Huawei Honor 3C – a budget smartphone with excellent characteristics

If you need a smartphone that looks interesting, then the Honor 3 is definitely not for you - for beauty you should look to the Huawei Ascend P6. But here everything is simple, almost without frills. If you take another thirty white Chinese smartphones from smaller manufacturers, cover them with logos and mix them properly, you will not find Honor 3 among the others in your life.

Theoretically, Honor 3 also exists in black, but for some reason only white ones are imported to Russia - they probably harmonize better with the snow (or contrast better with it, if we talk about Moscow snow).

For some reason, some naughty guy from the design department painted the sides with mother-of-pearl paint (it’s hard to see in the photographs, but take my word for it - it’s mother-of-pearl), so in the end it’s not even clear to whom this smartphone is addressed. On the one hand, everything is so boxy and utilitarian, on the other – white and with mother-of-pearl. A very strange combination.

The smartphone is equipped with a 4.7-inch display and has a fairly thin frame - so the body dimensions are moderate, and Honor 3 fits well even in a small palm. The back is slippery and glossy, but the slightly rougher mother-of-pearl sides give hope that the smartphone will not slip out of your hand at the most inopportune moment.

The touch buttons in Huawei Honor 3 are dedicated, with neat white backlighting

The buttons are not located very well: the space between them is small, and the size of the buttons themselves is too small. As a result, it is quite difficult to determine by touch what is under your finger - the power or volume button. You can probably get used to this, but it would have been better to space them on different sides of the body.

As mentioned above, the smartphone is protected from dust and moisture according to IP55 and IP57 standards. That is, it is dustproof (IP5x), withstands jets of water (IPx5) and short-term immersion to a depth of one meter (IPx7). The Japanese, as a rule, make protected models monolithic, but in Honor 3 the back panel is removable - it has a seal that fits into a groove that runs along the perimeter of the battery compartment.

Sony prefers to cover everything except the audio jack with plugs, so that you don’t have to deal with a plug every time you want to listen to music. Huawei did exactly the opposite: they plugged the headset jack, but left the micro-USB connector unprotected - we hope the designers know what they are doing.

The outer panels of the case are made of plastic, but inside, apparently, there is a magnesium frame that gives the smartphone the necessary rigidity. At the very least, Honor 3 cannot be accused of excessive flimsiness.

Appearance

The smartphone body is completely plastic. There is not an ounce of metal here. The manufacturer proudly states that the entire surface is 100% glossy. I don’t know if this can definitely be considered a virtue. In my opinion, gloss is beautiful, but completely impractical. Fingerprints, scratches - all this spoils the appearance of the device over time.

Back cover Huawei Honor 3C Lite

The front side of the smartphone is made of black plastic, and the back cover is made of white. At the front at the bottom there are standard system control keys. It’s good that they are placed separately and do not eat up the display space.

However, the buttons are not backlit. In the dark you have to navigate either by memory or by point and click to determine where to press. It is not comfortable.

Control buttons

Above the screen there is a speaker grid, a light indicator for various events, a front camera, as well as proximity and light sensors.

Earpiece and front camera

The ambient light sensor works quickly and quite correctly.

The side frames are very wide (approximately 4.5 mm), and given the rather thin thickness of the smartphone (9.4 mm), they could be made thinner.

If we're talking about dimensions, then in the table below you can compare the device with its main competitors.

On the back cover there is a camera eye, which protrudes slightly above the surface of the case. This is strange, since, I repeat, the thickness of the phone is far from small and the photosensor could easily fit into the body of the device.

Rear camera and flash

Next to the camera there is an LED flash, a microphone hole, and closer to the bottom edge we see the main speaker grille. Its location is not very good, since on a relatively flat and soft surface (for example, on a sofa) the sound will be noticeably muffled. However, this is a design nuance of almost every second modern smartphone. Manufacturers are still too lazy to fit speakers into the side frames.

Speaker

On the right side there are volume buttons and a power key. The button travel is small but clear. The left side is devoid of any elements.

