Archos Diamond 2 Note

Hands-on with the budget, yet feature-rich, Archos Diamond 2 Note

Once the brand to beat when it came to personal media players, Archos has struggled to really transform itself into a company capable of making decent smartphones. They’ve often been poorly built and slow, and that just doesn’t cut it in such a crowded market.

But at MWC 2016 in Barcelona, the French company has come out with a new phone that appears to have a lot going for it. It has the specs to match even theSamsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5, but at a fraction of the cost.

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE ARCHOS DIAMOND 2 NOTE

1) It’s a big, big phone

After the Motorola-made Google Nexus 6, really, really big phones seem to have taken a step back. Most now agree that the screen sweet spot is somewhere between 5.1 and 5.7 inches, but Archos is thinking otherwise.

The Diamond 2 Note packs a 6-inch panel, which makes the whole phone enormous. One-handed use? No way. A slight curve to the aluminium back and some rounded-off sides does make it feel comfortable initially, but it’s also weighty.

Archos has done a good job putting this thing together, though, even if there is a slight whiff of the HTC One series to the back. It’s clean and metallic, without any unnecessary design choices.

2) An impressive display

Speaking of the display, the 6-inch screen boasts a quad-HD resolution – that’s 2560 x 1440 pixels – making this the highest-res Archos phone to date. It’s an IPS panel too, so viewing angles are good and it’s laminated right on to the glass, which makes it look even more vivid.

There’s also Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front, adding an extra bit of protection.

As screens on budget phones go, this is very impressive.

3) An unskinned version of Android

Ah, now this is what we like to see. Instead of smearing an ugly over the now-beautiful Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, Archos is keeping things simple and giving us Google’s OS just as the search giant wanted.

The version I got my hands on was still running Android 5.1, but only because it’s a pre-production unit.

The only additions Archos will make will be to install its rather good media player that’ll play a whole load of file types. That aside, you’ve got all the features ofMarshmallow. The updated permission settings, Now on Tap and lots more.

4) Ticks all the specs boxes

Archos phones have often lost out in the past for feeling oh-so slow. That doesn’t seem to be the case with the Diamond 2 Note – at least on first impressions.

Running the show is an octa-core Mediatek X10 processor – that’s a new 64-bit chip running at 2GHz – paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

On the back there’s a 16MP camera with a Sony sensor that’ll shoot 4K video, while there’s a wide-angle 8MP selfie camera around the front with a flash. The camera app started up fast and autofocus seemed quick enough, though I can’t yet say for sure what the photos will come out like.

You’ve also got a microSD slot, and a pretty big 3,610 mAh battery that, Archos tell me, should easily get you through the day.

5) It’s seriously affordable

This is the biggie. While the specs of the Archos Diamond 2 Note can match up to the big boys, it massively undercuts them with its price tag.

When it hits the UK in the coming months, you’ll be able to pick up this phablet for £249. That's about a third of what the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge will likely cost, which is impressive by anyone's standards.

ARCHOS DIAMOND 2 NOTE IN PICTURES

The 2K display goes almost edge to edge

There's an 8MP wide-angle front camera

The back looks a bit like the HTC One M9's

ARCHOS DIAMOND 2 NOTE: PRICE AND RELEASE DATE

The Archos Diamond 2 Note will cost £249 when it goes on sale later in 2016.

ARCHOS DIAMOND 2 NOTE: OPENING IMPRESSIONS

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations when I rocked up to the Archos booth after trudging around a packed and sweaty convention centre for three days. But I came away pleasantly surprised.

Archos no longer has the brand exposure for this to be a massive hit, but it’s offering a load of specs in an attractive metal body for a price that can’t be sniffed at.

For the first time since it focused solely on PMPs, I’m a bit excited about getting an Archos product in for review.

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archos 50 platinum

                                                     HELLO EVERY BODY
NOW I TALK ABOUT (ARCHOS 50 PALTINUM)

KEY FEATURES

• 1.2GHz quad-core CPU
• Dual SIM
• 5-inch IPS display
• Manufacturer: Archos
• Review Price: £210.00

WHAT IS THE ARCHOS 50 PLATINUM?

