Sony Xperia L review: Xperia Lite

Introduction

Sony's ticking along nicely and it's almost hard to believe this is only its second season on its own. Having finally made their presence felt in the premium end, the Japanese are showing enviable focus and determination in bringing the middle ranks up to date.

The good thing is they have a solid foundation to build on and the Sony Xperia L looks ready to take advantage. It picks up exactly where the Xperia U left off and tries to fix only what needed fixing, without overspending on gimmicks. A bigger screen, beefier battery and still resolution up from 5 to 8MP are things we wouldn't say no to. Yet, the expandable memory is what seems to be the most exciting piece of news.

The Xperia L is about to enter a segment that saw some of Sony's most compelling performers last year. This is no small responsibility but the L seems to have the right tools for the job. It comes across as one of the hottest prospect in Sony's lineup - one that's more likely to pleasantly surprise than disappoint. Let's take a closer look at what the Sony Xperia L has to offer.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dual or quad-band HSPA support
• 21 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA
• 4.3" 16M-color TFT capacitive touchscreen of FWVGA resolution (480 x 854 pixels) at around 228 ppi
• Android OS v4.1.2 Jelly Bean
• Dual-core 1 GHz Krait CPU, Adreno 305 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon chipset
• 1 GB of RAM
• 8 GB of inbuilt storage (5.8 GB user available)
• microSD slot (32GB supported)
• 8 MP autofocus camera, single LED flashlight, geotagging, touch focus, HDR, proper shutter key
• 720p @ 30fps video capture with HDR
• VGA front-facing camera
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• GPS with A-GPS
• NFC
• PlayStation certified
• Accelerometer, ambient light and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• microUSB port (charging) and stereo Bluetooth v4.0
• LED strip for breathing light and notifications
• 1750 mAh Li-Ion battery, user-replaceable

Main disadvantages

• No 1080p video capture, poor video quality
• No Mobile BRAVIA engine
• Sub-par viewing angles
• Rather big and heavy for its display size

The Sony Xperia L obviously cannot escape the issues that even the flagship had to deal with. In honesty though, it's a lot easier to get away with less than stellar contrast and viewing angles in the midrange. No Bravia and lower ppi than the Xperia U are the only things that don't sound right when you look at the lists above.

This was a compromise obviously that had to be made and the reasoning must've been that screen size is what ultimately matters in this price range. Elsewhere though, the Xperia L is clearly superior and in ways that will make a real difference to the majority of users.

OK, a good enough display and adequate processing power are a start. The styling of the Bond phone was readily available - no points for creativity but in the end, the Xperia L has good looks and character with minimum effort. That's the thing here, Sony makes upgrading look so easy and it's a skill that sometimes evades even the most talented competitors. Let's see though if the Xperia L can keep it up. Make sure to check back in after the break.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active preview: First look

Introduction

Add together the brawn of the Xcover and the brains of a Galaxy S4 and you get the S4 Active. The actual flagship can handle any digital task you throw at it, but the Active version can cope with the grittier side of life. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is IP67-certified for water and dust protection.

Up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes - that's the same level of water resistance as the Sony Xperia Z, a phone that often got mentioned for being in the unique position of combining premium features and rugged design. Now it has to share the limelight though.
Before we dive into the specs, we should mention that the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active has almost the exact same specs as the regular model, unlike the various Galaxy S minis and such that share in the flagship name to only offer midrange specs.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active at a glance:

• General: Quad-band 2G/quad-band 3G/LTE connectivity
• Form factor: Water resistant touchscreen bar phone, I657 certification
• Dimensions: 139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1 mm, 151 g
• Display: 5" 16M-color TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (441ppi); Glove touch
• Chipset: Snapdragon 600
• CPU: 1.9GHz Krait 300
• GPU: Adreno 320
• RAM: 2GB
• OS: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Memory: 16GB storage, microSD card slot
• Still camera: 8 megapixel auto-focus camera, face detection, touch focus and image stabilization, Cinema Photo; 2MP front facing camera, video-calls
• Video camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, standard microUSB port with MHL features (TV Out, USB host), GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC, Infrared port
• Battery: Removable 2600mAh
• Misc: TouchWiz UI, Impressively rich video/audio codec support, built-in accelerometer, Smart stay and Smart rotation eye-tracking, Smart pause, Smart scroll, S Health, Air Gestures

The two downgrades here are the screen (LCD instead of Super AMOLED) and the main camera (down to 8MP from 13MP). The rest is in place though - the blazing fast chipset, the removable battery and expandable storage (two things often sacrificed in the name of water tightness), even things like Air Gestures and the IR remote control functionality are intact.

