Last summer, Huawei’s MediaPad was one of the first manufactures to ship a device pre-loaded with Android 3.2 Honeycomb. The Chinese company is now attempting a similar strategy with the release of Ice Cream Sandwich. Existing models of the MediaPad will receive an Android 4.0 update by the end of the first quarter, and new MediaPads will come pre-loaded with the software beginning some time the first quarter. Additionally, the tablet will be offered in the current color scheme, and will add shadow black, classic brown, and passion pink to the mix. The MediaPad features a 7-inch 1280 x 800-pixel display that supports 1080p full HD video playback, a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor and six hours of battery life. Read on for the company’s full press release.

Huawei’s MediaPad Now Comes with Android 4.0

Huawei also unveils new MediaPad color series, operating on Android 3.2

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced that the Huawei MediaPad is now one of the world’s first tablets to come pre-loaded with the new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. First launched in June 2011, the original MediaPad was the world’s first 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet. This latest version of the MediaPad once again provides users with the very latest Android experience, along with access to the newest and hottest services and apps available in the Android marketplace.

Huawei also unveiled its new MediaPad color series – fashionable MediaPads in three new colors: shadow black, classic brown, and passion pink and running on Android 3.2. Both MediaPad versions have a high-quality display, with screen resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels at 217 PPI and supporting 1080P Full HD video playback. Additionally, they come with a Qualcomm dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and have a battery capacity of six hours or more.

“In a tablet market defined by staid black and white tablets, the new colorful MediaPad offers a personalized look without the need for an external case,” said Richard Yu, Chairman, Huawei Device. “With a hardware package that includes a high-quality screen, a powerful dual-core processor, and long battery life, these colorful MediaPad embodies a rare combination of style and performance.”

Huawei’s new MediaPad color series and the MediaPad with Android 4.0 will be available in selected markets in the first quarter of 2012. Existing MediaPad owners will receive an OTA Android 4.0 upgrade to their tablets by the first quarter of 2012.

Huawei unveiled the company’s latest Android-powered smartphone, the Ascend P1 S. The device features an incredibly slim design, measuring a mere 6.68mm — even slimmer than Motorola’s 7.1mm DROID RAZR. The device sports a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED display with a 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. On the backside, the Ascend has an 8-megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front facing camera. Huawei also announced the Ascend P1, which packs similar features in a thicker 7.69mm profile. Both devices feature Corning’s Gorilla Glass and will run a clean version of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Pricing has not been announced, however we can expect to see both of these devices within the second quarter of 2012. Read on for Huawei’s full press release. 

Las Vegas, U.S.A., January 9, 2012: Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, unveiled the world’s slimmest smartphone today at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The Huawei Ascend P1 S is 6.68mm thin and features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED 960 x 540 touchscreen with Corning® Gorilla® Glass. The Ascend P1 S is also the fastest and most compact smartphone in its class with a dual-core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 Cortext-A9 processor and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

“We’re excited to unveil the world’s slimmest smartphone here at CES 2012,” said Richard Yu, Chairman of Huawei Device. “The Ascend P1 S demonstrates our ongoing commitment to innovating high quality devices that utilize the latest hardware and software technologies.”

Huawei also unveiled the Ascend P1 which, as part of the same smartphone series, boasts the same functionality while measuring 7.69mm. Delivering the ultimate in elegance and speed with a 1670mAh/1800mAh battery, the Huawei Ascend P1/P1 S series provides the fastest multi-tasking, video replay and gaming experience in its class.

The Huawei Ascend P1/P1 S series feature a super-sleek and narrow 64.8mm body, elegant contours and an effortlessly stylish design. The PPVD back cover coating evenly distributes heat, and provides a strong metallic, three-dimensional design with a delicate texture. The Ascend P1/P1 S is available in metallic black, ceramic white and cherry-blossom pink with more colors to come to match your personal style wherever you are, whatever you’re doing.

