Huawei Ascend G600, Review
The G600 is well-built. It feels like it could stand a few knocks not that we were throwing it around and everything fits together nicely, both inside and out. That in itself is an astonishing feat in a smart phone costing around $400.
The Ascend G600 is not particularly stylish. It is plain not something you might had glance at twice. But if you can get past your initial impression, the G600 is a very good smart phone that is worth at least an extra $100 more than Huawei's charging.
Screen along with features
Alongside its new Emotion UI, Huawei debuted a handful of new devices in Berlin, including this; the 4.5-inch Ascend G600. The 4.5-inch screen is not stunning, but it is nice. Slotting in below the existing Ascend P1, but above the rest of Huawei's phone range, the HD screen is accompanied by a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and Android 4.0.4. There's 4GB of built-in storage, while the micro-SD slot can add up 32GB of extra space. The phone's shell is coated in a glossy finish similar to the Ascend P1, while the screen is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass.
The G600 has one with a 1.2GHz spec, and it is helped along by 768MB RAM. And it makes the G600 a pleasure to use snappy, responsive and capable of doing just about anything you could ask of it. When we benchmarked the device, however, the Galaxy S II, which costs an extra $100, soundly beat the G600, which is more on par with LG's Optimus 2X or Optimus 3D phones.
Battery
Battery life on the G600 is excellent, thanks to its reasonably large 1930mAh battery. Beneath that, Huawei has plumped for a 2,000 mAh battery inside the 300 euro around $375 device, while removing the cover reveals an NFC chip embedded behind it. We got our hands on the phone here at IFA skip after the break for our hands on video and first impressions.
Glossy finish
The Ascend G600 felt a little thick, although we found our fingers were just about able to touch the outer reaches of that 960 x 540 screen. We are torn on the glossy finish maybe because we had to constantly wipe it down during our photo session but it certainly creates a classier image for the phone. Its worth saying that the G600 is not pitched at the top end of the smart phone market, despite a big screen, a dual-core processor able to deal with our hands-on demands and an 8-megapixel camera. There are also two built-in speakers with DTS audio-enhancing technology though you will need a quieter opportunity to test that out.
Colors
The phone is set to launch, in both Mysterious Black and Pure White, this December in Germany, with a further European roll-out expected soon after. Colors are lovely and bright, including reds and pinks, which we find can often appear washed out on smart phones. There is quite a big gap between the glass front of the device and the actual screen below, which makes the display look more distant than on many other devices.
Communication field
One thing the G600 has that the S II lacks is near field communications, which is not particularly useful right now, as it is not one of Snapper's approved Touch2Pay phones. You can use some features but not any of the good ones, according to Snapper's website - but could be useful in the future.
The G600 is functional, practical and a bargain. Getting a phone with a dual-core processor for $400 is great enough.