It's had more leaks than a wicker canoe, but finally the Huawei Ascend W1 has been officially unveiled as the Chinese firm's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone.
Missing out on a mention during Monday's Huawei press conference at CES 2013 the Ascend W1 quietly revealed itself today via a press release.
The numerous leaks seem to have been pretty much on the money, with the Huawei Ascend W1 sporting a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4-inch 480 x 800 IPS display and 5MP rear facing camera.
We expect the Ascend W1 to be the most affordable Windows Phone 8 handset to date when it launches in January, coming in just below the HTC 8S and Nokia Lumia 820.
Although people in China and Russia will be able to pick up the device this month, the rest of us will have to wait, but Huawei has confirmed the Ascend W1 will arrive in Western Europe, the Middle East and the USA in due course.
The Ascend W1 comes in a variety of colours including white, black, pink and blue – the latter of which is the one we got hands on with, and the first thing you'll notice about the device is the glass appears to be sitting on top of the chassis.
Instead of the glass fitting snugly into the body of the phone, on the Ascend W1 there's a noticeable ridge running all the way around the handset, giving the impression that it's just been slapped on top – reminiscent of the HTC One V.
At 120g the Ascend W1 is a good weight for a 4-inch smartphone, and while the handset may measure 10.1mm in depth the curved polycarbonate back rests nicely in the hand and provides some grip.
On the back is the raised 5MP camera unit which is similar in design to the one found on the back of the HTC One X, with a single LED flash to its right.
Towards the bottom of the Ascend W1 there's the Windows Phone logo sitting above an elongated speaker grill, which we found kicked out a decent volume – although audio quality wasn't the greatest.
Back to the front and the Ascend W1 does feel a bit bezel-heavy especially below the display, with the three navigation keys housed in a sea of black and then you have the blue chassis peeking out below, adding extra length to the handset.
It's not too much hassle in terms of the size as the W1 measures a manageable 124.5 x 63.7mm, but it does detract from the overall look and feel of the phone.
Above the display is a front facing camera but at just 0.3MP it hardly seems worth it, especially as we're seeing a lot of phones launching with 2MP front snappers now.
Needless to say picture quality from the forward facing lens isn't brilliant and should be reserved only for brief video chats and the odd vanity check.
As far as the operating system goes it's the same Windows Phone 8 experience we've seen on every device as unlike Android, Microsoft doesn't allow manufacturers to dabble with its software.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing as the Windows Phone 8 interface is extremely intuitive, especially handy for those new to the smartphone world, and the 4-inch display is very responsive, allowing you to navigate around at ease.
This means you get the standard range of applications and features including the mediocre Windows Phone keyboard which isn't difficult to use, it just lacks the fluidity and functionality of some of the third party offerings available on Android.
The camera app is also stock Windows Phone and like all the handsets sporting Microsoft's latest mobile OS the Ascend W1 has a dedicated shutter button on its right hand side.
This gives you instant access to the camera app as well as allowing you to take photos and the shutter speed it pretty quick most of the time, however we did find the auto-focus sometimes jumped around a bit before settling and letting us take a picture.
It isn't the slickest WP8 experience we've witnessed and while the Ascend W1 is by no means sluggish there is a slight lag between screen transitions with the phone seeming to jerk rather than flow.
The power/lock key is located on the top of the device alongside the headphone jack, while the volume rocker is found towards the top of the left side, with both switches easy to hit.
Huawei has equipped the Ascend W1 with a decent-sized 1,950mAh battery which should easily see you through a days usage thanks to the low resolution display and relatively non-taxing operating system.
You can access the battery by peeling off the rear cover, which we were able to do easily and this is also where you'll find the microSIM and microSD slots.
And you'll be glad the Huawei Ascend W1 does indeed have a microSD slot, as it comes with just 4GB of internal storage – a poxy amount in today's world.
Early Verdict
This isn't a flagship Windows Phone 8 device by any stretch of the imagination and we're pretty sure Huawei is aware of that, so we'd expect the Ascend W1 to carry a reasonable price tag and if it does then it should be a decent proposition.
It provides all the features you'll want from a smartphone in a package which is intuitive and fully functional.
Power users will look past this handset, but those wanting to explore smartphones for the first time, or who are looking for a simple experience at a low cost, the Huawei Ascend W1 could be well worth considering.
