Huawei planning to take on the U.S. market
Huawei has managed to stake a claim as China’s second largest smartphone manufacturer, yet it is a name most U.S. consumers have probably never heard. If they are aware of Huawei, there are decent odds it stemmed from action by Congress a couple years ago to label Huawei a national security threat amidst concerns they would use network hardware for spying purposes. Despite that incident and the potential stigma of being seen as a producer of cheap Chinese goods, Huawei is indicating they have plans to step up marketing and try to make a push into the U.S. market during 2015.
One clue to the company’s plans to expand may be seen in their announcement of the Huawei Watch at MWC 2015 this week. As part of the reveal of their entrant into the wearables market, Huawei included the U.S. in the list of the initial 20 markets where the device will be sold. Huawei also recently took out a billboard in Times Square touting the Honor 6 Plus smartphone, a move Huawei’s U.S. spokesman Bill Plummer described as “a sing of things to come.” Among the marketing avenues available for Huawei in the U.S., one might be a tie-in with a sports team similar to their sponsorship of the Arsenal soccer team in London, cricket teams in India and rugby clubs in Australia.
For the short term at least, it appears Huawei may have to focus on advertising efforts that are aimed directly at potential buyers. The majority of smartphones sold in the U.S. are sold through the major carriers, none of which carry Huawei devices and may be reluctant to add them to their portfolio. The carriers seem to favor major brands like Samsung, Apple, and HTC. Even a company like Sony has been challenged to get their devices carried by the big four.
One path Huawei could take would be one employed by ZTE, which started striking deals with lower-tier carriers like Boost to make their devices available in the prepaid space. That might be a way to get a foot in the door. Eventually Huawei will want to get their higher end devices into the market though, which would probably be welcomed by some buyers who know Huawei has a reputation for producing some attractive higher-end handsets.
Are you interested in seeing Huawei enter the U.S. market?
source: Reuters
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Huawei MediaPad X2 hands-on and first impressions
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Huawei has been stepping up their game recently, especially with regards to design and build quality, as well as providing an overall great experience. Huawei may not have brought any flagship devices to MWC 2015, but that doesn’t mean that they are empty-handed. Apart from the beautifully-designed Huawei Watch, also launched the successor to their 7-inch phablet that debuted at last year’s MWC, the MediaPad X1. We go to spend some time with this device, and here’s a quick look at the Huawei Mediapad X2!
The Mediapad X2 maintains the form factor of the original, with its 7-inch display, but in a more compact iteration. Borrowing from the design cues of the Ascend Mate 7, the Mediapad X2 also comes with an 80% screen to body ratio, making it a lot smaller than you would expect. The aluminum design gives this device an elegant, premium look and great feel in the hand. It is also surprisingly thin for a device of this size, at just 7.3 mm thick, contributing to the handling experience. Going around the device, the power button and volume rocker are placed on the right, below the dual SIM card and MicroSD card slots, with the headphone jack and microUSB port found at the top and bottom respectively.
Huawei describes the Mediapad X2 as a phablet, courtesy of its voice calling capabilities, but it is definitely too large to fall even into that category. You can hold on to the device with one hand though, but its not going to be very comfortable, or possibly even fit, in your jean pocket. That said, Huawei’s focus on great design and build quality shines through once again with the Mediapad X2, and it is a wonderful device, regardless of whether you choose to use this as a phone or tablet, or both.
The Mediapad X2 comes with a laminated IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200, resulting in a pixel density of 323 ppi, which promises fantastic viewing angles up to 178 degrees. In the short time we got to spend with it, the color reproduction looks accurate and brightness isn’t an issue, helped by CABC technology (content adaptive LCD brightness control) that automatically adjusts the brightness for a better viewing experience, as well as more efficient battery management.
Huawei is certainly not skimping out on the hardware side of things, with the Mediapad X2 packing a A 64-Bit, 2.0GHz Kirin 930 Octa-Core CPU, backed by a 64-bit GPU Mali-T628, as well as 2 GB or 3 GB of RAM depending on which version you choose. Internal storage of 16 GB or 32 GB is available, that also determines how much RAM you get, which is further expandable up to 128 GB via microSD card.
The Kirin 930 chipset supports LTE Cat6 connectivity with a theoretical download speed of up to 300Mbps, aside from the full suite of general connectivity options that are available. The X2 also comes with Dual-SIM support. On the audio front, there is just a single speaker at the bottom right, but it comes with DTS surround sound technology for an immersive sound experience.
And finally, we come to another highlight of any Huawei device in recent times, and that is the battery. The large size of the X2 allowed Huawei to pack the device with a 5,000 mAh battery, which should provide great longevity in any circumstance, but there are built-in power saving features available as well to get a little extra battery life.
