In May, Gartner announced that, in the first quarter of 2013, the Asia-Pacific region led worldwide mobile phone sales, with 53.1%. The region was also the only one in the world that saw year-on-year growth in mobile phone sales for the same period.
Attempting to secure a bigger slice of the mobile device market pie, Huawei - the brand with a name that no one is really sure how to pronounce - serves as a fresh foe in this blossoming region. According to IDC research manager Ramon Llamas, Chinese vendors, including Huawei, are making significant strides to capture new users with their respective Android smartphones. Huawei appears to be covering all its bases, catering to the upper end of the market with its super-slim Ascend P6 as well as offering budget-conscious consumers the affordable Ascend G510.
The behemoth that is Huawei's Ascend Mate marks the Chinese manufacturer's attempt to compete with other phone/tablet hybrids, such as Samsung's sizable Note series and the Asus FonePad.
Look, feel and display
Shall we start by addressing the proverbial elephant in the room? That being the gargantuan Ascend Mate itself. Even for a phablet, this device is big, I mean REAL big. While it does take some getting used to, I didn't find that the size of the handset negatively affected my ability to operate it. As one would expect, it doesn't fit comfortably in your hand, but users can choose to align the keyboard to either side of the device, which makes one-handed typing a little easier.
Some may feel a little daft holding the mammoth thing up to their ears, and if you're a fan of the skinny variety of jeans, I'm afraid this bad boy is going to prove a little too large for your back pocket.
According to the Chinese manufacturer, at 6.1 inches, the Mate's HD display is the largest smartphone screen in the world. It may also be the heaviest, weighing in at roughly 200g. The display does the trick, with crisp colours and good viewing angles, but if you're expecting a little something extra from the XXL screen, you may be a tad disappointed. The device has no capacitive buttons below the screen, which many will be accustomed to if they have used other Android smartphones. On-screen controls allow the user to go back or navigate to the home screen, which took a little getting used to.
Interface and performance / usability
The Ascend Mate is powered by Huawei's Hi-Silicon 1.5GHz quad-core processor, which is able to handle multitasking pretty impressively. I did notice a slight lag when navigating between home screens and during gaming, but this was not significant enough to have an impact on the overall experience.
The mobile device is WiFi DLNA and Bluetooth enabled, and runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). It features the brand's refreshed Emotion UI for Android. Navigation wise, it features what one has come to expect from Android devices - with one minor difference. Unlike other Android handsets, the Emotion interface does not feature a standard app drawer with all the user's apps neatly packaged in one place. Users are required to scroll through their applications in the same way one would be expected to do when using Apple's iOS devices. Huawei has grouped the apps in various folders to make them easier to find, and users can also create their own folders.
The device offers users a "Suspend Button", which allows for quick access to certain functions. When activated, the button hovers on the edge of the screen, providing shortcuts to the calculator, note app, text messages or camera.
Users are able to customise their phablets, thanks to a variety of preloaded themes and profiles, and there is an option to download additional themes should none of the preinstalled offerings be to your liking.
Features
The smartphone boasts an 8MP auto-focus, rear-facing camera with HDR, as well as a 1MP front-facing camera with 720p video recording, which I thought did a pretty decent job. Unsurprisingly, watching video on the sizable screen is a pleasure. Music lovers can enjoy dual MIC noise reduction technology, Dolby sound and stereo recording.
I liked that the brand has kept consumer trends in mind, pre-installing popular apps like Whatsapp and Skype onto the Ascend Mate.
For me, the Mate's Smart Reading function was an absolute hit. Being able to highlight a word, person or place you are unfamiliar with, and immediately look it up on Wikipedia or Google, was really handy.
Those looking to use their smartphones without having to remove their gloves in chilly weather can activate Gloves mode. I tested it out and had no complaints. This feature may drain the battery a little quicker than usual, however.
I must admit I was a little disappointed to learn that Huawei's augmented reality navigation application is only available to Chinese users. Called Guiding Wizard, the app combines navigation and an augmented reality map, overlaying arrows on streaming video captured using the phone's video camera. The concept looks impressive, but alas, I was unable to test it out.
Battery life
The Ascend Mate powers up via a 4 050 mAh battery, coupled with the brand's QPC and ADRX smart power-saving technology. This keeps the device running for about two days on a single charge.
According to Huawei, the Ascend Mate has the fastest battery charging capability of smartphones in its range. In my experience, it took a couple hours to get this big boy juiced up, and I would recommend users charge the device overnight.
In a nutshell
According to Huawei Device SA's GM, Larking Huang, the Ascend Mate offers an entertainment, communication and creative experience to meet the user's personal and professional needs.
While the device's size may mean it's not everyone's ideal mate (haha), I would say it is a viable option for those looking for a budget phone/tablet hybrid with most of the bells and whistles we have come to expect from other offerings in this range.
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