The Archos 50 Platinum is a 5-inch Android smartphone that features dual-SIM functionality for those looking to better segregate their work-life balance. A mid-range handset with a price more akin to an entry-level device, the Archos 50 Platinum is available for just £210 on a SIM-free basis. It runs a stock version of Google’s Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, has a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel primary camera, but is this enough to compete with the big boys?

ARCHOS 50 PLATINUM: DESIGN

The Archos 50 Platinum’s design is markedly similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S3. The gloss plastic device features softly curved edges and is just 8.9mm thick, a mere 0.3mm thicker than Samsung’s past flagship phone. It is what you would expect from a wallet-friendly handset manufacturer by a bit-part player on the smartphone scene - it looks relatively cheap, basic and functional without ever really standing out from the crowd.

Like the S3 before it, the design of the Archos 50 Platinum is cheapened by the gloss plastic finish. It quickly becomes smeared with fingerprints, grease and grime. The Archos 50’s body looks grubby almost as soon as it is taken from the box. Short of handling the phone in gloves there is no way to counteract this, though it’s hardly a problem unique to it.

Despite weighing in at a considerable 160g, 30g more than the similarly sizedSamsung Galaxy S4, the Archos 50 Platinum does not feel particularly heavy. Its weight is spread evenly across the phone’s full 5-inch form leaving it feeling well-balanced and sturdy in the hand. It feels well made, too, with only a small amount of creak in the body when put under pressure and none of the serious issues we often see in cheap phones.

The physical buttons on the Archos 50 Platinum are not ideal and highlight the phone’s cheap nature. Both the volume rocker (left side) and power/sleep button (right side) are positioned in the way of your fingers when holding the phone in either a left or right-handed manner. What’s more they sit loosely in their housings and as such wobble and slide when held.

ARCHOS 50 PLATINUM: SCREEN QUALITY

There are few, if any, 5-inch phones in the Archos 50 Platinum’s £200 price bracket. Size doesn’t always mean quality, though, and the Archos 50 is testament to this. It features a 960 x 540 pixel resolution which, when stretched over the 5-inch panel results in a disappointingly low 220 DPI image quality. The end product of having a 5-inch screen that falls short of modern HD expectations is slightly grainy visuals with pixelisation effecting both video content and text equally.

Watching the Dark Knight Rises on the Archos 50 Platinum is a reasonably enjoyable experience. The expansive on-screen real estate undoubtedly helps make the Archos 50 a suitably entertaining platform for multimedia content, but it doesn’t possess that wow factor and pop we would have hoped for.

The explosion on the football field looks flat and hollow with colours and contrast throughout feeling washed out, bleak and lacking that little something extra found on high-end handsets. The phone’s blacks range is shallow, with expected subtleties in the colour spectrum not quite picked up.

Browsing the web sees text heavy pages suffer from slightly soft edges. The lack of a HD display becomes increasingly apparent the more you use the phone. For those after improved visuals at a similar price, the 4.7-inch Google Nexus 4 will be a better option, assuming you can do without dual-SIM capabilities that is.

The Archos 50 Platinum’s screen quality is not all doom and gloom, however. Viewing angles are strong and the screen is highly responsive with the IPS panel reacting promptly to all touch-based controls.

ARCHOS 50 PLATINUM: SOFTWARE

Unlike many Android smartphones, Archos has not bestowed the 50 Platinum with its own custom skin. Instead the 5-inch device runs stock Android. The French manufacturer hasn’t left Google’s OS completely alone, however. There are a pair a bespoke apps pre-installed on the device in Archos Music and Archos Video. Unlike Samsung and HTC, which both offer their own digital content stores, the Archos music and video services simply let you store your existing media collections in a slightly different location, hardly the most useful of additions.

Overall, the Archos 50 Platinum’s software setup is simple and efficient with a functional and almost utilitarian air to it. Transitions between the multiple homescreens are fluid with no stilted movements or stumbling. There is an array of pre-installed widgets available to let you personalise the phone’s homescreens to your wants and needs. The traditional Android app menu keeps the masses organised.

The Archos 50 Platinum comes pre-installed with two browser options. The stock Android browser lines up alongside the smartphone rendition of Chrome and, although the possibility of choice is sure to appease some, in truth it is largely unnecessary. Both offer fast load times and the usual array of bookmarking, favouriting and multi-tabbed browsing options. The only major difference between the two is that Chrome frequently throws the formatting of a web page out of kilter. The result is squashed and stretched content and web pages that are not conductive to relaxing reading.

