For a solid handset which can do most things that you need, the Huawei Honor U8860 is worth consideration. The screen is good and the battery life will stand up to fairly heavy usage, although some people may be disappointed by the operating system.
Overview
It is one of the cheaper smartphones on the market and at first glance it looks to be everything that you will need. Reviewers are not enamoured with the overall design of the handset although it does have a number of good quality features.
When it comes to the design, the word being bandied about is ‘bland’. If you are one of those people who are just as concerned with the look of the phone as you are with what it is capable of, then you may be disappointed.
However, for most users, the design of the phone is second so this might not necessarily matter. It has a very generic design with few distinguishing features but only you can decide if this is important or not.
Screen
The handset has a 4 inch screen and this is one of the saving graces. There is a good pixel density and a HD resolution. The images are bright with good strong colours and there are great viewing angles, so not many problems here.
Using the Phone
The operating system could be a bone of contention for many users. This is the Android 2.3 system referred to as Gingerbread. There are other phones in this price range which run much more recent versions of Android and therefore have a little more to offer. There are other phones in the Huawei family which have made use of the later versions of the system, so it is a little disappointing that it is not available here.
In order to make up for this there are many customised features on the handset. The Huawei user interface has plenty of options for personalising the phone and there are themes which can be downloaded.
Camera
An 8 megapixel camera should go some way to making up for some of the shortcomings of the handset. The picture quality is good and the detail is ideal of for those who want to take quality images, even when it is viewed on a larger screen.
HD video can be shot on this handset but some might feel as though the quality of the audio is not good enough. In this respect it will struggle against rival handsets.
Power
Standard memory storage is just 2GB but this can be expanded up to 32GB with a microSD card and you are able to connect to the internet in a number of different ways with this handset.
Battery life can see you through two days of moderate use which is good for a handset that has all these features.
Conclusion
On balance, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages of this handset and you should not be put off by the design, which is simply the casing and not that important anyway. The price is fair and you will get plenty for your money if you opt to try the Huawei Honour U8860.
