Chinese home brand Huawei is seriously attacking the smartphone market by releasing th Ascend G615. It sports a large 4.5-inch 720p screen as well as a1.4GHz Quadcore processor. Not bad ... not bad at all.

"Huawei's just unveiled the Ascend G 615 (not to be confused with the G 520) in Germany, and it's packing a 4.5-inch 720p IPS display and 1.4GHz quad-core processor for 299 euros. In addition to the silicon, 8GB of built-in storage, 1GB of RAM and a microSD slot hide behind the 330 ppi display. As for optics, the phone carries a 1.3-megapixel front-facing cam and an 8-megapixel shooter accompanied by a dual-LED flash, and records 1080p footage. In terms of connectivity, the device features support for WiFi, Bluetooth and pulling down 21Mbps over HSDPA."

Source: Huawei via Engadget

Some serious competition for Apple ... Google's Android platform continues to dominate the 5-inch or larger smartphone market.

"Google's Android platform will continue to dominate the 5-inch and larger smartphone segment in 2013, while other platforms such as Apple's iOS, Windows Phone, and Blackberry have yet to show support for larger displays, according to industry sources.

The rollout of an array of 5-inch Android-based models by HTC, Sharp, Sony Mobile Communications, Huawei Device, ZTE, Lenovo and Oppo Mobile in 2012 has highlighted the mainstream position of 5-inch displays among flagship models, commented the sources.

Sales of smartphones with displays in 5-inch or larger sizes are expected to expand 136% on year to 60.4 million units in 2013 and climb to 146 million units in 2016, noted the sources, citing data from market research firms."

Source: Digitimes

A pretty impressive smartphone I might add ... I mean the 5-inch screen can display 1920 x 1080 resolution (native 1080p).

"A slide has leaked that shows the LG Optimus G Pro smartphone, the follow-up to the Optimus G. The Optimus G Pro’s headliner feature is a new five-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080.

A 1.7 GHz processor said to be the Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 powers the device. The smartphone is also said to feature 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, LTE connectivity, 13MP rear camera, and a 3000 mAh battery. Other specifications that have leaked around the web claim that the smartphone will run Android Jelly Bean for the operating system and weigh in at about 160 g.

The phone features both One-Seg and NOTTV functionality that only works in Japan. We’ll no doubt see the Optimus G Pro on our shores sometimes this year, although without the TV functionality."

Source: Engadget via Dailytech

A smartphone that can support dual SIM cards is a handy feature ... especially when you're out and about or in and out different countries. The Huawei Ascend D2 however will set you back USD $640!

"It's only been about a week since the Ascend D2's official debut at CES, but according to Huawei's latest announcement on Sina Weibo, the manufacturer will already be offering its unsubsidized 5-inch 1080p flagship at its online store right after 5pm local time tomorrow. Specifically, this will be a China Telecom (CDMA2000) variant with dual-SIM support, so Huawei fans outside China may want to wait for the WCDMA flavor (there's always the Oppo Find 5 as well).

If you happen to be in China and don't mind using China Telecom, then feel free to fork out ¥3,990 or about $640 to be one of the first handful of owners of this 32GB, 1.5GHz quad-core device. That is, if you manage to get your order through "while stocks last."

Source: Sina Weibo via Engadget

Another emerging market, another opportunity ... this time it's HTC that's jumped in before anyone else. They're hoping to capitalize on their fortunes after losing so much ground to Apple and Samsung.

"Taiwanese smartphone company HTC has become the latest to enter the largely untapped Burmese market, as the country opens up to foreign firms. HTC launched its smartphones in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar, on Monday.

The phones will come with a Burmese language on-screen keyboard, which the company says is the most advanced available.

Burma has one of the lowest mobile phone ownership levels in the world. The country has become one of the hottest frontier markets after its government started implementing reforms to open up the economy, ending decades of military rule."

Source: BBC

Wow ... eat that Apple! And well done to Samsung ... they've sold over 100 million Galaxy S smartphones to date.

"The Galaxy S III's 30 million sales landmark? Impressive, but still just part of a larger equation -- according to Samsung, its entire line of Galaxy S phones has now sold over 100 million units collectively. According to the firm's Flickr page, the line of popular smartphones passed the nine-digit mark two years and 7 months after the original Galaxy S hit the market. Since then, the Galaxy S II has sold over 40 million units, doubling its sales since February.

New iterations old hardware and up and comers like the Galaxy S III mini contribute to the big number too, but Sammy puts the focus on old number three, citing 190,000 as the Galaxy S III's average daily sales. So, that's what it takes to sell 500 phones a minute."

Source: Engadget

More Samsung smartphones from Samsung... no it's not the Galaxy S Grand. This time it's the Galaxy S II Plus, and updated version of the S II.

"Samsung just unleashed a new phone into the world, but you've probably heard of it before: it's the Galaxy S II Plus. The handset serves as a modest update to the original Galaxy S II, which contains a 4.3-inch WVGA (800 x 480) Super AMOLED Plus display, a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, 1GB RAM and Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). Naturally, you'll find an 8-megapixel camera on the rear, which is complimented by a 2-megapixel front-facing shooter. The Galaxy S II Plus will include 8GB of built-in storage, in addition to support for microSD cards up to 64GB in size. Expect to find HSPA+ (21Mbps) support across the 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100MHz bands, which will be augmented by GSM support for the 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900MHz bands."

Source: Engadget

Not content in being one of the top laptop manufacturers, Lenovo decides to step into the mobile/smartphone market. Not surprising as their factories already make phones for other vendors. The Lenovo 5.5" 1080p K900 "Superphone" comes with tonnes of features ...

"Lenovo is looking to make some waves in the smartphone market with its new K900 "superphone". Most were wowed by Sony's impressive Xperia Z with its 5" 1080p display, but Lenovo's K900 is sporting a 5.5" display while still retaining 1080p resolution (this also means that it will have a slightly lower pixel density than the Xperia Z).

Under the screen, the K900 is powered by Intel's Clover Trail+ platform. To go with that firepower, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage are also in the cards. More impressively, Lenovo has managed to toss in a 13MP camera with a F1.8 focal length lens, dual-LED flash, and the requisite front-facing camera for video chat. The device itself is 6.9mm thick and weighs just 5.7 ounces. The body of the phone is a mixture of polycarbonate and stainless steel that gives it a nice, business-like exterior."

Source: Dailytech