Chinese telecom equipment and terminal manufacturer Huawei today released its Ascend P1 dual-core flagship smartphone on the Chinese market. The Ascend P1 is Huawei's first high-end smart phone, and has been released to both online and offline merchants in China at a retail price of RMB 2,999. The phone is equipped with an Android 4.0 operating system, a 4.3-inch touch screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and an 8 mln pixel camera. It is 7.69 mm thick and weighs 110 g.

Huawei plans to expand its high-end smartphone production line in 2012 and initiate an all-out expansion of its sales channels beyond phone operators to include more e-commerce and other B2C sales channels. Huawei senior VP Richard Yu reported that the Ascend P1 is Huawei's strategically "consumer oriented" product of 2012, a shift from the company's primarily B2B focus.

Editor's note: Sina Tech also reported today that vice president of Huawei China Wang Weijun has disclosed Huawei's new price segmentation for handsets, with handsets such as the C8650 and Sonic at the low end at RMB 1,000; 4-inch screen smartphones, such as the Huawei Honor, in the mid-range, between RMB 2,000-2,500; and flagship products such as the Ascend P1 at the high end nearing RMB 3,000. With regard to Huawei's business outlook for the year, Wang commented, "By the end of 2012, we hope to see Huawei's total terminal shipments in China reach 50 mln units, total handset shipments reach 30 mln units, and total smartphone units to reach 20 mln units."

Source:marbridgeconsulting