FreshPhoneNews.com

Huawei Technologies, the Chinese network company has announced that it will be launching its own series of smartphones based on the Android and Symbian platforms in the first half of 2009. The announcement was made by James Chen, Huawei’s Director of Marketing for the Terminals Division. The company is also going to bring a 3G module at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress this month.

The company is known across the UK for its broadband modem technology, but in truth, Huawei has made a name for itself by killing its competition by fiercely engaging in price based competition. The company has sold low-end feature phones throughout the economic crisis and was unable to enter the smartphone race earlier due to lack of funds.  

The company already has a Windows Mobile phone and says that the Microsoft platform suits vendors who are weak in software. On the other hand, the Android Open Source phones as well as the Symbian phones will give more flexibility to vendors with strong software capabilities. Huawei is a member of both the Symbian Foundation and Android’s Open Handset Alliance.

The company is planning to launch the smartphones through operators and the devices will not bear the company’s name. Huawei is already getting big contracts in Australia and many parts of Africa to help establish networks and supply 3G hardware. Unlike its competitors such as Ericsson, Huawei has no intention of forming any partnerships. The company feels totally confident about its manpower and has cited the availability of funds as the only reason for the lag behind.

Taking a look at the global economic situation, many critics think it will become rather doubtful whether high-end devices will be able to generate continuously rising revenues. In fact, many are predicting that low end smartphones will be the takers of tomorrow, especially in the less developed parts of the world which also tend to hold more of the population. A testament to this would be the constant price cuts that Apple has had to make on its iPod to boost sales as well as the less-than-iPhone price the G1 sold at. Huawei’s assertion that it can still lead the market despite the late take off may have some substance to it. Of course the quality of the smartphone will be a major determining factor as well.