Huawei’s Honor 7 smartphone goes up for pre-order in Malaysia, on sale Sept 28

• Mid-range priced but features premium cameras and fingerprint reader
• Improves on previous version with metallic build and ceramic finish

CHINESE communications giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has made its recently launched Honor 7 smartphone available for pre-order in Malaysia, at Vmall.my from today Sept 22.  They will go on sale on Sept 28.

The 5.2-inch device is the follow-up to the popular Honor 6 which helped contribute to Huawei’s 20 million smartphones sold within the first half of 2015.

Unlike other Huawei devices like the upcoming Mate S or the current flagship P8, the Honor sub-brand is separately marketed as a standalone range and mainly distributed via online channels to combat players like Xiaomi, which sell primarily through the Internet.

At the launch event on Sept 21, Huawei’s director of e-commerce Malaysia for Huawei, Allen An, said Honor 7 has seen positive reception worldwide, citing an example where it sold 200,000 units of the smartphone in just 2 minutes during an online flash sale event in China (pic below).

“The device’s precise dimensions and metallic finish offer an optimal form-factor and premium feel, making it a highly reliable smartphone,” he added.

The fully metallic body is in contrast to the plastic construction of its predecessor.  The Honor 7 is also finished with a ceramic coating to give it a more premium feel.
A Full HD (1920 x 1080 resolution) IPS-NEO (Japan Display Inc’s trademarked technology) LCD graces the front with a decent 424 PPI (pixels per inch).

Under the hood, the device is powered by Huawei’s own HiSilicon Kirin 935 octa-core processor, backed by 3GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, with support for microSD cards up to 128GB.

The cameras on this unit are top of the line, featuring a 20 megapixel rear camera with a Sony IMX 230 sensor, a phase detection autofocus system and f2.0 aperture lens for low-light photography, while on the front, there is an 8 megapixel cameras with a wide angle lens and LED flash as well to light up selfies in the dark.

The Honor 7 also comes with a fast 360-degee fingerprint reader, placed below the rear camera, which Huawei claims has a self-learning capability that allows scanning accuracy to be enhanced through re-recording of registered fingerprints during use.

This fingerprint reader can also function as a camera trigger, which allows selfies to be conveniently captured without needing to touch the screen.

A unique feature of the phone is what Huawei calls a ‘smart key’, an additional button placed on the left side of the device that can be used for quick Google search functions.  However, users can also choose to use a voice-activated function by saying a designated command like “Dear honor”.

In terms of battery life, the Honor 7 is endowed with a relatively beefy 3,100 mAh battery which should ensure at least a day and a half of normal use, but it also supports quick charging capabilities as well, although users will need to buy the quick charging power adapter separately.

The Honor 7 will be available in two colors, gray and silver, for a price of RM1399 (US$330), considerably good value particularly with the high-end cameras and biometric sensor included.

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