HUAWEI HONOR 4X

The Honor 4x is a big competitor for the similarly priced Moto G and a budget version of the more upscale Honor 6. The goal is to provide stellar performance for not a lot of cash.

Build and looks
Straight up, the Honor 4X doesn't try to set itself apart. But what it also does is combine all the pleasing aesthetics into one fluid package. The heft of 170g and a solid build make it feel several degrees more premium than the budget phone it is. The shape fits easily in the hand and the texture on the rear surface is kept to a minimum. Despite being a 5.5 inch phablet, the softly rounded edges allow the phone to slip easily in and out of a pocket.

The front features capacitive navigation keys which look great but should have been backlit. The bottom edge rounds out with a speaker and the microphone. Despite having a removable back, it never creaked once ad the textured surface manages to resist fingerprints surprisingly well. Bottom-line: it's a big phone you can easily come to terms with.

Display
Images and text are sharp and crisp even though the 1,280 x 720 display is stretched on a 5.5-inch screen. You can hardly notice the individual pixels even though the 267 PPI falls below the typical 300 magic number. Viewing angles are great while the brightness control automatically adjust very quickly. You'll like this if you're using this a lot for reading up online or watching videos.
Power and software

It's one of the more powerful budget phones available in the market now. A Kirin 620 octa-core processor and 2GB RAM make sure your entire operation is lag free. It comes with Android 4.4.2 which isn't optimised to take full advantage of the 64 bit processing. Huawei has stated an upgrade to the 6.0 Marshmallow which should not only enhance the functionality but also boost the already stellar battery performance.

The gaming is smooth with several graphics intensive games running smoothly courtesy of the Mali 450 GPU. Benchmarking results showed it backed up the relatively high specs, with the Honor 4X scoring above 25000 on AnTuTu. On Geekbench 3 it scored 1663 for multi core comparison where the closest is the Galaxy S4 at about 1800.

Features
The Emotion UI brings in a few nifty features like Motion Control and screen-off gestures such as double touch to wake and a double tap of the volume button to instantly wake the camera and shoot in less than 1.5 seconds. You can also draw certain letters on screen to start certain apps.

Battery power
It is low on internal storage with only 8GB available to the user. You can expand that with a 32GB SD card. Where this device further excels is the non-removable 3000mAh battery. The lower resolution screen and less power-hungry processor results in terrific battery performance. I've easily gone over a day with typical usage of emails, Facebook and videos interspersed with couple of hours of gaming. This phone will deliver all through the day so if you rely heavily on your device for office work, this won't disappoint.
Camera

You get a 5MP front shooter and a 13MP main unit that sits flush on the back. I found it to be a very capable shooter for the price. The photos come out quite well even in very low light situations thanks to the f/2.0 lens but autofocus will struggle a little as it is expected. The tap to focus system works fast when lighting conditions are better, photo color is vibrant with plenty of details evident.. The shallow depth of field mean close-up shots come out pleasantly focused on the subject with a subtle blurring of the background. This despite not having any dedicated macro option. Besides that you get your typical HDR, panorama and video modes.

Specs:
Display: 5.5" IPS Display
CPU: Octa-core 1.2 GHz
OS: Android 4.4.2 Kitkat (Will get Marshmallow upgrade)
ROM: 8 GB
RAM: 2 GB
Camera: Rear- 13MP, Front-  5 MP
Battery: 3000 mAh
Sensors: Accelerometer, Light, Proximity etc.
Price: Tk 19,990/-

Verdict:
The Honor stays true to offering significantly superior value for money. It's a budget phone that doesn't particularly feel like one. The power is plentiful and the camera performance is far better than other units in this price range. The construction is solid although the lack of Corning Gorilla glass protection and backlit navigation keys is a downer. Yet, what you get is a coherently designed device that packs a punch for not a lot of cash. 

REVIEW & PHOTO: EHSANUR RAZA RONNY