The Huawei Ascend G300 (U8815) "Real-user" review

Welcome to the "Real-user" review of the Huawei Ascend G300, otherwise known as the U8815

I don’t know why some phone models are given different numbers. The box says U8815 but the Internet and even Vodafone advertise this phone as a G300. The box says U8815, so that’s what I’m calling it throughout this article.

We were fortunate enough to be offered one of these to review here at AndroidNZ recently, and while we generally cover high-end devices, we’re always keeping an eye on the entry-level segment of the market too. Couple that interest with a chance to spend some hands-on time with a handset from up-and-coming Android device manufacturer Huawei, and naturally it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up.

The review is going to go out in two parts, basically because I totally suck at games. At the point of determining what muscle this phone had in ability to play games, I handed the phone to Nik. So there will be my part, and then Nik’s part with some of his thoughts on the phone.

So here’s my review, continue reading after the jump

The review is based on using this phone for almost two weeks. Having just taken possession of my Samsung Galaxy S3, I was in a bit of a quandary as to how to test the Huawei U8815. After all, I’d just swapped my SIM to a Micro SIM.

Thankfully, or not, I also have a work mobile phone. I hate it, but it’s not my job to pick and choose the devices of my employer so I’m stuck with the BlackBerry Curve. I swapped the Curve for the Huawei U8815 (it felt good!).

Dejected BlackBerry, superseded by a low-price Android device

The naked backside, just for you

I’m going to let you into a secret, this phone is good. There are three or four things that niggle away at me, but probably not enough to put anyone off buying it, particularly when you consider its market position as a budget handset. 

So there, I said it. If you’re in the market for a phone that costs around NZ$250-300, then this is a pretty fine piece of kit for your money. Shop around though. While we at AndroidNZ may consider this a “budget” device, $250-300 isn’t loose change. [Note that this phone will only work on 2Degrees and Vodafone in New Zealand - Ed]

Sometimes it’s hard to find specifications for some devices, namely the Samsung Galaxy S3. So for all you geeks who want the official word from Huawei about this phone, this link will get you there.

But I’m sure you’re equally interested in what this phone is like from some real user use. And that’s what we do here at AndroidNZ. We use the devices we discuss and write about.

Here’s my road test.

Having set up my Google account, Exchange (for work email, after all this is now my work phone) and downloading a bunch of my usual social network sites I was pretty much good to go.

The phone is easy to use. I say this having had almost 2 years of using Android. So I appreciate that what is easy for someone with experience doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone will take to this phone like water of a duck.

The Huawei U8815 runs Gingerbread. Yes that’s quite old, but many people with devices running ICS still long for the days of Gingerbread. So while it’s behind the times, don’t be put off. Gingerbread is solid, it works nicely.

And if you really want something more, you’ll be pleased to know MoDoCo have been tinkering and have developed some modifications worth looking into. It’s comforting to know that this device isn’t the ugly duckling waiting to be noticed and have some loving. 

I looked for a Software Update (under legitimate means) but alas there wasn’t one. Since this is a review unit I was not about to root it and void warranty. So if you want to take this phone to the next level, you’ll have to do it on your own.

One of the very first things I did was go for a run with the phone. For me this is a good way to see how the GPS performs.

I can tell you that it got a lock super-fast and it tracked my run precisely. And on top of all that, it didn’t drain the battery like a faucet on full. It didn’t use any more juice than what I’ve experienced with other devices.

On the topic of battery longevity, I’ve got to say I was pretty impressed by the battery (YMMV). When the phone was doing nothing, everything turned off. I would check the battery level after some hours and there was no change at all. When it’s gone to sleep, it seems to put itself into a coma.

The wall charger that came was a European charger. I’m not sure if you purchase the phone in NZ whether you’ll have charger suited to NZ/AU wall socket. Murray may be able to shed some light on where the review device originated from.

I was easily getting 3 days use on one battery charge, and even then the battery hadn’t fully discharged. From 19% charge it took 1.5 hours to fully charge again. 

The warning about Power Save mode is triggered really early. I had 27% left, but started Endomondo and received the Power saving warning. Obviously the phone is smart enough to know that sort of app is going to be a heavy user of battery and so it clues you into a way to save a bit of life.

One thing of note is the micro USB is upside down to all my other phones. Not a big deal, except when you’re programmed to inserting the micro USB a certain way and can’t get the thing to fit on the Huawei.

So let’s have a look at that. A picture speaks a thousand words and I’m not sure if you’ve got the gist of what I’m saying here. 

From bottom to top: Samsung Galaxy S3, S2 (with extended battery which changes the shape of the back) and Huawei U8815.

See what I mean?

While I’m at it, here are a few more views, for comparison. 

And lastly …. 

Now that we’ve seen the phone at many angles you get a god idea of where all the buttons are, the jack for the headphones and where you remove the back cover.

The phone is a bit thicker, sure. But it didn’t feel awkward to use. It was quite nice. What “man hands” make of it I’m not sure. I didn’t really notice the phone being any weightier than my other phones either. So nothing that was noticeable from my point of view that makes it necessary to spend time discussing the pros and cons of its design build.

As you can see it’s brushed metal and grey and black in colour. It’s pretty non-descript, neither attractive nor ugly. 

Last two, for good measure. 

Mirror mirror on the wall..

who's the prettiest of them all?

Yes, the S2 and S3 have screen protectors on them. Don’t judge me ;-) Ok, you can say the S3’s is butt ugly. It is. It was a quick and dirty while I waited for my overseas order to arrive.

