Huawei unveils first HSPA+ Android phone
Huawei has introduced the U8800, the world's first Android smartphone to support HSPA+ connectivity, which promises to cut the time of 3G mobile data downloads in half.
The phone, launched on Monday at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, can support HSPA+ downlink speeds of up to 14Mbps, which is roughly twice the maximum speed offered by the widespread HSDPA technology.
The manufacturer said the U8800 will become commercially available in the third quarter of 2010.
"Customised Android smartphones reflect our long-term investment to develop high-end devices which enable operators to deliver enhanced and differentiated mobile services," Huawei Devices chief Kevin Tao said in a statement.
The U8800 has a 3.8-inch widescreen and is based on Android 2.1, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. Huawei has not yet provided any pricing information for the handset.
HSPA+, which has been trialled by Vodafone in the UK, is likely to be the final development in 3G technology, before even faster 4G technology — more accurately called the long-term evolution (LTE) of 3G — takes over.
Also at Mobile World Congress, Ericsson has been demonstrating an HSPA+ network with a theoretical maximum downlink speed of 84Mbps, a record for the technology.