Huawei Archive

Congressional report warns of Huawei, ZTE as national security threats

– October 8, 2012Posted in: Huawei, Industry News, NewsFeed

If you caught 60 Minutes this weekend you might recall seeing Mike Rogers, chairman of the US Congress’ Intelligence Committee, urging American consumers to avoid purchasing products from Chinese mobile manufacturers Huawei and ZTE. Today the results of his groups 11-month investigation will be published to further detail the companies as threats to the security of our nation.

The report, of which Reuters has obtained an early look, calls into question the ties both Huawei and ZTE have to the Chinese government, and further claims both parties did not willingly cooperate with the investigation. The accusations against Huawei seem to be the strongest, with the report pointing to allegations of “bribery, corruption, discriminatory behavior and copyright infringement.”

ZTE has responded, expressing their disagreement with the findings of the committee and calling the accusations “baseless.” For two manufacturers attempting to broaden their impact in the US market, the news likely means an even greater uphill climb.

[via Reuters]

Will an IPO make Huawei more successful in the US?

Edgar Cervantes

– October 6, 2012Posted in: Huawei, Industry News, NewsFeed

Huawei has had a rough time making a name of itself in America, and one of their latest videos proves that. The Chinese manufacturer is mostly known (or not so much) for making affordable, low-end smartphones. The average consumer wouldn’t know the same company is releasing some top-notch smartphones across the globe, though.

The Huawei Ascend P1 S was remarkable, and also one of the thinnest devices in the world. The company’s device portfolio also includes the Huawei Ascend D Quad, which happens to be one of the first devices to be announced with a quad-core processor. Our review of the Ascend P1 also proves Huawei has great potential to become a big player in the Android market. All these devices have specs that would compete with the best smartphones of their time, but none of these have come to the US.

In an attempt to change this, the company is said to be in talks with investment banks. Huawei is looking into the possibility of an IPO (Initial Public Offering). By selling stock to the public, the company’s course, investments, sources of income and projects would be more transparent. This would alleviate any Western fears of Huawei keeping a close connection with the Chinese Military, allowing them to gain more contracts in the US and other large markets.

Whether this happens or not, we are not sure how much of a successful future Huawei has in the US. While its smartphones are powerful, capable and aesthetically pleasing, the other companies have a very strong foothold on the US market. I simply can’t imagine a customer seeing a Huawei Ascend D Quad next to a competing Samsung product and picking the latter option.

Consumer mentality in the US can be very much based on brands, more so than quality. Huawei would certainly need a good boost from the carriers to bring it up to par with the “big guys”. Otherwise, the company will end up next to the likes of Pantech or Kyocera, which have made an attempt to release competitive devices without much success.

But if Huawei could gain more contracts in the US and release a series of great smartphones, while keeping those updates coming, I say it probably has a great shot at getting rid of its bad fame. An Android fan can dream, right?

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite Gets Its FFC Certification

Mircea

– September 14, 2012Posted in: Huawei, NewsFeed

Huawei has announced the forthcoming availability of the brand new Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite. They also made the official announcement for a launch window of the MediaPad 10 FHD quad-core tablet at IFA 2012.

Huawei launched the MediaPad 7 Lite – their newest Ultra-portable tablet with a slim metal body. Weighting only 370g, the MediaPad 7 Lite runs on Android 4.0 and is powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor. There is a 7-inch 1024×600 IPS touchscreen, a 3.2 MP rear camera, a 0.3 MP front-facing camera, Wi-Fi, 3G data as well as full voice and SMS/MMS support. The The Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite will become available in South Africa, China, Russia, the Philippines, and Taiwan before the end of August, and in Indonesia and Malaysia from September.

Recent info shows that the Chinese manufacturer has passed its MediaPad 7 Lite through FCC. The inspection doesn’t reveal anything we didn’t already know, with connectivity features like WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and HSPDA 3G radios on-board. As the tablet is going to be available very soon, the latest info comes as an assurance that you will be able to hold it in your hands in a short time. More to come when the tablet will be available.

