Huawei Ascend Y goes back in time (pictures)

Huawei is a company that's known in the U.S. for making inexpensive, entry-level handsets. Inexpensive is good, since it reduces the barrier to entry. But in the case of the Huawei Ascend Y, some odd decisions will stand in the way.

The handset runs on the Gingerbread version of the OS; that's three steps behind the absolute most up-to-date version (4.2), and two steps behind today's most-anticipated updates (4.1).

The Ascend Y has one 3.2-megapixel camera, which lacks both a flash and auto-focus. Outdoor shots are the best, while indoor shots quickly turn grainy.

Its physical design is the phone's best feature apart from price. A soft-touch finish keeps it comfortable, and the accent bar across the back adds some style.

The bad news is that the phone has very little internal storage. Luckily, it comes with a 2GB card pre-installed. More bad news: you have to pop out the battery to swap in a larger card.

At 3.5 inches, the screen size is smaller than most are used to these days, which can make typing on the virtual keyboard a little cramped.