So, how is the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active better than a regular S4 in a rugged case? It's not that different, though the phone is more compact than a third-party add-on can ever be and we actually quite like the different styling (Samsung's lineup is getting a little stale design-wise).
You're welcome to put on your hiking boots, and hop on for a quick walkthrough of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active hardware.

Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 review: Medium extra large

Introduction

Screen size. Just like last year was the year of the multi-core processor, 2013 is surely the year of the big screen. There was a time when 5 inches of diagonal were considered overkill, but with just about every major brand now flaunting a fullHD five-incher, it seems the only way to go is up.

And Samsung has done just that. With the release of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 the Galaxy Mega 5.8, the Koreans are looking to blur the lines between phone and phablet even further, and add even more inches to its repertoire of display sizes.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 is the lesser half of the new Mega duo, and if a 6.3" screen is just too big for you, then 5.8" may be just your size. Plus, there may even be a few people out there that might still consider it a phone.

So, what does the Mega 5.8 offer that other large-screen devices do not? Is the optional dual-SIM support and the more attractive pricing the only redeeming quality it has over the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Note II? We'll tackle all those questions and more, but first let's take a look at the key features at a glance.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band 3G with HSPA; LTE; Dual-SIM version available
• 5.8" 16M-color qHD (540 x 960) TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
• Dual-core 1.4 GHz Broadcom CPU, VideoCore IV GPU
• 1.5GB of RAM
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash,1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 1.9 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
• Dual shot and dual video recording, Drama shot, Shot and sound
• Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 8GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot
• microUSB port with USB host and MHL
• Bluetooth v4.0
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• 2,600mAh battery
• 9mm thickness; 180g of weight

Main disadvantages

• Big, even for a phablet
• Resolution on the low side for the screen size
• Midrange performance
• Design is a bit played out by now
• Shared camera interface makes framing tricky

One thing to keep in mind regarding the 5.8-inch display is that it goes with a reduction in screen resolution as well, so you get even less pixels per inch than the Mega 6.3. We won't go as far as to say that at 190ppi the screen is "bad", but it cannot obviously measure up to the ultra-crisp 400+ppi displays of the most recent 1080p flagships.

When compared to the Mega 6.3, it seems that some additional sacrifices come with having a smaller display. As far as connectivity goes, gone are NFC capabilities, the IR-port, as well as the support for the new 802.11ac WiFi standard. But let's keep in mind that the Mega 6.3 doesn't come with a dual-SIM version, so it's not one-way traffic.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 is powered by a Broadcom SoC, featuring a dual-core CPU - something we we haven't yet seen clocked at 1.4 GHz, so we're curious to see how it fares against the dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait CPU of the Mega 6.3. The latter is expected to trash its rival in benchmark tests, but is the difference obvious in real-life scenarios?

But all that in due course - up next, join us as we take a look at the exterior of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8.

Nokia Lumia 928 review: Guiding light

Introduction

Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon Wireless is the carrier's long awaited, exclusive Windows Phone 8 flagship. The LTE smartphone was part of the rumor mill for quite some time - the first reports of a high-end Nokia smartphone for the Big Red emerged right when the Lumia 920 landed exclusively on AT&T late last year.

As its name mildly suggests, the Nokia Lumia 928 is not dramatically different from the Lumia 920 for AT&T - mostly thanks to Microsoft's strict hardware restrictions for its mobile OS.
However, with a full xenon flash supplementing the 8MP OIS camera and the PureMotionHD+ AMOLED, the Nokia Lumia 928 for Verizon has enough bragging rights on its own.

The Nokia Lumia 928 is the first Windows Phone device to pack a xenon flash from the Finnish company, so, naturally, the expectations towards its low light imaging talents are as high as they get. Nokia's marketing campaign for the model is centered on its camera prowess too, so we expect the Lumia 928 to be truly special in the imaging department.

