The EE Kestrel was the first really affordable 4G handset available in the UK, and made a decent alternative to the more expensive alternatives such as the Huawei Ascend P6 and Ascend P7.
4G for the masses
Now Huawei are back with the Ascend Y550, another such phone which has a solid feeling, if plastic, body with a comfortable curved grip.
It has to be said though it's no looker, and depending how you look at it can be described as anything from uneventful to just plain boring. The matt silver-grey colour doesn't help here.
4.5" screen touchscreen is good enough
It does improve when you turn the screen on. We recently moaned about the poor resolution screen on the HTC Desire 510 and with the Y550, Huawei shows us a good example of what can be done.
At 4.5 inches it is a slightly smaller screen than the HTC, but it's an IPS LCD screen which produced bright and sharp colours even in strong lighting conditions, and at wider viewing angles.
However it is a little reflective and at 245 pixels per inch it's still not the sharpest around but on a sub-£100 phone is acceptable enough.
5 megapixel camera with flash
The camera is the usual 5 megapixel snapper that you find at this price range, and it's a better camera than you might expect too and includes an LED flash which helps in low light.
Autofocus, touch to focus, geo-tagging and face detection is also included and pictures are of a good quality for a budget handset, and better than some midrange cameras.
Video recording at 720p also features, as does a 2 megapixel front facing camera.
Making Android Simple
Huawei include a feature called Simple Android which does what it says, removing the clutter and offering just a handful of large icons on the home screen if you prefer it that way.
You will also find their popular simple to use Emotion user interface here.
High quality feature list
An extensive feature list includes Wi-Fi, DLNA to forward your photos, videos and music to a Smart TV, GPS for sat nav and location based applications.
You also get an FM radio which you can listen to wirelessly via a stereo Bluetooth device, or through your headphones via the 3.5mm socket. You can of course also use the built in loudspeaker if you prefer.
Enough power for smooth operation
Like the HTC Desire 510, the Ascend Y550 uses the same 1.2 GHz processor which keeps things running smoothly, and the 1GB of RAM memory is also sufficient for everyday use.
However by far the biggest issue the Y550 has is the measly 4GB of onboard memory, most of which is taken up by the operating system. This means that the memory card slot is not just a bonus but is absolutely essential for storing anything beyond the basics.
Our summary
It might be an uneventful phone to look at until you turn it on, then the screen surprises you by being better than you might expect it to be.
Add to that the decent specification for a budget handset and it should be high on your shopping list for this type of device, but ultimately is let down by the lack of storage space.
To only offer 4GB of space on a phone with an operating system that takes up almost all of that space is not playing ball really, and for that reason we recommend you look elsewhere even if it means spending a little more if you need a phone for anything above basic everyday tasks.
