Huawei’s 6.1-inch giant, the Ascend Mate, has the potential to be a big success for the company. While we don’t think it quite measures up to the Galaxy Note II, its large screen and jumbo-sized battery could definitely manage to with the handset more than a few fans. The company formally announced the Ascend Mate back during the CES early last month, and though we knew the smartphone would arrive in China sometime in February, we still didn’t know that one key detail: its price. As we get ready for the phone to hit carrier shelves, pre-orders for the handset have opened, finally giving us a sense of just what the Ascend Mate will fetch.
Chinese retailer Liaow has listed the Ascend Mate for $575. That might seem a little steep when you consider how affordably some of the manufacturer’s models sell (like the budget-priced Ascend W1 Windows Phone 8 handset), but it ultimately doesn’t seem that bad when compared with models like the company’s 1080p Ascend D2, which demands nearly $740. It’s also quite a bit cheaper than the Galaxy Note II, and that model’s already been out for four months.
While the Ascend Mate is only tipped for China so far, with HSPA compatibility on all the major bands (850/900/1700/1900/2100 MHz), this may be one model that’s prime for importing.
