25 March,2015 08:00 AM IST | | Hassan M Kamal
If you have been looking for a phablet that’s affordable, fast, reliable and stylish, opt for the Honor 4X
Huawei Honor 4X phablet
After two successful products last year, Huawei has impressed us again with two new devices - the budget Honor 4X and a new premium device, the Honor 6 plus (Rs 26,499), launched in India on Tuesday. the guide took the Honor 4X for a test-drive, and here's how we rated it:
What we liked
The dual-sim smartphone uses 1.2GHz 64-bit Qualcomm MSM 8916 processor with Adreno 306 GPU processor backed by 2GB RAM. The in-built storage is limited at just 8GB (around 4GB available for usage) but can be expanded up to 32GB. Though not the fastest 64-bit processor, the MSM8619 is impressive with its performance and low power consumption, making its non-removable 3,000mAh battery last longer. We received nearly one and a half day usage with Wi-Fi turned on throughout the period and both sim cards active. The 2GB RAM gives it enough memory to multi-task without any lags. However, the battery life may vary while using 4G LTE bands.
The 5.5-inch IPS touch display with 1280x720 resolution offers a pixel density of 267ppi. Though, it isn't impressive for a 5.5-inch device, we didn't face any difficulty either in reading or watching movies. The rear camera is a 13MP with auto focus and flash, 27mm lens and f2.0 aperture, whereas the front camera is a 5MP with 22mm lens. Both cameras do a good job (even in low light conditions) and users would love the in-built picture modes that help beautify pictures.
The OS is Kitkat 4.4.2 with EMUI 3.0 user interface built on top of it. It comes packed with several utility features, which come very handy and allow you to tweak some of the animations yourself.
In terms of connectivity, the device supports 4G LTE (the bands are not yet declared), 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and E-GPS (GPS and GLONASS) and Wi-Fi Direct (helps cast your screen on a smart TV).
As for the design, despite its blocky appearance, the Honor 4X is impressive. The back cover gets a textured finish and offers a good grip. The power and volume keys look strong too. The rear camera on the top left edge exudes a
premium feel.
What we didn't like
There's no information about whether the screen has Gorilla 3 protection. The most disappointing thing is the absence of individual choices in preferred cellular networks (like either 2G, 3G or 4G).
The options are limited to either 2G or 2G/3G or 2G/3G/4G with the device deciding on its own the right network within those parameters.
Looking at the sad state of cellular networks in India, a choice of individual network type would have been useful. Barring these hiccups, we were highly impressed with the Honor 4X.
The device is far superior than any of the other 4G devices in this price range, especially since it matches specs with performance. We think that the Honor 4X is the best budget 4G phone, at the moment. And as for the Honor 6 Plus goes, watch this space for a detailed review soon.
Available on: Flipkart.com
