Chinese OEM Huawei, already known for manufacturing affordable Android devices, has announced an extensive new lineup in an effort to bring their brand-name into the mainstream. In addition to the four phones and two tablets Huawei will be releasing in October, this upcoming line of devices will feature a newly redesigned UI, similar to HTC Sense or Samsung Touchwiz.
This new user interface will be known as Emotion UI, and will focus on simplicity and usability. The app drawer and homescreen have been unified, very similar to iOS. Widgets will still come in to play, but in a different way than how they are currently implemented in vanilla AOSP. Users will drop widgets on their hybrid app drawers/homescreen, pushing app icons out of the way.
The user interface is not the only thing Huawei wants to improve in their mission to become a household name. The hardware has been dramatically improved for all of the upcoming devices. The Ascend D1 Quad XL will sport a 330 pixel-per-inch 4.5″ screen with an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2 GHZ K3V2 ARM processor. It is expected to retail for 499 euros, roughly $625 without a contract. The Ascend G 600 will feature a 4.5 inch QHD screen with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 768 MB of RAM. It will also have an 8-megapixel camera. It will retail at 299 euro, about $375, without contract. The Ascend G 330 is a lower-tier version of the G 600, with a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 512 MB of RAM, a 5 MP camera and a 4 inch screen. It is expected to retail for 129 euros or $160.
Exciting as this may be, even more impressive are the two tablets that will join the lineup. The MediaPad 10 FHD has a 10-inch 1920×1200 display, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera and should cost 429 euros ($535). The smaller MediaPad 7 Lite will have a 7-inch WSVGA touch screen with a 1.2 GHz single-core processor, USB 2.0 and HDMI ports, and a 3.2-megapixel rear camera. It will likely retail for cost 249 euros ($315).
Huawei knows that their current and potential customers want more than just device announcements. They also pledged to update the D1 to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Their other devices may potentially receive updates as well, but they did not commit to a release schedule. The company has also announced a Windows 8 tablet but no information was given about that particular device. Will this redesign of the companies product line and image be enough to bring Huawei’s name to the forefront of the industry? We will surely find out this October!