The Huawei Ideos X5 has all the ingredients of a satisfying Android phone, but it faces stiff competition from the top and middle of the pack.

The Huawei Ideos X5 has a clear; sharp display; a decent camera; HD 720p video capture; and a touch of premium styling

There's no camera shutter button; the microSD card is behind the back cover; and call quality was variable

I'm confused. On the one hand we have Vodafone pimping the Samsung Galaxy S, an Android 2.1 phone hobbled with Samsung's custom interface. On the other hand (in my actual hand), I have the IDEOS X5 from 2Degrees . It runs the all-but-latest Android 2.2, with almost identical specs to the Samsung.

The Ideos X5 is Huawei 's brand new high-end Google experience Android smartphone with an entry level price point. It's powered by a Qualcomm MSM7230 CPU at 800 MHz and runs Android 2.2.1 / Froyo .

We review Huawei's latest smartphone, the IDEOS X5, but can it live up to the plethora of Android devices on the market?

Beautiful appearance; top notch Android OS; excellent camera and exciting menu appearance

Lack of power; unavoidable touch sensitive buttons; laggy scrolling and temperamental battery life

Huawei may not be a brand that immediately comes to mind when you think of mobile phones, but its IDEOS X5 Android phone will certainly get you thinking - it's claimed to offer a better experience than smartphones that cost twice the price.

Value for money; Reasonably stylish design; Decent specifications

Screen hard to see in sunlight; Touch-sensitive buttons not backlit; No word on Gingerbread update

Chances are, if you have had a broadband dongle in the past then it may have been made by Huawei. Having built a rock solid foundation with 3G dongles over the years Huawei are sailing, full steam, into the mobile phone world. Much like HTC did, years ago.

Chances are, if you have had a broadband dongle in the past then it may have been made by Huawei. Having built a rock solid foundation with 3G dongles over the years Huawei are sailing, full steam, into the mobile phone world. Much like HTC did, years ago.

When using the phone and texting, there were some minor annoyances. The sound wasn't as good as my HTC Desire, and the predictive text wasn't as, well, predictive, while you had to be very precise when hitting the keys – not great for somebody with big mitts like myself.

The Huawei IDEOS X5 was, and still is, the cheapest device around with such amazing specs. I mean you can pick up this device for just under $300 at your local Crazy John's and you'll get virtually the same specs as an HTC Desire Z minus the $500 price tag.

Cheap; Fairly fast; Android 2.2 (Vanilla; 720p video recording

A little bit bulky; Capacitive buttons

Huawei has done a fine job of delivering a phone with a good user experience and most of the components that we expect to see in phones twice- or three-times its price. The handset design isn't attractive but it's functional, and the 8GB microSD included with the X5 is the icing on the cake.

Incredible low price; Great performance; Swype keyboard; 8GB microSD included

No Wi-Fi hotspot, Average battery life, No media sharing, Slowest ..; camera ...