We’re not sure what exactly HTC, Samsung and Motorola are doing with their billions of dollars in financial resources and thousands of employees, but it’s certainly not rushing out ICS phones. The trio of big name Android manufacturers have yet to push out an Android 4.0 device despite the OS source code hitting the market back in November — a solid 2 months ago. But if the sole shipping Android 4.0 device (Galaxy Nexus) isn’t your cup of tea, there’s finally a second choice: the Huawei Honor.
Yes, this seemingly small company has down what all of the other big Android manufacturers haven’t — release an Android 4.0 phone. That said, there are two things you’ll want to know. First, the phone is rather low-end as far as specs are concerned: 1.4 GHz single-core processor, 4″ 480 x 854 display, 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of built in memory (expandable via microSD) and an 8-megapixel camera. Surprisingly, the low-spec’d phone also contains of a large 1,930 mAh battery eluding to lengthy off-charge runtimes. Second, for now, the Honor is a China-only release.
Of course, the bigger question is why Samsung is continuing to spew BS about their Galaxy S line being unable to cope with ICS. The specs on the Huawei aren’t that far off and yet it is getting the Android 4.0 treatment. Yet another reason to choose an Android device without some oppressive skin.
Look for the Huawei Honor in white to hit the market on Valentines Day. Other markets and colors are still up in the air. Pricing is equally absent.
Just in case you ever find yourself running from the law, thieving a bullet train/dragster, and trying to call home over an LTE network, rest assured that your call will go through loud and clear. Technically speaking, the LTE spec has a theoretical maximum operating speed 350km/h (217 mph). Huawei put those numbers to the test however during a recent maglev train ride between Shanghai and Shanghai Airport.
Even at a blistering 430km/h, things such as doppler effect, cell tower handoff, and fading apparently weren’t enough to slow down the LTE signal, with throughput still chuggin’ along fast and strong.
Few of us will be moving that fast on a consistent basis. Still, it’s nice to know that in the event we are haulin’, we can rely on LTE to get our calls across.
With as promising as webOS looked early last year, it’s truly disappointing to see something with so much potential languish due to poor managerial choices and outright disgusting hardware. HTC on the other hand is a master at beautifying the ugly. While webOS itself isn’t ugly and in fact quite the head turner, would a company as successful as HTC benefit from picking up Palm — a company, or more importantly mobile OS with plenty of potential with a simple lack of direction?
If you thought the Chinese manufacturer Huawei was making a one hit wonder with the T-Mobile Pulse, think again as they’ve announced plans to continue Android development by releasing more devices featuring the quickly growing mobile OS. Within the next 6 months, Britain can expect to see “several more” Android handsets released, according to a company spokesman. While it’s wrong to offer up such information and then stop there and leave you hanging, yearning for more, it’s all anyone has right now as far as information goes. The company is staying tight lipped in the near term. One small bit that we can say is inhabitants of Europe, Asia, and Latin America will be the desired markets once Huawei does step forth with this new lineup. Whatever they bring, I’m excited. New Android handsets are always fun to see. Plus, Huawei is a relative newcomer (to us U.S. users anyway) in the market and as such, we haven’t really seen anything from the company. Developing and releasing some spec’d out, meticulously designed handsets will be an exciting thing to look forward to. Can they pull it off? Or are we set for re-runs of styles and layouts already used by current manufacturers?
Electric Pig > PC World
- September 21, 2009 9:29 am
Mobile internet junkies on China Huawei’s network have reason to celebrate. The arrival of 56Mbps download speeds has arrived. While here in the U.S., AT&T brags about 7.2 Mbps speeds, Huawei is ushering in the next gen now by actually putting dollars towards their network in a timely fashion. Current users of Huawei’s fourth gen and 38xx series base stations can take advantage of this new found speed with a simple software upgrade. *Super* Even more impressive and interesting however is the fact that the official HSPA+ spec maxes out at 42Mbps yet Huawei is somehow tapping 56Mbps. Indeed interesting. What kind of tom foolery are they doing behind the scenes to push past this limit? Surpassing the official specs is a sure bet. If it is in fact using unofficial specs, any guesses as to the reliability of the network?
Source: Cellular-News
With the second half of 2009 looking pretty decent for Android with several handsets already released and several more promising ones due out before years end, Android is setting up for an even better 2010. One phone that has caught my eye and kept my attention particularly because I’ve never really had any experience with that manufacturer before, is that of the T-Mobile Pulse built by Huawei. The device has already passed the FCC and is slated for an October Dutch release before the ball drops for 2010. As far as specs go, the Pulse will feature a 3.5″ 320 x 480 HVGA touchscreen display, HSPA/WiFi/GPS, 1500 mAh battery, and a 3.2 megapixel camera — definitely a handset worth looking at. Not to mention, from the image above, it also actually packs a rather slick looking design which is something the G1 wishes it had I’m sure.
The only disheartening news is that for now, the Dutch look to be the only lucky souls to soon be wrapping their little fingers around such a stylish and feature packed device. However I remain hopeful that T-Mobile U.S. decides to dip it’s toes in Huawei’s product line. Don’t you?
Source: Cellphone Signal
- February 16, 2009 8:35 am
Yes I know that just about every touch screen enabled phone released since the iPhone has been hastily given the moniker “iPhone killer” or “iPhone clone”. Most of the time the iPhone and handset in question are so far apart from each other it’s ridiculous. Huawei’s “uPhone” however takes the blatent rip off copying smilarities to an extreme as the picture shown above. At a quick first glance, the uPhone looks practically identical to the iPhone. I’m sure Apple’s legal team is currently working on a nice little lawsuit as we speak.
Source: Mobile Crunch
