What comes to mind when you hear of a Huawei smartphone with the Y300 model number? The Ascend Y300 is your likely answer if you stay in developing markets like Kenya where that budget Android device has been selling for the last one year. Like Samsung has reserved its Galaxy branding for just its Android device lineup, Huawei has been using the Ascend branding for not only its extensive lineup of Android devices but also several Windows Phone devices. Also welcome to the Ascend family is its devices that will be powered by Firefox OS. The Huawei Y300 (also referred in some quarters as the Ascend Y300 II) is one such device unveiled today at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The device packs pretty much what we’ve seen in other Firefox OS devices like the Geeksphone or that unnamed device by LG by not being so flashy with its internals and retaining the principals that other Firefox OS powered devices have always upheld save for the camera. Huawei is known for packing some nice cameras on its smartphones but it is not that which is the case here. It is the first time we’re seeing a Firefox OS powered device having both a front-facing “selfie” camera and a main camera.
Here are the specs of the device:
- Display: 4 inch WVGA (800×480)
- Processor: Dual-core Snapdragon 8225 processor clocked at 1 GHz
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Camera: 5 MP main camera, VGA front-facing shooter
- Battery: 1950 mAh
- Others: Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1
As you may note, the above specs are exactly what the Android Jelly Bean powered Ascend Y300 packs so Huawei just replicated its nice budget phone on a different platform.
Unlike on Android where Huawei applies its own custom UI, it is sticking with the default Firefox OS looks just like it does on its Windows Phone devices with the only noticeable changes being very minor like the addition of rotation lock.
This is Huawei’s first Firefox OS smartphone and it tells us so much about Firefox OS as an alternative platform for the developing markets which other companies like Nokia are also aiming for a slice of the pie with devices like its much rumoured upcoming Nokia X low end smartphone.
Availability and pricing details of the Huawei Y300 are not yet available.
