Huawei: '4G will drastically change the tablet market in 2013'

A whole new world is waiting to be discovered 

We all know the tablet market is dominated by a handful of big brands at the moment, but Huawei reckons it knows how to break that party up.

Brands such as Apple, Google and Samsung currently rule the roost, but it's affordable 4G slates which could see the market burst open with opportunity for other manufacturers.

TechRadar spoke to Jim Powell, Huawei's Head of Product Management, who told us: "You only need to look at how well the whole tablet market is performing to see that it is something of interest for everybody.

"There's also a reality at the moment where if you take purely 3G or Wi-Fi tablets, there's a market where a tablet from one manufacturer is what the majority of people are buying.

Show us the LTE

"Our view is a very simple one, put LTE into these devices, put the power and the speed that we can put into these devices and you open up a different world.

"Are there opportunities for the other tablets we've got at the moment? Absolutely. And there will be a number of announcements later in the year around that."

It seems that Huawei could well be readying an arsenal of 4G enabled tablets for later this year and going by the Chinese firm's track record they could be pretty affordable.

While Powell wasn't in a position to comment on Hauwei's future 4G devices roadmap he did comment on the stat of the superfast network in Britain: "the UK is in an unique position at the moment with most 4G services expected to launch in the third quarter, therefore there will need to be further new products entering the market."

ZTE and Huawei showcase latest handsets

The ZTE Memo running the company's new 

Android user interface

In a bid to expand business and crack the Western market, ZTE and Huawei are here in Barcelona and have brought with them some fancy new kit. We couldn’t resist the lure of silicon chips in the afternoon, so we went to see what they could bring to a reasonably crowded Smartphone market.

First off,  ZTE’s ‘phablet’ device, the Grand Memo. Resembling the Samsung Galaxy Note in size and name, it’s 5.7 inches and is using the Qualcomm 600 processor (not the 800 they accidentally claimed in the release!) with a 13-megapixel camera, 2GB of ram and 16GB of onboard storage. Predictably running a Jellybean variant of Android, it’s skinned by a specific user interface from ZTE called Mifavor (or ‘My Favourite’ in the UK) laid on top. Whether this will be a useful addition or just an unnecessary bloated addition remains to be seen, here’s hoping it’s the former. ZTE are actually the 4th largest handset manufacturer in the world and are looking to bolster this by a release in their home country of China later this year, followed by a European launch soon after. The future looks bright for the outfit on this evidence.

Not to be outdone, Huawei have brought us the Ascend P2 – slated for release in Q2 this year at a reasonable 400 Euros, its main feature is its LTE chipset. This is touted as the fastest we’ve ever seen in a Smartphone and is capable of up to 150Mbps, should your network be capable of this – and if it is, I’d recommend investing in an unlimited data plan - those speeds could rack up some VERY nasty data charges!

The Huawei Ascend P2 in all its glory

The internals of the 4.7”phone should pose no surprise to anyone up to date with our coverage – quad core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB internal memory, 2420mAH battery. They did state the screen should use 20% less power due to its efficiency technology, although I did note the screen appeared quite reflective, partly due perhaps to the venues lighting. We’ll have to test the display in some real world conditions once it’s released – stay tuned in a few months where hopefully we’ll have a full review for you.

ZTE's entry level handset running the new Firefox operating system

Back over to ZTE for the final phone for this update, ZTE have launched an entry level phone running Mozilla’s Firefox Operating System. Similar to Android having its roots in open source code (hence being called the ZTE Open), the phone’s spec pales in comparison to the above models, for obvious reasons. Launching in countries like Colombia, Mexico, Poland and Brazil, the price will have to be very competitive and hasn’t yet been confirmed. Beneath the 3.5-inch screen you’ll find a 1.5 GHz processor (yes, single core – so 2011!), 256MB of RAM and with only 512MB of internal storage, a MicroSD card would be a sensible accessory purchase. The phone probably won’t set alight any enthusiasts, however for emerging markets, people looking to get into application coding, or perhaps as a backup Smartphone, this could be a big seller.

