Qualcomm shows off some of its new Qualcomm-powered technology at CES, with the help of a few well known friends.
For those who missed the Qualcomm keynote this evening, you missed quite the celebrity mix. Between Maroon 5′s Adam Levine, actress Alice Eve, and Sesame Street’s Big Bird, Qualcomm certainly was strutting its stuff in an effort to demonstrate some of the new technology they planned to release in 2013, including several major software developments centered on the real world and mobile devices working together in unison.
While Qualcomm was coy not to mention a new Snapdragon or other big hardware upgrades (we’re betting on the MWC next month), they talked a lot about the “Sixth Sense” of computing, and how it allows you to be informed and in the loop in ways never before possible. This was the introduction to Qualcomm’s presentation of their new Vuforic, and other technology that they hope to have released in time for the summer. While Vuforic is not new, it’s yet to get anywhere near as in-depth a demonstration as Qualcomm showed today.
In one case, Big Bird and a team member of the Sesame Workshop came in and showed off the latest development of Qualcomm’s Vuforic tech in the realm of children’s applications. The app showed how it could recognize text and subsequently help teach a child words. It was an excellent demonstration of Vuforic’s ability to interact with the environment and virtually experience what is otherwise static.
Another case, featuring Alice Eve from the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness, was a showoff for the new upcoming Star Trek movie. The movie will feature a new app experience powered by Qualcomm’s technology, allowing users to go on “missions” and add to the overall experience by checking out trailers, visiting certain locations, and more. This is just another example of the sort of tech Qualcomm hopes to bring to consumers once developers bring the tech into full swing.
Finally, Qualcomm decided to show off Adam Levine in a brief Maroon 5 performance before calling it a night. We’re excited to see which devices will be compatible (we guess many given how popular snapdragon is) with this new Qualcomm tech as it begins to debut in the coming months, and developers get a hold of the highly anticipated SDK in the spring.
Qualcomm has just announced their next generation of mobile processors, the Snapdragon 800 and 600 series.
Starting with the Snapdragon 600, it includes two of Qualcomm's newest Krait 300 cores, clocked at 1.9GHz. The GPU is the Adreno 320 with an increased clock speed compared to the one in the S4. The Snapdragon 600 is aimed at mid-range mobile devices.
If you want something faster, then Qualcomm has the new Snapdragon 800 for you. Running four of the latest Krait 400 CPU cores clocked at an incredible 2.3GHz, along with a brand new Adreno 330 GPU, which is said to be 50 percent faster than the Adreno 320. Thanks to all this power, the Snapdragon 800 is also capable of encoding/deciding 4K content at 30fps.
Other features include integrated 9x25 3rd generation LTE baseband, integrated 802.11ac baseband and 2x32bit LP-DDR3 at 800MHz memory with 12.8GB/s bandwidth. Both the Snapdragon 800 and 600 are based on TSMC's 28nm process.
The old Snapdragon S1-S4 series has now been rebranded and replaced by the Snapdragon 200, 400, 600 and 800 series of processors. The Snapdragon 800 is expected to arrive by the middle of the year whereas the 600 should arrive by Q2.
Watch out Samsung Galaxy Note 2, there’s a new phablet in town. Well, not yet, but when the Huawei Ascend Mate makes its way to market, it’ll be the biggest screen on a phone to date. All 6.1-inches of the Ascend Mate’s display will challenge the Galaxy Note 2 for phablet supremacy.
And just like that, the phablet war began. Thanks to information leaks before the start of CES 2013, there wasn’t a whole lot of mystery surrounding the handsets Huawei was planning to show off. Luckily, that didn’t discredit just how impressive those devices can be up close. The Ascend Mate made a particularly sizable splash, likely because it’s just so darn big. With 6.1-inch screen, which consumes most of the space on the device, built into a chasis just 9.9mm thick (not to mention features seemingly aimed to directly counter those of the Galaxy Note 2), the Ascend Mate is the newest and biggest competitor in the phablet market.
