Problem with quad-core chipset pushes launch of Huawei Ascend D quad back to August

Back in February, during MWC 2012, the Huawei Ascend D quad was billed as "the world's fastest smartphone," and the manufacturer was quick to point out that the device contained "the industry's most powerful 32-bit true color graphic processor." Last month, word slipped out that the Huawei Ascend D quad had visited the FCC. As it turns out, production of the phone has just started this month and the last we had heard, the unit was expected to launch next month.

Now, the launch of the zippy smartphone has been pushed back a month to August after the company's own quad-core chipset ran into problems. The sad thing is that Huawei is trying to make a name for itself amongst high-end manufacturers and is trying to position this particular model alongside the Samsung Galaxy S III, the HTC One X and the HTC EVO 4G LTE. Meanwhile, quad-core handsets are making their way to the market thanks to the Tegra 3, and this delay can't help Huawei's plan.

When the phone does launch, it should still impress. The Huawei Ascend D quad offers a 4.5 inch Super IPS+ display with HD 720p resolution and pixel density of 326ppi. Under the hood is Huawei's own ARM based KV32, a quad-core 1.5GHz processor and the heart of the delay. 1GHz of RAM is on board, although the delay could give the manufacturer the opportunity to join other high-end models with 2GB of RAM. The 8GB of native storage can be expanded fivefold with a 32GB capacity microSD slot. The 8MP camera on back has AF and dual LED flash while capturing video in 1080p. The front-facing camera, at 1.3MP, takes self-portraits and enables video chats. Pre-installed on the device is Android 4.0.

Had Ascend been able to offer this device in say March or April, the buzz could have been deafening. As it stands now, even a model this well spec'd could get lost in the high-end of the market and that means Huawei will have to use pricing to stand out, which is never a good sign for an OEM. Regardless, with some winners in the mid (Huawei Ascend P1) and low end (Huawei Ascend G300) of the smartphone market, Huawei says it will still reach its goal of 60 million smartphones shipped this year.

Even if you've already viewed it earlier this year, now would be a good time to revisit our Hands-on with the Huawei Ascend D quad.

source: CNMO (translated) via UnwiredView