It’s something that many have predicted but nobody thought would happen anytime soon. According to IDC, sales of smartphones have surpassed that of feature phones in the first quarter. Samsung is leading the race, with Apple, LG, Huawei and ZTE in the top 5.

Samsung’s shipments increased 60.7 percent to reach 70.7 million smartphones and that has helped the South Korean company to get 32.7% of the market share. Apple’s iPhone 5 helped the Mac maker to grow 6.6% to 37.4 million handsets, but their market share dropped to 17.3% from 23%.

Samsung certainly has gained by flooding the market with cheaper Android devices. And the variety of hardware configurations they bring out is an answer just about anyone’s needs (rugged S4 anyone?).

In the third spot is LG, with the Google Nexus 4 among the company’s most popular handsets. The company has 4.8 percent of the market. But where is Nokia, which until last year was a global leader for 14 years? Although their Lumia shipments have grown, that hasn’t helped them with market share. Nokia and BlackBerry have been pushed out of the top 5 by Huawei (4.6%) and ZTE (4.2%).

Nokia, as you might know, is very fond of feature phones, but smartphones have taken over the stage. Nokia should evolve and expand its smartphone line if they plan to get back to the top again. Kevin Restivo, IDC senior research analyst, says, “Phone users want computers in their pockets. The days where phones are used primarily to make phone calls and send text messages are quickly fading away. As a result, the balance of smartphone power has shifted to phone makers that are most dependent on smartphones“.

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Huawei, ZTE, Alcatel, and LG are already into Firefox OS and now Sony, too. Sony has announced that it has partnered with Telefonica for developing a device that will run Mozilla’s browser-based Firefox operating system, and the company expects to bring out the handset in 2014. It appears like the Sony Mobile engineers are already working on a project to meet that goal.

Sony, as you know, is currently into Android as its mobile solution. The question is whether indulging into the Firefox OS will do them any good. Firefox is meant to be used with web apps. You might remember that back in 2007 the iPhone also came out with a web app experience, but later Apple changed plans which resulted in the App Store. So will the Firefox OS survive in the web app space given up by the iPhone?

It will be difficult fighting against iOS and Android, but the Firefox OS can certainly take advantage of the work done by programmers for creating websites and web apps. That it targets the developing world and low-cost smartphone market could help it form a niche as well. What do you think?

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You’ve probably heard of Google Glass before. The unique headgear computer is all about making our lives easier, giving us hands-free recording of life’s big events and much more. As Google’s Glass marches closer to commercial release we’ve seen a few would-be competitors but now it seems that Huawei could be throwing itself in the ring as well.

Huawei’s CEO of Consumer Products, Richard Yu has now suggested the company could eventually introduce their own pair of advanced glasses, though not likely for another 5-10 years.

So is this just ‘talk’ or is something already in the works? Based on his words, I would say they are actually testing something, even if just in the prototyping stages. “We are doing a lot of research and we are doing a lot of development in our labs. I wish we could show you what we are working on for over the next five to ten years, including glasses.”

Either way, five years away means it will debut quite a bit after Google’s Glass finally starts rolling around in a big way.

What do you think of the idea of glasses-based computing? Can Google start a revolution that helps this product line take off, and if they do, does Huawei have a shot at following in their footsteps?

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It looks like Microsoft and Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei are gearing up to release a new smartphone for the African market. The Huawei 4Africa phone features a 4-inch screen and 5 mega-pixel rear camera all while managing an extremely affordable $150 price point, without contract. Microsoft also plans to bring Nokia into the game with 2 custom African Windows Phones from the Finnish handset maker.

Africa is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets in the world, and with Huawei as the leading supply of communications technology on the continent, Microsoft has a powerful ally. According to researchers, Africa has an average sales growth of 43% which is set to increase with most phones going to South Africa and Nigeria where smartphone penetration is expected to reach 30% by 2013.

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However, further rumours suggest that the P2 could be sporting a Huawei developed 8-core processor and will be available in either a 1GB RAM or 2GB RAM version with pricing starting at around $480!

The rest of the purported specs claim that the phone will ship with a 4.7-inch FHD 1080 display, 13 mega-pixel rear camera, 3000mAh battery and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean! Pretty amazing stuff for a phone costing less that $500.

