Huawei Ascend P1 headed to Vodafone in the UK

Chinese manufacturer Huawei has announced that its super-slim Ascend P1 will be headed to British shores, arriving first on the Vodafone network. Offering a near-stock Android 4.0 user experience in a 7.69mm-thick chassis, there's a lot to like about Huawei's latest mid-to-high-end smartphone, as we explained in our full review last month. It's no slouch when it comes to specs either, with a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chip running the show, along with 1GB of RAM and an 8MP rear camera.

The version headed to the UK will apparently sport a soft touch back, as opposed to the glossy white chassis found in other markets. Huawei plans to launch through multiple outlets in the UK, though Vodafone UK will be getting it first, and it'll be available for free on Voda contracts starting at £26 per month. No word on SIM-free prices just yet, but we'd expect something around the £300 mark based on pre-order prices at independent retailers.

We've got the full presser from Huawei after the break. If you're tempted by the Ascend P1, be sure to check out our full review.

Huawei Ascend P1 review

Thin, fast, and light, Huawei is poised to make waves with the Ascend P1 -- but is it enough to gain a foothold in new markets?

Huawei is certainly a bit of an anomaly to me. They're huge in some markets but struggle in others (like the States), because the hardware they've released here has always been less-than-stellar. Then they go and release a phone like the Ascend P1 and turn my whole notion of them on its head.

To parrot what was said about the Epic 4G Touch, the Huawei Ascend P1 could simply simply be described as thin, fast, and light. (As a matter of fact, the P1 S is supposed to be the thinnest smartphone around.) With a pentaband radio inside, you'll be chatting and surfing the 'net the whole world over.

I can't give all the good stuff away so early, though! Is Huawei's latest entry into the high-end smartphone market enough to propel them into the markets they're after? Let's take a look after the break.

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Huawei Ascend D Quad hands-on

Huawei had a sizeable presence at CTIA this year, much like it did back at CES and Mobile World Congress earlier this year. The Chinese company looks poised to enter the high-end smartphone market, marking a shift from the mid to low-range devices it has made a name for itself with. Huawei hopes to achieve its goal with the Ascend line, a group of phones that have the guts to stand up to the likes of Samsung, Motorola, and HTC. At the top of the heap sits the Ascend D Quad (the D, Huawei says, stands for Diamond), the gem of the line.

We first saw the D Quad in Barcelona, but things have changed a bit. In the past few months, Huawei seems to have added a custom skin to its Ascend line, a departure from the nearly-vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich experience we first saw. We won’t complain though: things don’t seem to have slowed down, and the skin is certainly not painful to look at.

Other than that, the phone remains largely unchanged. It’s still got a beautiful 4.5-inch 720p display with PPI approaching 330, a Huawei-made K3V2 processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, and a “best-in-class” 8MP camera. Everything adds up to a beautiful experience: the D Quad is thin, light, and really gorgeous. It might not have the name recognition of the One or Galaxy S lines, but I assure you, this is not a device to disregard.

The D line comes with a few variations: opt for the D1 and you’ll get a processor clocked at 1.5 GHz; opt for a Quad XL, and you’ll get a 2,500 mAh battery, up from the standard 1,800 variant. The model you’re looking at here is the standard D Quad.

The release date for the D Quad is a bit fuzzy: the model in my hands is HSPA+ only, though Huawei would like to launch the LTE-equipped version sometime this summer, though no US carriers have bit just yet. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that they do, though, as we feel that Huawei is in it to win it. Hit the break for another look.

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Huawei announces global availability for the Ascend P1

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While the Huawei Ascend P1 was subject to much speculation surrounding its actual release dates, Huawei has now announced the global availability for their flagship dual-core smartphone.

“The global availability of the Ascend P1, which combines smart features and a sexy design, represents a significant milestone for Huawei Device.  We are sending strong signals of our intention to transform into a consumer-facing brand and extend our market leadership globally by strengthening our range of flagship products. We are also expanding our sales and distribution channels to move beyond a focus on operators,” said Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei Device.

The Ascend P1 packs a dual-core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 Cortext-A9 processor and measures 7.69mm thin making it incredibly thin in the hand. For visuals, you get a 4.3-inch super AMOLED 960 x 540 display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass along with an 8MP shooter and running the whole package is a healthy dose of Ice Cream Sandwich

The Huawei Ascend P1 will be available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia through operators and retailers by May 2012, in Latin America from June 2012 and in Europe from summer, with availability in other markets soon after. The full press release from Huawei can be found after the break however; if you're looking for pricing you'll not find it.

Check out our hands on with the Huawei Ascend P1

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Vodafone UK announces the Huawei Ascend G 300

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Vodafone UK has today announced a new budget Android phone aimed at aimed at Pay As You Go customers. The Huawei Ascend G 300. The Ascend G 300 is exclusive to Vodafone UK, and costs £100 when purchased with a £10 PAYG top-up. It's also free on all of Vodafone's 24-month service plans, which start at £15.50 per month for 100 minutes, 500 texts and 250MB.

And there's a reasonable amount of smartphone on offer for your money -- there's a 1GHz CPU inside, a 4-inch screen, 512MB of RAM and 2.5GB of internal storage. The phone ships with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and Huawei's custom UI, with an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich promised over the summer.

Huawei launching Ascend D LTE and P1 LTE in Europe and Asia by July

Huawei has announced that it'll launch the 4G LTE versions of its Ascend D series and Ascend P1 smartphones in Europe and Asia by the middle of the year. The two smartphones will be joined by a range of new LTE network cards and Mifis, as LTE networks continue to expand across both continents.

The Chinese manufacturer showed off its latest super high-end smartphone at Mobile World Congress this week -- the Ascend D Quad. However, Ascend D LTE will be powered by a Snapdragon S4 chip, compared to the Huawei-designed quad-core chip in the D Quad. For more on Huawei's upcoming flagship device, check out our hands-on preview from MWC.

We've got Huawei's press release after the break.

Huawei introduces the Ascend D quad, dubs it the World's Fastest Smartphone

Three new phones in the Huawei D series, including first quad-core handset

Huawei has been making some moves the past little while and now they've gone ahead an announced their latest series of Ascend devices that will be coming in April to China, Australia, Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America, and the Middle East in Q2 2012.

The Ascend D quad series of devices comes from Huawei and carries some pretty impressive specs to go along with it. They would have to be if Huawei is going to be putting a tag line such as the World's Fastest Smartphone on it.

• Huawei's K3V2 1.2GHz Ascend D quad /1.5GHz Ascend D1 quad-core chip and power management system.


• 720P high definition touchscreen (PPI 330)


• Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and Audience earSmart™ voice technology


• 8-megapixel BSI rear-facing camera, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera


• 1080p full HD video-capture and playback capabilities

In total, there is three devices in the series -- Ascend D quad, Ascend D quad XL, Ascend D1, each with their own set of specs that slightly differ than the other. can check out the full press release past the break to get a full run down of the models in the series and stay tuned for a better look. We're sitting in with Huawei right now at BCN.