Huawei Unveils Quad-Core Ascend D Smartphones

Huawei kicked off Mobile World Congress here by introducing the quad-core Ascend D quad, which the company has dubbed the "world's fastest smartphone."

Huawei also unveiled the Ascend D quad XL and Ascend D1.

The Ascend D quad and quad XL boast a 4.5-inch, 1280-by-720 HD touch screen that Huawei said is the "most compact" option on the market thanks to an "infinity" screen design. 

The devices run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the most recent version of the mobile OS. The Ascend D will run on a 1.2-GHz Huawei K3V2 processor, while the Ascend D quad XL will include a 1.5-GHz chip.

Both devices include 32-bit true color graphic processors, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p full HD video capture and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera with 720p video capture.

The Ascend D runs on a 1800mAh battery, while the Ascend D quad XL boasts a 2500mAh battery.

The Ascend D1, meanwhile, also includes a 4.5-inch screen, runs Ice Cream Sandwich, and the 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel front-facing cameras. But the Ascend D1 will run a TI OMAP4460 1.5-GHz chip and a 1670mAh battery.

The Ascend D quad and D1 measure 8.9 x 64 x 129mm, while the Ascend D quad XL comes in at 10.9 x 64 x 129mm.

All three smartphones include 8GB of memory and 16GB of RAM.

The devices will not initially be 4G LTE-capable, but it's expected by Q3 or Q4, Huawei said.

Huawei promised "excellent" outdoor screen quality, which will enable use even in direct sunlight. The company also said the Ascend smartphones will include 330 pixels per inch (PPI); the iPhone 4S includes 326 PPI, Huawei was quick to point out.

Huawei also talked up the voice quality of the new Ascend devices, which include dual microphone noise reduction thanks to the company's Audience earSmart technology. Huawei said this will decrease background noise - if a friend leaves you a message from a noisy bar, for example.

The Ascend D quad devices will be available in China, Australia, Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America, and the Middle East in the second quarter. The Ascend D1 will be available in the same markets starting in April.

The devices will originally come in white and black, but more color options will be available at a later date.

Pricing was not announced.

Source: pcmag.com