Huawei on Wednesday announced global availability of its flagship Ascend P1 smartphone. The Android 4.0-powered handset will be available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia by May, in Latin America by June and in Europe for the summer, with availability in other markets to follow. “The global availability of the Ascend P1, which combines smart features and a sexy design, represents a significant milestone for Huawei Device,” said Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei. “We are sending strong signals of our intention to transform into a consumer-facing brand and extend our market leadership globally by strengthening our range of flagship products. We are also expanding our sales and distribution channels to move beyond a focus on operators.” The Ascend P1 is equipped with a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, a dual-core TI OMAP 4460 processor clocked at 1.5GHz and an 8-megapixel rear camera. Read on for Huawei’s press release.

Huawei Announces Global Availability of the Ascend P1 – its Flagship Dual-Core Smartphone

Beijing, China, April 18, 2012: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced that the Huawei Ascend P1 will be available in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Australia through operators and retailers by May 2012, in Latin America from June 2012 and in Europe from summer, with availability in other markets to follow.

“The global availability of the Ascend P1, which combines smart features and a sexy design, represents a significant milestone for Huawei Device. We are sending strong signals of our intention to transform into a consumer-facing brand and extend our market leadership globally by strengthening our range of flagship products. We are also expanding our sales and distribution channels to move beyond a focus on operators,” said Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei Device.

The Ascend P1 is beauty meets brains – proof that technology and good looks can go hand-in-hand. It features a dual-core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 Cortext-A9 processor and measures 7.69mm thin and 64.8 mm long, providing a very comfortable grip. With a 4.3-inch super AMOLED 960 x 540 touch screen with Corning® Gorilla® Glass, an 8-megapixel BSI rear-facing camera and Dolby Mobile 3.0 + 5.1 surround sound technology, the Ascend P1 provides a home theatre experience in the palm of your hands.

Apple iPhone 4S pre-orders in Hong Kong sold out within just 10 minutes, analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities said Monday in a note to investors. Pre-orders began last Friday and the phone will officially land in stores this Friday. White estimates that the Chinese market will be key to Apple’s continued growth. The analyst believes Apple’s revenue from “Greater China” — mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan — topped $4.5 billion last quarter, a 270% increase from the same quarter in 2010. That figure was 16% of Apple’s total sales, up from the 2% of sales that Greater China represented in 2009. Apple currently owns and operates six official Apple Stores in China. White reiterated a Buy rating on Apple stock with a price target of $666.

Apple’s iPhone 4S is the company’s best smartphone to date, and it’s also the fastest-selling phone Apple has ever launched. Continuing Apple’s mobile warpath, the iPhone 4S will be available in two huge markets in Asia later this month on November 11th. The smartphone will hit Hong Kong and South Korea in addition to 13 additional countries, Apple said on Tuesday. The iPhone 4S is already available in 29 countries, and by the middle of the month, the fastest-selling device in the world will be available in 42 countries total, with more than 70 countries on the list before the end of the year. Apple’s full press release is below.

CUPERTINO, California—November 1, 2011—Apple® today announced that iPhone® 4S, the most amazing iPhone yet, will be available in Hong Kong, South Korea and 13 additional countries on Friday, November 11. Customers will be able to pre-order iPhone 4S beginning on Friday, November 4.*

iPhone 4S is packed with incredible new features including Apple’s dual-core A5 chip for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics; an all new camera with advanced optics; full 1080p HD resolution video recording; and Siri™, an intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking.

Beginning Friday, November 11, iPhone 4S will be available in Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania and South Korea. iPhone 4S is available today in 29 countries around the world and will be available in more than 70 countries by the end of the year.

iPhone 4S comes in either black or white for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model, $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the new 64GB model.** iPhone 4S is sold through the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4 is available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 3GS is available for free with a two year contract from participating carriers.

*Pre-orders not available in Albania, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro and Panama.

**Qualified customers only. Requires a new two year rate plan, sold separately.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Samsung and Google will take the wraps off of the Galaxy Nexus at 10:00 p.m. EST during a press conference in Hong Kong, and NTT DoCoMo already revealed on Twitter that it will be one of the first carriers to offer the Android Ice Cream Sandwich-powered phone in November. BGR exclusively confirmed the Galaxy Nexus will be equipped with a 4.65-inch 1280 x 720-pixel Super AMOLED HD display, a TI OMAP 4460 dual-core Cortex A9 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, support for NFC and a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 1080p HD video. The Galaxy Nexus will be a Verizon Wireless exclusive in the United States. BGR will be covering the news at it breaks this evening, so stay tuned for more.

