Huawei has ‘no plans’ to launch an Android/Windows Phone hybrid
If two heads are better than one, does that mean two mobile operating systems are better than one? Huawei seemed to think so. CMO Shao Yang recently told TrustedReviews that it was working on a phone that ran Android and Windows Phone, but the company did an about-face today and said it has “no plans” to launch such a dual-booting Frankenphone. When Yang first brought up the notion, he said that an Android/Windows Phone combination could be more enticing to consumers than a standalone WP device. He may have had a point (if only because of sheer novelty), but c’mon now: while geeks may swoon, average phone buyers probably wouldn’t embrace it as enthusiastically. Even if Huawei made switching between platforms seamless (a very big if, mind you), users would still have to grapple with the intricacies of two very different OSes. The world probably won’t mourn the loss of Huawei’s hybrid, but hey — at least the dual-boot dream lives on with Ubuntu and Karbonn.
Filed under: Mobile
Via: TechCrunch
Source: FierceWireless
The week’s best Android rumors: Nexus 6, Google Smartwatch, Galaxy Tab 4, and more
ZTE Nubia X
ZTE has a 6.3-inch device in the works, yet we’re still waiting on the hardware and software details. A photo surfacing of the phone, which could also be the Z7, gives us our first look at the minimal design.
Oppo Find 7
The Oppo Find7, which is expected to be announced in Beijing on March 19, may have a 50 MP camera, according to a leaked 8,160 x 6,120 resolution photo.
Dual-booting Karbonn
Indian OEM Karbonn is expected launch a dual-booting handset later this year, according to new reports. The smartphone is expected run both Windows Phone 8.1 and Android, however the other details remain unclear.
Galaxy Tab 4
In a Gear Fit advert, Samsung accidentally announced/leaked the Galaxy Tab 4. According to the photo, the Galaxy Tab 4 will come in 10.1-, 8- and 7-inch models. Let’s all be serious… you knew Samsung was planning a new Galaxy Tab.
Nexus 6
The latest Nexus 6 rumors suggest LG will again be the handset maker of choice for Google’s handset. Reportedly, the device will be a lighter version of the LG G3, a smartphone that’s yet to be introduced.
Google Smartwatch
More details surfacing this week seem to validate earlier chatter that LG will also be the company behind Google’s first foray into smartwatches.
Samsung Gear
Samsung has yet to clarify pricing for its upcoming smartwatch refresh however reports indicate the Gear 2 will be retail for 300 EU ($412 USD) with the Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit sellingfor 200 EUR ($275 USD).
Huawei’s octa-core CPU
Huawei’s upcoming mobile processor could be quite the monster, if recently uncovered benchmarks are an indicator. According to scores found on AnTuTu, the chipset rivals even Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 801 processor. there’s no word yet as to when we’ll see the octa-core CPU in devices; the Ascend D3 is alleged to be among the first to employ it.
Desire 610
AT&T is in line to carry the recently announced HTC Desire 610, or so says evleaks . The mid-range device may not arrive until after May, however, as that’s when HTC says the “global rollout” begins.
The post The week’s best Android rumors: Nexus 6, Google Smartwatch, Galaxy Tab 4, and more appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Huawei Ascend P6 gets Android 4.4.2 via OTA update in China
A whole slew of Android smartphones have been getting updated to the latest software, Android 4.4.2, and the latest to join the party is the Huawei Ascend P6 which reportedly started getting its update as an over-the-air (OTA) update in China. Seeing as the P6 is still on Android 4.2.2 and using the slightly outdated Emotion UI 1.6, the updated should see the P6 get all the Android KitKat goods as well as the latest and greatest Emotion UI 2.0.
While this update hasn’t exactly been on time (Huawei promised the P6 would get its KitKat update in January), it’s better late than never and perfect timing seeing as all its competitors are being updated at this time as well. Seeing as the update is rolling out now in China, it’s only a matter of time before the update spreads around the world. Briefly holding the title of thinnest smartphone on the market, the P6 never quite found its feet away from its native China, but nonetheless has still helped the Chinese manufacturer reach third behind Samsung and LG on the Android manufacturers leaderboard.
