[Review] Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL Hands-on

Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL

This year Hauwei has talked a lot about its strategy around its devices by splitting them into separate classes of devices. The high end series is called the D-Series.  The most recent release is the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL, sporting a homegrown quad core processor.  Another problem Huawei has faced is that timely release of devices and the Ascend D1 Quad XL has unfortunately suffered the same fate.  This device was announced earlier this year and has taken almost 8 months to surface.  If it had been released closer to the original announcement, but competition is a plenty and it may be too late.

After countless delays, the Ascend D1 Quad XL is finally with us, but is it too late into the game with so much competition around?  Let’s take a look.

At the time of announcement, the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL was touted as the world’s fastest quad core superphone, which may have been close to true back when they announced this device at Mobile World Congress.  The problem they face today is that a number of devices have been released with quad core processors and most of them are fast and respectable superphones.

The Hardware

The first problem Huawei is facing is the size of this device.  While the width and height are relative to the 4.5 inch display, the thickness is what stands out.  The Ascend D1 Quad XL is 10.9mm thick, which is about the thickest device I’ve had in my hands for a long time.  It really makes this device look brick like and is a far stretch from other devices now available on the market.  Despite its size the Ascend D1 Quad XL fells pretty good in your hands.  It’s comfortable to hold for extended periods of time when you’re making phone calls and comfortable when your typing, playing games and surfing the web.  The complete size of the Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL is 129mm x 64mm x 10.9mm and weighs in around 150 grams.

The rear corner of the device are considerably rounded, which is probably part of the reason it feels so comfortable, and this also adds to the style of the device and does cosmetically take away some of the bulkiness.