Samsung is still riding the waves of success from 2012, but it’s a new year and the throne is up for grabs. We might not see the Ascend Mate in North America for awhile still, but we can sure speculate on what will happen when it arrives. Check below for the full rundown of specs for the Ascend Mate and the reigning phablet champion, the Galaxy Note 2.
Conclusion: If there is one thing the Ascend Mate has on its side, it’s sheer size. Not only is its screen over half an inch larger, but it also has a higher screen-to-frame ratio than the Galaxy Note 2. The battery, with 4050mAh, is also undeniably impressive. Add to that the promised battery saving technology from Huawei and you’ll have a bigger battery that runs more efficiently. The Mate does feel a little underpowered, and the lack of an SD card slot is definitely a negative. But man, that screen.
The Galaxy Note 2 also has the support of Samsung’s well-liked S Pen stylus and the powerful NFC sharing technology. The Ascend Mate comes with a couple unique features not included in our spec chart as well. Magic Touch allows users to perform actions on the touch screen through clothes or gloves. Did we mention how big that screen is, by the way? All of this is pretty hypothetical for us until there’s a price point and a North American release, but it’s fun to speculate.
CES has begun and we’re already in the muck of it all. Before we lose our minds though, we took some time to check out Velodyne’s new vFree Bluetooh headphones.
Velodyne is a name known to audiophiles mostly for their subwoofers, but last year the company expanded their portfolio with a set on in-ear headphones. Now they’re going all in with two new over the ear models, the vTrue Studio headphones and the vFree Bluetooth headphones. We got a chance to go hands-on with the vFree and so far we’re impressed. Not just because of the audio quality, but also the extra perks.
Though the vFree offer wireless audio with Bluetooth, they’re not big and bulky. They’re about the size of Beats Studio headphones and about the same weight. They fold up nice and compact as well. Similar to the Parrot Zik Bluetooth headphones, the controls for volume and playback are on the outside of the right earpiece. The vFree controls are physical buttons, though, which means you’re less likely to activate them by accident.
The vFree delivers rich audio quality with plenty of bass, naturally. The latency is very low, so you can watch video and not worry about the audio getting out of sync. You’ll be able to connect the vFree to a headphone jack as well (the cable is included) for those of you rocking a media player without Bluetooth or if want to use them on an airplane.
Charging is via Micro USB, same as most smartphones and other portable devices, and the vFree is rated to last up to 10 hours on a charge.
The headphones come in three basic colors: white, black, and silver. Alone, they look nice but don’t stand out. That’s where the skins come in. Velodyne designed a set of skins that fit over the vFree earpieces and headband and don’t add a significant amount of weight. They’re easy to put on and pull off, so you can change the look every day if you want. A rep also said that there are plans to allow people to upload their own skin designs in the future.
Even with the skins on you can still control playback and volume. Each skin has small raised bumps corresponding to the buttons underneath, making it easy to find them by touch.
Sony has admitted that it took its eye off the ball for a few years, but is keen to point out that's it's back and better than ever.
The honest appraisal came during a video presentation at Sony's CES 2013 press conference, with the voice over revealing: "we used to make people say wow all the time.
"Our unique combination of artists and engineers set out to create a surprise everyday. We forgot the power of that for a while."
The wow gauge
"Wow should be the only gauge by which we measure everything we do and it's happening with 4K cameras, by developing headphones for music producers which end up being the best, period or a digital camera that beat the Mars Rover to invention of the year, that's our comeback… not bad."
That's all pretty powerful stuff and of course Sony is going to say that's it's on top of its game, but it is interesting to see a bit of honesty from a large company and the realisation that its lost out to rivals over recent years.
With new televisions, cameras, camcorders and mobile phones all being unveiled at CES 2013 the Japanese firm is certainly showing its intent, and we look forward to seeing how it gets on.