The Ascend P1/P1 S brings your digital world to life with its impressive 8-megapixel BSI rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel HD front-facing cameras with dual flash LED and HDR effect optimization. The Ascend P1/P1 S allows you to capture special moments in sharper, brighter and clearer detail both in light and dim environments. Relive your most memorable moments on the Huawei Ascend P1/P1 S with its stunning 1080p HD video-capture capabilities. Its high speed data connectivity through 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth and in-built social media capabilities enable you to instantly share your photos and videos via social media.

The Huawei Ascend P1/P1 S will be available in Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, Australia, Middle East, and China from April 2012.

Handset makers in China have formed an alliance to prepare for possible patent battles with Apple, Microsoft and Nokia. Coolpad, Konka, TCL, ZTE and Lenovo were among the companies named in a report by DigiTimes on Friday. The number of lawsuits filed in China is expected to increase as Microsoft, Nokia and Apple try to increase market share there, the report says. Nokia has already filed patent infringement suits against several Chinese phone makers and Microsoft has gone after Huawei to try to secure a patent licensing deal. Huawei responded to Microsoft’s threats in early November and explained that it has 65,000 patents worldwide. “We have enough to protect our interests,” Huawei Devices chief marketing officer Victor Xu said. “We are a very important stakeholder in Android.” Each of the Chinese companies reportedly has a large patent portfolio and, combined, they could create enough of a force to stave off at least some of the patent-related lawsuits that have plagued other companies.

Read

Sprint quietly launched the Express on Friday, a new $20 Android smartphone manufactured by Huawei. The device runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and features a 2.6-inch display with a 320 x 240-pixel resolution, a full QWERTY keyboard, 512MB of RAM, a 1,600 mAh battery, a microSD slow for up to 32GB of storage, a 3.2-megapixel camera and the ability to share its 3G connection via a mobile hotspot feature. The Express is available now for $20 with a new two-year Sprint contract.

Read

Huawei announced on Monday its intentions to purchase Symantec’s 49% stake in Huawei Symantec, a joint venture between the two companies that was originally formed in 2008, giving Huawei full control of the company. “The integration of Huawei Symantec’s innovative security and storage technology with Huawei’s enterprise products will reinforce Huawei’s leading position in cloud computing,” said Guo Ping, deputy chairman of Huawei.” The $530 million purchase is still pending regulatory approval, but Huawei expects the deal to close during the first quarter of 2012. Read on for the full press release.

Huawei Acquires Symantec Stake in Huawei Symantec Joint Venture

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and SHENZHEN, China – Nov 14, 2011 – Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) and Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced an agreement on a transaction where Huawei will acquire Symantec’s 49 percent stake in Huawei Symantec Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Symantec) for USD $530 million. Upon closing, the agreement will give Huawei full ownership of Huawei Symantec.

Huawei Symantec is a Hong Kong-based joint venture established by Huawei and Symantec in 2008.The company provides customers with innovative security, storage and systems management solutions. Over the past few months, Huawei and Symantec have held several rounds of discussions and negotiations over the future of the joint venture. Huawei and Symantec have mutually agreed that the next stage of growth for the joint venture would benefit from the direction of a single owner.

“I am thrilled that Huawei Symantec will become a key pillar of Huawei’s ICT solutions. The integration of Huawei Symantec’s innovative security and storage technology with Huawei’s enterprise products will reinforce Huawei’s leading position in cloud computing,” said Guo Ping, Deputy Chairman of Huawei. “Huawei Symantec has achieved tremendous success in the past four years, having built a portfolio of products and solutions that are widely recognized by our customers and business partners. Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to increase investment in Huawei Symantec, reaffirming its commitment to customers.”

“Symantec achieved the objectives we set four years ago and exit the joint venture with a good return on our investment, increased penetration into China and a growing appliance business,” said Enrique Salem, president and chief executive officer, Symantec. “Today, China is one of Symantec’s fastest growing markets. It has grown 46 percent over the last three fiscal years. We remain committed to ongoing investment in China as well as building additional relationships in the region. Expertise gained from this endeavor has also led to our growing appliance business that provides our customers the additional choice of Symantec market leading security and storage software in an easy to deploy appliance.”

