Huawei yesterday took the wraps off of the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate and 5-inch Ascend D2 at its big CES presser, and while we've also been expecting the Windows Phone 8-powered Ascend W1 to debut in Vegas, Huawei didn't mention it during its gathering. Turns out the W1 was slated for a much more quiet introduction, as Huawei showed the smartphone off at last night's Pepcom show. The W1 was given a quick once-over by Engadget and, as expected, it features a 4-inch 800x480 display, 5-megapixel rear and 0.3-megapixel front cameras and a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. Also included is a 1,950mAh battery, 512MB RAM and 4GB storage. Users will have the option of supplementing that 4GB of memory thanks to the inclusion of a microSD slot.
While the Ascend W1 doesn't quite have a spec sheet that'll match high-end Windows Phone 8 hardware like the Lumia 920 and Windows Phone 8X, it could make a decent entry-level handset if it's priced right. There's no word yet on exactly when the W1 might see the bright light of retail stores, but Huawei did reveal to Engadget that it'll be hitting the U.S. this year, so at least we know that it'll be making its way stateside at some point in the future. A brief hands-on video showing the W1 in action can be found below to keep you entertained until we hear more.
In other Huawei-made Windows Phone news, the company's product manager has told CNET that Huawei has another Windows Phone 8 product in the pipeline, adding that this upcoming model will be comparable to the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate that debuted yesterday. No other details about the mysterious phone were spilled, but for folks interested in a gigantic Windows Phone device, that may be something to keep an eye on. Stay tuned.
