Huawei Ideos U8150 deals & review

In a word or two

Huawei’s first Android 2.2 Froyo device brings the latest version of Google’s Android OS in an affordable handset. The Ideos U8150 carries decent specifications and features and is a good choice for anyone looking to get their hands on Android Froyo without breaking the bank.

The Design

From the images currently available, this handset bears a noticeable resemblance to some of Samsung’s handsets. The large central button, flanked by two smaller buttons beneath the 2.8 inch capacitive touchscreen will look familiar to anyone who’s seen Samsung’s very successful Galaxy S. The Ideos has a more curved chassis than Samsung’s device, however, and is expected to be available in vibrant colours.

Specifications

The U8150 is a mid-range phone and the specifications reflect this, but there are plenty of nice features to keep the handset interesting. Most significant for most of the phone’s potential owners will likely be the use of Android 2.2 Froyo. Google’s latest Android OS brings a host of upgrades and improvements over previous incarnations but at the moment it is available only on high end smartphones like the HTC Desire and Google Nexus One. A Froyo smartphone without a giant price tag will be an intriguing prospect for many people.

In addition to the main attraction of Froyo, the Ideos has some decent features. The phone supports MicroSD cards up to 16Gb, so there’s enough room for lots of downloaded games and apps. 256 Mb of RAM and a 528MHz processor provide plenty of power for running them, so long as you don’t try to run them all at once.

The U8150 packs a 3.2 mega pixel camera, which is a little on the low-res side by the standards of modern smartphones but should still be more than enough for most users. Thankfully, not many corners have been cut with the phone’s connectivity options. WiFi, EDGE, HSDPA, and Bluetooth, amongst others, are all present and correct. The phone’s GPS feature will provide users with turn-by-turn navigation from Google’s free Google Maps Navigation service.

Verdict

The Ideos U8150 isn’t the most inspiring phone we’ve ever reviewed, but it should offer a good range of features backed up by Froyo. If the latest Android OS is high on your list of priorities but you don’t have a fortune to spend, this won’t be a bad choice at all, come release date.