Huawei’s updated Emotion UI skips the app drawer, tries to appeal to newbies

Raveesh Bhalla

– September 1, 2012Posted in: Handsets, Huawei, NewsFeed

This image has no alt text

The unfortunate truth is that manufacturer skins are here to stay. If the beauty of ICS or Jelly Bean couldn’t put an end to them, nothing will. While I don’t mind certain aspects of some of the skins, some additions seems just pointless. Take, for example, the latest iteration of Emotion UI from Huawei, which has decided to get rid of the app drawer completely.

Apps are added to the home screens itself, from where they can be deleted or moved around. Widgets are added in the pre-ICS way of long-pressing an empty area on one of the home screens and selecting from a list. A lot of stuff that Huawei has done with their skin points to an aim to make the handset as easy to use as possible to a first-time Android user. But does removing the app drawer really make it any easier to a user? I’d say it doesn’t, and in my opinion it makes it worse.

Once you install a ton of apps, it can be easy to forget which home screen you pinned it to. At those moments, its just so much easier to just open up the drawer and scroll through an alphabetically sorted list. Personally, I’m against paginations in the drawer too as it just slows me down way too much, and I still use the vertical scroll option in Apex on my phone. But hey, I’ve got no design degree so I could be wrong.

Personally, I’ve got no beef against skins unless they (a) significantly slow down updates or (b) significantly alter the vanilla Android experience. Huawei falls into the later in this category, unfortunately, though I must admit I’m glad that they’ve included a “profiles” feature which allows you to change a bunch of settings together based on, well, profiles such as driving or outdoors. As the writer of the source article on The Verge mentions, profiles were popular on feature phones but never really took off on smartphones.

I’ve never understood why, especially considering the popularity of apps such as Tasker and Llama. While The Verge mentions that currently they tested Emotions UI without automatic profiles, it seems like it would be added by the time of production. Hopefully it’s done as well as Llama, which I’ve highlighted in the Uniquely Android series.

[The Verge]

Huawei Launching MediaPad7 Lite and MediaPad 10 FHD in September

Mircea

– August 31, 2012Posted in: Huawei, NewsFeed

In addition Huawei announced that it will distribute for selected markets the long-awaited MediaPad 10 FHD 10-inch Android tablet starting September. Further on the device will be delivered to other markets as well. Running on the Android 4.0 platform the MediaPad 10 FHD provides unmatched entertainment experiences, with its visual and audio features, as well as technical capabilities and stylish design. The tablet offers a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200and is powered by a Cortex-A9 1.4 GHz quad-core CPU with an integrated 16 core GPU. There is an 8MP rear camera that can record 1080p video and a 1.3-megapixel front camera for video chat. There will be versions running on 3G networks and Wi-Fi models. Pricing is expected to be set for under $500.

Huawei introduces MediaPad 7 Lite mid-range tablet

Quentyn Kennemer

– August 31, 2012Posted in: Huawei, NewsFeed, Tablets

With announcements regarding its high-end tablet out of the way, Huawei has also announced forthcoming availability of the brand new Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite. As the name implies, this tablet is seven inches in size and doesn’t pack quite the same punch as the MediaPad 10 FHD.

It sports a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A8 processor, and a 3.2 megapixel rear shooter. That is also accompanied by a VGA front-facing camera for video calling.

As for its resolution, the press release says we have a “1024 x 600 IPS multi-touch 1080p high-definition display,” so we can’t be too sure what that means just yet. We’ve reached out for clarification, but we’ll go out on a limb and say the former resolution is correct, as is common for this screen size, for the time being. Read on for full press details.

Huawei Unveils Ultra-Portable
Fashion-Forward MediaPad 7 Lite

Shenzhen, China, August 31, 2012 – Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, launched the HUAWEI MediaPad 7 Lite, the latest addition to the Huawei tablet family. Ultra-portable and housed in an 370g sleek metal unibody shell, the MediaPad 7 Lite is powered by Google Android 4.0 and a Cortex A8 1.2GHz processor. Its super-clear 7-inch 1024 x 600 IPS multi-touch 1080p high-definition display is complemented by its 3G cellular voice function. The MediaPad 7 Lite will start shipping to South Africa, China, Russia, Philippines and Taiwan from end-August; Indonesia and Malaysia from September.