Avoiding the mass of bloatware that comes pre-installed on many Android smartphones, the Archos 50 Platinum is powered by the ever-present array of Google branded apps. While this keeps things simple, it leaves the phone lacking that edge which separates it from the masses. The Archos 50’s UI is an all too familiar presence and one which fails to grip your imagination or provide that one must-have feature missing from its competitors.

ARCHOS 50 PLATINUM PERFORMANCE

The Archos 50 Platinum is not underpowered but neither does it set the smartphone world alight. For the most part things run smoothly and efficiently with a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU running the show alongside 1GB of RAM. Basic multitasking requirements are handled with consummate ease and app launches are not hit by the same faltering stutter as found on many similarly priced phones.

Gaming is smooth and engaging too thanks to the Archos 50’s strong spec. The likes of Real Racing 3 and the Temple Run-esque Despicable Me all run without issue or interruption other than slight display degradation and pesky download requirements. A microSD card will be required to install most games given the phone’s limited internal capacity.

Featuring just 4GB of internal storage, the Archos 50 Platinum’s capacity is extremely restrictive. It is made worse by the user available figure being significantly lower than this billed offering. Fortunately, Archos’s cost cutting has not forced it to overlook microSD expansion, with up to 64GB memory cards accepted. Unlike many modern smartphones, the Archos 50 Platinum does not possess either NFC or 4G connectivity options. Although sure to restrict some, the phone’s dual-SIM options act as a party-piece replacement of sorts.

The phone’s inbuilt speaker is a mixed bag of tricks. Audio quality is relatively strong, even at higher volumes, with little distortion or tininess. It does, however, feature one major, unexpected fault. Using the speaker causes the whole handset to vibrate. A problem we haven’t experienced before, this issue is rather severe with the phone physically moving in our hand during use.

ARCHOS 50 PLATINUM: CAMERA

On a camera front the Archos 50 Platinum is a pretty generic mid-range offering. It features an 8-megapixel rear-mounted camera with a secondary 2-megapixel camera on the front. The primary one benefits from an integrated LED flash, autofocus options and 720p HD video recording capabilities.

As with many mid-market phones at a near entry-level price point, the Archos 50’s camera suffers from familiar white balance and light management issues. In changing light conditions or in areas of mixed light and shadow, the Archos 50 Platinum struggles to find an appeasing balance. It frequently over exposes bleak skies, turning landscapes into white-topped images with little definition to foreground detail. Focus times are longer than expected and can cause you to miss that all important shot. The Archos 50 Platinum’s camera produces images that are flat and lack a depth of colour and detail.

Although the integrated LED flash is an addition often omitted from lower priced phones, its integration on the Archos 50 Platinum is met with mixed emotions. It’s not powerful enough to illuminate entire dimly lit rooms, it frequently overpowers people within shots, whiting out faces. The phone’s forward-facing camera has even worse colour management. It casts a greyish tinge to all shots, causing you to look ill in anything but ideal lighting conditions.

The Archos 50’s rear-mounted camera is positioned extremely high on the centre of the phone’s back. Stray fingers can easily creep into shot when holding the phone in a landscape stance forcing extra care and consideration to be taken.

READ:- Archos 35 Home Connect and Smart Home Phone

Archos 35 Home Connect and Smart Home Phone

                                                               HELLO EVERY BODY

NOW I TALK ABOUT A NEW PHONE (ARCHOS 35 HOME )

Alongside its two new G9 Android tablets, Archos has launched the Home Connect and Home Phone, two other Android devices that are a little out of the ordinary. One is a DECT home phone with smartphone aspirations, the other a bedside alarm clock radio that takes a few design cues from game controllers. What do we think? Is Archos crazy or are these two slices of genius?

The Archos Home Connect is one of just a few devices that really strays from the Android norms of smartphones and tablets. It's an odd blend of bedside alarm clock, kitchentop internet radio and handheld games console.

To each side of the 3.5in touchscreen sit fairly large (for a diddy device) speakers, qualifying this as a portable radio-like gadget. The busy demo room we tested out the device in wasn't the optimum place to assess sound quality, so we'll wait to get a review unit in to test its sonic skills.

