Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has released its second Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with 4G LTE for MetroPCS, the Huawei Premia 4G. The smartphone has a faster processor, but specs are very similar otherwise.
The entry-level smartphone has a 4-inch screen, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and a 5-megapixel camera. Its specs place it between MetroPCS' ZTE Avid 4G and the LG Spirit 4G, according to CNET.
The Huawei Premia 4G is currently available in stores and online for $149.99. Metro PCS's no-contract plans start at $40 per month.
By all accounts, the Premia 4G is an improvement over Huawei's first 4G LTE phone with MetroPCS, the Activa 4G, which was released last summer, as iTechPost reported then. The Activa has a 3.54-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen with 480x320 pixels but runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and features a 800-MHZ Qualcomm processor.
CNET panned the Activa due to the inability to upgrade the Gingerbread OS, the sluggish processor and not-so-impressive battery life of just 4 hours of talk time. The phone did feature a 5.0 megapixel camera and a front VGA camera, came with a 4GB microSD card pre-loaded with the movie Kung Fu Panda 2, and memory could be upgraded up to 32GB.
Ice Cream Sandwich is an outdated Android OS but "still modern enough to hold its appeal," CNET says. Additional features offered in the Premia 4G are Joyn by MetroPCS and Rhapsody Unlimited Music service.
With the FCC approval of Metro PCS' merger with T-Mobile, it's unclear what changes loom for both carriers. T-Mobile has announced a press event for March 26, when it is expected to make major announcements that may include phase-out of contract plans and subsidized handsets.