“Good things come in small packages. The MediaPad 7 Lite is our answer to consumers’ demands for a good-looking, portable high-performance tablet at a price that makes sense for them. The MediaPad 7 Lite is consumers’ perfect entertainment and communications companion,” said Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei Device.

The MediaPad 7 Lite makes staying in touch easier with its 3G and WiFi cellular, SMS and MMS capabilities. It is compatible with nearly all multimedia formats and also features a 3.2 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera.

About Huawei Device
Huawei Device believes that everyone can be the center of information and that the world would be a better place if access and information barriers were knocked down. Its strong suite of mobile phones, mobile broadband devices and home devices is testimony to Huawei Device’s focus on customers and its commitment to providing user-friendly mobile internet experiences through ongoing innovation. Based on more than two decades of success in the information and communications industry, and with our own channel expertise, operational capabilities and global partner resources, Huawei Device is transforming from a company that sells millions of devices in single transactions to large businesses, to a “Business-to-People” (B2P) brand that also sells individual devices directly to millions of people. As at the end of 2011, Huawei Device serves more than 500 operators all over the world. For more information, visit Huawei Device online: www.huaweidevice.com

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New processor is what took Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD so long to come, and it’s coming in September

Quentyn Kennemer

– August 31, 2012Posted in: Huawei, NewsFeed, Tablets

The Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD has eluded the grips of many for quite some time. It was first unveiled back in February at Mobile World Congress, and after a series of promotional videos, in-the-wild shots, and other rounds it had to make it still has yet to come out about 6 months later.

But Huawei’s confirmed that the 10.1 inch, 1080p goodness will be headed to retail starting this September to a variety of markets. It’ll feature a K3v2 Cortex-A9 1.4GHz quad-core processor which features a 16 core GPU. There’s also an 8 megapixel HD rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera, Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and more.

There will also be 4G, 3G, and WiFi connectivity, as well as a keyboard dock that will give users a VGA and HDMI port when the tablet is safely nestled into it.

Those in China are already enjoying it, while users in Germany, Sweden, Russia, Belarus, Korea, Bahrain, and Kuwait will see it starting in September. Huawei has confirmed more markets will follow, but refused to say who would get it, and when. Read on for full press details.

HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD to Ship Globally from September

Berlin, Germany, August 31 2012: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, has announced that it will ship its much-anticipated 10-inch HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD quad-core tablet to selected markets from September, with other markets to follow. Running on Android 4.0, the HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD provides and unsurpassed entertainment experience with its visual and audio features, power capabilities, and stylish design.

MediaPad 10FHD-front-with base-right side-45 degrees

“Most consumers use tablets for entertainment purposes such as gaming, viewing multimedia content, browsing the internet and reading e-books,” said Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei Device. “We have created the MediaPad 10 FHD to be extraordinary – to excel in all of the entertainment capabilities including speed, power, web-browsing, high definition display and audio, and packaging it all in a compact and sleek body.”

The HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD quad-core tablet has a 10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 high definition IPS display screen and 16:10 golden ratio providing optimal screen viewing for gaming and high definition video. The MediaPad 10 FHD features an 8 megapixel autofocus rear-facing camera that records 1080P HD videos and a 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera.

With its 5.1 Dolby surround sound technology the MediaPad 10 FHD provides theater-quality audio effects even with regular headphones and its dual speaker design provides superior audio performance across gaming, music, and video playing.

The HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD is powered by a K3v2 Cortex-A9 1.4GHz quad-core processor and a 16-core GPU. The MediaPad 10 FHD LTE version supports the world’s fastest mobile wireless data connection at up to 150Mbps LTE (compatible with 84Mbps HSPA+), in addition to Wi-Fi and 3G versions. The MediaPad 10 FHD’s 6600mAh battery provides more than 10 hours of continuous usage.

With a keyboard add-on, the MediaPad 10 FHD can be transformed into a ultra-book, and its VGA and HDMI output and office software compatibility supports all your business and entertainment needs. The MediaPad 10 FHD also supports Ethernet access via a USB adapter cable to eliminate network accessibility limitations

The HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD’s sleek aluminum-alloy body measures 8.8mm thin and weighs only 580g.

The HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD WiFi version is now available in China, and will begin shipping to Germany, Sweden, Russia, Belarus, Korea, Bahrain, and Kuwait in September, with other markets to follow.

About Huawei Device

Huawei Device believes that everyone can be the center of information and that the world would be a better place if access and information barriers were knocked down. Its strong suite of mobile phones, mobile broadband devices and home devices is testimony to Huawei Device’s focus on customers and its commitment to providing user-friendly mobile internet experiences through ongoing innovation. Based on more than two decades of success in the information and communications industry, and with our own channel expertise, operational capabilities and global partner resources, Huawei Device is transforming from a company that sells millions of devices in single transactions to large businesses, to a “Business-to-People” (B2P) brand that also sells individual devices directly to millions of people. As at the end of 2011, Huawei Device serves more than 500 operators all over the world. For more information, visit Huawei Device online: www.huaweidevice.com

T-Mobile Springboard Gets Android 4.0 Update Today; Rebranded Huawei MediaPad Ready for Ice Cream Sandwich!

James A.

– August 15, 2012Posted in: Android, Huawei, NewsFeed

In case you didn’t know, the T-Mobile Springboard is a tablet sold in USA, as the rebranded version of the Huawei MediaPad. Now it appears that the device will get an update, to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Over the past days we’ve seen many Samsung tablets getting this software improvement and now it’s Huawei’s turn to offer them.

Sadly, the international version of the MediaPad got that update 3 months ago, so T-Mobile USA is very late in the game and their users are probably disappointed. The new software brings UI performance improvements, eliminates the unrecognized SIM card error, gives power and reboot fixes and WiFi connection improvement. It also improves memory allocation and brings the new camera UI, multitasking and other changes that are associated with Android 4.0.

Springboard performs the update simply by accepting an over the air software upgrade, so there are no wires required like in Samsung’s case with Kies. The update rolls out today, so keep your eyes peeled for this one. If you’re not familiar with this tablet model, know that it’s a 7 inch 1280 x 800 slate, with a Qualcomm 1.2 GHz dual core processor and a 4G HSPA+ option from T-Mobile. Its price is $299 on T-Mobile with 2 year contract.

T-Mobile Springboard getting Android 4.0.4 this Wednesday

Quentyn Kennemer

– August 13, 2012Posted in: Huawei, NewsFeed, T-Mobile, Tablets

While Huawei’s getting ready to bring a masterful device in the Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD to market this month, they’ve still got some older devices that they see fit to upgrade. T-Mobile’s version of the original Huawei MediaPad, the T-Mobile Springboard, looks to be getting Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich this Wednesday.

Magenta will be rolling it out via an over-the-air process, and aside from the features you already know from Ice Cream Sandwich the update will add increased performance, fixes for power issues, improvement of the device’s WiFi signal, better memory allocations to allow the device to receive future updates without a problem (Jelly Bean?), and more.

You know the deal: check for it under About Tablet in the settings menu once August 15th arrives, and be sure to have at least 50% of battery life available to ensure the device doesn’t shut off during the process. [via T-Mobile]

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD Reaches the FCC, Gets Teardown

Radu Iorga

– August 11, 2012Posted in: Android, Huawei, NewsFeed

The 10 inch MediaPad FHD Huawei tablet has been detailed a lot over the past weeks and months and now the device has reached the FCC, en route to its American debut. The slate was taken apart in the usual FCC teardown, that resulted in the many pics available in our source link.

This Chinese 10 inch tablet is an Android device, with a 10 inch 1920 x 1200 IPS display, a 1.5 GHz quad core CPU and 2GB of RAM. The first Huawei MediaPad came in USA rebranded as the T-Mobile Springboard. Huawei announced the tablet in February and it was running Android 4.0 back then, so I suppose it’s the same OS now. The device has HSPA+ radios, so a debut on T-Mobile is in the cards. The connectivity goes to 84 Mbps on HSPA+ in the case of the tablet, although T-Mobile only supports up to 42 Mbps.

With the Springboard being old and the current Full HD tablet offers on the market (ASUS and Acer models), there’s always room for a cheaper quad core 1200p display slate, provided that it doesn’t have the same defects as the latest Acer tablets. Tempted by the Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD?

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