Huawei Ascend 2 announced for US Cellular

If you’re in the market for a new low-end Android device because you’re new to the platform or you just need a temporary device until your next phone or you’re just broke, Huawei’s latest offering on US Cellular might fit the bill. Called the Huawei Ascend 2, this phone features a 3.5″ 320 x 480 display, a 5-megapixel camera, a 600MHz processor, Android 2.3, a preloaded 2GB microSD card and a 1,400mAh battery. The phone will cost you nothing (after a $100 rebate) with a 2-year contract so it should be perfect for the reasons mentioned above. It’s no Android superphone, but the Ascend 2 isn’t too shabby-looking and if you’re not doing anything but basic smartphone tasks, it should be more than capable. Head over to US Cellular’s website...

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Cricket Launches 4G LTE Network in One Market Today, No Phones to Take Advantage of it Yet

Those of you on Cricket will be happy to know that the budget carrier has launched their 4G LTE network today. Most of you probably won’t be drenched in 4G goodness as they’ve only launched in one market starting out – Tucson, AZ. And they don’t even have phones to take advantage of the network right now as their lone capable device is the Huawei Bolt, a USB modem. It’s still good news to hear that they’re at least beginning a rollout, though with just one market to speak of we’re not sure how long it’ll take for them to get coverage out to everyone. [via Electronista]...

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Huawei to Unveil Their “Smartest, Fastest and Most High-Performing Smartphone Yet” February 26th

We just received a save the date notice from Huawei for February 26th, 2011. That date and the location, Barcelona, coincides with Mobile World Congress, of course, and there they will be on hand to showcase their “smartest, fastest and most high-performing smartphone yet.” Their words, not ours. We’re not sure what Huawei is cooking up but we know they’ve been trying to create a better name for themselves with devices that can compete against heavy hitters such as Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony Ericsson and Motorola. They are aiming to break out of the ODM mold and primarily into one of the OEM variety, and we don’t blame them one bit for wanting to. We’ll be live on the Mobile World Congress scene once that time comes (it’s still over two...

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Cricket announces Huawei Mercury smartphone

Cricket has announced the launch of the Huawei Mercury, a new Android smartphone that promises to be its most powerful yet. The Mercury sports a 4-inch display and is powered by a 1.4GHz processor. The Mercury is a variant of the Huawei Honor, and Cricket is the first carrier in the U.S. to release a version of it. The Mercury's display is a 4-inch, FWVGA (480 x 854 pixel) touchscreen unit, and the 1.4GHz processor is a single-core chip. There is an 8 megapixel camera on the back complete with autofocus, flash, and HD video capabilities, while a VGA camera on the front provides video chat capabilities. The Mercury supports stereo Bluetooth streaming of audio, and can act as a mobile hotspot for up to 5 devices simultaneously. Cricket...

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Samsung, Huawei And Nokia Beat Apple In China Mobile Phone Manufacturing

Big news out of China as Huawei has beat out Apple as is now the third largest manufacturer of mobile phones in China. Reuters reported the news Friday saying that Apple wasn’t as nimble or flexible as Samsung and Huawei. Despite just now breaking back into the U.S. market, Nokia still holds a huge position in Asian and European markets. Apple has started a major expansion in China as far as their retail efforts go. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple has six retail stores with plans to open dozens more. They also have 200 mono branded stores and over 7,000 points of sale. What’s hurting Apple in the iPhone department is the fact that they didn’t build a TD-SCDMA iPhone version for China Mobile. China Mobile is the world’s largest...

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Huawei MediaPad clears the FCC en route to AT&T

The Huawei MediaPad isn’t anything new. It was spotted back in June on video and was quickly announced as a 7″ Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet rocking a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm processor and some 3G/4G radios inside. We’ve seen it at the FCC a few times in the recent past on its way to T-Mobile but today’s sighting showed the slate rocking AT&T US bands. More information and a full set of teardown pictures are available from the FCC filing. If the tablet looks familiar it’s because the Huawei MediaPad is actually available now in the US as the T-Mobile Springboard. According to the FCC filing and our friends from Wireless Goodness the MediaPad has just been cleared with AT&T bands, giving it the green light to possibly land on shelves...

