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Android phone boasts 14Mbps HSPA+
2010-02-19 Article Rating:  / 0
Huawei announced the U8800, which it calls the first Android smartphone to run the 14Mbps HSPA+ cellular technology, and also tipped three lower-end Android phones -- the U8300, U8100, and U8110 -- plus a 7-inch "SmaKit S7" Android tablet. Meanwhile AT&T confirmed that it will launch the Motorola Backflip on Mar. 7.
The high-end U8800 model is notable primarily for its support of a 3.5G technology being promoted by Huawei in its new telecom equipment shown at MWC this year, called HSPA+. See farther below for more on HSPA+.  Huawei's HSPA+-enabled U8800 U8300, U8100, and U8110 The U8300 is aimed at the youth market, and integrates social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter, says Huawei. A Qwerty keypad is lodged below the almost square display, and is said to be ergonomically designed for chat. The U8300 will be available in green, yellow, and purple, says Huawei.  Huawei U8300  Huawei U8100  Huawei U8110 Huawei also announced a SmaKit S7 tablet with a 7-inch display and a resolution of 800 x 480. The company offered no more technical details about the Android-based tablet/MID, which it refers to as a "HID."  Huawei SmaKit S7 HSPA+ Huawei's main focus at the Mobile World Congress show was to push its new HSPA+ networking equipment, which is said to offer downlink data rates of up to 84Mbps and uplinks of 11Mbps. Apparently, this refers to equipment downloads only, as the HSPA+ enabled U8800 phone only offers 14Mbps downloads, which is still twice as fast as HSDPA/HSPA. Huawei's HSPA+ solution is based on 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) Release 9 standards, and combines higher order modulation (HOM) schemes (64QAM), multi-input multi-output (MIMO), and dual cell transmission, says the company. To achieve the peak uplink rates of up to 11Mbps, Huawei uses an "Interference Cancellation" technology, which is said to double the speed on 3GPP Release 6, while minimizing intra-cell interference issues. In March of last year, Huawei deployed Asia Pacific' s first 21Mbps HSPA+ commercial network, says the company. In October, Huawei announced plans to provide 28Mbps HSPA+ commercial service in Singapore, then demonstrated a 56Mbps HSPA+ commercial solution in Beijing, says the company. Stated Kevin Tao, CEO, Huawei Device, "The customized Android smartphones reflect our long-term investment to develop high-end devices which enable operators to deliver enhanced and differentiated mobile services. The U8800 enables operators to provide tailor-made, stylish and affordable smartphones to their subscribers." Backflip flips to AT&T The Motorola Backflip, one of the more unusual Android phones to appear in recent months, is headed for AT&T on Mar. 7, according to the carrier. The Backflip will be available in AT&T online and retail stores for $100 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year contract and data plan, says the company.
 Motorola Backflip The Backflip is equipped with a 528MHz Qualcomm processor, and offers 2GB of memory, a 3.1-inch 480 x 320 touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth, aGPS, and a five-megapixel camera. The phone is notable for its reverse-flip QWERTY keyboard, as well as a "Backtrack" touchpanel on the back of the device. Offering Mot's MotoBlur UI, the Backflip was introduced with Android 1.5, but was said to be upgradeable to Android 2.x. This fall, AT&T launched the Linux-based Garmin-Asus Nuvifone G60 smartphone, but the new Android version, the Nuvifone A50, will debut first in Europe, with no commitment so far from AT&T. Availability More information on the U8800 and other Huawei Android devices (but not much more) is available on the Huawei page, here. The U8800 is set for a 3Q release, and the U8100 and U8110 are scheduled for a 2Q Europe release. No details were offered on the availability of the U8300 or the SmaKit S7 tablet. The AT&T Backflip page may be found here. An eWEEK story on AT&T's Backflip move should be here. Related Stories:
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