Huawei’s P8 Lite Smartphone: Unlocked and Loaded for $250

by Todd R. Weiss

Available in black or white, the new Huawei P8 Lite handset features a bright 5-inch HD display, a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor and 2GB of RAM that’s packaged in a slim and stylish device.

To protect its 5-inch HD display from damage such as scratches and drops, the P8 Lite’s display is covered with tough Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for durability and scratch resistance.

The P8 Lite includes 16GB of built-in storage, which is expandable to 32GB with a microSD card. The smartphone runs on the Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.

Photo buffs will have lots of options with the P8 Lite’s 13MP auto-focus rear camera and its 5MP fixed-focus front camera. The rear camera includes an All-Focus feature that allows users to alter the focus of an image after it is taken.

With its brushed-look plastic rear cover, brushed metal sides and rounded edges, the P8 Lite has an attractive appearance. Just 0.30 inches thick, the phone measures 5.72 inches in length and 2.77 inches in width.

To encourage U.S. consumers to feel more at ease with trying a device from the Chinese company, Huawei has given the P8 Lite a two-year warranty and U.S.-based support and service, as well as free shipping to and from Huawei if a phone needs to be sent back for service.

The P8 Lite is dual-SIM capable for travelers, with one slot offering a dedicated SIM slot and the other one usable either as a SIM slot or as a slot for microSD expandable storage (it can only be used for one task at a time). The P8 also uses a nonremovable 2,200mAh lithium-ion battery.