7x (BND-L21) | |
|---|---|
| Display | LTPS LCD, 5.93 inches, 1080x2160, 407 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass |
| Frame | glass (front panel), aluminum ( back panel), dimensions 156.5 x 75.3 x 7.6 mm, weight 165 g |
| CPU | HiSilicon Kirin 659, 4 x Cortex-A53, 2.36 GHz and 4 x Cortex-A53, 1.7 GHz, Mali-T830 MP2 graphics |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Flash memory | 64 GB (built-in), MicroSD (installed instead of one of the SIM cards) |
| Camera |
Main: dual 16.0 MP + 2.0 MP, F2.2, phase detection, LED flash. Video [email protected] fps, 17 Mbps. Front: 8.0 MP |
| Wireless technologies | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n 2.4 GHz, Bluetooth 4.1, A2DP, EDR, LE |
| GPS | There is |
| Sensors | gravity, proximity, illumination, magnetic field, pedometer |
| Battery | Li-Ion, declared capacity 3340 mAh |
| Operating system | |
Expect background blur on a $200 device, either on or off. 7X cuts messy hair on people, sharp corners on objects, and so on without a twinge of conscience.
In this case, the quality of the photo as a whole also deteriorates. Indoors, it is almost impossible to shoot something sensible at all.
A more or less tolerable result can only be obtained with very good lighting.
Video recording
The smartphone shoots ordinary, quite good videos at a standard resolution of 1920 x 1080 and 30 frames per second.
As expected, there is no stabilization, but even with straight hands, the content looks good.
Soft
Over Android 7.0 installed here branded shell EMUI 5.1. This is Huawei's latest development with all the goodies and bells and whistles.
Someone may not like EMUI very much with the design of icons, fonts and other nuances (for example, me), but denying its functionality is stupid. This is one of the most customizable skins on the market. And it provides very cool tools for fine tuning smartphone. On other devices, such tricks without Root and third-party, often crooked software, are impossible.
For example, on Honor 7X, you can easily find an application that eats up battery power and give it a hand. Or throw out unnecessary applications from startup.
All this seems to be boring subtleties, only when problems happen (especially after installing some crooked application), you immediately start looking for a third-party solution in a panic. Play Market has nothing to offer but a ton of junk apps with ads. And here everything is right out of the box - it is convenient and works like a clock.
In a week of using the 7X, I did not notice a single glitch, app crashes, and so on. And this despite the fact that the smartphone - a real novelty, was introduced in mid-October this year.
However, there were still a couple of nuances. Most likely, they can be attributed to the Chinese origin of the device.
At first, the smartphone did not want to send me notifications in any way. I went into the application settings, set priorities for the programs that are key for me and ... nothing has changed. Well, practically. 2 out of 5 notifications now still reach, the rest are lost.
The second point is contacts. When adding a GMAIL account, all my contacts were pulled up, only when incoming call the system did not recognize the name of the caller.
It turned out that the sore is treated very simply. We go to the Web version of your Gmail contacts, do an export to a vCard file, copy it to the phone and already in the Contacts settings on mobile device select import from the vCard file in the device's memory. Now all numbers are easily recognized.
Sound
The device boasts only one speaker. It is located on the lower end, to the right of the port Micro USB. Both in quality and in volume it is average. The ears do not feel insulted, but the sound does not evoke any positive emotions either.
A branded audio player is sewn into the system. Since I was testing the version for the Chinese market, I was greeted with a bunch of Chinese content. We switch to the “Me” tab and find out our songs downloaded in advance to the device’s memory.
I can't say anything special about the sound quality in the headphones. The sound is at the level of most modern devices.
Battery life
The hardware of the device is not the most demanding, but the built-in battery (3340 mAh) is not impressive either.
Nevertheless, the device works freely from early morning until late at night on a single charge with 4-5 hours of screen light. At the same time, I used two SIM cards at once, through 4G or Wi-Fi, the usual applications were spinning in the background, surfing the Web, Instagram, taking photos and videos - everything is the same as always.
It must be borne in mind that I did not tune the system in terms of power consumption at all. At the same time, the EMUI shell constantly hinted to me that there are a bunch of applications running in the background that consume battery power disproportionately. If you work on this issue, you can add even better autonomy.
Outcome
It was introduced at the beginning of the year and I immediately began to recommend the smartphone to those who want to get a high-quality and inexpensive device for everything, including Android Pay. Fortunately, the smartphone had NFC.
With the release of Honor 7X, my recommendations are shifting towards the novelty, because the device received an excellent, large and very comfortable screen with an aspect ratio of 18 to 9. Plus, the device boasts minimal frames, which looks very straight forward.
Excellent software, good stuffing, cameras decent enough for their price tag (especially the front one) - Honor 7X has everything a user needs from a smartphone at the end of 2017.
The only negative is that the manufacturer for some reason removed the NFC module, so you can now forget about contactless payments. On the other hand, we lived somehow before without Android Pay. And not bad, I must admit, lived.
Buy Honor 7X It is possible in China or here. In the first case, the smartphone will cost 13.5 thousand rubles, plus you will have to wait about a month, and taking into account the last sale on 11.11 and Black Friday, yes, under New Year, I'm sure longer. Much.
