Huawei Ascend P1 Hits UK In August At ZTE-Spanking Price

Huawei has announced UK availability and pricing of the slimline Ascend P1, the company's 7.69mm-thick Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone. The Ascend P1 will drop on Vodafone in early August, priced at free on a new, two-year agreement of £26 ($41) per month. Further carriers and retailers are expected to follow on later, but the price makes it a strong competitor for rival low-cost Android phones from ZTE.

In fact, ZTE announced its challenge for the low- to mid-range Android market yesterday, in the shape of the ZTE Grand X. In the light of Huawei's announcement, however, the Grand X is starting to look overpriced; Virgin Mobile will be offering the ZTE handset for free on contract for plans of £27 or more for existing customers, though those new to the company will need to pay £32. Vodafone has not announced pre-pay pricing for the Ascend P1.

Specifications of the Huawei include a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED 960 x 540 touchscreen, a dualcore 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 processor, an 8-megapixel camera with Full HD video recording, and a 1.3-megapixel front facing camera. There's also HSDPA, WiFi b/g/n, and a 1,670 mAh battery.

In fact, overall the Ascend P1 shapes up into a solid budget choice. Check out our full review for more details on performance and how it holds up against other low-cost rivals.