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Huawei Honor first to Android 4.0 ICS upgrade

I’m honored today to confirm Huawei is one of the first to bring an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update to one of their smartphones. The Huawei Honor is just starting to hit the market in parts of Asia and Huawei is already offering the ICS update available for download right from their website — for those who dare. The Huawei Honor is one of their best and highest class smartphones available and it was just recently reviewed by yours truly over on SlashGear. Officially announced back in September we are still hearing the Honor may land stateside as the Glory from Cricket Wireless complete with a 4″ display, 1.4 GHz single-core processor and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. At the rate Huawei seems to be churning out what they consider...

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Huawei releases another version of Ideos X5 Gingerbread update

Remember we reported a few days back that Huawei has released the beta version of Ideos X5 Gingerbread update, which was later removed. Well, company has released yet another version of the same update today dubbed as Beta 2. This update can be downloaded from Huawei’s official website right now and applied easily. There is still no change-log available, but this update should include the generic Gingerbread functions like improved copy/paste, battery performance, new download manager app, and UI improvement...

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Huawei Honor ships to Asia in December, other markets to follow

Chinese manufacturer Huawei’s got big plans for the smartphone sector, and a lot of them hinge on the Honor. And why not: it’s a 4-inch Gingerbread phone with a zippy 1.4Ghz processor, and the last time we saw it, it was going for the equivalent of $300 without a contract. That’s about half the price of similar unlocked phones. In a press release, Huawei said that the phone will be launching next month in Russia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and China, with other markets following after. In addition to Gingerbread, Huawei is including their differentiation skin, the “Huawei Android Platform 5.1″. Multiple colors will be available, including Glossy Black, Textured Black, Elegant White, Vibrant Yellow, Cherry Blossom Pink ...

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Huawei will launch its Vision smartphone and Mediapad tablet

The Huawei MediaPad, which will launch in the US as the T-Mobile SpringBoard, is headed to the UK. The manufacturer confirmed as much, pointing to a release in early 2012. The 7-inch tablet was one of the first to give us a glimpse at Honeycomb (specifically Android 3.2) tailored for a slightly smaller screen, though others have since beat it to market in some regions. For £275, buyers in the UK will get a WiFi-only slate with a dual-core CPU, dual cameras, and HDMI output.Also announced for the UK was the Android 2.3 Huawei Vision The handset will arrive in time for Christmas and be affordably priced at about £25 after carrier subsidies are accounted for. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it offered for free in many places.[via PCWorl...

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Huawei MediaPad hits FCC en route to T-Mobile

Our pals at the FCC give us more insight into the gadgets that are coming down the pipe than anywhere else. Since all the hardware that hits store shelves packing wireless anything has to come through the FCC on the way to launch, the first pics of the device often come by way of the FCC. Such is the case with the new Huawei MediaPad that has hit the FCC. The tablet will apparently be headed for T-Mobile when it gets the approvals it needs. We have no idea when the tablet will launch, but it will likely be soon since the FCC is often the last hurdle to clear for launch. The MediaPad will use a 1.2GHz processor, a 7-inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution, and it will have dual cameras. The MediaPad will also pack HDMI and run Android...

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ZTE Skate vs Huawei Blaze

It's a battle of the budget Android this time around, as we compare the ZTE Skate with Huawei's BlazeNot everyone has heaps of expendable income just waiting to be splashed on the latest dual-core Android or iPhone. Some of us set a budget and stick to it. But where does that leave us when it comes to picking up a smartphone? Well, thankfully there's plenty of choice and among the leading sensibly priced devices Huawei's Blaze and ZTE's Skate stand-out as genuine contenders. But how do these two budget marvels stack up against each other? Let's find out. DisplayZTE's Skate features a 4.3-inch TFT touchscreen that operates at a resolution of 480 x 800 and displays 16 million colours. The device also offers a decent pixel density of 217ppi,...

