• Latest
  • All
  • How To
Huawei Ascend W1

Huawei Ascend W1 Review

April 11, 2013
Former Safaricom Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Cynthia Karuri-Kropac

Frankline Okata Takes Over as Cynthia Karuri-Kropac Exits Safaricom PLC

July 10, 2025
AI

OpenAI and Perplexity Launch Browsers to Rival Google Chrome

July 10, 2025
Vivo-Y29-4G

Vivo Y29 Launches in Kenya at KES 23,999

July 10, 2025
galaxy z fold7-galaxy z flip7-samsung

Samsung Unveils Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 with Bigger Screens

July 10, 2025
DHgate Tablet Cases deals
GTA VI

Rockstar May Be Testing 96-Player Servers for GTA 6

July 10, 2025
Former X CEO, Linda Yaccarino

Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years

July 9, 2025
Apple-WWDC25-iOS-26

iPhone Users Are Not Too Happy With the iOS 26 Liquid Glass Design

July 9, 2025
Official document handover by Bernard Mwonyonyo and Habib Lukaya from Roam.

E-Mobility in Kenya Gets a Lift with New Bike Financing Program

July 9, 2025
Samsung

This Samsung Security Update Could Change How You Use Your Phone

July 9, 2025
tecno ultimate g fold concept

TECNO Joins Tri-Fold Race With Ultimate G Fold Concept Phone

July 10, 2025
Microsoft Edge browser

Microsoft Makes Edge 40% Faster in a Bid to Lure Chrome Users

July 8, 2025
Weak Checks Make Kenyan Digital Lenders Easy Targets for Criminals

Weak Checks Make Kenyan Digital Lenders Easy Targets for Criminals

July 8, 2025
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
No Result
View All Result
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
No Result
View All Result

Huawei Ascend W1 Review

Martin Gicheru by Martin Gicheru
April 11, 2013
in Reviews
Reading Time: 5 mins read
256
18
Huawei Ascend W1

Huawei Ascend W1Huawei announced the Ascend W1 on the second week of January this year and it was to be available in the market within the first quarter. It was announced at the same time CES was happening in Las Vegas. This so far has the lowest priced Windows phone that even sought to beat Nokia’s Lumia 520 which is expected to be higher in price by a thousand or so shillings. Pricing for the Ascend W1 is expected to be at between Kes 14,000 – 15,000 while the Lumia 520 which is the main competitor is priced at 10,500 Rupees (Kes 16,540) in India.Huawei Ascend W1

Ascend W1 has very many people waiting for it due to the design, battery and general pull. Huawei in Kenya has since mentioned that it will be launching in Nairobi this week. Microsoft also entered a partnership with Huawei where the device will also be branded as 4Afrika in the campaign to get smartphones to as many Africans’ hands as possible, target is in the millions. I have had this device for quite some time now enough to say what excites one about it and what the cons are. Lets first get the device specification.

Ascend W1 Phone Specifications

  • Windows Phone 8
  • 4 inch IPS LCD capacitive multi-touch
  • 480 x 800 pixels, 233ppi
  • 4GB internal storage with microSD support of 32GB
  • 512 MB RAM
  • 21 Mbps HSDPA
  • Bluetooth 2.1
  • microUSB 2.0
  • 5MP camera AF with LED Flash, Geotagging, Touch focus, face detection
  • Video at 720p @30fps
  • Front VGA Camera
  • 1.2 GHz Dual-Core Krait MSM8230 Snapdragon
  • Adreno 305 GPU
  • 124.5 x 63.7 x 10.5 mm
  • 130g
  • 1730 mAh Li-ion battery
  • Colours: Black, White, Blue and Magenta

