GIV Mobile has been on the scene for a good amount of time now, they are the pre-paid carrier that lets you give back as well. You can bring your own device them and get a SIM card, or buy a device from them. Today, we are looking at the Huawei Ascend P1, one of the smartphones they offer. This device came on to the scene in 2012 at the Consumer Electronics Show, the market has been getting more in more devices. Keep reading to see our full thoughts on the Huawei Ascend P1 for GIV Mobile.
Hardware
Powering the Ascend P1 is a 1.5GHz dual core processor with 1GB of RAM and in comparison to other new devices, it is not the fastest. It can handle most applications, but after a while it does slow down a little bit. When you don’t have a lot of applications running, it performs pretty well. When multitasking with multiple applications, you will see it lag a little. Turning on and turning off is done at a reasonable rate.
On the back of this device you will find an 8 megapixel shooter with autofocus and a LED flash. It didn’t wow us or really disappoint us in our testing. At times photos came out very nice, with good color and light balance. Other times images can be very fuzzy and images look very saturated. It is mixed bag and really depends on each shot taken. There are a few built-in effects, not really Instagram-like effects, but more trying to be fun effects. They work well with the front facing camera and can help to increase the quality.
For viewing, you get a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED Pen Tile display. It features a resolution of 960 X 540 with 226 pixels per inch. Viewing angles are pretty good, at times when you turn the device, the screen will look darker. Although to be honest, it is not the brightest and most saturated display. Colors at times cannot appear the most vibrant, but in other instances it performs well.
Design
The Huawei Ascend P1 features a unique design, similar to that of the original Droid RAZR for Verizon Wireless. With a thin design, with the hump on the back. The Ascend P1′s brother or sister, the Ascend P1S features a thinner design. It comes in at 0.30-inches thin at the thinnest point. It feels very comfortable in the hand and the hump at the bottom provides a location for you to grip. The main color of the device is black and it is a very smooth feel, with little to no texture.
Above the display you have the Huawei logo, a earpiece, and a 1.3 megapixel camera. Below the display you have three touch back-lit buttons, those being menu, home, and back. The top of the device has a lot going on, the headphone jack, SIM card slot, and micro USB charging port are all here. I was very surprised to see the micro USB port on the top and it would have been nicer to see on the bottom. The volume rocker can be found on the left hand side. Your micro SD card slot and power/sleep button are on the right. The back of the device is home to the 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash, Huawei logo, and a speaker.
Software
The Huawei Ascend P1 for GIV Mobile is running Android 4.0.3, now word on when an update is coming. Bust as the device is from 2012, I have a feeling I don’t think we will be seeing one anytime soon. One nice thing about devices on GIV Mobile is that there are not carrier customizations, it is really an out of the box experience. With that being said, Huawei did make a few customizations. For instance on the lock screen, you know have easy access to the phone, messaging, and camera applications. As week as the date, time, and your music player. A home page widget has been added, this includes the weather, time and date. It is similar to the many other widgets that are available. Not too many extra pre-loaded applications as well, there is certainly no carrier boot loader. Pre-loaded you will find All Backup, Appinstaller, Browser, Google Chrome, Call log, Calendar, DLNA, Facebook, File Manager, Flashlight, FM Radio, Google App Suite, Google Play Suite, Movie Studio, Security Guard, Riptide GP< Polaris Office, Sound Recorder, Weather Clock, and more.
Network
GIV Mobile is the carrier that let’s you give back. It operates as a no contract carrier, similar to Virgin Mobile or Boost Mobile. They have a twist, as 8% of your monthly bill will be donated to charities of your choosing. GIV Mobile features many charities on their site. These are from categories like Animals, Education, Environment, Health, International, Human Services, Public Benefit, Arts, Cultures, and Humanities.
This carrier utilities T-Mobile network and towers, specifically the HSPA+ network. No 4G LTE as of yet, but hopefully it will be coming soon. This way you can take advantage of the super fast speeds, that are available. T-Mobile operates a pretty good HSPA+ network, which can give you speeds that are similar to those 4G LTE speeds. You just have to make sure they offer service in your area.
GIV Mobile offers two plans, all of them feature 3-way calling, International Dialing, Caller ID, Call Waiting, Voicemail, and more. As well as Unlimited Talk, Text, and Web/Data. The $40-a-month-plan will give you high-speed data for the first 250MB. The $50-a-month-plan will give you high-speed data for the first 2GB.
Bottom Line
The Huawei Ascend P1 for GIV Mobile is a unique device, with a pretty nice design. This device is available for $209.99 from the carrier. Of course the device is yours, once you purchase it, as you are not locked into a contract. You can pair this device with GIV Mobile, or any device for that matter, with this carrier you can truly give back. This device is from 2012 and has some nice hardware, but in comparison to all of the new devices on the market, I think you can get a better device to pair with the carrier. While the budget may have to be higher, you can get a device that will continue to work well for quite some time. Thats a nice feature of the carrier, in that you can bring your own device. Unless, you really want a Huawei Ascend P1, I would look at either devices to pair with the carrier. We would like to thank GIV Mobile for providing us with a copy of the “Huawei Ascend P1″.