If you’re going to compete, you might as well compete with the best. Huawei is ready to make its mark in the upper echelon of the smartphone market. It’s entrant is the Ascend D2, a 5-inch phone with a gorgeous display. We put it up against the Galaxy S3 and Droid DNA to see who comes out on top.
Huawei isn’t exactly the biggest name in mobile at the moment. Despite some great handsets available already, the company hasn’t managed to get a foothold quite as big as the leaders in the industry. If one wants to be a leader, though, one has to make a strong case for oneself. The Ascend D2, Huawei’s latest flagship phone offering, looks like it’ll do a good job of making that case. A sizable screen, impressive in-house built processor, and a 13 megapixel camera make it look like a sure-fire contender with the other top dogs. We wanted to see how exactly it would stack up in a tale of the tape with others in its weight class, so we lined it up against the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC’s Droid DNA to see who would come out on top.
When it comes to screens, it’s the Ascend D2 and Droid DNA that pull ahead. Both with a 5-inch display and pixel-per-inch ratio cracking the 440 mark, these phones come with quite possibly the best looking displays we’ve seen. The in-house made, quad-core processor that powers the Ascend D2 is probably the most intriguing thing in this entire match up. During its CES 2013 unveiling, Huawei made sure to show just what the processor was capable of, and it didn’t disappoint. We’d still like to get our hands on it to experience it in person. Samsung obviously has the advantage of market share which plays to its advantage with features like S Beam, the NFC sharing system that works between other Samsung devices. While much of the contest is pretty neck-and-neck, the Ascend D2 soars when it comes to the camera. The 13 megapixel rear-facing camera might be a big enough improvement over the 8 megapixel offerings on both the Galaxy S3 and the Droid DNA to win over photography buffs. While the Ascend D2 probably won’t be in stores in North America for awhile, we’ll be looking forward to getting our hands on it and seeing what it can do.
Intel was again bullish about its smartphone prospects
Intel made a variety of announcements during its CES 2013 press conference, each with varying degrees of significance.
Top of the list in terms of forward-looking events for the company was the debut of Bay Trail, the next-generation 22nm quad-core Atom tablet platform for tablets.
It has more than double the computing performance of the existing Medfield Atom Processor Z2760 platform, but it won't appear in devices until late in the year and will usher in designs as thin as 8mm.
Among the other announcements was a new smartphone platform for emerging markets plus details of thinner and lighter Ultrabooks.
The announcements were outlined by Mike Bell, vice president and general manager of the Mobile and Communications Group, and Kirk Skaugen, vice president and general manager of the PC Client Group at Intel.
Crucially, Skaugen announced that not only would wireless display and touch be a staple of the next-generation Ultrabook platform (alongside the next-generation Intel Core chips) but he also said there would be a new set of low-voltage cureent-generation Intel Core processors set at a mind-blowingly low 7W, having previously said it would have parts at around 10W.
Intel is clearly set on destroying any chance of ARM processors getting into the serious Windows market because of their low power advantage.
After having previously had Windows RT inside its Yoga 11, Lenovo has now turned to these new chips for its Yoga 11S. It's a clear demonstration that the strategy over Windows RT hasn't worked, either for Microsoft or its partners.
Intel also wants to attack ARM in phones as well, of course, and it debuted its previously-leaked Lexington Atom platform which is designed to target the cheaper smartphone segment – Intel quoted analyst stats which suggest sales of 500 million units by 2015.
Acer was one of the manufacturers outed by Intel as a launch partner. It's still to Intel's detriment that it hasn't managed to get too many big name phone partners involved, though Motorola has previously pledged support for Intel chips, of course.
"The addition of the low-power Atom platform further rounds out our expanding portfolio of smartphone offerings," said Bell. Emerging markets are where phones featuring this chip will mostly be sold.
