Huawei Is Gunning For Apple And Samsung In The UK Mobile Market

A Chinese Company You've Probably Never Heard Of Is Gunning For Apple's Crown
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Ever heard of Huawei?

Despite being the world's largest telecommunications company, having 2013 sales of £24.5bn and selling more mobile phones worldwide than anyone but Apple and Samsung, you'd be forgiven if the answer was "no".

And if you have then there's a good chance it was in the context of US accusations of being a shadowy proxy for the Chinese government spying on American interests.

Story continues after slideshow...

Best Budget Smartphone In The World
Huawei P6(01 of07)
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At 6.1mm thin the Huawei P6 is the thinnest smartphone in the world, it's also got 4.7-inch HD screen, runs Huawei's excellent skin of Android and features a powerful 1.5GHz quad-core processor. Essentially you're looking at flagship specs all in a phone that costs half of an iPhone 5s.£289
Nokia Lumia 630(02 of07)
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Nokia's budget Lumia range has won fans both in the media and with the public. Well the latest to join the bunch is no different, the 630 will launch with the brand spanking new Windows 8.1 software whilst also featuring Nokia's outstanding ClearBlack display and a full range of interchangeable backplates. Power is in abundance thanks to a 1.2GHz quad-core processor.£129
HTC One Mini(03 of07)
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The HTC One Mini now has a replacement, but hold your horses. The original was excellent, it was everything that was great about the HTC One but in a smaller yet equally powerful package. The screen still holds up really well against todays competition and the design is exceptional. Before you start thinking M8, consider this humble powerhouse.£254
Google Nexus 5(04 of07)
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The Google Nexus 5 first launched November last year, despite this gap that hasn't stopped it from remaining one of the best smartphones in the world. With an incredible 5-inch display, ultra-thin profile and pure Google experience it is everything that makes Android great. A Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz quad-core processor means that it's still one of the fastest around as well.£299
Nokia Lumia 925(05 of07)
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The Lumia 925 is the precursor to the newly launched 930, but there's a number of reasons why you'd choose this one first. It's only £249. It also features a stunning 4.5-inch ClearBlack OLED display which just so happens to be perfect for taking pictures on its still industry leading 8.7MP PureView camera. Windows 8 will soon become 8.1 so don't worry about being left behind either.£249
Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini(06 of07)
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The S4 Mini showed that Samsung could take a flagship and turn it into something pocketable. A 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display shows off Samsung's all-new TouchWiz interface whilst a powerful 1.7GHz dual-core processor helps you fly through Android's many features. At only 8.7mm thin it's also Samsung's most portable flagship.£247
Motorola Moto G(07 of07)
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The Moto G has, it's fair to say, shaken up the market just a little. With the highest resolution 4.5-inch display in the world and a powerful 1.2GHz quad-core processor this is the budget phone that's killing the flagships. With Google Android updates promised alongside the Nexus range the Moto G will always be one of the most up-to-date smartphones and how much does this privilege cost?£121

All of which is a shame really because their latest mobile phones are rather good and, as Snowdon revealed, it was actually the US that was doing all the sneaky stuff.

"Every business when they start has the ambition to be number one, but to be number one is a challenging task," Shao Yang, veep of marketing told the Huffington Post UK

He adds: "We think if we can keep making better innovations than others we can finally be the best."

Yang is very open when looking at the challenges ahead.

He said: "There are three important areas in smartphones; hardware and currently Samsung is the best at this.

"Secondly is software and Apple is best at this. And third is communication and Huawei is best at this."

So, just how good are the company's phones? Well, here's an overview of what people are saying about their new flagship device, the Ascend Mate 7.

There's no escaping the Huawei Ascend Mate 7's physical size. This may be one giant phone, but it's also the embodiment of Huawei coming of age. It's big meets beautiful with premium design flair, a great fingerprint scanner, ample performance and a battery life that will last for many hours of use. We can see where the "Mate" name comes from.

The Hauwei Ascend Mate 7 looks and feels like a surprisingly accomplished handset, and at it's attractive price point it can really give the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 a run for its money. I still have a few questions on the performance side of things, but the interface may be fine tuned before it makes it to market.

Damn, the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 is an awesome phone. This would definitely be my daily driver, but. Yes there’s a but. It’s just too big for my liking. Now that’s just my opinion. You can agree or disagree. It is a 6-inch phone, but with the relatively small bezels, it’s actually not that large. It’s about a finger tip wider than the LG G3 and a bout 2 finger tips taller. So if you’re fine with that, then this is a great phone.

The Ascend Mate 7 is a very impressive phone and it's a shame that it is not more widely available. It will be launched at the end of October and if you have the chance to try one out or pick one up, I'd highly recommend that you do. The camera may not be the strongest point of the Mate 7 but almost every other category has you nicely covered. For the class it is in, the Mate 7 is very impressive, even if it can't really compete with the Galaxy Note 4. If you like the idea of the HTC One Max but not the execution, then the Mate 7 might just be for you.

So, some pretty solid praise.

But the road ahead will be far from smooth - Yang himself predicts the immediate future for the smartphone market will be brutal.

He said: "Some brands will disappear very soon. The next two years will be very important."

Oh, and one more problem they may face breaking into the UK: How exactly do you pronounce "Huawei"?