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Review: Huawei Activa 4G for MetroPCS

Media Camera Photos/Video Browse/Customize Extras

Apps

The Activa is stuffed full of MetroPCS applications. Some include: M Studio, Metro411, MetroWeb, MyMetro, and MyExtras. Yahoo Answers and Yahoo Sportacular appear to be thrown in for good measures. Some of these apps can be deleted; some cannot. There's still enough space left on the Activa for you to download your own applications.

Bluetooth

The Activa supports mono and stereo Bluetooth headsets. I had no trouble pairing with either. Sound quality through mono headphones was awful. Calls routed through my car were only slightly better. If you absolutely must use a headset, find a wired one if you can. The Activa also connects with computers and/or other phones for pushing files around. I was able to play music from the Activa on Bluetooth headphones, but the quality was poor, and the experience miserable thanks to sound that cut in and out consistently.

Clock

The Activa offers the standard Android clock on the lock screen, which is visible when the device is first woken from sleep. It's a nice, large digital clock that's easily visible everywhere except under direct sunlight. It can't be customized, though.

GPS

The Activa includes Google Maps, but not MetroNavigation. Google Maps and its Navigation and Places features make for a powerful set of tools when it comes to routing directions and discovering nearby points of interest. Of course, Google Maps' effectiveness is dependent on a strong network connection. The Activa's GPS radio performed very well in most circumstances, and was able to pinpoint my location to within 25 feet most of the time. The poor network performance, however, made real-time navigation a chore for the Activa, which struggled to keep up with my highway driving.

Next page: Wrap-Up

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Huawei Activa 4G

3.5" display 320 x 480 pixels
MSM7627T processor 0.5 GB RAM
1,880 mAh battery
Memory Card Slot, Headphone Jack (3.5mm)

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