Anybody out there excited that the Huawei Ascend P6 gets Android 4.4.2? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Source: Huawei News via Phones Review
Huawei’s flagship phablet is only $300 in China, and its CMO explains why
Huawei’s recently announced MediaPad X1 has caused quite a stir — it’s the lightest and smallest-ever 7-inch tablet (let alone a phablet), while also packing decent features like a 1,920 x 1,200 display, 5,000mAh battery and 150 Mbps LTE. The retail price quoted at the launch event was €399 or about $550 for the LTE model, but back in China, it appears that Huawei’s slapped an insane discount on the same quad-core tablet, albeit under a slightly different name. Dubbed the Honor X1, the 3G model will retail for just CN¥1,799 or about $290, and the 4G version will go for just CN¥1,999 or $330. That’s a $220 drop for the LTE model! So when we caught up with Huawei Device’s CMO Shao Yang at MWC, we had to ask him: What was he thinking? Well, it’s all about the way consumers perceive this device in different regions.
The exec explained that his company conducted different tests in four countries: China, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Russia. For the China tests, many people identified the X1 as a phone, which isn’t surprising given the increasing popularity of phablets in Asia. Folks from other countries, however, saw the X1 as a tablet that can be used as a phone.
“As Honor is our online brand, we’re saving channel costs and can therefore offer a further deal.”
“Under these circumstances, we priced the device according to the way it’s perceived in each region,” said Yang. “In Europe, the iPad mini with LTE costs about €499 to €599, so our partners are still extremely happy with our €399 price point over there. In China, it’s a special case: the X1 is sold under the Honor brand. As Honor is our online brand, we’re saving channel costs and can therefore offer a further deal.”
Of course, it’s no coincidence that the Honor X1 is priced the same as the Xiaomi Phone 3 — which doesn’t even have LTE, nor storage expansion — and other flagship phones from similar Chinese online brands. It’s apparent that Huawei’s willing to drastically squeeze its margins just to starve its local online competitors, in order to hold or even leap from its number four position in China. But at the same time, you have to also admire Huawei for innovating in the wearable space to reach this goal, and Yang told us to stay tuned for more later this year.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
[MWC 2014] Huawei announces its first smartwatch, the Huawei TalkBand B1
And we’re off! Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014 has officially started and Huawei is one of the first cabs off the rank in announcing their newest products. One of these new products was its heavily rumoured smartwatch, officially announced as the Huawei TalkBand B1. Huawei says the TalkBand B1 is supposed to be the “perfect hybrid ‘talk and track’ mobile companion”, utilizing a Bluetooth 4.1 earpiece to help you communicate on the go as well as tracking steps taken, calories burned and distance moved.
The TalkBand B1 also possesses a 1.4-inch OLED display, a 90mAh battery and weighs only 26g. It can be wirelessly paired with devices via NFC and is compatible with devices with Android 2.3 and higher. That tiny battery is able to power the TalkBand B1 for 7 hours of continuous talk time, and around 6 days with normal use. Probably the neatest bit of the TalkBand B1 is its earpiece which is able to be removed for use and easily placed back into the wristband.
It’s definitely an interesting route that Huawei has taken, mixing calling ability with fitness, and we’re excited to see where it will go. The Huawei TalkBand B1 will be available in true black, graphite grey, snow white, lemon yellow, curacao blue and raspberry red, and is expected to launch first in China in March 2014, followed by Japan, the Middle East, Russia and Western Europe in Q2 2014 for the price of €99, or around $135 USD.
Are you interested in getting a Huawei TalkBand B1, and do you think Huawei has gone the correct route with its first smartwatch? Let us know what you think in the comments.
[MWC 2014] Huawei launches a tablet and a phablet, the Huawei MediaPad X1 and MediaPad M1
Continuing Huawei‘s announcements at MWC 2014 in Barcelona, the Chinese manufacturer has announced two mid-sized tablets, the Huawei MediaPad X1 and MediaPad M1. Starting with the MediaPad X1, pictured above, which was actually leaked in a picture a few days ago, but now we get a much better look at its 7-inch, 7.18mm thick, fully aluminium body.
On the inside, the MediaPad X1 rocks a quad-core Kirin 910 processor clocked at 1.6GHz, with 2GB and 16GB storage, as well as a 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera. Technically a phablet, the MediaPad X1 will also be capable of making calls as teased in its leak. The 7-inch display is a 1920×1200 Full HD IPS display which makes for 323 pixels-per-inch. Perhaps most impressive about the MediaPad X1 is the 5,000mAh battery which Huawei says will power the MediaPad X1 for 21 days on standby and 5 days of continuous video playback. Much like the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 announced at CES 2014, the Media Pad X1 will also be capable of reverse charging, allowing you to charge your other devices in cases of emergency.
We’ve actually seen the Huawei MediaPad M1 before, though we didn’t know it at the time; in a leaked picture yesterday, we saw a mystery device that looked very similar to a much larger HTC One. We now know that the 8-inch tablet in that photo was the MediaPad M1, and while it appears to take some design cues from the soon-to-be superseded HTC flagship, that’s where the similarities end.