Huawei claims Ascend P2 is fastest smartphone in the World

Huawei China’s Tablet, the No. 3 smartphone maker behind giants Samsung and Apple, unveiled on Sunday a new mobile, the Ascend P2, which it claims is the fastest in the world.
Sharp-cornered and thinner than a pencil at 8.4mm, the company said it can achieve speeds of 150 Mbps, fast enough to download a two-hour high-definition movie in less than five minutes. A man holds Huawei’s new Ascend P2 smartphone after a press conference in Barcelona on February 24, 2013. — AFP pic
The mobile, which has a 4.7-inch, high definition screen, has a powerful 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and is able to use the fourth-generation high-speed mobile networks being rolled out worldwide. Huawei said its phone surpassed top speeds of 100 Mbps for the fourth-generation network ready versions of Apple’s flagship iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy SIII. The Ascend P2 will launch in France through Orange in June and is also expected to be available worldwide during the second quarter of 2013, it said. “Ascend P2 downloads HD movies in minutes, and loads online videos, web pages, songs or e-Books in seconds,” Huawei said in a company statement issued at the launch.
The phone, which includes a 13-megapixel camera, is the latest shot in Huawei’s battle against the fast-growing market’s titans Samsung and Apple. Samsung and Apple accounted for more than half of all smartphone sales in the final quarter of 2012 — 29.0 per cent for Samsung and 22.1 per cent for Apple — according to research firm Strategy Analytics. Behind Samsung and Apple, however, Chinese firms held the third, fourth and fifth spots — with 5.3 per cent for Huawei, 4.7 per cent for ZTE and 4.4 per cent for Lenovo. 

HUAWEI ASCEND P2 SPECIFICATIONS 

• 1.5 GHz quad-core processor
• Android 4.1 operating system, with Huawei's own Emotion UI 1.5
• 8.4mm slim
• 4.7-inch IPS HD in-cell touch display, 1280x720 pixels 
• Second-generation Corning® Gorilla® Glass
• 2420 mAh battery GHz quad-core processor
• 13 MP BSI rear camera
• 1.3 MP front-facing camera
• Dedicated shutter button
• NFC

MWC: Huawei Ascend P2 hands on review

BARCELONA: Huawei has revealed its latest pot shot at the top-end smartphone maket, the Ascend P2.

The first thing that struck us about the smartphone was its design. We got our mitts on both the black and white Huawei Ascend P1 models, both which had a luxurious feel despite the handset's largely plastic build. 

The main thing that struck us about the handset's design however was its incredibly thin chassis, which measures in at just 8.4mm. This means the device, despite its large screen, is comfortable to hold in the hand, and should slip easily into your pocket. When placed alongside our iPhone 5, for example, the Huawei Ascend P2 made the latest Apple smartphone look chubby. 

The 4.3in 1280x720 Gorilla Glass touchscreen also impressed us during our brief time with the handset. While it's by no means on par with the likes of the iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy Note 2, for example, the Huawei Ascend P2 is nice and crisp and plenty bright enough. 

That's not all the screen has got going for it though, as Huawei tells us that the device boasts 85 degree viewing angles. Luckily for us, the firm let us get our hands on the device outdoors, and we were able to test these big claims for ourselves - and Huawei certainly isn't lying when it says this device has some of the best viewing angles of any Android device on the market. 

Unfortunately, though, due to the distinct lack of internet connectivity available at MWC, we were unable to test out how the screen managed to display web pages - or whether the phone's LTE speeds are as fast as Huawei claims they are.

This screen displays Huawei's custom Emotion 1.6 user interface, which sits atop Google's Android 4.1.2 operating system. Unlike similar offerings from the likes of HTC and Samsung, Huawei's custom skin is nice and obtrusive, offering users plenty of room to customise without slowing down the Android experience. Saying that, a few apps do come pre-glued to the homescreen, including Huawei's typical Mewidget app and its EZ folder app, which groups together similar applications.

Our favourite app, however, is Huawei's pre-loaded Theme widget. This equips users of the device with over 100 different colour schemes and app icons to choose from, and makes it super easy to change the look and feel of the device.

The device felt snappy to use to, although we're not quite sure it lives up to Huawei's claims that it's the fastest smartphone on the market today. Saying that, the 1.5GHz quad-core chipset offers up an extremely slick experience, and the device didn't struggle at all when opening multiple apps.