The screen uses a resistive touch layer, and so doesn't feel hugely responsive under your fingertips. The Home Connect's design encourages two-thumbed usage, its back curved ergonomically to accommodate the rest of your digits. In this sense it's rather like a handheld games system of old - like a Sega Game Gear, without the buttons. Unlike a Game Gear, it won't guzzle up all your AA batteries. It uses an internal rechargeable battery, letting you take it outside for barbecues or days out at the park, and so on. On the back are the Home Connect's small collection of sockets and ports. There's a 3.5mm headphone jack, full-size USB port, microSD card slot and the power button.

A key feature, in Archos's eyes, of the Home Connect is internet radio, which will require a Wi-Fi network as there's no 3G connectivity packed-in. This is powered by the TuneIn Radio app, so it's not really Archos's doing. It has simply provided a form that allows the app to shine a little more brightly than it does in a smartphone.

Archos's notion of the Home Connect as a baby monitor is a similar deal. Archos has tweaked the settings within Google Talk so that you can use the Home Connect's user-facing camera to look over your kids. It's simply a case of making the device respond to video calls automatically. Simple when you think about it, but not something we could imagine this Android gadget will be used for a great deal.

Is Archos clutching at straws for uses for something that's something of an uneasy fit in the busy consumer electronics space? Perhaps. Although the Archos 35 Home Connect's Android OS makes it wonderfully flexible, at £120 it has to take on a lot of competition, including the Squeezebox Radio, Nintendo DSi, iPod Touch and others. And like many non-phone Android devices, it doesn't have full Market access. Convergence in a smartphone is one thing, but convergence in a larger device that has to be moved about between various jobs is something else. Disagree? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The Archos Home Phone is something we expected to see pop out into the market sooner. It's a DECT home phone that runs the Android OS, giving it access to thousands of apps that other home phones couldn't possibly start to contemplate dreaming about.

It doesn't have Android Market access though - common for Android 2.x devices that aren't smartphones. Although not entirely compatible with the Android experience, it claims to be able to work with just about any DECT base station, as it uses standard DECT protocols. The £129 package comes with a base station for that proper home phone look.

Aside from the DECT innards and the dock, the Smart Home Phone looks much like any Android smartphone. It has a 3.5in touchscreen, used to make calls as well as all those other Android tasks (yes, including playing Angry Birds).

Unfortunately, it uses a resistive touchscreen though, so lacks the super-slick feel of a device like the Apple iPod Touch. The display isn't great quality either, looking a little dull in out preview, not helped by the capacitive layer it peeps out from under.

There are plenty of tasks that make use of Android and don't demand touchscreen or display perfection. It'll make video calls, become a personal calendar and pull-down emails from the net. It makes us wonder though - how many people gagging for this kind of functionality have managed to avoid the lure of the smartphone, now that they're available for so little money? Pre-pay Android handsets are available for half the price of the Smart Home Phone.

If there's still space in your gadget life for an Android home phone, this has much of what's needed to make use of the Android basics. There's a 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD slot and the usual navigational soft keys, plus access to the AppsLib app store for additional app downloads. We still don't know everything about this intriguing device though. The CPU and built-in memory (we can't imagine there's much) are a mystery, but its average performance suggests that this device isn't particularly high-powered.

The Archos Smart Home Phone will be available towards the end of September, and will retail for around £129.

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Huawei P9 Plus

                                                               HELLO EVERY BODY
                         I TALK ABOUT A FANTASTIC MOBILE (HUAWEI P9 PLUS)

KEY FEATURES

• 5.5-inch 1080p screen
• 2 x 12MP Leica engineered cameras
• USB-C
• Kirin 955 CPU
• 4GB RAM
• 64GB storage
• microSD
• EMUI
• Available: May
• Manufacturer: Huawei
• Review Price: £500.00

WHAT IS THE HUAWEI P9 PLUS?

After the success of the Nexus 6P, Huawei continued its impressive run with the P9. While its Leica branding was more of a gimmick, the P9 was a great phone capable of rivalling the HTC 10, Samsung Galaxy S7 and LG G5.

I never felt the phone needed to be bigger, but clearly someone in Huawei’s product development team did. So here we have the Huawei P9 Plus. It mimics the smaller model in just about every area, but ups the screen size and improves a few of the components.