Today's article is that rare case when the subject of our close attention is not a fresh gadget, although it is undeniably interesting, but the shell installed in it. An exclusive came to our editorial office, Huawei smartphone Honor 2 with the so-called. Emotion UI, a launcher designed to replace the familiar Android in vendor products.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Design and features
It is not in vain that we lead the reader towards the software, because the exterior of the novelty does not stand out in any way: we have a familiar monoblock case, which, perhaps, only the inscription above the display distinguishes from colleagues and competitors, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Huawei Honor 2 has average dimensions and weight: 134 x 67.5 x 10.5 mm with 145 grams of weight. When working with the menu and in a conversation, you do not feel any discomfort, although for our taste, the thickness (depth) of the case of the novelty is somewhat excessive.
The principle of constructing the structure is a bath of body-forming plastic, into which the core is inserted (inner part + closing front panel). We could see similar solutions at HTC and they proved themselves well: on the one hand, there are fewer parts, on the other hand, the relative solidity of the design. True, with Honor 2 the situation is not unambiguous - if it is not easy to get the core, it sits tightly in the grooves, then this does not exclude element gaps and some creaking when squeezed. We hope these are test sample problems that are fixed in the commercial sample. Construction materials, as you understand - plastic. The bath has a soft-touch coating, the front panel is covered with a protective "glass" with blackening around the display, and at the junction of the elements we see a glossy plastic outline under the metal. The smartphone is moderately easily soiled, to maintain the "presentation" it is worth wiping the front panel on clothes after a conversation.
There are not many design elements like any touch phone, but first things first. Top part The front panel contains a mesh of a conversational speaker, to the right of which there is a charge indicator invisible in inactivity and front-camera. Below the display are the standard OS keys: return, home and menu.
The display of the device is a 4.5” IPS-matrix with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The picture is clear, the colors are natural, and the backlight with a small margin of brightness. The viewing angles are not bad, but not ideal - when the device is tilted, the information is somewhat distorted. Multi-touch supports up to 5 simultaneous touches, which is generally enough, and susceptibility to data input is not satisfactory.
The side faces of the smartphone are filled moderately: on the left is the micro-USB interface connector, shifted up from the center, and on the right, also “at the top”, there are thin volume rockers and a power button. Only the microphone hole is placed on the bottom panel of Honor 2, while the top one houses a 3.5mm audio jack (both elements are shifted to the left of the center).
On the back panel, the upper and lower parts are traditionally occupied. On top we are waiting for the camera lens slightly protruding from the plane of the body, the second microphone above it and two flash bulbs - on the left. Below are two horizontal speaker grids (the speakers are really stereo, there are two of them, and not just two slots for one element).
Let's remove the body-forming bath, after which we will see the battery (Li-Pol, 2230 mAh) in the corresponding compartment, which in turn blocks the SIM card compartment located higher in the body. There is also a microSD slot, which is not attached to the battery, but you still have to remove the "bath" to replace the card.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: User interface
Let's move on to the highlight of our review, the Emotion UI version 1.5. I would like to say right away that the manufacturer plans to stop the familiar interface of Android 4.1.2, while leaving a number of applications untouched (recently, the firmware with Emotion UI has already been released for the “old man” Ascend P1 and is available for download at http://en.ui. vmall.com/download.html).
The logic of work will change somewhat, the main menu will disappear, as it is implemented in iOS and, for example, in an alternative (custom) Android firmware, miui. However, some of the functions will remain unchanged, such as messages, a notebook and the like.
The functional and basic lockscreen of Emotion UI is familiar from other products of the company: depending on the side of the lock shift, we can not only unlock, but also launch the main applications. The element is interchangeable, when choosing a theme, its graphic and functional component changes beyond recognition.
There is no main menu in Emotion UI, which is why all applications, folders and widgets must be placed on desktops. By the way, there can be up to 9 of them, the number is determined by the user, based on needs. In the table preview, you can choose which of them will be the main one, but, alas, there is no circular scrolling (there is an extensive selection of transition animations).
Since we are talking about the graphic component, we note the choice of wallpapers for desktops and lockscreen: they can be identical or different, and also change when shaken.
From the content of the desktops, the proprietary widget “Me Widget” is interesting, which is widely customizable in terms of elements and is the pride of the manufacturer: not HTC, of course, but the element is curious.
The bottom row of screens is represented by the "dock" of the main functions. In addition to the ability to change elements in it, you can also add folders here (up to 5 elements in total), which expands the functionality of the interface.
The notification zone now has the ability to select buttons for activating functions: i.e. now you are not a hostage to the whims of the manufacturer, but you can safely change and choose icons. It is important that the element is not limited to one screen, has horizontal scrolling and remembers the last position you left it in before closing.
The settings item received 2 tabs in Emotion UI: general and all. At the same time, the graphic component has changed somewhat, but the functional component has almost not, it was not too difficult to isolate the desired item in the existing sheet, besides, the "general" parameters are not customizable.
