The company showcased the device at the MWC show

Feb 16, 2009 14:27 GMT  ·  By

Huawei Technologies, a leading provider of next-generation telecommunications network solutions all around the world, unveiled today at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, its first Android-powered smart phone. The new smart device is expected to become available for purchase sometime in the third quarter of the ongoing year.

"Huawei is delighted to showcase its much anticipated first Android-powered smart phone. As a terminal solutions provider with all-round capabilities, Huawei has an acute insight into the drivers of the communications industry and in-depth understanding of operators," said Mr. James Chen, director of Huawei Terminal Marketing Department. "A pioneer in mobile broadband devices, we look forward to expanding a compelling mobile communications experience for end-users whilst providing customized services to our operator partners via the Android smart phone."

Huawei also announced that it had partnered with an established design consultancy for the development of a robust and user-friendly interface. The company expects to be able to provide a powerful customer experience which would also be able to evolve in accordance with operators' differentiation requirements.

As many of you already know, the smartphone area of the mobile phone market has seen an impressive growth in the past few years. Only last year, the smartphones were able to push the Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia onto the first position on the computer makers’ top around the world. The capabilities and functionality of the smartphones differentiate them from the mass of other handsets.

The forecasts on the market point towards the fact that smartphones will see even more traction from users in the following years. This way, by 2011, smartphones are expected to account for about 24 percent of the worldwide mobile phone market, while their share should rise to over 30 percent by 2012.