Hasta La Gadget!

Another day, another smartphone hits the scene, and here we are faced with the China-based Huawei having announced Huawei W1. Right after the sponsorship announcement of the highly-anticipated Jonas Brothers Tour, Huawei has also thrown a new announcement of their maiden attempt to roll out the first Windows Phone 8 smartphone from their stables, which would be the Huawei W1, and this will happen sometime later this month online at Walmart.com in addition to select Walmart stores in the US.

Todd Greenberg, General Manager, US Windows Phone Sales at Microsoft, said, “We are proud to deliver a premium smartphone experience to customers at a competitive price point. The new Huawei W1 is a great addition to the Windows Phone 8 portfolio of devices in the U.S. with its impressive battery life and availability in Walmart stores.”

Just what kind of hardware specifications does the Huawei W1 bring to the table? Well, we are looking at a rather speedy dual-core 1.2GHz processor, which will be accompanied by optimized battery technology, in addition to a gorgeous 4” IPS LCD touch screen display that is made of Gorilla glass and will boast of decent performance even under direct sunlight, not to mention a 5-megapixel camera at the back, while the front would have a VGA camera for those moments when you want to hold video calls with another friend.

The camera itself will also be accompanied by an LED flash, 4X digital zoom, auto focus and a quick access button. Running on the Windows Phone 8 operating system, which means the device would deliver a truly personal smartphone experience that ought to be able to fit unique needs and offer quick access to the people as well as other things that customers care about most.

Of course, all that remains now would be to know just which mobile carrier would offer the Huawei W1, and pricing details will depend on the kind of agreement or contract that is offered.

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[ Huawei W1 announced for the US copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Following the lead of co-founder Bill Gates Microsoft is taking more interest in Africa, announcing its 4Afrika Initiative with a stated aim of improving the continent’s global competitiveness. There are several plans under way as a part of the project, with one of the first being a new Windows Phone 8 device from Microsoft and Huawei. Pictured above, the Huawei 4Afrika phone is a specially tailored version of the existing Ascend W1 meant as an affordable option (no price announced yet) for first time smartphone buyers that also comes preloaded with apps created by African developers for African consumers, and a subsection of the existing Windows Phone Store that will continue to focus on “locally-relevant” apps and content. It will be available in blue, red, black and white when it launches later this month in Angola, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Another part of the push is a pilot project Microsoft is working on with the Kenyan government and Indigo Telecom which combines solar powered base stations using TV white space technology to offer affordable wireless internet access. Meant to bring broadband to places that currently lack even electricity, the deployment is called Mawingu, connecting a healthcare clinic and several schools in its initial test. After several years of pushing the tech, which takes advantage of unused TV broadcast spectrum, Microsoft hopes to convince other nations to make the legal/regulatory changes to start using it as well. There’s a press release after the break with more details, as well as a video and more information available beyond the source links.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Microsoft

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Source: 4Afrika, Windows Phone Blog

If you were following Huawei’s presser from earlier today, you may have thought the company’s CES 2013 story was “All About Android.” Turns out, it’s not. On the showfloor here at Pepcom, the company was able to give us a first look at the Ascend W1: it’s first entry for the Windows Phone 8 space. Admittedly, the W1 doesn’t share any of the lust-worthy, high-end specs that adorn the Ascend Mate and D2, but that’s not its angle. As one Huawei rep put it, this is a value proposition, outfitted with a 4-inch display (we couldn’t verify resolution) and 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 paried with 512MB RAM. Software-wise, this is about as stock WP8 as it gets, so don’t expect to see any applications come pre-loaded onto the hardware.

Dimension-wise, the W1 is a girthy phone, cutting a silhouette that’s just about 10mm — so, it stands far outside the “world’s thinnest” category that we’ve heard so much about at this CES. It also bears a bit of heft which we can’t ascribe to its battery size. At 1,950mAh, the W1 should pack enough juice to last seven to nine days on standby and given the reduced power requirements of WP8, it’s sure to get moderate users through a full day. There’s a paltry 4GB of storage onboard, but thankfully, users can augment that via a microSD slot, allowing for up to 32GB.

UI navigation on the W1 lives up to the elegant, sweeping transitions that have become trademarks of Windows Phone 8. It’s appreciably quick and responsive. And somewhat surprisingly, viewing angles on the display held up remarkably when we tilted it about in various degrees. As for that standard micro-USB port, it seems Huawei’s done something different by allocating it to the bottom right of the handset.

Wondering when and where you’ll see the W1? Well, join the club. Huawei’s remaning tight-lipped about pricing and release details, but we did manage to get a confirmation that the W1 would be US-bound this year. For now, feast your eyes on the gallery below and check out our video after the break.

Sarah Silbert contributed to this report.

Continue reading Huawei Ascend W1 hands-on: the company’s first Windows Phone 8 device (video)

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A few days ago, we did take a look at some spy shots of the upcoming Huawei W1 which runs on the Windows Phone 8 operating system, and this time around, we have the official press images of said smartphone hitting the Internet. Of course, some might say that the Huawei W1 does resemble one of the blue colored Lumias from Nokia, but you can also say that the vibrant colors of the Huawei W1 is also inspired by Windows Phone’s Live Tiles. Apart from blue, there will be black, white and pink versions of the Huawei W1.

Needless to say, the Huawei W1 will not be a high end smartphone, as it treads the entry level to mid-range segmentby offering the smooth user experience of Windows Phone in addition to maintaining a sense of affordability. Hey, the world’s economy is not exactly going gangbusters now, is it? Some of the hardware specifications for the Huawei W1 include a 4″ WVGA display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a VGA front-facing camera with a 5-megapixel camera at the back, 512MB RAM and 4GB of internal memory. It is tipped to arrive in China sometime next month or in December for approximately $310 after conversion, and that would be for an unlocked device.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Photos of Huawei’s W1 Windows Phone 8 handset leaked, Canada could drop banhammer on Huawei due to security worries,

HTC, Nokia and Samsung have each showcased their initial volley of Windows Phone 8 handsets, but Huawei has yet to reveal the Ascend hardware it promised would run Microsoft’s smartphone OS. The firm’s Richard Yu took to the social network Sina Weibo and outed the device as the Ascend W1 earlier this week, but kept other specifics under wraps. Citing sources from within the company, Chinese language outlet Winp is now claiming that the W1 will ship between November and December, carry a price tag of 2,000 RMB ($317) and arrive in black, blue, pink and white hues. Though a September 25th unveiling is also rumored, Yu mentioned that Huawei will make it a habit of launching phones as they’re unveiled, so it may be a while before the curtain is fully pulled back if the November / December window is correct.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Huawei’s Windows Phone 8 handset outed as Ascend W1, supposed launch window surfaces originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Sep 2012 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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