Design

Huawei Ascend W1
This is one well designed device with a good feel in the hand and at 130 grams, it’s very easy on the hand. The white and black devices are uni-colour while the magenta and blue versions have black on the front. The noticeable touch sensitive controls are unmistakeably Windows, the home with the back and search on either side at the home page. At the top we have the ear piece and VGA camera on the right. 4 inch screen is almost the average screen for a smartphone as it is the in-between of screen sizes for those who want small screens and those who cant do without all the screen real estate they can come by. The bottom is rather awkwardly shaped when you look at it from the front, but the general phone does look dazzling. The rear is even more sleek. The matte silky feel on the rear cover is quite appealing and the speaker on the rear is well laid though it would lower the sound volume when laid on the back. Nothing much about the camera which is round and elevated with another circle around it. The LED flash is embedded on the right of the camera and is also circular. There are buttons on every both sides and the top. On the left we have the volume rocker, right has the dedicated camera button and the top has the power button on the right and the 3.5 mm sound jack slot. The back cover is removable and quite easy while at it. Both the SIM card and microSD require the battery to be removed.

Features

Huawei Ascend W1
Huawei Ascend W1 comes with a segment in the store where Microsoft features 4Afrika apps that are available to the devices sold in Africa. These are applications done by African developers for local situations and solutions and are part of a plan to make smartphone adoption in Africa spike. They will include consumer applications, games social apps and enterprise apps. As it stands there is only one app in the 4Afrika apps segment. Beyond that, there is not software customized for this device.

Huawei Ascend W1
The device has 512 MB RAM which works quite well, no limitations to applications install like the Lumia 510. The 1.2 GHz Dual-Core processor performs reliably well on the Windows phone 8 architecture that is optimized for low resource requirements unlike on Android counterparts. 4GB internal storage is the weak point of this device. Reason being, Windows phone does require a lot of space and apps data and even though you move media files onto microSD storage, you will find this making you selective of the apps you install on the device. You can still consume media from microSD which can go upto 32GB.

Camera

Huawei Ascend W1
The camera, a 5MP autofocus with touch focus and face recognition does give some good photos. See on our Google Plus page, some photos I took with the camera at our balcony in the office. Close-ups are really fine with the macros well defined. Indoors photos with natural lighting are also quite good. I will take some night time photos and upload them to the Google plus page and give you a heads up via twitter quite soon.

Battery

Huawei Ascend W1
The 1730 mAh battery is one of the highs of this device. Optimal use can have it go to two days comfortably. I was surprised that even when reading mail accessing internet and having endless calls that your day would require you to, the second day ends with some power left. Gaming, videos, Bluetooth sharing and photos has a different impact altogether, but you will still do the day comfortably.

Conclusion
This is one phone which is really a bargain and a phone that can be good for anyone wishing to get into the Windows phone bandwagon, the price point, the sufficient specs and design being the enablers. Many Windows Phone superusers will tell you that the 4GB storage is a notable setback, but it’s actually something you can live with, just install necessary apps and the pros will take care of the rest. The part where Windows phone 8 manages your office applications, and sync via Skydrive to be accessed remotely on your desktop is a huge plus. Skydrive has this advantage where if you save an edit, only the edit syncs and not the whole document, hence saving on data. Documents on Office will also open just the way you last saw them on your desktop, this Huawei Ascend W1 plays the part quite well.
Update Huawei Ascend W1 will be launched in Kenya in the last week of April.

Tags: AfricaHuaweiMicrosoftWindows Phone 8
SendShare146Tweet92
Martin Gicheru

Martin Gicheru

Martin is the Managing Editor at Techweez, passionate about personal tech and telling stories of consumer experiences. Talk to me: [email protected]

Related Posts

tecno ultimate g fold concept

TECNO Joins Tri-Fold Race With Ultimate G Fold Concept Phone

July 10, 2025
Microsoft Edge browser

Microsoft Makes Edge 40% Faster in a Bid to Lure Chrome Users

July 8, 2025
Microsoft

Laid-Off Microsoft Workers Told to Ask ChatGPT for Career Support

July 7, 2025
Windows

Windows Loses Ground as Users Switch to Mac, Linux, and Mobile

July 7, 2025
Microsoft

Microsoft Slashes 9,100 Jobs in Biggest Layoffs Since 2023

July 4, 2025
Premier League and Microsoft Announce Strategic AI Partnership for Enhanced Fan Engagement

