Huawei Ascend G510

Ever since the Huawei Ascend Y300 has been my favorite entry level smartphone since it hit the market late last March 2013. While price a fair bit higher than the other 4-inch dual core Android phone based on the Qualcomm S4 Play processor like the lower cost Cherry Mobile Flare and Burst, it did offer enough to justify the higher price tag. Unlike its lower cost competition which still run on Android 4.0 (Ice Cram Sandwich), the Ascend Y300 comes out of the box with Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Given that you do not expect a software upgrade for these low end phones, a newer version of Android out-of-the-bos is a big deal.

The Ascend Y300 also comes with a 1730 mAh battery, larger than the 1500 mAh battery you will find in its competition. The Ascend Y300's 4-inch display also is protected by scratch resistant Gorilla Glass, something you do not see on phones at this price range.

For the past two months, the Ascend Y300 has been on my buyers guides. It crown is now being challenged by another Huawei phone, the newly released Ascend G510.

Price. The Ascend Y300 is priced at Php5,490 while the Ascend G510 is priced at Php5,990.

Commons specifications. Both the Ascend Y300 and G510 run on Android 4.1, Both have the same internals with a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm S4 processor, 512 MB of RAM and a 4 GB of internal storage expandable to 32 GB. Both have 5 MP primary cameras with VGA secondary cameras.

Display. The Ascend Y300 has a four inch WVGA (480 x 800) display which has a 233 pixels per inch (ppi). The Ascend G510 has a larger 4.5-inch display with a higher resolution FWVGA (480 x 854), but being spread out on a larger  display means it has a lower 217 ppi pixel density. A 217 ppi pixel density is still sharp enough being the same as the pixel density on phones like the Samsung Galaxy S II and Nokia Lumia 720, 800 and 820.  

I do like the larger display on the G510, and 4.5-inches is my favorite size for a phone display. It makes for a large screen which is still small enough for one handed use (this is relative of course to the user). On the minus side, the G510 does not appear to come with Gorilla Glass.

Battery. The Ascend Y300 comes with a 1730 mAh battery. The Ascend G510 comes with either a 1700 or 1750 mAh battery (different websites have different figures on this). With a substantially larger screen to power, you can expect the larger Huawei Ascend G510 to have about 20% battery life when the screen is on as compared to  

Style. The Ascend Y300 is a chunky unit being 11.2 mm thick. The Ascend G510 looks more stylish at a trimmer 9.9 mm, and given the phone is much larger it looks much slimmer to the eye.

Verdict. I would go for the Huawei Ascend G510. I like the larger display. However, I really cannot say that is is a better choice than the Ascend Y300 with the smaller phone providing longer battery life.