May 07, 2014 04:39 PM EDT
Ascend P7 Review: New Huawei Phone Better Than iPhone 5S?

Huawei Technologies launched its second flagship smartphone, the Ascend P7, this week as part of its effort to make an impact in the mobile market dominated by Apple and Samsung.

The phone, billed as the slimmest phone at just 6.5 mm thick, will go on sale in over 31 markets this month, including Britain, China, and Germany.

The phone won't be sold in the U.S., according to Reuters.

Customers can expect the phone to cost 449 euros ($630) without a SIM card or service contract.

The device has a five-inch touchscreen, a 8 megapixel front-facing camera and a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera, according to the Huawei website.

Huawei is known as the maker of telecom network gear, where it competes with Sweden's Ericsson. It has become the third-biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world, behind just Samsung and Apple.

This is an incredible feat considering the company launched its own branded mobiles and tablets just three years ago.

Huawei's consumer device business accounted for 23 percent of sales last year, increasing nearly three times faster than its telecom equipment business in 2013.

The company's global smartphone market share increased to 4.9 percent from 4 percent in 2012 last year, but it still lags far behind Samsung's 31.3 percent and Apple's 15.3 percent, according to Reuters.

Huawei's smartphone success has been built on selling mid-priced models in the Chinese market, as well as appealing to consumers in western Europe, but the U.S. has been tougher to break into.

The Ascend P7 succeeds the P6, which launched in June 2013. With the new phone, Huawei hopes to create a legitimate rival to Apple's iPhone 5S and Samsung's Galaxy S5.

"We want to provide a premium product but not charge a premium price," Shao Yang, vice president of marketing for the consumer business, according to Reuters. "Our screen, materials, camera, and power consumption are just as good and sometimes better than the Galaxy and iPhone."

The company expects to sell 10 million phones by early 2015, compared to the 4 million sold to date for the P6.

Huawei plans on spending $300 million on global marketing this year to improve its brand image.

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