Huawei Ascend P2 Claims World's Fastest Smartphone Title: MWC

The company claims the handset's LTE Category 4 modem offers download speeds of up to 150M bps.

BARCELONA, Spain — Networking and telecommunications equipment specialist Huawei Technologies introduced the Ascend P2, which the company claims is the world's fastest smartphone with a 1.5GHz quad-core processor and Long Term Evolution (LTE) Category 4 technology, which provides download speeds of up to 150M bps.

The handset sports an infinity edge 4.7-inch high-definition in-cell touch display with second-generation Corning Gorilla Glass and will be available in black and white. The Ascend P2 will be on sale in France through network operator Orange in June 2013 and will also be available globally in the second quarter of 2013, the company said.

"We're pleased to be working with Huawei again to enable our customers to have easier and faster access to all their favorite content," Yves Maitre, senior vice president of mobile multimedia and devices at Orange, said in a statement. "We are impressed by the design and look forward to putting the Ascend P2 into the hands of consumers as soon as possible."

The Huawei Emotion user interface, available on the Ascend P2, is customizable, with the UniHome function combining home panels with the main menu. The company's Me Widget uses screen real estate efficiently by combining all the information and functions customers need in one customizable widget.

The Emotion UI is also preinstalled with a smartphone housekeeper function to support real-time data-traffic tracking, automatic blacklisting and blocking, periodical system cleaning, and spontaneous exiting of idle programs and cache cleanup. The device also features antivirus, energy saving, privacy protection, software management and other functions.

The company claimed its proprietary swift sharing technology supports uploads and downloads two to three times faster than other smartphones in a WiFi environment, while its near-field communication (NFC) module enables e-payments and can act as an electronic ticket. In addition, Huawei's Quick Power Control (QPC) and Automated Discontinuous Reception (ADRX) power-saving technologies reduce power consumption and charging time.

Other features include a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with high dynamic range (HDR), and a 1.3MP front-facing camera for self-portrait and video shooting. A dedicated camera key on the side of the phone also allows instant access to picture taking, with one click for the camera to be activated and another time to take the shot. With Huawei's camera algorithm, high-definition images can be captured even in backlit conditions, and the camera also features auto-adjustment modes.

The touch-screen, just 8.4mm slim, offers a "magic touch" feature that provides enhanced screen responsiveness, even when the user is wearing gloves.

Additionally, instant keyword translation and Wikipedia searches can now be done on a single window with the company's "smart reading" technology. The screen also calibrates its brightness automatically under a variety of light conditions.

"Ascend P2 is the perfect combination of elegance and power, and further proof that there's no need to compromise when desiring a perfect smartphone," Richard Yu, Huawei consumer business group CEO, said in a statement. "It is evidence of the outstanding smartphone experiences and great technology that we are committed to bringing to consumers globally."