It is interesting to note the profiles, of which there are 4 by default: they are responsible for the light, sound and vibration component of notifications, as well as the operation wireless modules, but there is no reference to time - they do not know how to switch by clock, but they are equipped with funny animation.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Phone service
In Emotion UI, the dialer has changed somewhat, but rather visually. Above the usual columns of keys, the log of recent calls is habitually located, and in address book You can get both from the dialer and tap on the corresponding icon. The variety of data that can be assigned to a new contact is amazing, and the options for displaying and synchronizing the notebook will satisfy even the most demanding user.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Messages
The principle of constructing dialogue-correspondence is unchanged: messages are grouped by clouds according to the addressee, which is very convenient. Separation into folders, of course, is not provided, and types are not separated - when content is added, sms turns into mms, but they are also displayed in the general correspondence sheet. The settings are typical, reports, notifications, validity period and the like.
Detached Client Email standard: the interface is in bright colors, the principle of building a list and a message is typical for the platform, the settings are standard.
For Gmail, traditionally allocated separate application. It hasn't changed one iota from its predecessors, so just take a look at the screenshots.
The branded keyboard installed in Emotion UI is an ambiguous element: on the one hand, you can get used to it, on the other hand, replacements always exist. The symbols on the screen turned out to be of medium size, which is why erroneous clicks, despite the increase in the tap zone, happen.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Organizer, office
This subsection is represented by a familiar calendar, which implies synchronization with Google, a classic adding machine with an additional panel, notes, a file manager, alarm clocks with additional functions of world time, a stopwatch and a timer.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Communications
The smartphone works in GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, UMTS 850/900/AWS/1900/2100MHz networks, supports HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS/A-GPS and DLNA. Recall the extensive notification area, where customizable activation indicators are accumulated wireless networks. There were no complaints about the functionality of the modules themselves during testing.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Maps & GPS
Nothing new but standard and hackneyed Google Maps with beta navigation in our guest no. Maps are updated to the current version the first time you connect to Google Play and are a completely working tool that can always be replaced, since there are already quite a few alternatives.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Online
There are two Internet browsers: this is the unnamed default "browser" and the familiar desktop OS users, Chrome. The wealth of choice is good news, but by and large, the functions of applications are duplicated, although Chrome is more convenient due to the ability to synchronize between your devices.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Camera
The standard camera interface has been expanded by the manufacturer with the following details: these are various face distortions (a similar solution is used in iOS products), built-in filters a la Instagram and various shooting modes.
The camera leaves behind positive emotions: focusing is fast and relatively accurate, near objects are almost always in focus, “infinity” is also normal. In general, for an 8-megapixel module, everything is more than good.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Multimedia
The user has 2 players at his disposal: branded and Play Music, which are similarly mail clients differ only visually, the functionality is similar.
Sound quality has been tested with Sony headphones XBA-1, and I must say, did not disappoint: the new Honor does not have enough stars from the sky, but it is quite ready to brighten up the road in the subway with your favorite music.
Additional multimedia features of the novelty are a voice recorder with typical functionality and an FM radio receiver that works when a wired antenna is connected, acting as an antenna.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Applications
From the manufacturer, in addition to the above applications out of the box, you will get:
The set is not redundant, but according to the manufacturer, the content of his smartphone should be provided by the user himself and it is not entirely correct to impose his choice on him.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Hardware Features
The hardware stuffing Honor 2 is based on a HiSilicon K3V2 quad-core processor with a frequency of 1.4GHz, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash memory (not counting microSD support up to 32GB, which can be selected as default memory in the settings). In general, for the declared price, the indicators are pleasant, and in benchmark tests, the novelty is clearly striving for the leaders of the middle segment. We did not notice any slowdowns or freezes in the work, perhaps this is one of the “chips” of Emotion UI.
Huawei Honor 2:: Overview:: Impressions and conclusions
The battery life of a smartphone under the conditions of a classic user load (up to an hour of negotiations, a dozen or two messages, periodic mail checks and social networks, half an hour of music and a rare camera shot) is about a day and a half. The indicator is not bad, but the battery is impressive.
The level of network reception did not cause any complaints: there were no unauthorized losses or disconnections, and when leaving the metro, the smartphone quickly caught it. The call volume is not bad, but not ideal: it will be enough for most use cases, but we did not see any reserve. The vibrating alert is similar, average in power. The speaker in tandem with the microphone did not disappoint: the interlocutors can be heard both on a busy street and in an office environment, and the interlocutors did not ask us again.
Let's sum it up: if you can rarely surprise anyone with the case, and hardware features of a smartphone, then something new in terms of interface is always interesting, especially if the interface is not just a shell, which, moreover, cannot be turned off. Huawei's solution is bold, but workable: it has rough edges from a series of no circular scrolling, a limited number of desktops, but there are no less pluses, both functional and graphic. Judging by the responses of the respondents, it will take a day or two to “relearn” from bare Android to Emotion UI, but then there are no problems in usability and even vice versa. In total, Huawei Honor 2 for 14,000 rubles turned out to be an interesting product of the middle segment, the killer feature of which is not hardware, but software stuffing, which will take into account even the wishes of its users (address for feedback, by the way, https://www.facebook.com/Huaweiemui).
|
|