HUAWEI P9 PLUS – DESIGN

I'm a big fan of Huawei’s industrial design. It’s never been wholly original, but the continued use of metal and glass on even budget phones shows it really cares. The P9 was peak Huawei design, and that also goes for the P9 Plus: it looks identical.

Obviously it’s much bigger, thanks to the boosted 5.5-inch display, but it’s still mightily thin.When I first got my hands on the P9 Plus at the phone's launch it felt too thin, but the dimensions grew on me during the reviewing process. For a 5.5-inch phone, the Plus is surprisingly comfortable to hold in one hand.

The sides curve ever so slightly and there’s a light chamfer that adds a bit of flair. A black bar runs across the top of the back surrounding the dual-lens camera setup, flash and obligatory Leica branding.

There’s an air of the Nexus 6P to the Plus, but it’s more rigid and less sloping.

A square fingerprint sensor sits below the camera sensor and it’s easily one of the fastest I've used. Flash your digit across its surface and the phone unlocks, and bypasses the lockscreen almost instantly. I’ve long preferred the fingerprint scanner to be placed inside a home button on the front, as to me it feels much more natural, but there isn’t much to complain about here.

Unlike the iPhone, Huawei managed to keep the antenna bands colour matched to the phone and they blend in far better as a result. I also like how the headphone jack is on the bottom, next to the USB-C port and speaker grilles.

HUAWEI P9 PLUS – DISPLAY

It might not be quad-HD, or mobile HDR-enabled like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, but the 5.5-inch AMOLED display on the Huawei P9 is one of its biggest strengths.

It’s one of the best cases for saying that phones with quad-HD, 2,560 x 1,440-pixel displays really aren't worth it. I can’t discern individual pixels on the 1080p panel on the P9 Plus, and the use of an AMOLED screen ensures blacks are inky and colours have a good amount of pop, without looking oversaturated.

You can also alter the colour temperature, making it warmer or colder depending on your personal preference. I like to keep it at the default, but it’s nice to see the option there for people who like to tinker.

When our Reviews editor, Alastair Stevenson, reviewed the P9 he felt the displays only downside was its slightly muddy whites. This remains true on the Plus, but it’s far from a real issue. Whites aren’t as clear as an LCD panel on an iPhone 6S Plus, but they're among the better ones I have seen on AMOLED. Viewing angles are suitably wide, and visibility in direct sunlight is ace thanks to screen’s impressive brightness. It won’t jack up the brightness to ridiculous levels in sunny conditions like the Galaxy S7, but it’s still very good.

The P9 Plus has a little trick in its display that the regular version doesn’t have: it’s pressure sensitive. Huawei first did this with its Mate S last year, days before Apple announced the 3D Touch-toting iPhone 6S Plus, but I never really saw the point. It works here just like it does on an iPhone, just on a much smaller scale.

Press down harder on the camera icon, for example, and you’ll be able to quickly shoot a selfie. Repeat the process on the Calendar and you can pop in an appointment without opening the app. Unlike Apple’s effort, which is by no means perfect, there’s no third-party support here and that severely limits its usefulness. It’s also nowhere near as responsive and half the time doesn’t work at all.&&

HUAWEI P9 PLUS – PERFORMANCE

Huawei’s in-house made Kirin chips have come on leaps and bounds in recent years, and the version used in the P9 series is one of the fastest, reliable and efficient yet.

The Kirin 955 CPU is backed up by 4GB RAM (that’s a gig more than the smaller P9) and it’s a potent combination. During my time with the phone, it hasn’t been challenged by anything. 3D games run without a hitch or frame drop, and loading times are on par with the Exynos 8890-rocking Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and Snapdragon 820-equipped HTC 10.

Huawei has done a great job at finally optimising its software (if not actually designing it properly, see below). The constant crashes and app issues that plagued the company's pre-2016 devices have been culled.

On AnTuTu the P9 scored a respectable 99,000, which is just about the same as the smaller P9. It’s still behind competing Snapdragon 820 handsets, like the HTC 10, and those running an Exynos 8890. The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge scored 129,468 by comparison.

The P9 Plus ran in with respectable 1,825 single-core and 6,300 multi-core scores in the GeekBench 3 test. The multi-core score is particularly impressive and puts the phone on a par with the Samsung Galaxy S7, which scored 6,307 on Geekbench.

