14 DAY TRIAL // The latest news reports on the web show that the Chinese cell phone manufacturer Huawei is getting ready to launch its first Google Android-based handset at the Mobile World Congress, which will take place in Barcelona from February 16 to 19. The company has also placed an announcement on its official site, stating that it has plans for the conference.
According to the phone maker, it plans on demonstrating a “smart mobile phone based on the 'Android' platform and first mobile phone based on 'one' single UMTS chipset,” a handset that will be displayed as an “Innovative Mobile Terminal.” For the time being, the Chinese maker did not unveil any further details on its plans, yet the phone is expected to come to the market in the third quarter of the year.
Back in November, Huawei stated that it had plans of aiming at the smartphone market. At the time, it also disclosed the fact that it was getting ready to manufacture handsets based on the Android platform, as well as some that would run the Symbian OS. According to a recently-leaked Huawei internal memo, the company expects to register a 29-percent growth in sales in 2009. On the other hand, it is still uncertain what segments of the market the manufacturer plans to aim at.
Some voices over the web also suggest that the company's predictions might be based on the fact that China has recently awarded 3G CDMA technology licenses to the largest mobile phone carriers in the country, but there might be other factors as well. Moreover, Huawei is expected to release its phone not only on the 3G market in China, but also push it to some global vendors as well.
The Chinese phone maker is also reported to plan on unveiling at MWC a device it calls the first commercial HSPA+ Stick in the world, along with the world's smallest wireless modem and a wireless digital photo display.