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Huawei Ascend Mate and D2 unveiled at CES 2013 (pictures)

Huawei kicks off its week at CES with a press conference to show off its new devices.

Jason Parker
Jason Parker has been at CNET for nearly 15 years. He is the senior editor in charge of iOS software and has become an expert reviewer of the software that runs on each new Apple device. He now spends most of his time covering Apple iOS releases and third-party apps.
Jaymar Cabebe Former Associate Editor
Jaymar Cabebe covers mobile apps and Windows software for CNET. While he may be a former host of the Android Atlas Weekly podcast, he doesn't hate iOS or Mac. Jaymar has worked in online media since 2007.
Jason Parker
Jaymar Cabebe
AscendMate_1.jpg
1 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Huawei's Ascend Mate

LAS VEGAS--The Huawei Ascend Mate has a clear and colorful 6.1-inch HD display, an 8-megapixel camera, a front-facing camera, and a microSD card slot.
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2 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Richard Yu consumer business CEO for Huawei

Richard Yu, the consumer business CEO for Huawei, announced the Ascend Mate, what he called the "largest-screen smartphone in the world," and the Ascend D2, the "most powerful smartphone."
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3 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

The Ascend Mate (left) and the Ascend D2

Though it's hard to tell from this picture, these phones from Huawei are a lot bigger than what most people are used to.
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4 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

The pitcher test?

Richard Yu shows the audience that the Ascend D2 is, in fact, waterproof. We were kind of hoping for him to drop it in the tank, but the pitcher test is still pretty impressive.
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5 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Showing off the Ascend Mate

Consumer business CEO for Huawei, Richard Yu, seemed ready to take on the competition with the new Huawei devices.
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6 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Smart reading

Similar to the Kindle and many smartphones, you can select a word and perform a search for definitions or translation.
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7 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Check the specs

When you see the specs, the Ascend Mate is definitely impressive, but until we get one in our hands for testing, we'll reserve judgement.
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8 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Top view of the Ascend Mate

Micro-USB connector on the top.
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9 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Rear view

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10 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Large, but thin

When you look at the profile for both phones, you can see they are slimmer than most.
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11 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Side by side

Both the Ascend Mate and the Ascend D2 run on a modified version of Android 4.1.
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12 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Start your thumb stretches

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13 of 14 Lori Grunin/CNET

Glove friendly

Richard Yu put on some gloves to show that the screen was responsive even through the thick fabric.
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14 of 14 Photo by Lori Grunin/CNET

Close up of pitcher test

Pouring water on the Ascend Mate drew a gasp from the crowd in attendance.

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