There’s a decent bottom-facing speaker, but it’s not going to replace your dedicated boombox. The sound is aimed away from you and as such is easily blocked, it also lacks bass and detail in vocals.

Internal storage stands at 64GB, with 52GB usable. There’s a microSD slot for expanding that further.

Call quality is excellent, with voices loud and free of distortion. The microphones do a great job at blocking out any pesky background noise.

HUAWEI P9 PLUS – SOFTWARE

Huawei has a track record creating great phones with awful software. The software's improved recently but the EMUI skin used on the Plus is still one of the worst user interfaces I’ve seen.

EMUI is now on its fourth version and is based upon Android Marshmallow. To give Huawei some credit, at least all of Google’s functionality works better now. Notifications are no longer broken, Android Wear watches stay connected reliably, and it has finally removed the ugly border that used to surround each and every icon.

But, it’s still an unneeded overhaul to what was already a well-designed operating system. The culling of the app drawer is a decision that irks almost everyone I ask, with apps now splayed out across homescreen in no particular order.

Huawei has taken a very iOS approach to the software; with soft transparency effects and frosted glass styled apps. The default apps themselves are fine, but Google’s alternatives are so much better.

I’m also a bit wary about when exactly users will start to see updates to Android Nougat. Huawei has been slow with software updates in the past, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason why that’ll change here. A Huawei spokesperson couldn't confirm if the phone will be updated to Nougat at the time of publishing.

It’s easy enough to ditch EMUI using a launcher, such as the official Google Now launcher, but it’s still a pain. Even if you replace the launcher, you'll still be left with dregs of EMUI, with the notification pane and lock screen still showing sign's of Huawei's rubbish software.

&&

HUAWEI P9 PLUS – CAMERA

Leica is a big name in the world of photography, so slapping the highly respected brand’s logo on your phone implies it’s going to have some seriously strong camera prowess.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out the way first; while there is Leica branding on the back, this isn't a Leica-made camera. The only thing Leica did was give Huawei its blessing to use the branding.

A marketing gimmick it may be, but I still really like the Plus' cameras. They’re not quite as good as the Samsung Galaxy S7, Note 7 or LG G5. But, they’re comparable to the iPhone 6S and HTC 10 and come with a load of neat tricks thrown in.

Instead of just one, there are two 12-megapixel, Sony-made sensors on the back of the Huawei P9 Plus. One is your typical RGB sensor, which captures the colours, while the other is just monochrome. There are a couple of reasons why this is more than just gimmick; it lets you take excellent looking black and white shots that aren’t covered by a filter and it lets tonnes more light in, improving low-light performance.

Daylight photos are really good. Colours are vibrant, focusing is fast and and skin tones look accurate.

It’s not perfect though, The auto setting works well most of the time, but it does suffers from a few odd issues. Pictures are all more than usable, but the camera has a tendency to add a subtle vignette effect around the border of snaps. The camera also struggles with exposures in bright conditions, resulting in unbalanced images with slightly inaccurate, exaggerated contrast levels.

I had the same issues with the regular P9, and put it down to the way the dual-lens system was set up. It’s a minor criticism though, and you’ll probably only notice it if you look out for it.

 Daylight shots are good, with plenty of detail

The P9 sensors have 1.25μm (micrometer) pixels and the lenses have a rather disappointing f/2.2 aperture. A wider aperture (lower f-number) means the camera sensor will be able to capture more light and perform better in darker situations. The Galaxy Note 7 has an f/1.7 aperture and captures 1.4µm pixels while the HTC 10 has an f/1.8 aperture and captures gigantic 1.55µm-sized “UltraPixels”.

The extra monochrome sensor appears to offsets this slightly narrow aperture, as low-light results are still pretty good however. Details aren’t full of noise and the software manages to add some brightness in that doesn’t look wildly inaccurate.

 Monochrome pictures get good results, but they're hard to focus

 Even in the dark it takes some decent pictures

 Colours are bright

 And there are plenty of sharp details

The Huawei P9 Plus also has lots of camera modes. There are 14 in total, ranging from the awful Beauty mode to the pretty but time-consuming Light Painting. Monochrome is my favourite, as the results look exceptional.