If the device makes its way to your local market, would you be interested or not?

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The monstrous 6.1 inch Huawei Ascend Mate was showcased at CES earlier this year along with a little bit of information on the product. However, now we seem to have a price tag to pin on the big product.

The new Huawei Ascend Mate will be on retail for around 3500 Chinese Yuan, the equivalent to $575 US dollars. For the price, the Huawei Mate doesn’t seem half bad, however, there still hasn’t been any news on the Ascend Mate reaching the United States, or anywhere else other than China.

The 6.1 inch screen on the Ascend Mate is a LCD IPS display with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels, or around 241 pixels-per-inch, certainly not super-HD, but for the size and the prize it’s more than reasonable.

Huawei’s new phablet also comes with an expected 1.5GHz own-brand quad-core KV32 processor, and a solid 2GB RAM.

Do you think Huawei has pushed the boundaries too far with the Ascend Mate’s huge 6.1” screen, or would you love to get your hands on a phone this size?

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Rumors that Huawei are set to unveil the Ascend P2 at MWC later this month are nothing new, what is new however are the suggestions that Huawei could also showcase a smaller version of the phone dubbed the Ascend P2 Mini.

Much like the Samsung Galaxy Mini, the Ascend P2 Mini will borrow some of the larger phones styling, but in a smaller package and with slightly downgraded specs. While images of the rumored phone have yet to surface we do have a rough idea of the hardware thanks to Chinese site MyDrivers who claim the screen will be a smaller 4-inch 720p unit, with 1GB RAM and an 8 mega-pixel rear camera. In contrast, the full-size Huawei Ascend P2 is expected to receive a larger 4.7-inch 1080 display, 2GB RAM, 13 mega-pixel rear camera and a quad-core 1.8Ghz CPU. 

What do you think, would you be interested in a miniaturized version of the Ascend P2?

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The Huawei MediaQ is yet another Android set-top-box, which follows in the footsteps of Hisense, Haiers and Xiaomi’s models, and hopes to snatch a slice of the home entertainment market from Apple’s own Apple TV.

Rather than just being a run of the mill Android STB, Huawei have delved deep in to their parts bin and used some of the same high performance hardware which is used in some of their more powerful flagship phones. The CPU is Huawei’s own quad-core H3V2, there is 1GB RAM on-board and graphics are handled by a Vivante GC4000 GPU.

The Huawei MediaQ M310 also features 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI, 1 x SPDIF, 3.5mm headphone jack plus 2 x USB. There will also be a more powerful version named the M810 available with 2GB RAM and built in TV tuner, Ethernet and disc drive bays available too.

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Even though the Huawei products may not exactly be the flagship smartphones offered by your local cell phone carrier, Huawei has made its presence known and let’s not forget about the massive market that it can enjoy in its home China. Indeed, Huawei’s year-over-year change for units shipped in Q4 was a remarkable 89.5%. That being said, it still only has a 4.9% overall market share as of Q4 2012.

The overall smartphone market continues to grow, so even though the market share numbers have only moved a few percentage points, the year-over-year change for units shipped has increased almost across the board. Samsung is sitting in the top spot with 29.0% market share with a 76.0% increase in units shipped. Apple is second with a 21.8% market share and a 29.2% increase in shipments. Sony is fourth with 4.5% market share and interestingly enough, another Chinese company, ZTE, rounds out the top five with its 4.3% market share.

Yes, Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the smartphone world with a combined 50% of the market and Huawei is a distant third with its 4.9%, but it really is amazing how this seemingly “second tier” brand has propelled itself onto the smartphone podium in such a short amount of time. Remember that they’re beating out what we may otherwise consider to be heavy hitters like HTC, LG and Motorola.

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As expected, the Huawei Ascend Mate touched down at CES last week, bringing us a massive 6.1-inch phablet that is ready to face off against established players in the phablet space, namely Samsung and their Galaxy Note 2.

While a true “versus” article isn’t quite possible until we truly get our hands on the Ascend Mate for a proper review, we can certainly look at what we know so far to draw a few comparisons.