The MediaPad M1 will possess a quad-core Kirin 910 1.6GHz processor, with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage as well as a 5MP rear camera and 1MP front camera. While the MediaPad M1 is more of a mid-range tablet, it still gets a slim aluminium body with a 4,800mAh battery which Huawei says is capable of staying in standby for 500 hours of standby or watching 8 hours of video on its 8-inch, 1280×800 resolution IPS display.
Both the Huawei MediaPad X1 and MediaPad M1 will ship with Android 4.2 and Huawei’s Emotion UI 2.0. The MediaPad X1 will become available in China, Russia, Western Europe, Middle East, Japan and Latin America in March for the price of €399 (~550 USD) and comes in black, white, champagne and light pink; the €399 price tag also includes the smart cover that was seen in an earlier leak (see the smart cover here). The MediaPad M1′s launch is slightly more ambiguous, targeting a price of €299 (~$410 USD) and aiming for a Q1 launch in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, China, Japan, Asia Pacific, Australia and Latin America, with further roll out to happen after that.
Are you tempted by the Huawei MediaPad X1 and MediaPad M1? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Huawei unveils MediaPad X1, the lightest 7-inch tablet in the market
If you are a mobile industry enthusiast such as me then you’ve got to love MWC. Three days of pure mobile madness. The Chinese manufacturer announced four products during its press event; the MediaPad X1 and M1 tablets, 4G powered Ascend G6 and TalkBand B1 accessory.
The device that draws us in first is the MediaPad X1; the lightest and narrowest amid the 7-inch form factor. Well, at 239g of weight, and 103.9mm width the statement seems legit. In addition, the tablet features 7.18 mm thin bezels. Woah.
As far as connectivity goes, beside WiFi and Bluetooth the MediaPad comes with LTE compatibilty and is capable of conducting calls; so it’s a phone at the same time. Specs wise, the tablet houses Huawei’s own HiSilicon Kirin 910 chip, with four cores each clocked at 1.6GHz. The processor comes along with Mali-450 GPU and 2 GBs of memory.
To run the juice Huawei included a 5,000 mAh brick that can keep the device alive for 21 days on stand-by and 5 days of continious usage. The X1 provides the user with a 13MPix primary sensor on the back accompanied by a LED flash and 5MPix front-facing camera for high quality selfies.
Huawei’s new tablet sports a 7-inch IPS display of 1200×1920 pixels resolution with a pixel density of 332 ppi. The screen-to-body ration is 80%, hence the bezels are phenomenally thin.
The right compartment on the back houses the SIM and microSD card slot. The internal storage of the tablet is 16GB.
Huawei will be shipping the device with Android 4.3 Jellybean with Emotion UI 2.0 on top, though there is still chance of hitting the shelves with 4.4 KitKat on board. Price wise, the X1 will set you back 399 euros, approximately US$480.
What do you guys think of Huawei’s newest entry to the 7-inch market? Sound off in the comments below.
The post Huawei unveils MediaPad X1, the lightest 7-inch tablet in the market appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Hands-on with Huawei’s first Firefox OS phone, the Y300
The Y300 marks Huawei’s first entry into the world of Firefox OS. But unlike ZTE’s Open C, this device runs FFOS 1.1 — not the latest 1.3 build with its focus on stability. Regardless, the Y300 looks like much like its sibling FFOS devices in software and general build quality. The 4-inch handset has a WVGA display, 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon 8225 processor paired with 512MB RAM, 1,950mAh battery and is the first FFOS device to include dual cameras: a 5 megapixel module on back and VGA up front.
As we mentioned earlier, the build is nothing special, but that seems to be the common thread for FFOS devices. The Y300 has a black, all plastic hull that’s marked by a power button up top and alongside the headphone jack, volume keys on the right edge and a micro-USB port at the base.
The FFOS UI appeared mostly unchanged on the Y300, but a Mozilla rep did confirm Huawei had made subtle tweaks including the addition of a rotation lock amongst other minor changes. Again, as we spent very little time with the handset, we weren’t able to get a real feel for its overall performance, but the experience still centers around HTML 5 apps and the adaptive search bar powered by everything.me.
