Compared with Samsung S3 (and Sony Z1)

I am a mobile muffle. If I spend more than 300 for a smartphone, I want to have a product with no known problems. But unfortunately you have to swallow toads everywhere. After my Samsung Galaxy S3 has not survived the last fall, I therefore wanted to first give up a smartphone. But then too many were disappointed that I am no longer easily reachable.

Why I chose the P7?
* Prices over 450 I'm not willing to pay, if you still do not get "perfect" smartphone. The Huawei is 350 on my upper threshold of pain for a compromise solution.
* I wanted an expansion slot for microSD cards.
* There should be a Android, because displeasing me with Apple's artificial restrictions. With Windows Phone me missing a few good apps or substitute.
* A Samsung could it not be, because in the meantime as many restrictions as installing Apple.

What struck me:

The hardware of the P7 is safer than the S3 style in every respect. Glass and stainless steel instead of plastic and magnesium, which looks like plastic. The Sony Z1 does externally also a very good impression.

In the user interface it has become very oriented at Huawei in iOS 7, which is a disadvantage for me because I think iOS 7 Pott-ugly. The S3 was with Stock Android, at least not as ugly and often better to use. Sony is based visually closer to stock Android.

"Emotion UI" of P7 works quite fluently and is not cluttered with forcibly installed apps, like the Samsung Androids. The home screens of the Sony Z1 are fully factory with Sony multimedia content, but still very fluid. The Sony-additions can be easily removed anyway and then no longer interfere.

Unfortunately, there is no Cyanogenmod for P7. For the Sony Z1 there Cyanogen. But that is probably not necessary, because Sony provides its equipment with updates.

I miss the hardware Home button and the touch keys of the S3. The virtual keys are constantly taking place away. When Z1 is as well.

I have the home button of S3 used to wake the S3. At P7 or Z1 have to use the rather small power button.

The battery life is the P7 easy behind the S3. The Huawei provides helpful tools to clandestine consumers to recognize. The Sony Z1 runs and runs and runs. With moderate use, you can get by two days without recharging.

The display of the P7 is a delight with its Full HD resolution and 400ppi. The Sony Z1 also offers a kind of AMOLED.

However, it is the only one P7 IPS TFT. The viewing angle dependency, I notice especially if you are still reading an ebook in the dark, and the side looks at the display. Another problem I arises when driving with polarized sunglasses. The phone plugged crosswise in its holder and therefore can be seen virtually nothing. At first I thought the on-off switch is defective, until I pulled off the sunglasses. The S3 with AMOLED display is not polarized and therefore I did not know the problem until now. This is a nice-to-have (high resolution) to practical problems (polarization and viewing angle). The Sony Z1 combines the advantages of both.

The Gorilla glass is framed by a thin border. This prevents shocks hit directly on the sensitive edge of the glass. Samsung has the display even arched in S3, so it is particularly prone to scratches and falls. The curvature of the S3 has also prevents that you can install protection films or glasses have sense. The Z1 has no Gorilla Glass, but only a special coating of Sony, which should be more prone to scratches.

I have my Huawei packed despite the stylish design in a heart Bumper (of Mumbi). Because really scratch and impact resistant is not a smartphone.

The CPU of the P7 is relatively weak. You would hardly think with the S3. The Z1 runs two of them.

The camera of the S3 has often been blurred images. It was pure torture to see how the preview was often sharp, and the image was again quickly put out of focus by the trip. This is certainly not to the hardware of the S3, but in practice it rarely gets up good shots back. When P7 I had this problem previously. The Z1 also makes good pictures. Of course all smartphone cameras have problems in dim light because of the tiny lenses.

Nice feature on the edge: Double-clicking on the volume-minus on the phone from standby in the camera mode and immediately makes a photo. This takes felt no 2 seconds. Sony Z1 provides same with a separate key that even the usual 2 pressure points (point and shoot) has.

Placement categories:

Hardware design: P7 and Z1 before S3
Processing: P7 before S3 before Z1 (For Sony only worked the 3rd device!)
Additional keys: S3 before Z1 before P7
User Interface: Z1 before S3 and P7 (overloaded and paralyzed during S3, ugly at P7)
CPU: Z1 before S3 and P7
Display: Z1 before S3 and P7
Battery: Z1 before S3 and P7
Robustness: P7 before S3 and Z1
Pre-installed software: Z1 before P7 before S3
Camera: P7 and Z1 before S3

It has to keep in mind you that you have to operate the S3 since the last updates practically with CyanogenMod, because the firmware of Samsung is so overloaded that it constantly jerky and even crash any unwanted and non-deinstallierbaren background programs (Joyn!) Regularly.

Conclusion:
Judging by the competitors Huawei delivers a very good mid-range smartphone with top-class features. The user interface spoil the overall impression of something. I hope that soon a CyanogenMod is available. Battery life and display are competitive, but not outstanding. The CPU is a little weak, but that only shows up in games and extremely overloaded websites. In retrospect, I miss the advantages of AMOLED display something.

Supplement 07.28.2014
I initially had problems with hours late push messages (WhatsApp, Viber, email, etc.). (Create deactivate eg energy-saving function exemptions for applications so that they run in the background) Tips from the net did not help. Two system update later this seems fixed now Huawei. Who has the same problem, you should install an update; for me it was fixed from B126 update by the end of July 2014.

Supplement 27.09.2014
Meanwhile, the Sony Xperia Z1 is slightly fallen in price and is almost on a par with the Huawei P7. I think with the Z1, I would have been happier. Speak for the Xperia: better CPU, longer battery life, better operating system updates.

Supplement 02.04.2015
The Sony Xperia Z1 is priced continues almost level. I bought the Sony Z1 my wife and have to correct my rating. The Huawei is about as good as a 3 years older than Samsung S3. But the Sony Xperia Z1 is superior to Huawei P7 in almost every respect. With a big limitation: the first two were already Z1 defective upon delivery. That means Sony has virtually no quality control. It should be the numerous 1 to 2-star reviews read therefore at Sony.

CONCLUSION after one year.
If you surf only using a mobile phone and the Internet occasionally, gets a chic, high-quality phone with the Huawei P7. In the past, Huawei has its cell phones donated no Android updates. This should be kept in mind because it also security issues remain unresolved. Huawei also clearly saves on processor. Who uses multiple applications, annoyed quickly over 3-4 seconds waiting time taken for the phone to respond at last.