But the feature spec of the Z2420 platform is anything but low end with speeds of 1.2 GHz, hyper-threading, 1080p hardware-accelerated encode/decode, and support for up to two cameras with burst mode. The platform also includes the Intel XMM 6265 HSPA+ modem with dual-SIM capability. There will also be another Z2580 platform targeted at performance phones – it's dual-core, but will offer twice the performance of the existing Z2460.
Intel also talked up its so-called 4th generation Intel Core processor family
deliver up to 9 hours of continuous battery life. To demonstrate the impact of the 4th generation Intel Core processor family, Skaugen showed a new form factor Ultrabook detachable reference design (codenamed "North Cape") that converts into a 10mm tablet and can run on battery for up to 13 hours while docked.
The Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL are extremely similar
One of the biggest bits of news out of CES on Monday was the official unveiling of the Sony Xperia Z, a device that's been rumored for quite some time.
But alongside it Sony revealed another device: the Xperia ZL.
If you'd like to understand the differences, you're going to have to look through a magnifying glass.
Both Sony flagship phones sport a 5-inch 1080p display, a 13 megapixel camera, a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, and 2GB of memory. But there is one key difference.
Not that it matters
The difference is in the size of the actual phone, despite the two devices having identical 5-inch 1080p displays.
The Xperia ZL is actually .08 inches thicker than the Xperia Z, but its overall footprint is ever-so-slightly smaller, at 5.19 by 2.75 inches to the Xperia Z's 5.47 by 2.8 inches.
What's the point of differentiating these two versions of the Xperia Z? No idea.
As Gizmodo points out, there are a few other differences; the Xperia ZL is curved, and it has a physical camera button, an infrared emitter for using it as a remote, and a larger battery.
It's unclear at this point exactly where the Xperia ZL will be released, since Sony's press release on Monday mentioned only "select regions." TechRadar has reached out to the company, but we've yet to receive a response.
Just as expected, Sony's press conference at CES 2013 was indeed mostly about Xperia Z and Xperia ZL. Both leaked numerous times before and we already knew pretty much everything there was to know about them.
Sony Xperia Z
The Sony Xperia Z runs on the latest Snapdragon S4 Pro with a quad-core 1.5GHz Krait processor, Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM. The smartphone is built around a 5" LED-backlit 1080p display with Mobile Bravia 2 Engine and has a 13MP Exmor RS camera sensor capable of 1080p video recording with HDR option at its disposal.
The Xperia Z is IP57-certified for dust and water resistance. It bets on the unibody design and has a non-removable 2,330 mAh battery.
The connectivity pretty much has it all - LTE, HSPA+, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and FM radio. There is a microSD slot too.
The phone runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is skinned with the latest version of Sony's proprietary launcher. It will hit the shelves this March, but its pricing is yet to be announced.
Sony Xperia ZL
The Xperia ZL is a smartphone pretty similar to the Xperia Z, save for the lack of IP57 certification and the slightly different design. The Xperia ZL has its front camera placed in the bottom right corner of the front panel, has a tad smaller footprint (but thicker profile) and is slightly lighter than the Xperia Z. .
The rest is pretty much the same - the 5" 1080p display, the Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset, the 13MP camera, the connectivity department, etc. Don't worry, the Xperia ZL also sports a microSD slot.
Just like the Xperia Z, the ZL runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and will launch this March. The pricing is yet to be revealed. The Xperia Z and ZL will be available in different markets, but Sony refused to reveal more details on that.
The Sony Xperia Z is the phone that's set to propel the Japanese firm to the head of the phone charts - and if it went on specs alone, there's a good chance it would manage it.
We're looking at yet another redesign from the Sony design studios - from the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc to the Xperia Z, we've had four iterations of the smartphone aesthetic. From the 'human curvature' through to the more industrial Xperia S, back to the curves for the Xperia T and now with the sharp edges of the Xperia Z, we're constantly being given new looks.