The MediaPad X2 comes with a 13 MP rear camera that Huawei claims to be very good in low-light shooting. The camera features a post-shooting focus adjustment metering mode, focus and exposure metering, and off-screen snapping functionality as well. The 5 MP front-facing camera has an aperture of f 2.4 and a wide angle of 22 mm, which is ideal for selfie lovers. Standard features like beauty and panorama can be found, but more unique features like timelapse will allow for an even more enjoyable smartphone camera experience.
The software has been updated to Android 5.0 Lollipop, with Huawei’s Emotion UI on top. The interface is largely identical to what was found on the Ascend Mate 7, and there isn’t a lot of Lollipop influence in this particular software package. What you will find though is a very bright and colorful interface that provides just enough features and customizations to keep it interesting.
So there you have it – a quick look at the Huawei Mediapad X2! This is shaping up to be another solid device offering from Huawei, and while its large size may be a turn off for some, it is ideal for those in the market for a single device solution to address both their smartphone and tablet needs.
Stay tuned with Android Authority as we continue to bring you more from Huawei, along with all the other great coverage from MWC 2015!
Huawei Watch first look
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Huawei is making a big splash at MWC 2015 with the launch of its first Android Wear-powered device, the Huawei Watch. The new Watch is the first Android Wear device to sport a display made of sapphire crystal, which is a display material that we’re only used to seeing in high-end (non-smart) watches. We got some hands-on time with the new wearable here at MWC, so let’s dive right in to our first impressions of the Huawei Watch.
We know aesthetics are completely subjective, but it’s hard to deny that the Huawei Watch is a looker. For starters, it sports a 316L corrosion-resistant stainless steel body with a circular display. It boasts a 1.4-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 400×400, which makes the display a little sharper than other Android Wear devices currently on the market. To make the design even better, it also comes with a choice of interchangeable leather or metal watch straps that are sized at 18mm. Of course, design can only get a smartwatch so far.
Performance on the watch should be no slouch either, thanks to the 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor backed by 512MB of RAM. Android Wear is a very light OS, so we couldn’t imagine this watch running slowly at all. Unfortunately, we can’t say that for sure, as our demo unit was also running demo software. We’ll need to wait for our full review to find out how it performs with Android Wear.
As for the software, we can expect to see the same Android Wear version available on all other Wear devices. However, Huawei has loaded up 40 difference watch faces to choose from, which is a welcome change from the 10-15 we usually see on Wear watches.
Specs
- 1.4-inch AMOLED display (sapphire crystal) with a resolution of 400×400, 286ppi
- 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
- 512MB of RAM
- 4GB of internal storage
- 300mAh battery
- Bluetooth 4.0/4.1
- Heart rate monitor
- Sensors: Gyroscope + Accelerometer, PPG, Barometer, Vibration Motor
- Colors: Black, Silver, Gold
What do you think of the new Huawei Watch? Will this be your next Android Wear purchase?
Huawei’s MediaPad X2 is a phone with a 7-inch display
While its first Android Wear smartwatch might be grabbing the headlines, Huawei also has a new phablet on display at MWC this year. The MediaPad X2 is the sequel to last year’s X1, which, depending on which way you look at it, was either a small tablet or an enormous phone. There’s not a lot new to look at here — aesthetically it’s very similar to the X1 — but internally there are a few changes.
The MediaPad X2 comes in two configurations. You can pick up a 16GB model that comes with 2GB of RAM, or a 32GB model that comes with 3GB. Both have an octa-core processor with a Mali-T628 GPU — the 2GHz / 1.5GHz HiSilicon Kirin 930 — which is a pretty big jump up from last year’s 1.6GHz quad-core chip. There’s also the welcome addition of 802.11ac WiFi, something missing from the X1.
Other than that, pretty much everything is identical. You’ll get the same 13-megapixel f/2.4 main camera and a 5-megapixel f/2.2 selfie cam, the same 7-inch 1,920 x 1,200 display (which is pretty great, for what it’s worth), LTE connectivity, and the ability to make phone calls, if that’s your thing. It even weighs exactly the same (239g), and it’s still super thin (7.18mm). Holding a tablet up to your face to make a call might not be your idea of a good time, but if you’re looking to consolidate and don’t mind making calls from a Bluetooth headset (like, say, Huawei’s shiny new TalkBand B2), you could do a lot worse than the X2. Pricing and availability has yet to be announced, but last year’s 16GB X1 came in at €399 ($445), and we’d expect the entry-level X2 to be priced similarly.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Huawei unveils new TalkBand B2 and N1 fitness trackers
If nothing in the huge range of fitness trackers has managed to catch your eye yet, perhaps Huawei’s new entries in its TalkBand series can grab your attention.