There’s no specific release date for Huawei’s Y300 yet, but we’ve been told to expect a retail launch within the next couple of months. Pricing as well is still yet to be disclosed, but given this is FFOS we’re talking about, you can bet on it being affordable.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Huawei brings LTE Cat 4 to affordable Ascend G6 smartphone and MediaPad M1 tablet
This year’s all about LTE Cat 4 for Huawei, which is why it’s pushing this faster 4G technology into both the high-end market as well as the lower price points, in order to help drive its network business — LTE Cat 4 only works if your carrier supports it, after all. At MWC, the company announced the launch of two affordable devices that will come with this 150Mbps technology: the Ascend G6 4G and the MediaPad M1.
The Ascend G6 appears to share some design elements with the higher-end Ascend P6, so it looks quite pretty in the above render. It features a lesser 4.5-inch 960 x 540 LCD, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, NFC and an adequate 2,000mAh battery. The cameras are surprising nice, though: there’s an 8-megapixel f/2.0 imager (with Sony’s IMX134 sensor) on the back, plus a 5-megapixel front-facing counterpart with unknown aperture. This phone will first arrive in its 3G-only, 7.5mm-thick form in Q1 this year, followed by a 7.85mm-thick 4G version in April.
The 8-inch MediaPad M1 tablet (pictured after the break) has a 1,280 x 800 IPS display with stereo front-facing speakers, and with the help of its 4,800mAh battery, users will be entertained by hours of movies (Huawei claims up to eight hours) on one charge. Other specs include a 1.6GHz quad-core chip, a 1-megapixel front camera and a 5-megapixel main camera, all tucked within a 7.9mm-thick body. Like the 3G version of the G6, the M1 will also launch in various countries in Q1 2014.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Huawei MediaPad X1 is the lightest and narrowest 7-inch tablet, plus it’s also a phone (video)
Does the world need bigger smartphones? Huawei answers this question at MWC with the launch of its MediaPad X1, a 7-inch Android tablet that lets you make phone calls. As ridiculous as it sounds, this device is designed in a way that makes it more usable than other colossal phones. At just 239g heavy and 103.9mm wide, the X1 is the lightest and narrowest tablet in its class, beating the likes of the ASUS Fonepad 7, Kindle Fire HDX 7 and the latest Nexus 7. Don’t be deceived by the lightness, though; Huawei has managed to stuff a generous 5,000mAh battery — again beating the other 7-inch tablets — and a high-res 1,920 x 1,200 LTPS display inside this 7.18mm-thick aluminum body.
Let’s get the remaining specs out of the way. First and foremost, you get a pair of cameras: 13-megapixel f/2.4 on the back, and 5-megapixel f/2.2 on the front. There’s 16GB of internal storage, and you can add up to 32GB of external space via microSD. The SoC here is Huawei’s HiSilicon Kirin 910 (as seen on the Ascend P6S), which features a 1.6GHz quad-core Cortex-A9 CPU, along with 2GB of RAM and a Mali-450 MP4 GPU. There’s support for both TD-LTE and FD-LTE, meaning you can enjoy 4G speeds in both China and a large part of the world. Likewise, the same phone also works on both WCDMA and China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA 3G networks. Sadly, the WiFi radio only goes up to 802.11n instead of the more powerful 802.11ac, but the 150Mbps LTE Cat 4 radio should somewhat make up for this — if your carrier supports it, that is. Read on for our hands-on video and thoughts.
To our surprise, the MediaPad X1 feels good in our hands. Compared to the aforementioned 7-inch tablets from other manufacturers, this one is significantly easier to hold with one hand thanks to its narrow bezel, light weight and solid aluminium construction. Of course, you may get some funny looks when you hold the X1 up to your ear. As for pocket-friendliness, your mileage may vary depending on what jacket or trousers you wear; but it slips into my relax-fit Levi’s jeans without much difficulty. If you wear tighter trousers then the X1 will definitely get in the way when walking up stairs. If you want to keep the phone in your bag or pocket more often, you may want to consider picking up Huawei’s new TalkBand B1 smart band and Bluetooth earpiece.
Huawei’s added a few neat software features, with our favorite one being the ability to scroll with one thumb while still gripping onto the touchscreen with the other thumb. We’re also meant to be able to jump straight to the home screen by double-tapping anywhere on the screen at any time (thus skipping the home button entirely), but we haven’t been able to get this feature to work. Other software goodies include motion control (like flip to mute, pick up to reduce ring volume, and automatically make or answer calls when placing the phone next to your ear), hover gesture (to preview photo albums, videos and calendar events) and voice-controlled camera.
We’re still waiting on the pricing info, but what we do know now is that the MediaPad X1 will be available in China, Russia, Western Europe, Middle East, Japan and Latin America starting in March this year. If you reside in any of these regions, do keep an eye out for this 7-inch phablet — not that you’d miss it, of course.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
AIVAnet 