While we - rightly - lambast Apple for not really changing the look of the iPhone from model to model, this is a lot to take in. However, the good news is that the Xperia Z is probably the most attractive of the lot, with its superbly thin 7mm chassis, 1080p 5-inch screen and quad core Qualcomm processor kicking things along under the hood.
In short, this is the most powerful Sony smartphone ever made, and the brand tells us it's the first model it's really had a strong influence on since it took the manufacturing over from the Ericsson joint venture.
The new design language will permeate through the entire Bravia range apparently, bringing an iconic look to products in the TV, phone and other categories. It make sense, given Sony needs to push the 'connected home' message, but also probably means the Xperia Tablet S will be obsolete before it's even had a chance to get going.
But what of the Xperia Z, we hear you cry? Is this the final message in the Xperia range thanks to nabbing the last letter of the alphabet? Well, probably not, but it does deserve to have the Z moniker thanks to the sheer awesome power on offer.
We've already mentioned the 1080p 5-inch screen, and it's probably both the most impressive and disappointing feature on the Xperia Z. It's impressive because it's so pin sharp, coming with a post-400 PPI and offering some lovely contrast ratios.
On top of that, it's much closer to the edges of the device, meaning that it has a footprint very close to the Samsung Galaxy S3 while packing that massive display. Think Motorola Razr i when you're holding it in the hand and you'll be pretty close.
However, we say we're disappointed in it as it really does lack the impression of a Super AMOLED screen when viewed even slightly off angle. Look at the phone on a table and you'll be surprised how washed out the display seems, compared to the almost printed-on nature of the Samsung S3 or Galaxy Note 2.
We say we're most disappointed in this feature and that tells a story in itself: it's not a big deal at all as you will mostly be looking at the phone straight on for 99% of the time, so for this to be the worst of it means it's an excellent smartphone.
In the hand it feels superbly premium: light enough to be impressive, heavy enough to feel like you're getting a decent deal for the money. And add to that the fact it's water and dust resistant and you'll be so surprised it may fall from your hand. And it would likely survive.
The interface is also a pleasure to use: it's Android Jelly Bean 4.1 running on top of a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core CPU with 2GB of RAM.
We're a little sad that we're not seeing Android 4.2 used here, but Sony assures us that it has placed a minimal skin over the top of the OS and can be upgraded very easily if needed.
In terms of the interface, it's recognisably Sony but doesn't add too many bells and whistles; gone is the resource-intensive and pointless Timescape 'Splines' that dominated the old interface. Instead we're presented with a sea of icons and widgets that you can resize and change as you see fit, and not much else.
The Sony Xperia Z will definitely appeal to those who are fans of stock Android but like the idea of having a little personalisation in their handset - although the lock screen does at least offer a cool way to open up the camera or unlock the phone.
You can have little home screens on this part of the interface too, so you can set calendar, social network or messaging updates to show without you needing to actually start up the phone proper-like.
When we say that the skin is minimal, it really is; so the main points of differentiation have to come from the software enhancements.
To that end, the Mobile Bravia Engine 2 is the biggest leap forward on the phone – we were shown side-by-side comparisons between standard definition footage and the same with the BE2 algorithms applied – and it was startling.
The colours were so much more rich, the detail it 'discovered' was massively impressive, and the overall smoothness of what was a fairly fuzzy scene blew us away.
Sure, it looked a little over-sharp and saturated at times, and proper video buffs are going to moan about the fake enhancements, but in reality most users will see this mode as a real plus.
When it comes to media, we were a little shocked to find out that the Sony Xperia Z comes complete with a microSD card slot to supplement the meagre 16GB of onboard storage.
It's refreshing to see another top level manufacturer putting the option on there, and especially so when you consider the minimal thickness of the phone too.
As you can imagine, HD video looked simply superb on the expansive screen, and we can see the Xperia Z will be a really decent mobile for movies on the go.
