Huawei Ascend P1 LTE review

The Huawei Ascend P1 was a snappy, well priced phone upon release. Its 1.5GHz dual-core processor powered through Android and the lithe form slithered into even the skinniest of jeans. The Ascend P1 LTE is virtually the same phone as its non-LTE counterpart, bearing two key differences. Firstly, it offers LTE on EE’s new 4G network. Secondly, it’s design is considerably more bulbous than the skinny P1.

Huawei Ascend P1 LTE review: Design

Looks wise the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE has taken a hit when compared to the first P1. It’s chunkier, feels more hollow and in turn cheaper. More closely resembling a ZTE Grand X, perhaps the only saving graces of note are the red camera mount accent and the ergonomic bump at the base of its rear.

Huawei Ascend P1 LTE Back

Huawei Ascend P1 LTE Buttons

Measuring in at 9.9mm thick and weighing 135g, the P1 LTE is perfectly manageable with one handed use being realistic for most. All buttons can be accessed without too much of a stretch, though they're all oddly located on the left hand side of the device which takes some getting used to.

Huawei Ascend P1 LTE review: Screen

The Super AMOLED screen on the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE measures in at 4.3-inches. With a qHD resolution of 960x540 and packing a PPI of 256, it should be sharp enough for most. That said, the PenTile screen tech does look a little ‘bitty’, so LCDs of the same resolution will be crisper.

Thanks to good overall brightness levels, outdoor viewing is passable. The screen also looks good whatever angle you’re looking at it, making it perfect for multiple viewers and with vibrant colours are deep blacks, overall it gets a thumbs up.

Huawei Ascend P1 LTE review: OS and interface

Running a very nearly stock version of Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), Huawei do little to tarnish the pure Android 4.0 inside.

To give you a recap, ICS delivers 5 home screens, an apps menu and a notifications bar that can be pulled down for missed calls, messages and other alerts. It provides apps galore thanks to the Google Play Store and is also pretty versatile, supporting customisations, widgets and skins.

Huawei load the P1 LTE’s interface with a variable number of homescreens, overviewed with a screen pinch and quick settings in the notifications bar. These generally add to the Android experience with quick settings in particular being invaluable. 

The keyboard on the P1 LTE is stock ICS. This means responsive input and thanks to the 4.3-inch display even those with larger hands should find it comfortable to type on. For better text prediction, you might want to look into downloading alternative keyboards such as SwiftKey from the Google Play Store.