14 DAY TRIAL // Good news for Android fans and enthusiasts in the United States, as Chinese handset maker Huawei plans to launch its own webstore for the US market.
Along with the launch of the US online shop, Huawei has confirmed that it will release the Ascend Mate 2 4G phablet in the country, Phonearena reports.
There are no details on when exactly the smartphone will be available for purchase, but those who wish to be tipped on when the device hits shelves can register for Huawei’s newsletter on the company’s US online shop.
For the time being, it’s unclear whether or not the Ascend Mate 2 4G will be picked by any major carrier in the United States, but it will surely be available through Huawei’s webstore for a price that will be disclosed closer to launch.
Huawei’s phablet was officially introduced in early January at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2014, but has yet to make its debut on the market.
The phone has been priced in China at 445$ (325€) outright, but it may sell for a different price in the United States when it is released.
The phablet is supposed to ship with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system out of the box, which doesn’t bode too well for a high-end smartphone. Hopefully, Huawei will upgrade it to Android 4.4.2 KitKat soon after launch, otherwise it might hurt future sales.
Anyway, Huawei Ascend Mate 2 4G’s main selling point is the huge 6.1-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen display that supports HD (720p) resolution and features Corning Gorilla Glass coating for extra protection.
The smartphone will be armed with a 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm MSM8928 Snapdragon 400 processor, an Adreno 305 graphics processing unit and 2GB of RAM.
On the inside, the Ascent Mate 2 4G comes with 16GB of internal memory, but users will be able to further expand storage up to 64GB via microSD memory card.
Another top-notch feature would be the enhanced 13-megapixel photo snapper on the back, which features autofocus, LED flash and full HD (1080p) video recording. In the front, the smartphone packs an impressive 5-megapixel camera that is perfect for selfies, as well as video calls.
Given the very large display embedded in the Ascend Mate 2 4G, Huawei has decided to include a high-capacity 4050 mAh battery, which should provide up to 25 hours of talk time. Obviously, the actual usage time will be much lower than this.