Huawei has unveiled what it says is the world's thinnest smartphone.
The Android-based Ascend P6 is 6.18mm (0.24in) thick and is
also unusual in that it has a 5 megapixel front camera for "high
quality" self-portraits.
The Chinese firm has said it expects the handset to do "miracles" for its brand.
One analyst praised its design, comparing it to a "steamrollered
iPhone", but said its lack of support for 4G networks might limit sales.
"It's undoubtedly the most impressive phone that Huawei have
launched to date in terms of the design, the materials used and its
quality," said Ben Wood, director of research at consultancy CCS
Insight, who was at the London launch.
"We've seen mainland Chinese manufacturers rapidly improve
their ability to make competitive devices over the last 18 months and
this is possibly the best so far. But its 3G status means there has
undoubtedly been a trade-off to get it as thin and cheap as possible."
Thinnest phone
Huawei says it designed one of the slimmest and narrowest
circuit boards in the industry to squeeze the electronics into the new
handset.
The device has a 4.7in screen making it comparable to the HTC One but is more than 3mm (0.1in) thinner.
It is also slightly slimmer than both the iPhone 5 and the
Alcatel One Idol Ultra - which previously claimed to be the world's
thinnest - but at 120g (0.26lb) weighs a little more than both.
The phone features Huawei's own tile-based user interface
called Emotion and proprietary software, including an "auto-facial
enhancement" tool designed to make self-portraits look better.
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