Introduction
Like Steve Harvey says on Family Feud…”We got a good one for your here.” At the very least an interesting comparison between a new upstart Chinese company, OnePlus, and a giant of an established Chinese company, Huawei. Speaking of giant – the new Huawei Honor MediaPad X1 is the size of a 7-inch tablet and is being marketed at the crossroads of a smartphone and tablet – a one device does all. Other than the fact that they both offer a 16GB version and the same camera sizes, there is really nothing about these two devices that are similar. Both devices are made from premium materials – Huawei is finally starting to put out some very nice looking hardware, and though their processor is not very well-known, reviewers say that it is both fast and smooth with no lag. The OnePlus One is the first attempt at marketing a device and it is a flagship all of the way at a very competitive price. Please take a look at the specifications below and then we will take a closer look at each individual device and then make a recommendation of a winner for this comparison.
Specifications
OnePlus One
The OnePlus One is not only the first flagship smartphone, but their first device…period. This upstart company decided to bring us a high-end device from the beginning with a mid-range price – in fact, the price is cheaper than the Google Nexus 5, which means that it is quite a bargain. It runs the fastest processor available, the Snapdragon 801 quad-core clocked at 2.5GHz and they also included 3GB of RAM to help speed things up. It is offered up with 16GB or 64GB of internal storage and no microSD card slot is offered. The 5.5-inch display on the One is in the Phablet range already and with a Full HD resolution we are looking at 401 pixels-per-inch (PPI). Both devices offer up a 13MP main camera and a 5MP front-facing camera with a wide-angle lens to capture a larger area for video chatting and selfies. For the size of smartphone it offers an impressive 3100mAh battery and the One runs on the most up-to-date Android 4.4 KitKat with CyanogenMod 11S UI on top. The price of $299 for 16GB and only $349 for the 64GB model is impressive, as well and should be available by the end of May.
Huawei Honor X1
The Huawei Honor MediaPad X1 is a very nice looking device constructed with a glass front and a metal back that all adds up to only 7.2mm thick. The 7-inch display is 1920 x 1200 resolution with 323 PPI and should offer great viewing. The X1 uses a Huawei Kirin 910 quad-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz, which is a far cry from the Snapdragon 801 clocked at 2.5GHz in the One. It is coupled to a respectable 2GB of RAM with 16GB of internal storage, but does offer a microSD slot to increase that storage an additional 32GB. The X1 matches the One with a 13MP main camera and a 5MP wide-angle FFC – this wide-angle helps widen the coverage for video chatting and selfies. The device is large – 183.50 x 103.9 x 7.2 mm and weighs in at 239 grams, part of which could be from the non-removable 5000mAh battery. The Honor X1 (as it is called in China) seems to be selling for only $330 in China, however, outside the borders you can purchase MediaPad X1 at 1949deal.com for $350. Availability may hurt the X1 in sales department – we certainly hope that it will find its way to the U.S.
…and the Winner is…
Summary
We have to give the nod in this comparison to the OnePlus One, mostly because of the form factor and quality of the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, better screen resolution, 3GB of RAM and the more up-to-date Android 4.4 KitKat with the CyanogenMod 11S UI. The Huawei Emotion UI is improving, but still needs a little work, as well as running on 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with no word on a KitKat upgrade. The OnePlus One is a sleek and well-designed device and much better suited as a daily driver to carry around in your pocket. For those that need the size of a 7-inch display, but still want to make phone calls, then the Honor MediaPad X1 may be your thing…if you can find one. The OnePlus One we know will be available to use in the U.S. and should be out sometime around the end of May. Huawei has given us no indication if and when their device will be available in the U.S.
Please let us know on our Google+ Page what you think about these two devices…as always, we would love to hear from you.