The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012. Until the closing, Huawei and Symantec will continue to comply with their commitments under the existing joint venture agreements.

Webcast and Conference Call Information

Symantec will host a conference call and webcast today at 2 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. ET to discuss the sale of Symantec’s shares of the Huawei Symantec joint venture. The live discussion can be accessed by dialing 888-726-2470 domestic and 913-312-1430 internationally, passcode 2427376. An audio webcast of the call will also be available at www.symantec.com/invest. Please go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the call will be available via webcast at www.symantec.com/invest.

Microsoft is chasing down Huawei in search of a patent licensing agreement, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. “Yes, Microsoft has come to us,” Huawei Devices chief marketing officer Victor Xu told The Guardian. ”We always respect the intellectual property of companies. But we have 65,000 patents worldwide too. We have enough to protect our interests. We are a very important stakeholder in Android.” Xu also said that “negotiations are in progress” with Microsoft, which takes home an estimated $444 million annually from Android royalties. Microsoft has a cross-licensing agreement with Samsung and has similar deals with HTC, ViewSonic and other Android device vendors. It is expected that Microsoft may soon hunt down Amazon for an agreement related to its new Android-powered Kindle Fire tablet, too. 

[Via Engadget]

Read

T-Mobile recently published product pages with launch dates for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the T-Mobile SpringBoard. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available on November 2nd and the SpringBoard will be available on November 9th. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is equipped with a 10.1-inch display, Android Honeycomb, a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, a 3.2-megapixel camera and a secondary 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats. For more information on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, be sure to check out our full review. The T-Mobile SpringBoard, which we had a chance to get up-close with during CTIA in San Diego, is built by Huawei and offers a smaller 7-inch display. It is equipped with a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.2GHz, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video, a 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats and also runs Android Honeycomb. T-Mobile has not yet announced pricing for either tablet. Read on for a link to each tablet’s product page to sign-up for more information.

[Via Engadget]

Read [T-Mobile SpringBoard] Read [Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1]

We are on the CTIA Enterprise & Applications show floor in San Diego and just quickly swung by Huawei’s booth to check out one of T-Mobile’s latest tablets, the SpringBoard. This Huawei-built slate is definitely one of the best looking 7-inch tablets we’ve seen yet. The back and sides of the tablet feel like aluminum and, while it’s a bit heavy like the T-Mobile G-Slate, the SpringBoard’s thin form factor adds to its attractiveness. The tablet runs Android Honeycomb and is equipped with a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p HD video and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. T-Mobile has yet to announce pricing or a launch date, but we’re definitely looking forward to spending more time with the SpringBoard. Be sure to check out the photo gallery below.

AT&T announced the Impulse 4G on Wednesday, an Android 2.2 (Froyo) smartphone that will be available beginning on September 18th for just $29.99 with a new two-year contract. Despite its budget-friendly price, the Impulse 4G offers solid specs. It is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video, Wi-Fi, GPS and a 3.8-inch touchscreen with a WVGA resolution. The Impulse 4G is Huawei’s first smartphone for AT&T, and Huawei’s U.S. president of devices Cui Jiangao said the company is committed to working with AT&T to offer more devices in the future. Read on for the full press release from AT&T.

Suffering from Smartphone Envy? Upgrade to Impulse 4G™ Without Breaking the Bank

Feature-rich Android smartphone available for $29.99 from AT&T

Working 9 to 5 during the summer season can make anyone reluctant to spend that hard-earned money.  Now, smartphone customers can have a cutting edge smartphone at an exceptional value — the Impulse 4G™ from AT&T*.

Key Facts

• Beginning Sept. 18, the Impulse 4G will be available for $29.99 with a two-year contract through AT&T stores, online at att.com and through select national retailers.
• The Impulse 4G from AT&T offers unbeatable value for those wanting to take advantage of the capabilities of an Android™-powered smartphone at a lower cost.  The Impulse makes it possible to surf the web, watch videos, check emails and stay engaged with social media from a phone at an affordable price.
• Impulse 4G includes a 3.8” touchscreen and the ability to record HD video.

