Huawei, a world leader in cutting-edge telecoms solutions and a powerful and exciting new brand in smartphones, is pleased to announce that its hotly-anticipated and feature-packed new Android smartphone, the Huawei Blaze, will be available from leading UK specialist mobile phone retailers Phones 4u and Tesco Mobile in October 2011.
Running the latest Android 2.3 „Gingerbread‟ operating system and boasting an advanced feature-set at its price, the slimline Huawei Blaze is the first Android smartphone to appear solely under the Huawei brand in the UK. It represents the first in an expanding series of highly specified and affordable handsets that Huawei will launch in the coming months.
The device and the retail agreements that support it are milestones in Huawei‟s drive to establish itself as a leading smartphone brand in the UK, and an essential part of its global vision to be among the leading smartphone brands in the next few years. In the UK, Huawei remains committed to its expanding ODM portfolio even as its builds its brand in smartphones and connected devices.
Huawei UK and Ireland Executive Vice President Mark Mitchinson said: “The Huawei Blaze represents the first important chapter in an epic new journey Huawei is embarking upon in the UK and Ireland, and indeed globally, and I am delighted to have Phones 4u and Tesco Mobile supporting such a pivotal and innovative product.
“The Phones 4u and Tesco Mobile brands are synonymous with the UK youth market and value segment, and this is where Huawei will enjoy early success as a progressive new smartphone brand, which we will build alongside our highly-successful ODM portfolio.
“The Huawei Blaze packs a powerful punch in terms of its feature set in the Android prepay and contract market. It is a slick, slimline smartphone with great functionality and exceptional build quality. It will clearly appeal to a whole swathe of UK consumers as a first Android smartphone and is bound to be a must for discerning shoppers.”
The Huawei Blaze, which goes under the name Ideos X3 in other markets, measures just 11.2mm in thinness. It has a refined user interface that makes it easy to navigate, more intuitive to use and more power efficient. It boasts a super-fast „boot‟ function, and Huawei‟s own over-the-air (HOTA) upgrade solution, affording easy and timely Android OS upgrades.
It includes Google Maps, Google Talk, Gmail and YouTube, and features a 3.2 megapixel camera, 3.2 inch HVGA screen with 480x320 pixels, and the latest HSPA, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. It has 512MB on-board storage, expandable to 32GB with a micro SD card.
The Huawei Blaze is expected to retail for under £100 on prepay in the UK.