Huawei

We experienced a bit of deja vu when we first saw the Huawei M835 for MetroPCS. It's the spitting image of the T-Mobile Comet, but thankfully without the same issue of peeling-off components. It's also one of MetroPCS' most budget-conscious Android phones, starting at $80 after an instant $50 rebate (without a contract, mind you). Unfortunately, that may be the best news about the phone, which we found slow with slipshod performance and design. For example, call quality disappointed, photos were just passable, and data took its time. Some of this is expected for an entry-level Android smartphone, … Read more

Beginning today, the Huawei Ascend II is now available for Cricket customers. We first saw the successor to the original Huawei Ascend at CTIA last March, and immediately noticed some differences.

Huawei's second Android smartphone with Cricket is sleeker, without the physical buttons and trackball. It's also slimmer, lighter, and more up-to-date, running Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Like the original Ascend, the Ascend II has a 3.5-inch HVGA screen (we were hoping for more advancements here), a 5-megapixel camera with camcorder, and a 600MHz processor (we had hoped Huawei would bump this up as well.)

The Ascend … Read more

MetroPCS quietly made two new phones available on its Web site, the Android-running Huawei M835 and the Samsung Freeform III, a QWERTY messaging phone. Both phones will officially launch on Monday, a MetroPCS representative told CNET.

The Huawei M835 is a compact Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone. It has a rather small 2.8-inch QVGA display and stands just 4 inches high. There's a 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder onboard, plus Wi-Fi, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, 3G, and support for up to 32GB external storage. There's also DTS Envelo software for virtual surround sound. The handset costs $129 retail, but … Read more

We've been waiting a long time for that Huawei phone that puts the lesser-known manufacturer (at least in U.S. circles) on America's smartphone map. It's possible the Huawei Glory (Huawei M886) is the handset to do it.

Our friends at PC Magazine went hands-on with the device, a souped-up Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone with a 1.4-GHz Qualcomm MSM8655T processor (Huawei claims it's dual-core, but there's still some debate); a 4-inch TFT LCD screen with 854x480 resolution; and an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash.

The 3G-capable Glory will also come equipped with a 1900 mAH battery, which will hopefully translate into longer battery life, 2GB of onboard memory, and an expansion slot. There are apparently no TV or HDMI-out slots, but Huawei did tell PC Magazine that it has a "surprising" media solution up its sleeves. … Read more

Huawei showed off its flagship tablet, the MediaPad, at a press event today. We spent a few minutes with the product here at CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore and here are our first impressions.

From a hardware perspective, the MediaPad feels solidly built. The chassis appears to be made from a single piece of metal, not unlike the unibody design found in HTC phones such as the Desire HD. The similarity extends to the fact that there are plastic cutouts on the top and bottom sections.

At almost half an inch thick and weighing a little less than a pound, the MediaPad is quite slim and light. It has a micro-USB port alongside an HDMI-out at the base. Slightly unusual is the addition of a dedicated power connector--most tablets just make use of one port for charging and syncing. On the top is its 3.5mm audio output, together with a pair of speaker grills. … Read more

Chinese telecom heavyweight Huawei has announced a new 7-inch tablet.

The device, called MediaPad, will come with a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and will support full 1080p HD video playback. The device will ship with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, as well as a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, boasting auto-focus and HD video recording. The MediaPad will feature Wi-Fi and HSPA+ (14.4Mbps) connectivity.

The platform will be what Huawei calls the "world's first 7-inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet." Android 3.2 will reportedly feature the same functionality as Android 3.1, but will be optimized for … Read more

Motorola and Huawei Technologies have patched up their legal differences in disputes over the potential sharing of trade secrets.

The companies announced today that they've entered into an agreement to settle all litigation in two separate legal matters, pending certain conditions.

China-based Huawei has agreed to withdraw its lawsuit against Motorola and Nokia Siemens Networks. The suit, filed in January, sought to block Motorola's sale of its wireless equipment business to Nokia Siemens on the grounds that Motorola could reveal certain Huawei trade secrets to Nokia Siemens.

Those who find MetroPCS' plain-old Huawei Ascend too tame can now venture for a much hipper model. Tapout, a mixed-martial-arts and lifestyle brand teamed up with Huawei to create the Huawei Ascend Sanctioned by Tapout. (Yep, it's a mouthful.)

The special Tapout edition comes with two logoed covers (one black, one gray) and is preloaded with 10 virtual training center videos, over a dozen themed wallpapers, and a Tapout app.

The guts of the entry-level Android phone remain the same, with Android 2.2 Froyo beneath the hood, a 3.5-inch display, and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

The … Read more

Huawei quietly introduced a sequel to its Android-powered Huawei Ascend, the Huawei Ascend 2 for Cricket.

The Ascend 2 updates its progenitor in almost every way. It's sleeker, slimmer, and lighter in the hand. Gone is the trackball, and the hardware navigation buttons give way to four touch-sensitive buttons below the 3.5-inch capacitive touch screen.

The camera also sees an upgrade, from 3.2 megapixels to 5 megapixels in the Ascend 2. Everything is powered by an 800Mhz processor.

We're a little disappointed that the Ascend 2 runs Android 2.2 Froyo instead of Android 2.3 … Read more