Appearing in AT&T TV spots starting Sept. 18 and notably AT&T’s first smartphone from Huawei, the Impulse 4G doesn’t skimp on features despite its unbeatable value.  Running the Android 2.2 platform and sporting HD video recording, a full touch screen and 5-megapixel camera, Impulse 4G meets mobile needs and can be paired with a Data Plus plan, with 200 MB of data for just $15 dollars.

Device Specs and Key Features

• 3.8” Capacitive WVGA Touchscreen
• Operating System: Android 2.2
• 5MP Camera with auto-focus, flash, and 720p HD video record
• Wi-Fi with access to AT&T’s Hotspots
• GPS Navigation
• Dimensions: 120mm x 65mm x 11.6mm

Quotes

“Smartphone sales are exploding as consumers realize the value of having the Internet and a wide array of apps available at their fingertips,” said Avi Greengart, Research Director for Consumer Devices at Current Analysis. “However, the economy is challenging, and some consumers simply can’t afford a flagship smartphone. The Huawei Impulse 4G from AT&T is priced like a budget smartphone but brings a much larger display and higher resolution video recording than other Android phones at this price point.”

“These days we’re all looking for ways to get the most for our money and the Impulse 4G from AT&T does exactly that,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.  “The Impulse 4G gives consumers another option to enjoy the benefits of a smartphone at an exceptional value.”

“This is an important milestone for Huawei,” said Cui Jiangao, President of Huawei Device USA. “As we introduce our first smart phone for AT&T, we believe the Impulse 4G will allow consumers to experience the best of AT&T’s applications. We are committed to working with AT&T to create influential devices that will provide user-friendly mobile experiences.”

AT&T’s purported fall and winter roadmap was recently leaked by Pocketnow and there are a number of devices to get excited about. The Samsung Kupua and HTC Bunyip, two Windows Phone Mango devices, will make their debut during the fourth quarter and will each pack an 8-megapixel camera and an 800 x 480-pixel display. RIM’s full-touchscreen Torch 9860 is also due out during the fourth quarter. It offers an 800 x 480-pixel display, a 1.2GHz processor and a 5-megapixel camera. AT&T will launch a handful of Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) devices, too, including the Pantech Nulu, the Samsung Singa SGH-i777, the Huawei Jengu, the Motorola Fuath MB862 (possibly the LTE-packing ATRIX 2), the Pantech Onza and the Samsung Gidim SH-i927. Finally, RIM’s freshly announced Curve 9360 will hit AT&T store shelves in time for the holidays.

Read

Gartner on Thursday issued its global mobile phone sales data for the second quarter, which shows that the industry grew 16.5% from the same quarter last year, to 428.7 million units. Smartphone sales jumped 74% year-on-year, with 107.7 million smartphones having been sold to end users around the world. “Smartphone sales continued to rise at the expense of feature phones,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner, in a statement. “Consumers in mature markets are choosing entry-level and midrange Android smartphones over feature phones, partly due to carriers’ and manufacturers’ promotions.” Android was the top smartphone operating system in the second quarter with a market share of 43.4% and unit sales totaling 46.78 million devices, and Symbian’s 23.85 million devices secured it a No. 2 position with 22.1% of the smartphone OS market. Apple’s iOS held 18.2% of the smartphone market last quarter, followed by RIM’s BlackBerry OS at 11.7%, Samsung’s Bada OS at 1.9% and Microsoft mobile platforms at 1.6%. Gartner also said Nokia was the world’s top smartphone vendor in the second quarter, though it did not provide data to support this claim in its press release, which follows below.

Gartner Says Sales of Mobile Devices in Second Quarter of 2011 Grew 16.5 Percent Year-on-Year; Smartphone Sales Grew 74 Percent

ZTE Became Fifth-Largest Mobile Phone Manufacturer and RIM Dropped to No. 6

Egham, UK, August 11, 2011—

Worldwide sales of mobile devices to end users totaled 428.7 million units in the second quarter of 2011, a 16.5 percent increase from the second quarter of 2010, according to Gartner, Inc. (see Table 1).