The screen is also excellent for internet browsing (along with the RAM and processor combo, which on Wi-Fi were superbly speedy. We couldn't test it on 3G or 4G, but we'd imagine that it will be excellent on both as well, given the grunt and speed on offer).
Zooming in and out of text was a breeze and it meant that even if you wanted to view anything zoomed out, the text was really easy to read and made navigation that much easier.
In short, when it comes to movies or internet browsing on the go, we couldn't really fault the Xperia Z. Of course, it does come down to price, but with one of the best processors on the market as well as an impressive screen there are going to be a lot of people drawn to the device.
Another one of Sony's strengths is the upgraded Exmor R sensor: it's now the Exmor RS version and it brings even greater low light ability. Sony is touting the improved photo quality, obviously, but its main feature is HDR video recording.
This means the Xperia Z can handle full HD video, process each frame three times and decide on the optimal light level. It's an incredible amount of work going on when you consider it, so we'll be massively intrigued to see how the battery power holds up during our full Sony Xperia Z review.
The final thing that we really think is worth mentioning, especially with the possibly suspect battery power, is the data and power management on offer.
Sony has, it says, invented new technology that means the phone will be drawing very little power when in sleep mode (ie when the screen is turned off) and it will completely disable apps from being able to communicate during this time.
The first phone to perform such a trick is the Sony Xperia E, a more budget offering, but the difference between these two is that the Xperia Z can intelligently decide which apps should be able to communicate and which shouldn't.
The user will have to specify which apps they think should be able to run under the lock screen, for instance Facebook Messenger or Skype, but Sony still thinks that battery standby life could be improved by a large order of magnitude with this new technology.
Early verdict
There's no doubt that Sony has stepped up its game with the Xperia Z. We were pretty unimpressed with the screen quality when we first saw the handset sitting nonchalantly on the table, and if you're not using the phone straight on, then you may not think you're staring at a top-end smartphone.
But that aside, the rest of the device impressed us hugely. From the premium design, the weight and industrial casing and the larger edge-to-edge screen to the high-end Exmor RS sensor and Bravia Engine 2, there's so much that Sony will be able to tout on its marketing literature.
We're getting used to our hands on reviews yielding promising smartphones these days, so we'll reserve a lot of judgment until we get our final review sample in. But based on our early look with the device there's definitely a lot of positivity surrounding it, and the fact that Sony has finally joined the big boys with a powerful smartphone is enough to pique our interest at the very least.
The long-awaited Sony press event at this year's CES is about the begin and happily, you can watch the whole thing unfold live here.
The company is expected to announce the latest additions to the Xperia lineup, called the Z and ZL (the latter will probably be heading to AT&T). Sony should is probably also going to announce its 2013 line-up of HDTVs as well as new cameras.
LG, Samsung and AT&T's press events were far less exciting than we hoped, so let's hope Sony will help bring CES back on the right track.
The Sony Xperia Z has been unveiled at CES 2013 claiming to deliver the 'ultimate viewing experience'.
Fitting into this mantra is the 5-inch full HD Reality Display (1080 x 1920) sporting Sony's own Mobile Bravia Engine 2, which uses technology borrowed from its TV range to produce a crisp, vivid display.
There's more too, with the Xperia Z the first smartphone (or superphone) from Sony to feature a quad-core processor – clocked at 1.5Ghz and backed up by 2GB of RAM meaning Android 4.1 Jelly Bean should run like a dream.
Strong on paper
Round the back is a 13.1MP camera capable of recording 1080p video and a single-LED flash, while on the front is a 2.2MP snapper.
Smartphone staples such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and A-GPS are all present, as is NFC, 4G and a 2330mAh battery.
Sadly the Sony Xperia Z only comes in a 16GB variant, but it does sport a microSD slot to expand on this and, as an added bonus, the handset is dust- and waterproof.
The Xperia Z certainly looks like a stellar device on paper, but the proof as they say, is in the pudding.