Here goes the full list of talents, which the Nokia Lumia 928 has to offer.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
• Dual-band CDMA support
• Penta-band 3G with 42 Mbps HSDPA and 5.76 Mbps HSUPA support
• 4.5" PureMotionHD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels; Gorilla Glass 2
• 8 megapixel autofocus camera with Xenon/LED flash, 1080p@30fps video recording
• Optical Image stabilization; Smart Camera suite
• 1.3MP front-facing camera
• Windows Phone 8 OS
• 1.5GHz dual-core Krait CPU, Adreno 225 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset, 1GB of RAM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band
• GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS support
• Free lifetime voice-guided navigation
• 32GB of built-in storage
• Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
• 2,000mAh Li-Ion battery
• Integrated wireless charging
• Built-in accelerometer, gyroscope and proximity sensor
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• microUSB port
• Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP and EDR, file transfers
• SNS integration
• Xbox Live integration and Xbox management
• NFC support
• Digital compass
• Nokia Music
• FM Radio

Main disadvantages

• Windows Phone app catalog falls short of Android and iOS
• No microSD card
• No system-wide file manager
• No lockscreen shortcuts
• Too large a footprint for a device with a 4.5" display
• Non user-replaceable battery

With the silicon inside the Nokia Lumia 928 being a standard Windows Phone 8 affair, it is the camera and the new screen tech that command the bulk of the attention towards the device.
On paper, the 8MP snapper all but promises to be one of the most capable ones around, while the new 4.5" AMOLED display has helped the Lumia 928 shade a few grams in comparison to the Lumia 920.

Despite being slimmer than the Nokia Lumia 920 however, the Lumia 928 for Verizon is still far from pocket-friendly. Because of the large bezel around its display, the Lumia 928 has the footprint of today's crop of 5" Android smartphones. Add the thickness of 10.1mm thick, and you get a rather bulky handset, though we find this particular niggle forgivable, given the camera tech, packed into its polycarbonate body.

At first glance the Nokia Lumia 928 appears to be the best equipped Windows Phone 8 smartphone on offer at the moment. Read on to find out if the device will live up to the high expectations. As always, we'll kick the review off with an unboxing, followed by a design and build quality inspection.

Editorial: You might notice that this review is shorter than usual and doesn't include some of our proprietary tests. The reason is it has been prepared and written far away from our home office and test lab. Still, we think we've captured the essence of the phone in the same precise, informative and detailed way that's become our trademark. Enjoy the good read!

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom preview: First look

Introduction

Just taking the photo won't do these days - you'll want to edit and share it, then rake in the likes. Except most cameras pretty much bail out at the snapshot. Not the Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom though, a hybrid of a point-and-shoot with 10x optical zoom and a Galaxy S4 mini. This is Samsung's second such attempt after the Galaxy Camera, which was based on the Galaxy S III.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom has full telephony features (unlike the Camera), but it's not the most comfortable phone around. Photography is the full-time job here.

A 10x zoom lens with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) sits in front of a 16MP sensor. At the wide end, the lens is the very wide 24mm in 35mm equivalent, the aperture goes from f/3.1 to f/6.3 and there's a mechanical shutter. The Galaxy S4 zoom has a control ring around the lens like some high-end point-and-shoots do, a xenon flash and LED light.

That's just the camera specs, the rest is a full-featured Galaxy S4 mini hardware, including the IR blaster, which can control a projector (the one, most likely, you'd use to show off your photos).

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom at a glance:

• General: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz; UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps; LTE (market dependent), Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
• Form factor: Touchscreen bar phone with optical zoom lens
• Dimensions: 125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4 mm, 208 g
• Display: 4.25" 16M-color qHD (540 x 960 pixels) Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
• CPU: Dual-core Cortex-A9 1.5 GHz processor, 1.5GB RAM, Mali-400 GPU
• OS: Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Memory: 8 GB (5 GB user available) of inbuilt storage, microSD card slot
• Still Camera: 16 megapixel auto-focus camera with 10x optical zoom and Optical Image Stabilization; xenon flash and LED light; control lens ring
• Video Camera: Full HD (1080p) video recording at 30fps; 720p @ 60fps
• Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0+HS, NFC, MHL-enabled standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS and GLONASS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, USB-on-the-go
• Battery: 2,330mAh
• Misc: TouchWiz 5.0 Nature UX, XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor, smart screen

There are some differences between the Galaxy S4 zoom and the mini but, outside the size, those are insignificant. The chipset is powerful enough to shoot 1080p video at 30fps and 720p at 60fps (same as the Galaxy Camera). Samsung has made sure too that the default camera app is the most advanced we've seen yet, and there are a number of helpful image and video editors among other tools.

Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom in our office
With Android 4.2 you'd be able to install other editors and camera apps too (though these will have to add support for the optical zoom feature). Not to mention all the social networking and other tools for sharing your photos, which can be piped through blazing fast LTE or Wi-Fi, DLNA, MHL or Group Play.

Jump over to the next page for a closer look at the hardware, while we try to avoid any "zooming in" puns.