The channel built up stock at the end of the first quarter of 2011 in preparation of possible component shortages following the Japanese earthquake. As a result, sell-in demand slowed in the second quarter of 2011 to 421.1 million units, a 4.4 percent decrease from the previous quarter.

Sales of smartphones were up 74 percent year-on-year and accounted for 25 percent of overall sales in the second quarter of 2011, up from 17 percent in the second quarter of 2010.

“Smartphone sales continued to rise at the expense of feature phones,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. “Consumers in mature markets are choosing entry-level and midrange Android smartphones over feature phones, partly due to carriers’ and manufacturers’ promotions.” However, replacement sales in Western Europe showed signs of fatigue as smartphone sales declined quarter-on-quarter.

Table 1
Worldwide Mobile Device Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2Q11 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor	2Q11 Units	2Q11 Market Share (%)	2Q10 Units	2Q10 Market Share (%)
Nokia	97,869.3	22.8	111,473.7	30.3
Samsung	69,827.6	16.3	65,328.2	17.8
LG	24,420.8	5.7	29,366.7	8.0
Apple	19,628.8	4.6	8,743.0	2.4
ZTE	13,070.2	3.0	6,730.6	1.8
Research In Motion	12,652.3	3.0	11,628.8	3.2
HTC	11,016.1	2.6	5,908.8	1.6
Motorola	10,221.4	2.4	9,109.4	2.5
Huawei Device	9,026.1	2.1	5,276.4	1.4
Sony Ericsson	7,266.5	1.7	11,008.5	3.0
Others	153,662.1	35.8	103,412.6	28.1
Total	428,661.2	100.0	367,986.7	100.0

Source: Gartner (August 2011)

In smartphones, Nokia’s sales into the channel in the second quarter of 2011 were low. This was partly due to a very competitive market that deflated demand for Symbian, but also to inventory management issues in Europe and China in particular. The channel bought less and worked hard to reduce stock levels, partly by cutting prices on older products. These factors reduced Nokia’s average selling price for smartphones, compared to the first quarter of 2011. “The sales efforts of the channel, combined with Nokia’s greater concentration in retail and distributors’ sales, saw Nokia destock more than 9 million units overall and 5 million smartphones, helping it hold on to its position as the leading smartphone manufacturer by volume,” said Ms. Cozza. “However, we will not see a repeat of this performance in the third quarter of 2011, as Nokia’s channel is pretty lean.”

Samsung achieved strong growth in sales of mobile devices. For example, the Galaxy S II sold well, and this model went on to chalk up 5 million sales by the end of July. A strong performance in the smartphone market helped Samsung increase its market share, to become the third-largest smartphone vendor. However, its overall share dropped year-on-year, and grew only marginally quarter-on-quarter, mainly due to Samsung’s weaker presence in more price-sensitive market segments.

Apple continued to exceed expectations, even though the iPhone 4 will soon be replaced by a new model. Part of its growth came from the 42 new carriers and 15 new countries that it entered in the second quarter of 2011, which brought its total coverage to 100 countries. This expansion caused its inventory to grow a little by the end of the second quarter of 2011, when sales to end users stood at 19.6 million units. In mainland China, Apple is the seventh-largest mobile phone vendor and the third-largest smartphone vendor.

Research In Motion’s (RIM’s) share of the smartphone market declined to 12 percent in the second quarter of 2011, from 19 percent a year ago. Also, the company lost its No. 5 position in the worldwide ranking of mobile device vendors to ZTE. Demand for RIM’s devices in the second quarter was impaired by an ageing portfolio and delays in shipping products. In the coming quarters RIM will have to deal with increased competition to its messaging offering and manage a platform migration from BlackBerry 7 to QNX.

