In a recent statement at the Internationale Funkaustellung (IFA) trade show in Berlin, cell phone major Huawei revealed its intention to launch the IDEOS, or the U8150 smartphone -- a phone that the company believes will redefine the affordable smartphone market.
Reasonably priced, but packed with the features of high-end smartphones, Huawei believes that the IDEOS will change consumer expectations of the entire product category.
Apart from the basic 2.8-inch capacitive touchscreen, 3.2-megapixel camera, and GPS, the IDEOS boasts of features never seen before in the affordable smartphone category. The company claims that the phone carries the unique 802.11n Internet access network feature, along with a Qualcomm processor that clocks at 528 MHz.
Additionally, users can turn their Android version 2.2 based IDEOS phones into wireless hotspots by activating Wi-Fi on the smartphone. Once this is done, the device will connect the user to the internet using HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) at up to 7.2M bps (bits per second).
Huawei has stated that operators will be required to pay between US$100 and $200 for the new smartphone. What the user will finally pay for the phone, however, is a decision that will be made at the operator end.
As per Huawei, the new android phone is expected to be released within two weeks in "a number of countries across Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America".
In similar news, the cell phone major had announced at the Mobile World Congress in February this year its plans to release a more advanced smartphone model -- the U8800. The U8800 too employs the Android version 2.2 operating software, but is an upgrade on the IDEOS considering it has an HSDPA of up to 14.4M bps.
This phone is expected to be launched in Western Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region by October. Meanwhile, Huawei is planning to develop and launch a range of phones, including a tablet, under the IDEOS line.