Football Meets AI as Microsoft Joins Forces with the EPL

July 3, 2025

Latest

Former Safaricom Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Cynthia Karuri-Kropac

Frankline Okata Takes Over as Cynthia Karuri-Kropac Exits Safaricom PLC

July 10, 2025
AI

OpenAI and Perplexity Launch Browsers to Rival Google Chrome

July 10, 2025
Vivo-Y29-4G

Vivo Y29 Launches in Kenya at KES 23,999

July 10, 2025
galaxy z fold7-galaxy z flip7-samsung

Samsung Unveils Galaxy Z Fold7 and Z Flip7 with Bigger Screens

July 10, 2025
GTA VI

Rockstar May Be Testing 96-Player Servers for GTA 6

July 10, 2025
Former X CEO, Linda Yaccarino

Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years

July 9, 2025

Best devices

budget smartwatches 2025

Best Budget Smartwatches To Buy in Kenya 2025

February 13, 2025

Best Infinix Smartphones To Buy in Kenya 2024

February 13, 2025

Best Laptops for Battery Life in 2024

August 21, 2024

Best “Battery Warrior” Smartphones To Buy in 2024

August 22, 2024

Frankline Okata Takes Over as Cynthia Karuri-Kropac Exits Safaricom PLC

July 10, 2025

OpenAI and Perplexity Launch Browsers to Rival Google Chrome

July 10, 2025

Techweez is a fast growing influential source of technology news, reviews and analysis by leading tech geeks in the industry.

Follow Us

Editorials

Abductions and Arrests! Kenyan Government’s Fear and Hate of X Users Makes No Sense

Actors and Film Crews Are Worried About Veo 3 Taking Their Jobs

Samsung QLED TVs Now Officially Certified for Real Quantum Dot Technology

Trump’s Tariffs Will Be the End of Affordable Tech

5 Ways to Prep Your Tech for Resale

The Weaponization of PDFs: How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting a Trusted Format

More News

iPhone Users Are Not Too Happy With the iOS 26 Liquid Glass Design

E-Mobility in Kenya Gets a Lift with New Bike Financing Program

This Samsung Security Update Could Change How You Use Your Phone

TECNO Joins Tri-Fold Race With Ultimate G Fold Concept Phone

Microsoft Makes Edge 40% Faster in a Bid to Lure Chrome Users

Weak Checks Make Kenyan Digital Lenders Easy Targets for Criminals

  • Terms Of Use
  • Techweez Brand
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!

Hey there! Just a heads-up: we're big fans of cookies - both the digital and edible kind! 🍪 We use our cookies and some from third parties to ensure your browsing experience on our site is smooth sailing and secure.

 

But wait, there's more! We also use cookies to gather stats and insights on how you navigate our site. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at your digital adventures!

 

Don't worry, you're in control. You can adjust your cookie settings anytime to suit your preferences. Feeling curious? Dive into our Privacy Policy for all the juicy details. Happy browsing! 🚀

Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
Techweez | Tech News, Reviews, Deals, Tips and How To
Crunchy Cookies 🍪 Ahead!
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
Listen, this legal stuff is about as exciting as watching paint dry. But it basically says we only use your stuff for what you asked us to do, and nobody else gets to peek!
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
It's those sneaky cookie crumbs websites leave behind to count visitors, like counting ants at a picnic! Totally harmless, just for fun facts. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
Hey there! Just letting you know we use some fancy gizmos to remember your preferences. This way, we can show you ads that are, well, not completely bananas.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Make cookies
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Editorial
  • Automotive
  • Entertainment

© 2024 Techweez - Palahala Media Group may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
A Palahala Media Group Brand. All rights reserved.
.