[Via Engadget]

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There has been an outpouring of emotion ever since news broke that Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday. One BGR reader sent us in some photos of the new Apple Store in the ifc mall in Hong Kong. The inside of the front wall of the store is covered in Post-its with notes remembering Steve Jobs, and it’s nothing short of amazing. “It’s like a huge piece of art,” Nick wrote to us in his email. Indeed it is. Check out the rest of the photos in the gallery, and you can even zoom in on the photos to read some of the notes.

Thanks, Nick Lynch!

Apple is preparing to finally launch its mid-2011 MacBook Air models in the coming weeks according to checks performed by Ticonderoga Securities. In a note to investors on Friday morning, Ticonderoga’s Brian White recounts channel checks indicating Apple’s authorized resellers in the greater China region are set to begin receiving mid-2011 MacBook Air models as soon as next week. The analyst believes the imminent launch could be a big hit for Apple due to the growing popularity of Apple products in China, as well as the increasing number of consumers who can afford to own a PC. White also notes that “there is no laptop product on the market with the characteristics of the new MacBook Air,” which is likely to draw considerable attention. Apple’s new notebooks launched in Hong Kong over this past week, and White says the launch was met with big demand, and consumers there are also still clamoring for the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. Read on for more.

“Our checks in Hong Kong indicate the new MacBook Air was launched over the past week at local authorized resellers,” White wrote on Friday morning. “The launch was met with long lines and stock outs of certain new MacBook Air models. Surprisingly, we also heard that certain resellers sold out of the iPhone 4 over the past week, along with certain models of the iPad 2. Although the iPhone 4 was sold out for a couple of months during the early days of the launch in late 2010 in Hong Kong, we have not been aware of recent stock outs in Hong Kong until now. Keep in mind, Apple is preparing to open its first store in Hong Kong this fall and historically has relied on local resellers to support this market.”

The analyst continued, “Regarding mainland China, our field checks indicate that several Apple authorized resellers in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen are experiencing stock outs of the previous version of MacBook Air, which we believe is in preparation for the launch of the new MacBook Air. For example, our checks indicate the new MacBook Air will launch in China as early as next week at some stores (i.e., Apple or authorized resellers) and in September at others. Apple currently has four stores in mainland China but has plans for expansion in Huangzhou and Sichuan later this year.” China overtook the United States last quarter to become the world’s top PC market by shipment volume. “With IDC naming China the largest PC market in the world this week based on 2Q11 shipment data, we believe investors should increasingly think about the Mac opportunity for Apple in China over the next few years,” White added.

Look, there’s not too much to say here… you’re looking at an Apple iPhone 4 in white, instead of black. Yes, it’s an amazingly beautiful white handset — probably the cleanest we’ve ever seen — yes, it’s not available until tomorrow, and yes, people in Hong Kong are already lining up for it right now. But we’re just happy we can finally put all this madness behind us… after you check out our exclusive hands-on gallery, of course!

eBay has revealed sales figures for the iPad 2 during its first two weeks on the market. The online auction house created a chart that shows just under 12,000 iPad 2 units were sold during the two week period that it was exclusively available in the United States. The graphic notes that 35% of iPad 2 units sold during that 2 week period were to international customers looking to get an early taste — that figure is down from the 65% of international customers who purchased the original iPad on eBay. Canada and Russia were the two largest importers, each purchasing about 500 iPad 2 tablets. Hong Kong, Japan, and the United Kingdom each bought about 350. Australia purchased 317 iPads last year, but only purchased 110 iPad 2 devices in 2010. The 16GB Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 was the most popular, as it represented 30% of all iPad 2 sales. Apple has yet to release its official iPad 2 sales figures.

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This one definitely snuck under the radar for quite some time. On November 23rd, Google Hong Kong posted a video showcasing its Google Voice Search capabilities on the Android and iOS platforms. While Voice Search itself is neither new nor notable, the Android device being showcased in the clip is. The hardware appears to be a standard Nexus One handset, the software running on said device appears to be Google’s next OS revision, Gingerbread (Android 2.3). In looking at some of the UI controls, as well as the status bar, we get a clear look at the direction Google’s stock-Android interface is heading. The new elements look very clean and, in our opinion, slightly more mature than the ones currently in use. What are you still reading this for? The video is waiting for you after the jump.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the video has been removed from YouTube.

[Via Android Police]

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Fresh off the wire, Apple is reminding everyone that their flagship product, the iPhone 4, will go on sale in 17 additional countries beginning July 30th. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland to be exact. Hit the bounce for the full release.