Surely that’s a photo of every possible angle of the phone.

So what do you think? Not bad huh?

The back cover snaps nicely into place, similar to how the other phones do. I like the reassurance of hearing the snaps. There’s no force required to fit the cover. Though it’s a bit fiddly to get the cover off. I can’t help but wonder if it would be a bit easier if the slot was on the top of bottom.

Once you’ve managed to get your finger nail into the slot and twist a bit you need to sort of run your finger nail around the edges to ease more off before it totally gives up the back. At least the thing doesn’t go flying off across the room once you’ve twisted your nail. I’m sure we can all agree that would be annoying.

So that’s enough of look at the phone. What about what the phone looked at? Here’s a couple of pictures I took while out for my run.

All of these pictures, as you’ll see, are taken outdoors. I didn’t take any photos indoors. 

I keep looking at this photo and thinking the house looks like it’s bending. The thing is I can’t dismiss that thought. After all, I live in Christchurch, and this street is one that was severely damaged. We’re still putting flowers in the road cones. 

Notice the white hydrangea. It’s not looking too natural.

These photos were taken early morning under cloudy conditions. I didn’t change the default settings. In fact I stood there for ages trying to find the option to send the photos to SD card. I couldn’t see any such option. But as it transpires, they save to the SD card if one is present. 

Camera settings

I’d been standing there minding my own business when a 4X4 rolled past, splashing me I might add. So this photo is of the ripples the vehicle created. Seems reasonable.

Until you were taking a photo of a moving vehicle. 

You can see we had quite a lot of rain. These ducks aren’t in a pond. They’re splashing around in what is sort of a ditch, made by landscaping. 

I’m happy enough with the photos of still objects, but the photo of a moving object could be a lot better.

Back to the run and using Endomondo to determine if the GPS was accurate. It was. Here’s a map of another run. 

Endomondo tracking on the U8815

Endomondo tracking on the Garmin 310XT

I also used the GPS with Google Maps. I didn’t follow the suggested route (I never do when I’m testing navigation apps and GPS). The map showed us exactly where we were, re-routed us as we took a different street. My trip from home to work was a mere 28 minutes. The phone was a little warmer to touch but nothing alarming.

Upshot on GPS. Good stuff.

And exercise can be a bit dull without the aid of music. That’s what I find when I’m sitting on the bike spinning away in the garage. So this gave me the perfect excuse to test out the sound on the Huawei.

I was listening to music from the SD Card using PowerAMP. The colours in the stock music application just weren’t to my taste.

No problem with the sound quality. But it the volume could do with a bit more oomph. I found I had the volume up a bit more than on my other phones. I even used my FiiO E6 Portable Amplifier to see if it might give some assistance. But I didn’t notice any.

There were no issues with the display either.

I liked the lock screen. I like the number of different options you could easily use from there: 

ICS-style lockscreen

Yep, I customised using Go Launcher. Being on Gingerbread meant I wasn’t able to install Apex Pro, my launcher of choice on the S2 and S3. But I had been happy with GO Launcher on the S1, so I gave it a dusting off.

Because I was essentially using this as my work phone, I had a password on it. The keyboard was fine, though I did install SwiftKey 3 Beta (the app has since come out of Beta). No problems at all using SwiftKey on the phone.

Everything was very clear on screen. 

Gmail Labels

Gmail Inbox

Cool notification bar toggles

I haz widgets

Icons!

Seen enough? 

Phew, cos I think I’m out of photos now.

At the beginning I said there were a few things that irked me. So let me mention them briefly.

1. The capacitive buttons aren’t very responsive. I had the haptic feedback on and would press one of the buttons. I could feel the phone vibrate under my finger, but the button wouldn’t respond. Nik and I have had a bit of a play. And basically if you stab at the button rather than use the pad of your finger you’ll be right as rain. But that’s not how my other phones have behaved so it’s a bit foreign to me.

2. Not being able to take a screen capture. By crikey had I been able to, the photos you see (other than those taken from the phone) would have been screen shots. While I looked and looked for an application, none were available without rooting the phone. Something I was not about to do.

3. Lack of updates available. I’m not sure if this device will ever get an update from Gingerbread. That may not be an issue for some. After all, if you don’t know what you’re missing out on, are you missing out?

[Huawei have shown some commitment with OS updates, I note their MediaPad tablet has already seen an update to ICS –Ed].

4. The camera shutter. I couldn’t for the life of me tell if I’d actually captured a shot. There was no flicker in the screen, no shutter sound. Of course there are oodles of other camera applications in the Play Store so if this sort of guess work irritates you too, there’ll be an alternative that’s likely to suit you down to the ground.

Ok, so with that all said, I stick by one of my opening remarks. I think this is really smart buying. And if this is your first Android, or an upgrade from a less functional phone, I think you’ll be very pleased with your purchase.

Check out PriceSpy to see what retail outlets are currently selling the phone for. Obviously loyalty programmes may be a determining factor in where you purchase from, as I see for example that 2 Degrees is offering the phone free with their basic $39 plan on a two year contract along with a USB data stick which represents very good value, but it would appear that $300 is the top asking price if you’re going the outright purchasing route. [Bond and Bond have this on special for $249 until the 26th of June so get in quick - Ed]

So what are you waiting for? Go forth and be at one with the Huawei U8815.

All credit goes to Anita (@Neets_) for writing this review in it's entirety, I merely posted it for her.