MWC 2012: Huawei's Ascend D Quad Invasion Targets Apple's iPad 3 and iPhone 5

Unveiling a new series of top-end, quad-core Ascend smartphones and its speculated 10-inch MediaPad at 2012's MWC, Huawei has confirmed it's gunning for a slice of Apple's high-end device market pie.

At its Mobile World Congress press event, Huawei unveiled a slew of new handsets, including its highly anticipated iPhone 4S-killer, now known as the Ascend D quad. Not mincing its words, the company made a bold claim, stating that it intends to ship 60 million smartphones in 2012 - something it may be able to do with the right marketing, considering the impressive tech contained in its latest smartphones.

Similarly, as a final "and another thing" the company stated that it would be releasing a new 10-inch version of its MediaPad, a mid-range series of tablets that has thus far ignored the UK.

In any case, the company has pulled out all the stops on its latest smartphone range. Below are the technical details currently known about the devices:

The Ascend D Quad

Huawei's MWC flagship, the Ascend quad is the company's latest attempt to break into the currently Samsung- and Apple-dominated, high-end device market.

Running Google's latest Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, the unit is set to boast some insanely powerful tech. During its event, Huawei was bold enough to claim that the device's processor is currently the fastest in the world.

Housing a high definition 4.5-inch display with a 32-bit true colour graphic processor and 330ppi pixel density, the unit is set to be powered by the Huawei-made K3V2 quad-core processor - which clocks in at speeds of 1.2 and 1.5 GHz - and boasts 1GB of RAM.

The 330ppi pixel density rivals that of a finely printed magazine and easily matches that of the Retina display in Apple's iPhone 4S.

Additionally, the unit will pack an 8-megapixel rear facing camera capable of recording 1080p HD video. Backing this up will be a 1.3 mega-pixel front facing snapper.

Keeping the whole show running the Ascend D quad will be powered by an 1800mAh battery which, according to Huawei, should give the unit a two-day battery life with "normal use." Huawei also confirmed that the device will support LTE - a pretty useless fact considering the UK is still in the archaic 3G age.

In terms of physical dimensions, the Ascend D quad is also pretty nice. Measuring in at a slim 8.9mm thick and 65mm across. Gilding the lily, the device is also set to house Dolby Digital 5.1 sound enhancement and earSmart tech designed to maximise noise cancellation.

While being coy about the unit's price, Huawei has confirmed that the unit will be launched in numerous territories, including Europe, in either Q2 or Q3 of this year.

The Huawei Ascend D Quad XL

Besides the Ascend D quad, the company also unveiled the Ascend D quad XL handset. As far as the International Business Times UK can tell from Huawei's event, the device is pretty much the same as the regular D Quad just with a larger 2500mAh battery.

Huawei Ascend D1

Alongside its quad-core beasts, Huawei also unveiled its Ascend D1 dual-core handset. Outside of its 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4460 chip the unit boasts pretty similar spec to that seen on its quad-core counterparts.

Similarly powered by Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, the D1 houses a 4.5-inch, 720p screen boasting the same 330ppi pixel density as the D quad. Past this, it has an 8-megapixel rear facing camera capable of 1080p video capture and the same 1GB of RAM seen on the D quad.

The 10-inch MediaPad

Revealed during the Q&A session of the company's MWC press event, the new 10-inch MediaPad tablet has been confirmed for European release. Though shown during the session Huawei revealed next to nothing about the device's specs, shying away from even letting journalists touch the device.

All that is known is that the unit will house a 10-inch 1080p, IPS display, an 8-megapixel camera and the same new K3V2 chip found inside the Ascend D Quad smartphone. Running Ice Cream Sandwich, the 10-inch MediaPad is set to ship in China and Europe Q2 this year.

Check back later in the week for further coverage of MWC 2012, including opening hands-ons with Huawei's latest batch of iPhone-killers.