Huawei Ascend D1 XL U9500E Specs Pricing Pros & Cons Unveiled

Overview of Huawei Ascend D1 XL U9500E

The Huawei Ascend D1 XL U9500E is a smartphone released in 2012 by the renowned electronics company, Huawei. This device is notable for being part of Huawei’s effort to strengthen its presence in the smartphone market globally. Despite its discontinuation, the Huawei Ascend D1 XL still offers a glimpse of the evolving technology of its time. Its design and specifications catered to mid-range users who sought reliable performance without breaking the bank.

Design and Build

The Huawei Ascend D1 XL features a sleek design with dimensions measuring 129.9 x 64.9 x 8.9 mm and weighs approximately 132 grams. Its compact and lightweight design makes it easy to handle and carry. The smartphone incorporates an IPS LCD display with a screen size of 4.5 inches, offering a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. This translates to a pixel density of approximately 326 ppi, providing clear and sharp visuals. The screen-to-body ratio is around 66.2%, which was quite decent at the time of its release.

Display

The display of the Huawei Ascend D1 XL U9500E is one of its key highlights. The 4.5-inch IPS LCD offers vibrant colors and good viewing angles, making it suitable for video playback, web browsing, and gaming. The resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels ensures that images and text appear crisp. This resolution, paired with the size, provides a balanced experience without significantly impacting the battery life.

Performance

Under the hood, the Huawei Ascend D1 XL is powered by a TI OMAP 4460 chipset, accompanied by a dual-core 1.5 GHz CPU. The PowerVR SGX540 GPU handles graphical performance. This combination offers satisfactory performance for everyday tasks such as calling, messaging, browsing, and casual gaming. The device is equipped with 1GB of RAM, allowing for moderate multitasking capabilities. Although this may seem modest by today's standards, it was quite competitive at the time of release.

Storage

The smartphone comes with an internal storage capacity of 8GB, which can be expanded via a microSDHC card slot. This expansion capability provides users the flexibility to store additional applications, photos, and videos without worrying about running out of space quickly.

Camera Quality

The Huawei Ascend D1 XL U9500E features an 8 MP rear camera with autofocus and a dual-LED flash, ensuring good quality photos even in low-light conditions. It supports 1080p video recording at 30fps, which was a notable feature during its time. The front-facing camera is 1.3 MP, suitable for video calls and basic selfies, supporting video recording at 720p.

Battery Life

The device is powered by a removable Li-Ion 2600 mAh battery, which provides a decent amount of usage time, considering the hardware specifications. It delivers enough power to last a full day under normal usage conditions, such as calls, text messaging, and light internet browsing.

Connectivity and Network

In terms of connectivity, the Ascend D1 XL supports GSM and HSPA technologies. It offers 2G bands (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) and 3G bands (HSDPA 850/900/1700/1900/2100), with a maximum speed of HSPA 21.1/5.76 Mbps. This ensures reliable network connectivity for communication and internet access where 3G service is available.

Operating System and User Interface

The Huawei Ascend D1 XL runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. This version of Android introduced a host of new features and improvements over previous versions, such as improved multitasking, resizable widgets, and a new design theme that provide users with an enhanced smartphone experience.

Additional Features

Additional features include sensors like an accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, and compass. Connectivity options also include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, GPS with GLONASS, FM radio, and a microUSB 2.0 port capable of MHL TV-out and OTG, which was an interesting addition at the time.

Conclusion

In summary, the Huawei Ascend D1 XL U9500E, despite being discontinued, showcases a product that combined solid performance, reasonable price, and competitive features. It catered well to the needs of users seeking an entry-to-mid-level Android device that did not compromise on essential smartphone functionalities. While the market has moved forward with more advanced technologies, the Ascend D1 XL remains a reminder of the significant strides made during its era.