MWC: Huawei announces partnership with O2 for Windows Phone launch

BARCELONA: CHINESE PHONE MAKER Huawei announced today at MWC that it will partner with O2 for its UK Windows Phone 8 launch, which will see the network exclusively offer the Huawei Ascend W1 handset.

While it comes as no surprise that O2 will be offering the firm's debut Windows Phone 8 device, Huawei revealed today that it will go on sale on March 7 priced at just £119.99 on pay as you go. Of course, it will also be available on monthly tariffs, which will start from £13.50 a month.

Huawei also said that the handset will be available to buy from O2 in both blue and pink, from March 7 and March 18, respectively.

The Huawei Ascend W1 was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January, as Huawei deploys yet another tactic to lure UK smartphone buyers. It features Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system along with a dual-core 1.2GHz processor and a 4in WVGA screen.

The O2 exclusive handset also features a 5MP rear-facing camera along with a VGA front-facing camera, 4GB of internal memory expandable via microSD card and a 1,950mAh battery.

Windows Phone 8 isn't the only feature the company is using to lure UK customers, as Huawei also unveiled the Ascend P2 at this year's MWC, which it claims is the fastest LTE smartphone in the world.

Check out our Huawei Ascend W1 hands-on review. µ