First up, the TalkBand B2 is a direct successor to the company’s B1 fitness tracker, but this time with a more premium looking design. Along with the usual Bluetooth connectivity options, activity and sleep tracking, and familiar music controls, the B2 is actually quite a stylish tracker, with the silver and gold models both sporting a nice looking leather strap. As before, the TalkBand B2 also doubles up as removable Bluetooth headset, which is able to recognize when the Bluetooth earpiece is on the wristband or not, and switches audio to either the TalkBand or smartphone as required.
Along with the updated look, the TalkBand B2 also features an improved 6-axis sensor for more accurate movement tracking and is IP67 water and dust resistant. The tracker can last up to 5 days on a single charge and supports smartphones running Android 4.0 and up and iOS 7.0 or above.
Alongside the B2, Huawei has also announced its TalkBand N1, a pair of Bluetooth headphones that can also track your fitness. Here we’re looking at IP54 dust and water resistance and up to 3 days of battery life and five hours of hands-free call time. The N1 features an extra 4GB of internal memory to put some music on too, so it doesn’t rely solely on Bluetooth connectivity.
Huawei clearly wants to innovate on the standard fitness tracking band, and both the N1 and B2 are quite interesting products. The company’s first Android Wear smartwatch also looks very promising.
Huawei unveils its first Android Wear smartwatch
Huawei didn’t just unveil one wrist-worn wearable today; it announced two. Huawei has just announced its first ever Android Wear device and, appropriately enough, it’s called the Huawei Watch. As was teased and leaked over the past few days, the Watch looks to have a rather premium pedigree, with a circular display and a design that’s more reminiscent of a luxury timepiece than a geeky smartwatch. Boasting a sapphire crystal screen, the Watch is encased in stainless steel housing and you have the choice of either a metal or leather strap. It also has the usual sensors such as a heart rate monitor and fitness tracking.
Developing…
Filed under: Wearables
The Huawei MediaPad X2 is its latest 7-inch ‘phone’
Among its Mobile World Congress announcements, Huawei has unveiled a new, cellular enabled tablet, the MediaPad X2. At 7-inches we’d hesitate to call it a phone, but it has an earpiece and you can use it to make phone calls.
Huawei Watch appears in two official videos on eve of announcement
Tomorrow, Huawei will be one of the companies holding a press event at MWC 2015. Among the expected devices is the Huawei Watch that already exposed itself in Barcelona. Now, two promotional videos were posted on the company’s official YouTube account. The first video shows a man exploring a frigid and snowy environment with his Huawei Watch being a guide. The other involves Huawei employees providing insight to the Watch’s design. Both do highlight the elegance and technological prowess expected from the Huawei Watch.
Hit the break for the two videos.
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Promo ads for the Huawei Watch get posted up early, show us more of that gorgeous design
Every time I see it, I get the distinct feeling that the Huawei Watch is going to give the Moto 360 a run for its money in the best looking smartwatch category. Spotted for the first time yesterday on a poster in Barcelona, the Huawei Watch now had its promo ads posted online, by Huawei no less, […]
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New Android Wear-powered Huawei Watch shown off in two promo videos
Huawei has plans to unveil their first Android Wear-powered smartwatch, the Huawei Watch, at MWC 2015. Ahead of the company’s press event which will be held Sunday, March 1st, Huawei has released two new promotional videos showcasing the new watch. The videos were just recently posted on the company’s YouTube channel. The first, entitled “Huawei Watch: The timeless design story” features a few Huawei execs explaining their ideas behind the design of the watch. The second video, and arguably the cheesier of the two, is called “Huawei Watch: Your Ultimate Companion to Make It Possible”. This video shows a man trekking through the wilderness to catch up with his friends, Huawei Watch in tow.
Just based off of the promotional materials we’ve seen so far, this Huawei Watch may be the most attractive smartwatch out there. Performance aside the Watch has a small, completely round display, minimal bezels, a heart rate sensor, a sapphire display and interchangeable leather and metal straps. It seems to be less bulky than the Motorola Moto 360 and the LG G Watch R while still featuring a round display. But of course, performance will play a big role in whether or not the Watch is worth buying.
We don’t have any information on the exact specifications, price or release date quite yet, so we’ll have to wait until Sunday to get more information. While we wait, check out the two promo videos below to see if you’d consider this watch over the competition.
Huawei Watch: The timeless design story
Huawei Watch: Your Ultimate Companion to Make It Possible
So what do you think? Will this be your next Android Wear device?
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