After months of leaks and teasing, Huawei has just unveiled its first Windows Phone at CES 2013 this week. Oddly, the handset did not appear in Huawei's splashy press conference on Monday which left us puzzled. We assumed the phone was a lock for CES and as it turns out it was...so long as you were paying more attention to Microsoft than Huawei.
Today, the Windows Phone Blog finally gave the Huawei Ascend W1 the proper unveiling it deserves. Despite being the Chinese company's first Windows Phone flavored smartphone, they have chosen to go the conservative route with the specifications:
- 4-inch WVGA (800x480) display
- 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor
- 5-megapixel rear camera
- VGA front camera
- 4 GB of internal storage
- MicroSD card slot (up to an additional 32 GB of storage)
- 1950 mAh battery
- Available in blue, red, white, and black
One of the categories in which Huawei believes its Ascend W1 bests all other Windows Phones is in its battery life. Featuring a 1950 mAh brick inside, Huawei reports that the W1 has a monstrous 400 hours of battery life while in standby. The next closest to that figure would be the Nokia Lumia 822 with 330 hours of standby.
If priced correctly, we could see the W1 being an excellent choice for any budget-minded Windows Phone 8 customer. However, Huawei will have to contend with the Lumia 620 and Windows Phone 8S in the lower-tier price range and all three have the advantage of colorful designs at their disposal. In China where the company reigns supreme, we expect Huawei to sell more than just a few of these.
Huawei will begin selling the Ascend W1 in Asia and Russia this month, and availability will expand to other regions thereafter.
Source + Image Credit: Windows Phone Blog