A lot was made of the ‘bokeh’ effects you can achieve with the Leica branded camera. But, it doesn't live up to the hype. Instead of achieving a bokeh (this is where the foreground stays in sharp focus, while the background blurs out) through the camera tech, the Huawei P9 Plus does it through software. This leaves some odd blurring around details and a general unnatural tone.

Video recording is limited to 1080p, but it looks great and the 8-megapixel selfie camera is also good. Just steer clear of the beauty mode, as it makes you everything but beautiful.

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Huawei Nova

                                                               HELLO EVERY BODY

NOW I TALK ABOUT A NEW HUAWEI PHONE (HUAWEI NOVA)

KEY FEATURES

• 5-inch 1080p display
• Snapdragon 625 processor
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB storage
• 3,020mAh battery
• 12-megapixel camera
• USB Type-C
• Manufacturer: Huawei
• Review Price: to be confirmed

Huawei Nova hands-on – A new budget contender enters a crowded market

Huawei has had a good year with its high-end phones, with both the Leica-engineered  P9

 impressing both the press and the public. And now it’s using IFA in Berlin to unveil a couple more affordable options.

They’re the first models in the new Nova series, and while they’re unlikely to set the world alight, there’s plenty to like – from the manageable size to the impressively fully featured spec sheets.

First up is the Nova, a phone that takes its design straight from the P9. And that certainly isn't a bad thing.

It’s all metal, with that signature strip of glass across the back to cover the camera lens. It feels great, thanks to slightly curved sides and a small footprint.

The 5-inch 1080p display helps the phone to remain compact and it’s bright and detailed. Colours are vibrant, there’s plenty of brightness, and pixels are indistinguishable. Huawei could easily have opted for a 720p panel here to cut costs, but I’m glad it didn’t. The display is covered in a sheet of 2.5D glass that curves round the edges ever so slightly.

Flip the device over and you'll discover a nice, grippy texture along with a fingerprint scanner that sits bang in the center of the rear panel. In typical Huawei fashion, the fingerprint scanner is super-fast and unlocks the phone almost the moment you brush your digit across the pad. It can be used for gestures, too, such as bringing up the notifications panel or skipping through photos.

The Huawei Nova looks decent, and it has the mid-range specs to match. Running the show is a Snapdragon 625 CPU, paired with 3GB of RAM. It’s interesting to see Huawei utilise Snapdragon’s own chips rather than the Kirin versions it tends to use.

The phone feels fast, with apps opening quickly and web pages loading without too much trouble. I wasn’t able to test it’s gaming performance, for which you'll have to wait for the full review.

On the software side of things, Huawei’s custom UI – known as EMUI – sits on top of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. EMUI certainly isn’t for everyone, and while it has seen improvements recently in both form and function, I still find it overbearing; it tries too hard to be like iOS.

There’s no app drawer, the icons are ugly and notifications panel is frustrating and feels out of place. On the plus side it's at least fluid, and you can always add your own launcher.

Apparently a Nougat update is coming, but the time frame isn’t yet definite. This will add native split-screen support and an improved Doze mode.

The Nova benefits from an impressive 32GB of internal storage, and a microSD slot if you want to expand it even further.

Huawei claims the 3,020mAh battery should last two days – which is a long shot in my mind. Still, I’ll certainly put it to the test and see whether this figure is accurate. Considering that the cell is larger than the Samsung Galaxy S7 and it has less pixels to push along with its less hungry CPU, this phone could offer plenty of stamina. Charging is via USB Type-C, and Quick Charge support is present too.

Along the bottom of the device you'll find a headphone jack and NFC for Android Pay. It seems to tick most of the boxes – so far, at least.

My biggest concern is the camera. The 12-megapixel unit with an f/2.2 aperture dramatically overexposed every test shot I took. Aim the sensor at a window and the image is unrealistically bright; aim it at a dark object and it isn't visible. This could just be a software issue, but it could also be a real downer.

Up front sits an 8-megaapixel camera, which fared a little better. But the ever-present Beauty mode is still weirdly strange.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I was a real fan of the Huawei P9, and there’s plenty to like about the Huawei Nova. It’s a cute, compact device that feels as good as its more prestigious brothers. It's feature-packed too, including everything from a healthy 32GB of internal storage to USB Type-C and a decent-sized battery.

There's a lot of competition in this particular end of the market, but Huawei could have something great on its hands here.

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