Sides of the smartphone

There is only an audio port on top, and the bottom edge is occupied by a microphone hole and a Micro USB connector.

The ergonomics of the device did not disappoint. Despite the smooth surface, the device fits well in the hand, much better than its metal counterparts.

The device can be easily controlled with one hand.

Of course, it will not be easy to reach the opposite corner of the interface with your thumb, but the dimensions allow you to type messages on the go, navigate through the menu, without intercepting the device.

⇡#Conclusions

Like most smartphones in the price category from 10 to 15 thousand rubles, Huawei Honor 3 is a compromise. On the one hand, the aged processor and well-deserved radio module do not add to its attractiveness. On the other hand, a good display, serious protection from water and dust, as well as a good camera, combined with a very affordable price, could convince many that this is the smartphone of their dreams.

But this will be greatly hampered by one circumstance, namely design. It’s quite difficult to imagine who exactly a smartphone with such an inexpressive appearance is designed for, while being sold only in white and with mother-of-pearl buttons on the sides. For girls it’s too boring, for boys it’s too exciting. For boys who are not really boys, it’s boring again. In general, it’s not clear...

Display

It uses a 5-inch IPS matrix with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. The pixel density of 294 ppi is generally sufficient for a smooth and comfortable picture. Many of the phone's competitors have a slightly lower resolution: 960 x 540 pixels, and this is already critical for 5 inches.

Honor 3C Lite screen in the sun

There is an oleophobic coating on the surface of the screen, but it is not very effective. What material is used at the base of the protective panel is not specified. It feels like plastic.

Viewing angles, color richness and other parameters are at a good level. The display is one of the main advantages of the hero of the review and the photo below confirms this (clickable):

Interestingly, in the Gallery, images cannot be opened in full screen, even in slide show mode. This does not apply to games and other full-screen programs.

⇡#Display

The display in Honor 3 is of very decent quality. It has a diagonal of 4.7 inches, with a resolution of 1280x720 this gives a completely satisfactory pixel density of about 310 pixels per inch. Such characteristics were the standard for flagships the year before, so for a device in the mid-price category in 2014 this is quite good. Upon closer inspection, the raster is visible, but if you do not hold the smartphone close to your eyes, the picture looks very smooth and detailed.

Despite the low price of Honor 3, the smartphone also has a polarizing filter that reduces glare and light from external light sources, and an oleophobic coating

The display is equipped with a non-switchable brightness adjustment system depending on the image that is currently displayed on it. This system works in a very intricate way: the brightness of the backlight not only depends on the number of black dots in the image, but also changes when the main color is changed - that is, it depends on a certain average brightness of the picture. We saw a very similar algorithm in the LG G2, so we can assume that the LCD matrix in Honor 3 is made by LG.

The maximum brightness of the display is not a record, but quite sufficient for any circumstances in which the owner of Honor 3 may find himself: about 400 cd/m2. There is a polarizing filter in the display, so the level of illumination from external light sources is lower than in devices without such a useful additive - even in bright sun the image remains quite visible.

The contrast due to the presence of the above-described system is dynamic: when the screen is completely filled with black, the backlight is noticeably dimmed, and when it is completely filled with white, it is turned up to the maximum. So with this method you can measure a higher value than it actually is. If measured using the correct method - that is, by displaying a picture of black and white fields of the same size on the display - then the fair value is about 760:1. Very, very good. For an inexpensive smartphone - especially in combination with a polarizing filter - it’s simply wonderful.

Due to dynamic image adjustment, it is extremely difficult to correctly examine color rendition. So this time we will do without measuring gammas. As for the color gamut, it is somewhat narrower than required - about 96% of sRGB. But still, the colors are well tuned: even if green and red are slightly lacking in saturation, at least they have not turned into carrot and some kind of lime, respectively.

The white point is quite strongly shifted towards cool tones and is slightly below the Planck curve. In practice, this means that the white color has a slight bluish-purple tint. Not quite ideal, but we've seen worse settings. In any case, this is forgivable for an inexpensive smartphone.

