Huawei gradually builds name as a major player in smartphone market. The company recently brought out several exciting handsets including the CES 2012-demoed Ascend P1 S, the world’s thinnest smartphone. The Chinese PC accessory maker may not stop its innovations there. It will be working to roll out various models in all possible categories. The Ideos X3 that hit stores mid last year is an interesting Huawei phone. It is a perfect smartphone for the kind of customers, who just want a phone. The Android 2.3.4-based Ideos X3 is available for a price around £130. Well, for a moderate user, the Idea X3 looks a decent handset, indeed.
Huawei Ideos X3 tech specs
Form factor: The Ideos X3 is known for its small size and less weight. The handset that measures in at 110 x 56.5 x 11.2 mm and weights at 104 grams is a nice and handy device for average customers.
Display: The Huawei handset features a small 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen display with 320 x 480 pixels at 180 ppi. For regular customers, the 3.2-inch display is enough.
Processing: The Ideos X3 is equipped with moderate components. It runs on a 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, 512 MB of ROM and 256 MB of RAM. These specs are enough to run the gadget smarter.
Storage: Besides the 512MB of ROM, there is no internal storage for the device. You will have to depend on a microSD (TransFlash) card for additional storage. You can use a memory stick up to 32GB.
Operating System: The Ideos X3 runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread.
Connectivity: You have options like GPRS, EDGE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot and Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, EDR to connect the handset with the network.
Port: A microUSB 2.0.
Battery: The standard Li-Po 1200 mAh battery offers power for talk time around four hours on a single recharge.
What makes it special?
Bargain basement price: The most important thing that makes the Ideos X3 special is its low price. The handset is available in several global markets for a price below $200. Some carries even avail it for below $100 with contract.
Android 2.3 Gingerbread: Though a modest smartphone, the Ideos X3 has Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the best Android version for smartphones before the Ice Cream Sandwich. Gingerbread is certainly one of the best versions of Android. Indeed, the Ideos X3 works smoothly with the Gingerbread.
Decent design: Yet another special thing with the Ideos X3 is its nice design. The smartphone is so small and weightless that anyone can simply carry it around in his/her pocket or carry bag.
Drawbacks
However, the Ideos X3 has faced some criticisms mainly about its touchscreen performance. Users have complained that the device’s touchscreen is sticky and not smooth always. Its screen is also glossy and reflective. Moreover, the on-screen keyboard is smaller and it is difficult for users to type texts on it quickly. Battery life is also not attractive; the four hour talk time is not adequate.
What others say?
Let us see what Pocket-lint’s Ian Morris concludes of the Huawei Ideos X3 in his review. Morris mentions that the touchscreen is not up to the mark with the nice Android phone.
“A nice enough phone for those on a budget. Sadly, the touchscreen does make it a bit of a chore to use, but as a simple, effective Android phone, it’s very likeable indeed.”
According to Ross Catanzariti of PCMag, Huawei has made lots of compromises to sell the Ideos X3 for a small price,
“The Huawei IDEOS X3 naturally makes plenty of compromises to deliver on its $99 price. The screen feels sticky to swipe and isn’t always smooth, the glossy coating makes it reflective under light and the keyboard is tiny. Despite these limitations the IDEOS X3 remains great value for money.”
Sum-up
Huawei has recently been in news for many of its outstanding phones. It is in efforts to become a key player in smartphone market, which is growing with huge number of Android and other products. In fact, Huawei aims at the moderate customers with its Ideos X3. The smart Android product can attract many average users.