Display

Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Huawei Ascend Mate are 720p devices. The big difference is that the Note 2 has a 5.55-inch 265ppi Super AMOLED display, and the Huawei Ascend Mate has a 6.1-inch 241ppi Super IPS+ LCD.

Who wins here? Honestly, depends on what you want. If bigger means better, Huawei wins.

If you are looking for the crisper and clearer display, the smaller 5.55-inch Note 2 display is going to look a little better and is therefore the winner.

I suppose you could certainly call it a “tie”.

Hardware

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 you get the power of Jelly Bean, an Exynos 4412 Quad chipset running at 1.6GHz, and a Mali-400MP GPU. This stellar combo also throws in 2GB of RAM, microSD, and 16, 32 or 64GB of storage.

In the camera department? You get an 8MP main shooter with LED flash, autofocus, HD video and still capture. There is also a 1.9MP secondary camera and 3100mAh battery.

As for the Huawei Ascend Mate?

The Ascend Mate delivers a 1.5GHz quad-core experience with its own Huawei chipset and runs on an unannounced GPU, all powered by a huge 4050mAh battery. You get 2 GB of RAM, 16GB on-board storage and micro-SD expansion as well. The cameras are an 8MP and 1.3MP secondary camera.

Both devices have pretty similar hardware. It is worth noting though that an AnTuTu benchmark score puts the Note 2 overall at a 13815, versus the much lower 9480. Keep in mind that benchmarks can very depending on the software used and that benchmarks don’t necessarily equate to a massively better “real world” experience.

Bottom line, the hardware in the Note 2 packs a bit more punch, but the Huawei Ascend Mate is no slouch and should probably work comparatively when it comes to using most apps and other purposes.

If we are declaring a winner here, it would likely be the Note 2.

Design

The Ascend Mate manages quite a slim design for such a monster device. It has a narrow bezel and is actually a rather attractive smartphone, at least in my opinion.

The Note 2 is also designed to be rather thin considering its screen size. The design is certainly “Samsung”. It has a look that isn’t too terribly different from other flagship Sammy devices, and is also quite a looker.

Honestly, preference is going to play a lot here. Some will like the Mate better, some prefer the way the Note 2 looks.

The Stylus

The stylus in the Note 2 is very capable and while everyone doesn’t use it, if you like the idea of the S-Pen, you are better served sticking to the Galaxy Note 2. For whatever reason, Huawei decided that the Ascend Mate didn’t need to offer a stylus.

Again, this might not matter to everyone– but if you like taking quick drawn notes, it could be a very big difference and the ultimate deciding factor in which to purchase down the road.

Android Experience

I’m not going to say much here since I haven’t had the opportunity to go hands-on with Hauwei’s customized skins. Both handsets come standard with Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and even though their skins have differences, the overall experience should be relatively similar.

Pricing

There is a big question mark here. Huawei is a Chinese company and could certainly come out with aggressive price points when it finally arrives to your local market. That said, the Note 2 is also no longer “brand new” and will continue to drop in price.

The Huawei Ascend Mate might end up winning in the price/value category, but we don’t have enough information to say for sure.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 vs Huawei Ascend Mate – Conclusion

In these kinds of “versus” articles, I tend to shy away from picking a winner, understanding that preference ultimately plays a big role in your selection. This is even more true with devices that aren’t officially released.

Still, if I had to be totally honest? The Samsung Note 2 would be my personal choice. Why? I think 5.5-inches is plenty big enough for me, I’ve used the S-Pen and think its a worthwhile difference. Additionally, I have an established opinion of the Samsung brand and haven’t really had enough time with Huawei products to form a real opinion about their quality.

That said, the Huawei Ascend Mate seems to perform pretty close to the Note 2, and if you want a bigger screen and don’t mind being without a stylus, it could be the perfect fit for you.

I would certainly pay attention to the Mate as it gets closer and may update this article when we have more “real world examples” to show off which is truly the better phone. In the meantime, they are both great choices from what we know so far about the Mate.

What do YOU think about the Huawei Ascend Mate versus the Samsung Galaxy Note 2? Do you think the bigger screen size is worth some of the other concessions you might have to make with the Mate?

Let us know what you think in the comments below! Additionally, check out Phone Arena’s spec list to see detailed side by side specs comparing these two beasts.

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