Google and Apple are the obvious winners in the smartphone ecosystem. The combined share of iOS and Android in the smartphone operating system (OS) market doubled to nearly 62 percent in the second quarter of 2011, up from just over 31 percent in the corresponding period of 2010 (see Table 2). Gartner analysts observed that these two OSs have the usability that consumers enjoy, the apps that consumers feel they need, and increasingly a portfolio of services delivered by the platform owner as well.

Table 2
Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2Q11 (Thousands of Units)

Operating System	2Q11 Units	2Q11 Market Share (%)	2Q10 Units	2Q10 Market Share (%)
Android	46,775.9	43.4	10,652.7	17.2
Symbian	23,853.2	22.1	25,386.8	40.9
iOS	19,628.8	18.2	8,743.0	14.1
Research In Motion	12,652.3	11.7	11,628.8	18.7
Bada	2,055.8	1.9	577.0	0.9
Microsoft	1,723.8	1.6	3,058.8	4.9
Others	1,050.6	1.0	2,010.9	3.2
Total	107,740.4	100.0	62,058.1	100.0

Source: Gartner (August 2011)

“We expect manufacturers and distributors to remain cautious about raising their stock levels in the second half of 2011, following the recent uncertainty on the world financial markets,” said Annette Zimmermann, principal research analyst at Gartner. Gartner expects sales of mobile devices to grow around 12 percent in 2011.

For more information, see the Gartner report “Market Share: Mobile Communication Devices by Region and Country, 2Q11” which is available on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1764117.

Last year, Huawei shipped 3.3 million smartphones, and this year the Shenzhen-based company has bigger goals in mind. On Wednesday the company lifted its yearly smartphone shipment projection to 20 million units according to Reuters — a jump from the 12-15 million smartphones the company said it hoped to ship this year back in April. “Our original target this year was at 12-15 million units globally,” Victor Xu, chief strategy and marketing officer of Huawei Device, said. “Currently, based on the sales in the first half of this year, sales in the domestic market might have already exceeded this figure. Therefore, we think probably that could be around 20 million units globally.” Huawei has launched a number of affordable handsets globally, and while some have landed on regional U.S. carriers, the larger U.S. carriers typically only stock its USB modems. The company also recently took the wraps off of its new MediaPad Android tablet, a device that is expected to launch this fall — although it’s unclear if it will make its way to the United States.

Read

Facing stiff competition from Samsung, LG, and Apple, Motorola Mobility has seen a slump in its share price and market share following a recent downgrade from analyst firm BMO. According to Dow Jones News Wires, Motorola Mobility’s share of the Android market took off like a rocket when it introduced the highly sought-after Motorola DROID on Verizon in 2009. However, its Android share fell from 33% last year to just 14% in the first quarter as other manufacturers began pumping out competing Android devices, some at lower price points. Reportedly, BMO has cut Motorola Mobility’s earnings per share target for the year and has dropped its price target from $26 to $19. Motorola Mobility last closed at $22, down from its 52-week high of $36.54.

Cricket will start to test the first installment of its 4G LTE network in Tucson, Arizona, the carrier confirmed in a recent interview with PCMag. Cricket’s vice president of device development, Matt Stoiber, said testing will begin during the second half of this year and that it will use Huawei’s E397 dual-mode USB modem preliminarily. The company has inked a roaming deal with LightSquared and has set a March 2012 target date for the first commercial LTE products to become available for its customers. USB modems will populate Cricket shelves first, followed by 4G LTE phones once the tech has evolved enough to make them cheaper and slimmer with good battery life. PCMag also suggested that Cricket’s next markets could include Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.

Read

On Monday, Huawei officially announced the MediaPad, a 7-inch tablet powered by Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). The MediaPad sports a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 5-megapixel camera, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chats, support for HSPA+ and 802.11n Wi-Fi networks, HDMI-out, and a microSD card slot for adding up to 32GB of storage. Huawei also says the MediaPad’s 4,100mAh battery should provide more than six hours of battery life. The MediaPad is expected to launch this fall, although Huawei did not provide a price.

[Via Electronista]

Read