Disqus
Huawei has announced two low-end Android handsets, due for O2 and Movistar. The first is the G7002, and is pretty basic: 2.4″ display, 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio, and only 2G. It’ll be available on O2 soon for £40 with a prepaid plan. The Ivy U8100 for Movistar is a bit higher-class, including Android 2.1, 7.2 Mbps HSPA, a 2.8″ touchscreen, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 3 megapixel camera. It should be coming out June 1. Both are in a similar form factor (that’s the Ivy pictured above).
The style of the Ivy reminds me a lot of the HTC Tattoo, and will probably occupy a similar price range. Although relatively new to the smartphone thing, Huawei is pretty enthusiastic about Android. At MWC, they announced a bunch of handsets, including the first HSPA+ capable Android phone, and has since unleashed the Pulse. It’ll be hard to compete with heavyweights like HTC and Motorola for the upper tier, but Huawei could push smartphones into the lower end of the product spectrum if they focus on cheap handsets like this. For the progress of Android overall, basic, inexpensive handsets could be appealing to those new to smartphones who are unwilling to pay a premium.
[via Mobile Burn, TMCNet]
UPDATE: Woops, looks like the G7002 doesn’t run Android.
About The Author
Simon Sage
Simon Sage’s education largely surrounded writing, technology and online community, leading him to begin his blogging career at www.BlackBerryCool.com and to quickly discover a vibrant and active community surrounding BlackBerry and mobile technology. In exploring RIM’s platform, he has learned what enterprises are looking for in mobility as well as what makes the innocuous BlackBerry so appealing to them. Recently Simon’s been covering RIM’s gradual move into an already-crowded consumer market, and the impact of burgeoning challengers, such as the iPhone, as well as long-time leaders, like Nokia, on BlackBerry’s advancement. With plenty of content under his belt, Simon will be branching off a bit to see what other smartphone manufacturers are working on while still using BlackBerry as a barometer. At IntoMobile, you can count on his posts being even-handed, well-informed and thought-out.