You can find out what we think of the Japanese firm's new flagship handset in our hands on Sony Xperia Z review.
Netgear had its consumer-oriented keynote today, and while the focus was most only surveillance and other networking hardware, a major update to its Genie software was also announced.
Netgear had its keynote earlier today and showed off a variety of new consumer-focused networking technology including wireless monitoring, dual-band range extenders, and wireless streaming technology. On top of all this, the company also announced a new update to its Genie software for mobile devices, and including an exciting new feature for those looking to share Wi-Fi info more seamlessly in your home, along with another essential updates.
Netgear’s Genie software is already available across a wide array of devices, including Android’s Play Store, Apple’s App Store, and PCs. It’s fairly feature rich, from its simple network management interface to video streams from Netgear IP cameras. The latest mobile updates, planned for a early 2013 launch, will include a variety of new features:
Setup a QR code that will allow your guests to automatically connect to your Netgear-compatible router
View wireless signal strength and performance from a phone
Quickly and easily share photos, videos, and other files with Turbo Transfer
Parental Controls for Internet Access
Powerline Network Map to measure network performance
While there’s no set date just yet, we hope to see these amazing new features arrive to the millions of Netgear and Genie owners and users.
Samsung has unveiled the Windows Phone 8-powered ATIV Odyssey, it will be running exclusively on Verizon's LTE network and is expected to arrive in stores in the "coming weeks". There's no word on price yet.
The ATIV Odyssey was first mentioned back in October when Windows Phone 8 was released. It's built around a 4" Super AMOLED display of WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) resolution and offers a 5 MP 1080p-capable snapper on the back plus a 1.2 MP 720p one at the front.
The Odyssey is powered by a dual-core Krait processor clocked at 1.5 GHz. Providing the juice for the ATIV Odyssey is a 2100 mAh battery.
Samsung Ativ Odyssey
The ATIV Odyssey will come exclusively with Samsung's Mini Diary app, the Now app which features weather, news, stocks, etc. (much like the HTC tile), Shutterbugs which adds filters to photos and a photo editor.
The Huawei Ascend Mate stomps onto the mobile scene to really test our willingness to call a 6-inch device a smartphone, but that is indeed what it is.
Actually measuring 6.1-inches, the 1280x720p display on the Ascend Mate is the largest on any smartphone in world, making it the king of super-sized handsets – dwarfing the already ridiculously large Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and HTC Droid DNA/J Butterfly.
Due to arrive in China next month, the Ascend Mate will make it to other regions around the world from March, but Huawei is yet to announce the countries in line to be treated to the gigantic device.
The Huawei Ascend Mate price is currently unknown, but we'd expect it to be sporting a price tag which is comparable to other high-end devices on the market.
As you'd expect with such a big screen the Ascend Mate is big device, easily stretching our palm to its limit just to hold the beast.
Huawei is keen to point out that it's tired to keep the size down as much as possible, citing that the screen-to-bezel ratio on the front of the Ascend Mate is the best around, with 73% of the real estate belonging to that 6.1-inch HD LCD display.
We had a Galaxy Note 2 on hand to do a quick side by side comparison and while the Huawei Ascend Mate is naturally slightly bigger and slightly more tricky to grasp, weight wise there's not a lot between the handsets.
The glossy plastic back of the Ascend Mate is curved to help it fit in your hand, but without any form of grip and due to the sheer size of the thing we reckon this one is a dropper.
That said it does feel relatively well built, certainly when you compare it to the cheaper budget devices Huawei has churned out in the past, and we reckon the Ascend Mate is able to take a couple of knocks – don't go throwing it down the stairs though.
Packing in a punchy 1.4GHz (or 1.5GHz according to press materials) quad-core processor we expected the Ascend Mate to zip along, so we were surprised when we came to wake the screen – using the power/lock key on the right – that it took a couple of seconds to register our intent.
There is only 768MB of RAM inside the handset, which too is a little surprising as we were expecting at least 1GB, if not 2GB - but may explain the tardiness.