Apple iOS 7 beta review: Evening the odds

Introduction

The last couple of iOS updates were hanging on the wrong side between too little and too late. The user interface is six years old now and while it has been repeatedly polished in every revision so far, it was decidedly starting to look stale. And it's not just a matter of visuals either. iOS 5 brought little to nothing in terms of new features and some would even argue that iOS 6 was actually a step back. It seems though that Apple has found inspiration again and is ready to take the game to the opposition.

The UI that launched on the original iPhone way back in June 2007 has finally been put to rest.

Android has stepped up in big strides since Gingerbread to dominate the smartphone game. Meanwhile, Windows Phone keeps bringing new features, and even the conservative BlackBerry broke with the old ways and completely redesigned its platform. It was about time Apple did something different with the iOS.

The iOS 7 is among the largest upgrades the OS has ever been given - not quite the game changer that the iPhone OS 2 and the App Store were, but it certainly took a lot of effort. It not only brings some key new features and a few cool system apps, but it also completely overhauls the user interface and tweaks the right things under the hood.

Key features

• Complete UI overhaul with adaptive colors and system-wide Back swipe gesture
• New system icons and folders, animated icons available
• System-wide parallax effect
• Dynamic wallpapers
• Control Center with toggles, multimedia controls and shortcuts
• Updated Notification Center with three tabs
• All apps multitasking with new card interface
• Updated Safari browser with unified search filed
• iTunes radio
• AirDrop file sharing
• Inclinometer within the Compass app
• Camera filters with live preview and new square mode
• New Photos app with better photo organization, picture editing
• Weather app with live weather animations
• Updated Maps with Night mode and Turn-by-Turn walking directions
• New Siri interface, new supported commands, new voices
• Contact Blacklist
• FaceTime audio
• Activation lock
• Automatic app update
• Cellular data usage breakdown
• Chinese-English, Italian, Korean and Dutch dictionaries
• iOS in the Car coming in 2014 in selected cars

Main disadvantages

• Very iTunes dependent for uploading files and multimedia
• No open file system means you often have to duplicate files
• Limited integration of 3rd party social networks and services
• No widgets
• Air Drop works only between selected iOS 7 or later running devices
• No lockscreen shortcuts (besides those in the Control Center)
• Very basic camera UI with limited features and settings
• Limited codecs support
• iTunes radio only works in the US

The iOS 7 indeed has gone flat, but brings dynamic wallpapers and parallax view to make those flat icons pop to life. Indeed, the parallax effect is one of the few among the newly introduced features that is truly unique to iOS (yes, it is available as an app for Android, but here it's baked right into the OS). There is lots of transparency throughout the iOS, brand-new flat theme, all-new system apps, live icons, and a lot more.

From a functionality perspective, Apple has finally decided to give us connectivity toggles organized within the new Control Center, iTunes radio streaming service, the notification center has been completely redesigned, there is AirDrop for easy sharing between different iOS devices, and even more capable Siri.

Of course, there are still missing features. And while our prayers of an open file system were always likely to remain unanswered, those for better utilization of the lockscreen (with widgets and shortcuts) had a chance. Well, you can't have it all, they say.

The iOS 7 update will be seeded to iPhone 5, 4S and 4; iPad 2, 3, 4 and mini; and iPod Touch 5 generation. But not all features will become available on all devices. We also believe the iOS will be the last upgrade for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

To help you quickly identify what you'll be getting on your iPhone, iPad or iPod, we've got a handy table that lets you see everything at a glance.

Samsung Galaxy Mega 6 3 review: Walking tall

Introduction

Many - including this website - have complained that only big phones have high-end specs. But there's a flip side to this argument - it's hard to find a big phone with mid-range specs. That's where Samsung's new Galaxy Mega 6.3 comes in. It's big as its name suggests, but aims for the midrange instead of entering the overcrowded high-end arena.

A big screen caters to our flawed human senses - often our eyes value size over resolution and so do our thumbs. So, while the pixel density of the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 screen is no match for the bleeding edge screens on current flagships, many will find it more comfortable to read off the big screen - a nearly 60% more screen real estate is nothing to sneeze at.

The Galaxy Grand is another device that favored display size over specs, but that's in the lower end of the Android spectrum. The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 on the other hand has respectable specs, not too far off what passed as "flagship" last year.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; quad-band 3G with HSPA; LTE
• 6.3" 16M-color 720p TFT LCD capacitive touchscreen; 233ppi
• Android OS v4.2.2 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz UI
• Dual-core 1.7GHz Krait CPU, Adreno 305 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset
• 1.5GB of RAM
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 1.9 MP front-facing camera, 1080p video recording
• Drama shot, Shot and sound
• Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS
• 8/16GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot
• microUSB port with USB host and MHL
• Bluetooth v4.0
• NFC
• IR port for remote control functionality
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Ample 3,200mAh battery with great endurance; user replaceable
• 8mm thickness; 199g of weight

Main disadvantages

• Big, even for a phablet
• Resolution on the low side for the screen size
• Midrange performance
• Design is a bit played out by now
• No FM radio
• Shared camera interface makes framing tricky

So, it's not just last year's flagships, the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 borrows from this year's model too - the latest Android version with latest TouchWiz enhancements, IR blaster, Air View, Multi-window and a bunch of other exclusive software goodies.

