Huawei, at least in the U.S, has traditionally been associated with lower-priced Android devices, for the budget-conscious user. And with CES 2013 just around the corner, it looks like they are all set to make a robust attempt to change that image.
The original Galaxy Note by Samsung, and its successor, the recently unveiled Galaxy Note 2, have clearly dispelled the myth that 5″+ phones or phablets as they have been come to be called, cannot do well in the market.
The Galaxy Note 2, which came in at 5.5 inches, was perhaps one of the most eagerly awaited devices in the market, and going by the rate at which it is setting retail counters ablaze, not to mention an ever-increasingly active developer community, it does seem that there is indeed a large number of consumers who feel that bigger is better.
Huawei seems to be very aligned with the bigger is better philosophy too, and is prepping to unveil a beastly Full HD 1080p 6.1 inch Android Phablet, dubbed the Huawei Ascend Mate, at their upcoming CES spot. Reports have it that Richard Yu, the top boss at Huawei, couldn’t wait to whip out his own piece at a Huawei store in Guangzhou, China yesterday.
Other details about the Ascend Mate point towards a 1.8GHz HiSilicon K3V3 quad-core chip, 9.9mm thickness, a 4000 mAh battery (you bet that will be needed given the monstrous size of that Full HD screen) and an estimated price tag of around ¥3,000 (about $480). As per Sina Weibo, a popular Chinese micro-blogging website, Richard Yu has mentioned that the final specs may vary a wee bit, but from what we can see here, this sure is going to be one helluva device.
Full HD 1080p display phones seem to be the order of the day, with HTC and Oppo already having released the HTC Butterfly, the Droid DNA and the Oppo Find 5, and a bevy of devices with similar Full HD 5-inch displays on the line for 2013, from other OEMs, including Sony. However, Huawei seems to have beaten the current trend of 5-inch 1080p devices with the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate.
With the Ascend D2 also lined up for a CES debut, it would seem Huawei has set its mind to spruce up its portfolio with some quality devices that give consumers to the phablet space, which for all practical purposes, is being dominated by the likes of Samsung with its Note series, and of late HTC with the Droid DNA and variants. The only question now is how bigger is better?
Guess we will find out soon enough. Looks like 2013 is gonna be an exciting year after all. And also check out this video clip of the Ascend Mate in the flesh. Doesn’t look too unwieldy there, to be honest.
[youtube video_id=”6sdOttZJo-o” width=”620″ height=”400″ /]Via Engadget
