The world smartphone market has no shortage of models that come with Android 2.3 Gingerbread pre-installed. One such model is the Huawei Mercury a.k.a. the Huawei Honor, which ships with a 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, 1GB RAM, over 4GB of internal storage, and a 4-inch 480x854 pixel resolution touchscreen display. It’s one of Huawei’s larger Android smartphones and while it looks pretty impressive on paper, real life performance offers something different.
There’s no denying the fact that the Honor is pretty well-equipped. It has an 8-megapixel camera with built-in LED flash, stereo speakers, and a 1,930 mAh battery. Its wireless features include GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. And when it comes to wired connectivity, it gets the job done with a microUSB port. Again, it’s not such a bad phone on paper. But its actual performance is just not up to snuff.
Users have complained about poor call quality and lackluster touchscreen performance with the Honor. Apparently, having a speedy dual-core processor is not enough to guarantee smooth operations.
Need to Know: Huawei Honor
1. 4-inch color touchscreen display. (The Good)
2. Relatively low price. (The Good)
3. Uses an older version of the Android software. (The Bad)
4. Bad call quality. (The Bad)
What the Critics Are Saying...
- David Ruddock, Android PoliceHere's the thing about the Mercury Ice. It does everything an Android phone running Gingerbread can do, and that's a lot. For $150, you're getting a piece of technology that, 5 years ago, would have practically been magic to someone. They'd have paid $500 or more for a phone like this. That's how fa...
- Ian Morris, Pocket-lintComparing the Honour to the ZTE Grand X seems fair. Both are about the same price, and both will be sold to the same people. Sadly, both are flawed. The Grand X suffers from an insensitive screen that isn't great in sunlight, while the Huawei has a better touchscreen, but still doesn't work well out...
- Brian K., PhoneArenaIn the end the Huawei Mercury Ice is a rather unspectacular phone; its performance is sufficient but the operating system outdated and call quality suspect. At just $150 with no contract the price is right, but in the growingly competitive pre-paid space there are better phones with better networks...
- Maurizio Pesce, WiredA “good enough” starter phone, especially for first-timers or those who hate long-term contracts. Good call quality. 2.03GB of internal storage with room to expand to 64GB via microSD. Muve Music services included. Light, just 4.9 ounces.Plastic battery cover feels cheap. Limited video codec support...
- Nick T., PhoneArenaProbably the biggest advantage of the Huawei Honor is its great value-for-money ratio. It can be bought for about $370 off contract, and at that price point, no other brand name company would be able to match its specs. However, you get what you pay for, so you will have to get used to its not-so-se...
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Huawei Honor user manual here.
Huawei backs up the Honor with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your Honor has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Huawei support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Huawei's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
Resources
Manuals / User Guides
- Huawei Honor Manual (PDF)
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