And while there's no denying it's a big device, it's only slightly bigger than its 6.3" screen. The other measurements - 8mm thickness and 199g of weight are actually pretty slender. It's barely thicker than the Galaxy S4 and weighs only 16g more than the Note II (which is 9.4mm thick).

The 720p resolution is perhaps lower than some people would have liked, but the 233ppi pixel density is better than that of the Galaxy S II though not quite as good as the one on the Note II (no surprise given the different market segments). And the Snapdragon 400 chipset should be able to hold its own against the top quad-core chipsets of the previous generation like the popular Tegra 3 or Samsung's Exynos 4.

The Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 is a half-step between phones and a 7" tablet. Some say it's too big to use as a phone and too small to be a tablet. Others respond with "you can't slip a tablet in your pants pocket, but the Mega 6.3 just fits." There's certainly evidence in favor of both claims - jump over to the next page to find out which argument prevails as far as hardware is concerned.

Huawei Ascend Mate review: Gentle giant

Introduction

Huawei are making sure they're taken seriously as a phone maker. They're actually well past the newcomer stage and, with a market the size of China behind them, Huawei's appetite will only be growing bigger to compete with the establishment.

Huawei didn't start with a bang, there was - inevitably - a stage of copying and imitation, but we found some of its phones to be quite good - reasonably priced alternatives of existing devices by major manufacturers, and not without some nice custom touches either.

While the Chinese have proved to be fast learners in smartphones, the Ascend Mate is perhaps a throwback to their early days of mixing and matching. The Mate is the Chinese take on the Samsung Galaxy Notes - low-cost but quite up to date in terms of equipment, for a midrange phablet that is.

And by the way, they might just be doing things right. Samsung's Mega 6.3 is probably in equal measures an attempt to make the Note experience available to the masses and a response to genuinely affordable, and seemingly quite competitive, products like the Huawei Ascend Mate.

Key features

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE; penta-band 3G with HSPA
• 6.1" 16M-color 720p IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla Glass, Magic Touch, usable with gloves
• Android OS v4.1.2 Jelly Bean with Emotion UI
• Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A9, 16-core GPU; Huawei K3V2 chipset
• 2GB of RAM
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording @ 30fps, continuous autofocus and stereo sound
• 1 MP front-facing camera, 720p video recording
• Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA
• GPS with A-GPS
• 8GB of built-in storage
• microSD card slot, side-mounted, hot-swap
• microUSB port with USB host and MHL 2.0
• Bluetooth v4.0
• FM radio
• Standard 3.5 mm audio jack
• Accelerometer and proximity sensor
• Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
• Plenty of juice in the ample 4050 mAh battery

Main disadvantages

• Big, even for a phablet
• No homescreen auto-rotation
• Non user-replaceable battery
• No NFC
• Outdated CPU architecture

So, this is Huawei's first foray into phablets but the Chinese have a handful of smartphones and tablets under their belt which, at least on paper, are no worse than the competition's flagships. A crossover was only a matter of time obviously.

Samsung's success with the Note, followed by LG and their Optimus G Pro, swung the door wide open for the smaller brands to start exploring the phablet form factor too.

The Huawei Ascend Mate is a prominent figure in this trend and its 6.1" screen sees it squeezed between two serious rivals, the Samsung Mega pair. It's worth noting though, that Huawei were well ahead of Samsung in announcing their device.

Like most of the latest generation of Huawei devices, the Ascend Mate is powered by the company's home-brewed K3V2 chip. That's probably not top-of-the-line technology, but four Cortex-A9 CPU cores clocked at 1.5GHz and a 16-core GPU, is the same combo powering their current 1080p-screen flagship, Ascend D2. It should be more than capable to keep Android running glitch-free at 720p resolution.

The Huawei Ascend Mate has got some special software treatment too. The gadget is running Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, but it's been seriously redesigned with Huawei's own Emotion UI for a clean and simple user interface that omits an app drawer and keeps the widgets.

We'll get to into the details in due course - the hardware checkup is first on our list. Hit the next page to get a better feel of the Huawei Ascend Mate.