An image of an upcoming Windows Phone 8 device from Huawei, the Ascend W2, has been posted to Twitter by @evleaks. The device, which would be Huawei's second Windows Phone device, has long been rumoured, but has yet to be officially unveiled. The picture shows a fairly standard looking touchscreen smartphone, but it is notable that only a single button can be seen on the side of the device (usually three on Windows Phone devices).
Earlier rumours have suggested that the Huawei Ascend W2 will be a high end device with a 4.3" LCD IPS display (720p resolution), with a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 process, 1GB RAM, an 8 megapixel main camera, a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, and a 2,000 mAH battery. The device is expected to announced later this summer, possibly in the third week of June.
While the screen in the image shows Chinese characters the device is expected to have a limited global roll out, largely driven by operator demand. The image shows the device with a blue back shell, suggesting that the Ascend W2, like the Ascend W1, will be available in multiple colour variants.
As with other Huawei devices pricing is expected to be competitive. It is likely to under cut other "high spec" Windows Phone 8 devices, such as the Nokia Lumia 920, HTC 8X, and Samsung ATIV S.
While the leaked image is, in our judgement, almost certainly genuine, come from a source with a good track record, and tie-in with existing rumours, they should be treated as unconfirmed until the formal launch announcement is made.