Just below the unlock key you'll find a volume rocker and both switches have been placed ideally for thumb bashing if you're holding the Mate in your right hand, while your left fingers will also be able to find them easily.
You can't take the back off the Ascend Mate, so there's no access to the monstrous 4,050mAh battery housed inside – the biggest in any smartphone – but it should keep you going all day.
Up top you get a 3.5mm headphone jack and a slot for a microSIM, and down the left there's a slot for a microSD card to supplement the poxy 8GB inside - what was Huawei thinking!?
Both slots are covered by plastic panels, which we found easy to remove and snap back into place.
The lock screen itself isn't the standard Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean affair, but the firm's own attempt as part of its Emotion UI (version 5.1 here) offering up a variety of intuitive quick launches as well as the normal unlock function.
Thankfully things perked up a bit once we got past the slow-to-appear lock screen, with the Ascend Mate allowing us to glide through the homescreens and app lists without issue – as you'd expect from a handset boasting so much power and the Project Butter smoothness of Jelly Bean.
A neat little feature is the ability to hide the on-screen Android navigation keys at the bottom of the display, allowing you to utilise the whole display. All you need to do is hit the small down arrow to the left of the icons and the bar will disappear.
It's easy to get it back too with a slide up from the bottom of the screen bringing the controls to the fore - and the screen automatically adjusts to ensure no content is hidden behind them.
Apps open quickly, but not in the lightening fast times we see on the Galaxy Note 2 or iPhone 5 with the camera taking around a second to get itself sorted.
Round the back there's an 8MP sensor complete with LED flash and modes such as panorama and HDR, although you'll need two hands at all times to balance the Ascend Mate while hitting the shutter key.
There's a few options in the camera app including camera effects and scene modes, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The application is easy to use and the big screen means reviewing your photos in an enjoyable experience.
Clearly that big, 16:9 aspect ratio screen also comes in handy if you fancy watching a movie and the Ascend Mate had pretty good viewing angles meaning you can have a couple of mates watching either side of you as well.
Huawei has stuck Dolby's surround sound technology into the Ascend Mate which boosts the volume of the internal speaker while reducing the level of distortion and it sounded pretty good, even in the crowded press room.
If that wasn't enough the Ascend Mate also comes with Hauwei's 'Magic Touch' technology allowing you to operator the phone when wearing gloves – perfect for winter strolls through the woods.
Obviously when it comes to typing on the Mate's display two hands are a must, but Huawei has implemented one handed keyboards for those of you who fancy a challenge.
Similar to the implementation on the Galaxy Note 2 this one-handed functionality sees the keyboard floated to either the right or left side of the display to allow you to thumb-out a missive.
The keyboard itself is pretty standard fair and fine for short messages, but we wouldn't recommend it if you want to type a lengthy email.
With the reduced size of the QWERTY keyboard it actually turns out to be pretty tricky to bash out a text one handed, as we managed to hit the wrong key on several occasions.
Another leaf taking from Samsung's (and Sony's tablets) book if the ability to have multiple apps on screen at once, with simple apps such as notes, messaging and calculator available to uses to pull up over the app they are currently viewing.
Early Verdict
The line between smartphone and tablet continues to blur and the Huawei Ascend Mate does nothing to help the situation.
Huawei wants you to ditch your tablet in favour of the Ascend Mate, which in its eyes can double as both a slate and a phone.
We're not completely sold on that philosophy and tend to sway towards the theory that a 6.1-inch phone is pretty mad – verging on unnecessary.
We expected a snappy experience from the Ascend Mate and it is by no means a slouch but it just didn't feel as slick as the offerings from HTC and Samsung.
We'll put this phablet properly through its paces in our in-depith Huawei Ascend Mate review in the coming months to see if it is a decent competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and co. – in the mean time we're off to stretch our hands in preparation.
