Huawei U9130 Review

By Vinod Yalburgi

30-09-2010

Vinod Yalburgi

Digit Rating: Good

3.5/5

Features:

Performance:

Value:

Design:

PROS

Ergonomic QWERTY keypad
Integrated mobile browser and GPS services

CONS

Quite bulky
Ordinary camera and device loudspeaker
Weak LED back-light under bright sunshine

BUY

N/A

MRP: 6999

Available at 1 store/(s)

BUY

N/A

Summary

The HUAWEI U9130 is a feature-rich business cellphone with its key selling point being the 3G data services including browsing, mobile content download, e-mail client service with push e-mail,Google Maps with GPS assistance, GetJar Apps, Nimbuzz and Snaptu. Overall, it makes a great buy at Rs. 6,999, if you could overlook its shortcomings with the camera and loudspeaker.

Review
Specifications & Performance

The HUAWEI U9130 is a QWERTY business phone, released as part of the Hangout-series, which brings business connectivity at your fingertips. It resembles a typical Blackberry business phone design and form-factor, with a glossy black front panel and a thin steel brushed strip decorating the body contours. It includes out-dented steel brushed volume control buttons on the right and a camera button on the left. Also, there is a USB port just beside the volume control buttons on the right.

The QWERTY keypad incorporates high-end keys with a rounded design and finely spaced ridges separating them. The wide space-key resembles the typical computer space-bar key, and serves well with good ergonomics. The option select, delete and home screen keys are sandwiched between the call function buttons on either side, while the central navigation button is sandwiched between the left and right option select buttons. These buttons are brushed with a steel metallic finish at their top and bottom edges.

*Huawei U9130 body shots*
Volume control buttons and USB port	3.2MP camera on the back-panel	Side view	Slant view

The battery cover is a sliding door mechanism and latches on tightly into the grooves on either side of the battery compartment. Removing the battery cover reveals the 3G GSM SIM-card slot. However, the SIM slot cannot be accessed without removing the battery. There is a 3.2 MP camera located just above the battery compartment on the back-panel and two striped vents beside the camera represent the built-in speakers.

The menu interface is neat and well-organized. The home screen includes an attractive wallpaper, which is topped up with a set of widget icons finely arranged in a semi-circular format, just above the task-bar. The U9130 has a rich assortment of features including a mobile browser, Google Maps, GetJar Apps, Nimbuzz, Snaptu and more. In addition, the mobile messaging system includes a built-in full word index, auto-corrections, context sensitive vocabulary and user dictionary with smart learning capabilities that periodically updates the database with new words entered by the user. The new words appear on top pushing the older words below and thereby remembering the user's most frequently used words and prioritizing them.

Using the 3G enabled data services, the user would be able to surf the web, create an e-mail account, send e-mails and also download mobile software or multimedia content at a 3.6Mbps bandwidth. However, as we're still only on GPRS, we appreciated a glimpse of the 236Kbps bandwidth, with speeds much better than many dial-up connections we have seen. It seems like we'll have to wait a bit more for 3G cellphones to realise their potential, and signal the advent of a new era in mobile computing.

Read on to know the performance, conclusion, specifications, Test results, ratings and more on the next page...

SIM card: 3G GSM;
Display: 2.4-inches TFT, Screen size: 320 x 240, Colours: 262K;
Memory: microSD expandable up to 8GB;
Camera: 3.2 Mega-Pixels;
Battery: 1250mAh; Talk-time/Standby-time: 180 minutes/210 minutes;