In general, if they asked for about 20 thousand rubles for a smartphone with such a display, we would say that the manufacturer did not try hard enough. But Honor 3 costs only 12,990 - and this radically changes things. Perhaps, among the products of any well-known brands, it will be difficult to find a device for that kind of money with a display of the same or higher quality.

Technical characteristics of Huawei Honor 3C Lite:

The processor is created using 28-nanometer technology, and is based on 4 cores with a frequency of up to 1.3 GHz each.

There are several differences from the regular 3C version: the Lite model has:

• 1 GB of RAM, versus two in the older version,
• less capacious battery 2000 mAh,
• front camera is only 2 megapixels (its brother is 5 megapixels)
• 16 GB of memory for data storage, versus eight in a more advanced solution. Of course, the dimensions of the devices are also slightly different.

It's sad that the OTG protocol is not supported for connecting third-party devices (flash drives, keyboards, etc.), and there is also no NFC. For devices of this class, this is still normal practice, so this should not be taken as a disadvantage.

The device has support for two SIM cards, one of which is responsible for 2G communications, the other for 3G. The form factor is normal - Micro-SIM. I was able to conduct a conversation from two cards at once, which suggests the use of either two independent radio modules, or the use of some special technology.

It’s interesting that the manufacturer got confused and presented the results of laboratory tests of his brainchild. For example, the power button of a smartphone can withstand 200,000 presses, the USB port can withstand 10,000 connection-disconnection cycles, and the device can fall up to 200 times and no more. Please keep this in mind! The official website of the company’s store also contains other interesting indicators. If you wish, you can view them here.

The performance of the device is quite sufficient for ordinary tasks.

The shell is well-debugged, thoughtfulness and rare slowdowns are kept to a minimum, but occasionally you still come across them. The system as a whole is very stable.

In games you should not count on high graphics settings. Works on medium and ok.

Finally, I will present the results of synthetic tests.

⇡#Camera

Huawei Honor 3 uses a camera with a resolution of 13 megapixels - like most flagships from 2013. We would venture to assume that the matrix is ​​the same - from Sony, with back illumination and a fairly large format. True, as we remember from reviews of some other Chinese smartphones (and not only Chinese ones), a good sensor is not a guarantee that the camera will shoot the same way as others. Because processing algorithms and all sorts of useful additives like an image stabilization system play an equally important role (Honor 3 does not have it).

The Huawei Honor 3 camera handles daytime shots quite well. Color rendition is not the most pleasant - the system often makes mistakes with white balance. In this case, it received a pinkish tint. But at least the footage does not have obvious flaws - compare this, for example, with what Yotaphone creates.

The HDR mode also works relatively well: periodically the picture doubles a little, the frames have a distinct taste of being “oversharpened,” but there is no effect of unnatural “cartoon” colors, which is inherent in many “Chinese” cameras. In general, it is quite possible to use it without the risk of getting a Pandora landscape as a result.

Of course, the camera has its own quirks - especially in terms of color - but overall, in good lighting, it shoots about the same as many modern flagships. The same LG G2, which we took for comparison, provides a more pleasant picture in such conditions - but not so much that the difference hurts the eye.

But everything changes as soon as the light becomes scarce. The absence of a stabilization system in Honor 3 is probably not the fastest aperture optics and not the most advanced algorithms immediately make themselves felt.

The HDR mode in such conditions is no longer able to improve anything - it only makes the picture even more soapy and even darker.

The smartphone can record video in Full HD format and copes with this task quite well - although it is inferior in quality to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, with which we compared it.

Samsung Galaxy Note recording example

Example recording Huawei Honor 3

Camera

The rear camera is based on an 8 megapixel matrix with a 2.0 lens aperture and five optical lenses. All these are big words, which, in theory, should have a positive effect on the quality of the final images. In reality this is not the case.

There is no autofocus even though the object capture frame jumps in the viewfinder. And in general, the photos are of very low quality.

The size of the pictures is 3264 x 2448 pixels and they look good only on a phone screen.

100% crop:

Additional shooting modes include support for HDR images, creating panoramas, installing filters, burst shooting, skin retouching and less significant options.