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 26, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ – Apple’s iPhone(R) 4 will be available in 17 more countries this Friday, July 30. iPhone 4 features FaceTime(R), which makes video calling as easy as one tap, Apple’s new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in stunning text, images and video, and a beautiful all-new design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest smartphone in the world.

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase iPhone 4 in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. iPhone 4 will be available for purchase through Apple’s retail and online stores and Apple(R) Authorized Resellers.

iPhone 4 also features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD 720p video recording, Apple’s A4 processor, a 3-axis gyro and up to 40 percent longer talk time.* iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which features Multitasking, Folders, enhanced Mail, deeper Enterprise support and Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform.

Pricing & Availability

iPhone 4 will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland this Friday, July 30.

iPhone 4 is currently available in France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model. iPhone 4 will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple has just posted a press release to let everyone know it will be releasing its iPad tablet in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday. There really isn’t too much else to say about it. We’ve got the official release for you right after the break.

iPad Available in Nine More Countries This Friday

CUPERTINO, California-July 19, 2010-Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds-thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook-and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase all models of iPad through Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Pricing & Availability
All iPad models will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23.

iPad is currently available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for 16GB, $599 (US) for 32GB, and $699 (US) for 64GB for iPad Wi-Fi models and $629 (US) for 16GB, $729 (US) for 32GB and $829 (US) for 64GB for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models. iPad will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

A little over a week ago, Google announced that it would stop redirecting Chinese web queries to its uncensored Hong Kong site (a practice that began in March of this year). The change came as Google was about to submit its application for a Internet Content Provider license renewal (necessary to operate a website) to the Chinese government; a renewal Beijing indicated was unlikely if the redirect was still in place. Today, Reuters is reporting that China has in fact renewed the search giant’s ICP licnese, and in an official statement Google wrote, “We are very pleased [...] and we look forward to continuing to provide web search and local products to our users in China.” Mark this chapter in the Google v. China saga closed.Read

In a statement released today, Google announced that it would stop redirecting search traffic from China’s landing page google.cn to Hong Kong’s page google.com.hk. Google initially started redirecting traffic in January in an attempt to “increase access to information while abiding by Chinese law.” Google explains:

It’s clear from conversations we have had with Chinese government officials that they find the redirect unacceptable—and that if we continue redirecting users our Internet Content Provider license will not be renewed (it’s up for renewal on June 30). Without an ICP license, we can’t operate a commercial website like Google.cn—so Google would effectively go dark in China. [...] Over the next few days we’ll end the redirect entirely, taking all our Chinese users to our new landing page—and today we re-submitted our ICP license renewal application based on this approach.

China, with its population of over 1.31 billion people, obviously has quite a bit of leverage over companies who want access to their large consumer base. What do you think of the situation? Should Google call China’s bluff in the name of information freedom? Or is it more important to keep the lights on at google.cn?

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As its long and drawn out public battle over internet censorship with the Chinese government continues, Google has made the decision to immediately halt the practice of censorship in China. As of today, all traffic to Google.cn will be redirected to the uncensored and Hong Kong-based Google.hk. Google isn’t exactly sure how the Chinese regime is going to react to this action — according to Google this redirect is “entirely legal” – but Google’s David Drummond (SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer) had this to say:

We very much hope that the Chinese government respects our decision, though we are well aware that it could at any time block access to our services. We will therefore be carefully monitoring access issues, and have created this new web page, which we will update regularly each day, so that everyone can see which Google services are available in China.

If you’re reading this in China and are finding Google’s Hong Kong website to be a bit slow or completely unresponsive, Google wants you to know that this is to be expected in the short term as its servers are currently being hammered by a massive influx of traffic while it sorts everything out.

Anyone care to wager how the Chinese government will respond?

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Oh Lenovo, does the Chinese launch of Dell’s smartphone leave you feeling left behind? Are you having a bit of seller’s remorse? In an announcement made recently, Lenovo confirmed that it will buy back the mobile handset division that it spun off in January 2008. The world’s 4th largest PC manufacturer will re-purchase Lenovo Mobile for $200 million in cash and stocks from a group of investors who bought it for $100 million. The mobile division, unprofitable when sold, reaped a profit of 30.4 million yuan ($4.45 million USD) last year and now ranks third in China’s highly lucrative mobile phone market. Lenovo hopes to capitalize upon this success and take advantage of key growth opportunities in China’s mobile Internet market. Welcome back, Lenovo. Too bad it took a $200 million cover charge to get you back into the party.

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