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Huawei Honor official: 1.4GHz 4-inch Android on a budget

We’ve known the Huawei Honor (aka Glory) was going to be impressive from the early spec suggestions, but the company’s latest Android phone has been made official and it could well shine. Packing a 1.4GHz single-core processor, 8-megapixel camera and a 4-inch WVGA display, the Honor promises Android 2.3.5 performance at an affordable level. The main camera has autofocus and takes HDR images, while the front-facing camera runs to 2-megapixels. There’s triband UMTS/HSPA+ (900/AWS/2100) along with quadband GSM/EDGE, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, as well as GPS/A-GPS, an FM radio, all the usual sensors and DLNA support. One minor shortcoming is the RAM, which comes in at 512MB where we’d liked to have seen 1GB. 4GB of ROM and...

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Huawei Honor (Glory) up for pre-order, confirms specs

We have seen the Huawei Glory before during a full hands-on back in June and it was being dubbed a inexpensive Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone. Appearing as one of the better constructed devices from Hauwei as of late many were interested to hear more. Today the phone is now up for pre-order and we have more details for you after the break. It was last spotted being called the Honor at the end of August along with some specs to help us get an understanding for the device. Huawei has been known thus far as selling some of the lower to entry level Android smartphones but this and the recently spotted Vision shows they are starting to build some great phones. The Huaewi Honor is a 4.0″ smartphone with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 1.4...

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Huawei MediaPad Android 3.2 tablet hits the streets this October

Who remembers the Huawei MediaPad from that neat little video back in June? If you’ve been wondering when you can enjoy this 7″ Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet wrapped in that nice aluminum shell we now have a firm date. Coming this October over in Malaysia, and the rest of the world and US later this fall. The MediaPad was announced back in mid June and brings with it some pretty impressive specs, even if the design sadly looks like an enlarged iPhone 4. Inside there’s Qualcomm’s 1.2GHz dual-core processor – presumably the same chip as inside the HTC Sensation, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot for those in need of more. Coming in at just 11mm thick it’s no Galaxy Tab, but its thinner than many tablets currently...

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AT&T expected to launch new Huawei Impulse 4G this month

Who wants to get upgraded to a smartphone without having to take out a loan to afford the phone?  AT&T just might have the deal of the century for you.  Granted they are going to offer you a low-end phone, when compared to others on the market, but nonetheless, you can get some pretty sweet features for a very, very affordable price.  The Huawei Impulse 4G phone will be available sometime this month and will come with a price tag of about $30 with a two-year contract with AT&T.  The Impulse 4G is an Android device and is made by Huawei. The Huawei Impulse 4G is powered by the Android 2.2 operating system and comes with a 3.8-inch touch screen at an above average 480 x 800 pixel display.  Simple features...

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Huawei Honor Leaks, Actually Looks Good

In Huawei’s efforts to help turn the public eye about their products (they’re known as the “cheap” OEM that everyone steers clear of for Samsung, HTC etc.) they look to be bringing another decent Android phone to Asia and possibly Europe. It’s called the Huawei Honor and at first glance could be mistaken for a Samsung Galaxy SIt’s true they’ve made their design similar to Samsung’s flagship phone (who was once accused of making theirs similar to Apple’s iPhone), but it’s a design that works and most people like it. What matters is what’s underneath, though – it’ll apparently be shipping with a 1.4GHz processor (no word on if this single core or dual-core), a 5 megapixel camera with HD video recording, Android 2.3, a 4 inch display,...

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Huawei’s UK Boss: Blaze could arrive in the UK as soon as next month

Andrew Mitchinson, Huawei’s UK Boss, said in a conversation with Bloomberg that the Blaze could arrive in the UK as soon as next month. Distribution wise, Bloomberg said the likes of Vodafone and O2 could be on board, but the reference could have been to other Huawei devices like the recently revealed Huawei Vision.The Blaze features a 3.2″ screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, a front-facing camera, and Android 2.3. While those numbers may not sound that impressive, the price of the phone may be.According to Bloomberg’s analyst friends, the Blaze could cost as little as £100 ($162.69) when it is launched. If the specifications and price don’t change prior to its UK arrival, the Blaze could be a solid addition at the budget end of the Android...

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