The front photo module has a resolution of 2 megapixels, and the output photos are 1600 x 1200 pixels. The front camera is only suitable for video calls. The quality of the images is again average or slightly lower.

Much the same can be said about video shooting. Yes, the video resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels, but the 3GP format and the picture do not inspire optimism. One of the examples is below.

Disabling driver signing

When flashing firmware using a computer, it is mandatory to disable driver signature if Windows version 8 and higher is installed. To perform this operation, you should:

1. On the computer keyboard, press the key combination: hold down the “Shift” button and, without releasing it, press “Restart”;
2. A menu should appear in which you need to select “Troubleshooting”;
3. Next, select “Advanced options”, then click on “Boot options”, after which you need to restart the computer;
4. A menu will appear again in which you will need to press the “F7” button, after which the PC will reboot and then you can install all the necessary drivers.

Multimedia

The main speaker is loud, but, of course, not a record. It will be difficult to miss a call on a noisy street, although the streets are different. But the quality of playback through the speaker is far from ideal. There is no semblance of low and, in principle, mid frequencies here. The music whistles, tinkles and strums - it’s not very pleasant to listen to.

Keep calm! The sound quality through the headphones is absolutely fine. The volume and sound processing are quite consistent with the same iPhone 5. In addition, the parameters include a 5-band equalizer, the ability to adjust bass, sound volume, and so on.

The conclusion is this: 3C Lite is definitely suitable for those who like to listen to music through headphones.

The list of supported audio formats is as follows: MP3, MIDI, AMR, AWB, AAC, FLAC, APE, OGG, WAV, WMA.

The device is capable of playing video files such as: MP4, MKV, WMV, AVI, 3GP, M4V, FLV, WEBM, MOV.

Smartphone battery

The lithium-ion battery is removed from under the back cover and has a capacity of 2000 mAh. This is more than enough for the installed hardware. With very moderate use, the device can work on a single charge for up to five days in a row.

With active use of the device, it will delight the owner with two days of stable operation. Only games or watching movies online can kill your battery in a day. In other words, the smartphone does not need to be charged every day, and this is perhaps one of the main advantages of any mobile device.

Working hours

The Honor 3C battery capacity is 2300 mAh, which provides the device with a day of active use or two days of average use.

Comparative table with operating time indicators in various modes.

In reading , all wireless communications are disabled, including data transmission on the mobile network, and the display brightness is set to 200 cd/m2. When listening to music, automatic data synchronization and data transfer worked. The sound volume in the headphones is at 12 out of 15 possible levels. All music files are in MP3 format, bitrate 320 Kbps. Navigation includes getting directions in the Google Navigation app. The brightness is set to 200 cd/m2, all data communication modules are disabled. When playing a video , data transmission on the mobile network is active, the display brightness is set to 200 cd/m2, the sound volume in the headphones is at level 12 out of a possible 15. The video file format is MKV, resolution 1024x432 pixels, frame rate 24. Playing video from Youtube was accompanied not only by work on a Wi-Fi network, but also through active data transmission. The display brightness is set to 200 cd/m2, the sound volume in the headphones is set to 12 out of 15 possible levels.

* – data obtained under similar conditions, but with the brightness set to 50% and possible You can familiarize yourself with the testing methodology in this material

Software chips

The proprietary Emotion 2.0 shell with its own features and bells and whistles is installed on top of the Android OS.

One of the main features of the system is that all applications are placed on desktops. The latter can be added and configured at your discretion - in general, everything is as always.

For people who have recently joined high technology, there is a special Simple mode

. Program icons on desktops become more visual and easy to use. However, other parts of the system (phone, contacts, messages) do not change in any way.

Additional applications available include FM radio, a flashlight, a file manager, a voice recorder, a set of services from IVI, and more.

The notification shade is divided into two parts: the first displays a list of various events, the second with all the quick settings of the phone is hidden under a small icon in the upper right corner.

Working with SIM cards comes down to setting color profiles, individual ringtones, data transfer settings, and so on. The choice of SIM card occurs immediately before making a call or sending a message. There is no separate key for this.