Huawei Ascend Mate Specs Pricing Pros & Cons Unveiled

Overview of Huawei Ascend Mate

The Huawei Ascend Mate, announced in January 2013 and released in March of the same year, made waves in the smartphone market with its massive size and powerful battery. It was a pioneering device that ventured into the phablet category, offering a unique mix of features that catered to users looking for a blend of phone and tablet functionalities. Despite being discontinued, the Ascend Mate left a significant mark with its offerings.

Design and Build

Weighing in at 198 grams and measuring 163.5 x 85.7 x 9.9 mm, the Ascend Mate stands out with its substantial size and weight. The device features a sleek design, available in Crystal Black and Pure White. It supports a micro-SIM card, maintaining a robust and secure communication experience. Despite its size, the phone is comfortable to hold and use, thanks to its ergonomic design.

Display

The display is one of the standout features of the Huawei Ascend Mate. The phablet boasts a 6.1-inch IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass, ensuring durability against scratches and minor impacts. With a screen-to-body ratio of approximately 73.2% and a pixel density of 241 ppi, the display provides clarity and vivid colors, making it ideal for media consumption and browsing.

Platform and Performance

Running on Android 4.1, upgradable to 4.2.2, with Huawei's EMUI 1.5, the Ascend Mate offers a seamless and customizable user experience. The device is powered by the Huawei K3V2 chipset with a quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A9 CPU and Vivante GC4000 GPU. This combination ensures smooth multitasking and efficient performance across various applications.

Memory and Storage

The Ascend Mate comes equipped with 8GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM, providing adequate space for applications and media. Moreover, it features a dedicated slot for a memory card, allowing for expansion up to 64 GB. This flexibility ensures users can store a significant amount of data without worrying about running out of space.

Camera Capabilities

Photography enthusiasts will appreciate the 8 MP autofocus rear camera, which includes LED flash and HDR capabilities. The camera can capture videos in 1080p at 30fps, making it suitable for creating high-quality media content. On the front, there is a 1 MP selfie camera capable of recording 720p videos, ensuring basic functionality for video calls and selfies.

Sound and Connectivity

The Ascend Mate features a loudspeaker and a 3.5mm headphone jack, catering to traditional audio preferences. Connectivity options are robust, with Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, and DLNA for enhanced wireless communication. Bluetooth 4.0 ensures compatibility with a wide range of devices, although NFC is notably absent. The phone supports GPS for navigation, a stereo FM radio, and connects via microUSB 2.0 with USB On-The-Go (OTG) capabilities.

Sensors and Additional Features

In terms of sensors, the device is equipped with an accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, and compass, ensuring a comprehensive suite of functionalities for various applications. These sensors contribute to an improved user experience, offering various ways to interact with the device, whether through gesture controls or navigation functions.

Battery Life

One of the most impressive features of the Huawei Ascend Mate is its non-removable Li-Ion 4050 mAh battery. This powerhouse provides an outstanding battery life, with standby time reaching up to 1100 hours on 2G and up to 1072 hours on 3G. Talk time is similarly impressive, offering up to 50 hours on 2G and 23 hours on 3G, making it a reliable device for heavy use without frequent recharges.

Conclusion

The Huawei Ascend Mate, priced around 230 EUR at launch, was a forward-thinking device that captured the essence of what was to become the phablet market. Despite its discontinuation, the Ascend Mate remains an interesting case study for Huawei's early innovation strategies in large-display mobile devices. It offers a comprehensive package of features, balancing performance, design, and battery life to create a versatile tool for consumers. While modern standards have progressed, the Ascend Mate set a strong precedent for its successors.