On the rear of the phone sits a 13MP rear-facing camera, as Huawei clearly eyes the Sony and Nokia in the high-end cameraphone market. We managed to give the Huawei Ascend P2's camera a quick test, and it's just as good as it sounds on paper. The snapper has an impressively quick shutter speed, and unlike similar smartphones on the market, the built-in autofocus manages to keep up.

Of course we're yet to test out the camera, or the rest of the Huawei Ascend P2's bumper feature set fully, so check back soon for our full review.

Nokia to chase the entry-level market as well at MWC, preparing affordable devices to compete with Huawei and ZTE

Nokia is expected to launch a number of entry-level devices including both Windows Phone-based affordable smartphones and feature phones in just a couple of days at Mobile World Congress, according to Reuters. Nokia has allegedly decided to widen its presence in the low range amidst intensifying competition from Chinese manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE.

These rumors come after we have already heard other sources agreeing Nokia will launch a new Windows Phone flagship named Nokia EOS, a device packing the amazing PureView phase one technology that we’ve seen in the Nokia 808 PureView.

The upcoming affordable models will diversify Nokia’s porftolio and show that the company is now ready to look at the bigger picture after two tough transitional years the company spent laser-focused on bringing a competitive Windows Phone flagship.

There are no further details about those upcoming entry-level devices, but we expect even more of the successful Asha feature phone series.

Nokia sold a record 4.4 million Lumia smartphones in the last quarter of 2012, a one bright spot in an otherwise very turbulent Windows Phone ride which has put the company in the red this year. Still, Nokia would need to start much more than that in order to get noticed. Samsung in comparison sold around 50 million smartphones in Q4 2012 and Apple sold a whopping 48 million of its high-margin iPhone.

Huawei Teases 6.1-Inch 'Ascent Mate' Smartphone

You knew this was coming. Not only are the various mobile manufacturers all trying to beat each other out on their various smartphones' features and capabilities, but it looks like they're going to try to one-up each other on size, too.

At least, that's what we're led to believe by smartphone manufacturer Huawei's apparent leak of its 6.1-inch "Ascend Mate," a smartphone that would likely be larger than any pants pocket you could think to store it in.

The video that shows off this monstrous smartphone was first reported by Engadget and, unfortunately, it doesn't hint at much else about what's inside the smartphone/tablet.

The 1080p-friendly device (sporting 361 pixels per inch on its screen) has been rumored to sport a quad-core, 1.8-GHz HiSilicon K3V3 CPU and 2GB of memory. Additionally, it's been suggested that a whopping 4,000 mAh battery will power the device. It'll be interesting to see just what kind of uptime Huawei will be able to deliver given the trade off between the phone's massive screen size and equally massive battery.

Just to put the Ascend Mate in perspective, its alleged screen size is going to be all of half an inch larger than Samsung's Galaxy Note II, a device that PCMag mobile analyst Jamie Lendino already described as being a little bit troublesome to use one-handed.

However, don't expect that Samsung is just going to sit back and let someone else usurp its claim to the, "Is it a smartphone? Is it a tablet?" title. The latest rumors suggest that Samsung is allegedly working on a follow-up to the Galaxy Note II, which will come in at an eye-opening screen size of 6.3 inches – all of 0.2 inches greater than the size of the Huawei's Ascend Mate.

While the final specifications of Huawei's smartphone have yet to be announced, the smartphone is expected to make its official appearance at January's Consumer Electronics Show. We somehow doubt you'd be able to miss this large device if even if you tried.

Huawei's Ascend W1 and D2 confirmed for CES, Richard Yu expresses worry over the latter Mobile

Huawei's first-ever Windows Phone, the Ascend W1, is no stranger to us at this point, but no one's been certain about its debut until now. After mourning his daughter's two stolen ducks on Sina Weibo, Senior Vice President Richard Yu said not only will his company formally introduce its WP8 device at CES next month, but it'll also be showing off its Android-powered Ascend D2 (pictured center and right). Interestingly, Yu also expressed concern that the D2 "Dream Phone" will be too expensive to produce due to the powerful specs: five-inch 1080p display, quad-core 1.5GHz chip (undoubtedly Huawei's very own K3V2), 13-megapixel camera and 3,000mAh battery -- all according to leaked info from an internal event from late October, as well as a recent filing in the TENAA database. Don't worry, Richard, just give us a decent price tag and we'll be all over you.