MetroPCS has bolstered their smart phone lineup with the release of another Android handset, the Huawei Ascend. Previously available only to Cricket Wireless customers, the Ascend quickly follows the launch of the Optimus M. The $179.99 handset features Android 2.1, a 3.5-inch touch screen, 3.2 megapixel camera, and all your typical Android device support. MetroPCS offers rate plans for smart phones that start as low as $50 a month without a contract, making this entry-level Android a great stocking stuffer for friends and family. Full press release after the break.

New Huawei Ascend Android smartphone arrives just in time for the holidays

DALLAS, Dec. 13, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS) today launched a new handset sure to entice last-minute holiday shoppers who are looking for the latest technology at an incredible value. The Huawei Ascend™ is available today in MetroPCS stores and online at www.metropcs.com.

An entry-level smartphone powered by the Android 2.1 (Eclair) operating system (OS), the Huawei Ascend is a perfect match for consumers wanting to move from a feature phone to a smartphone. The intuitive OS and nine customizable home screens make it easy to organize and get quick access to widgets, shortcuts, apps and social networks, and users can update their Facebook status or Tweet from the home screen. With smartphone plans starting at $50 per month with no annual contract, the Huawei Ascend is priced at $179—a great value for an Android device offering key features such as:
Access to more than 100,000 apps in the Android Market™, in addition to games, ringtones and wallpapers available through the @metro App Store™
A 3.5-inch HVGA auto-rotate touchscreen with onscreen QWERTY keyboard for easy text input
3.2 MP camera and camcorder to shoot and share images and video with friends and family
Easy Wi-Fi® connectivity – automatically connect to Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide

“Our customers desire more choices and are looking for the latest handsets and services that fit their personalities, lifestyles and budgets,” said Tom Keys, chief operating officer of MetroPCS. “With the addition of this device, we are again expanding our portfolio to provide our customers with a chance to experience the latest technology with the value of affordable, flexible and predictable no annual contract wireless services.”
MetroPCS customers can also enjoy Metro USA(SM) with nationwide unlimited talk, text and web services and no annual contract service plans with taxes and regulatory fees included.

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125 COMMENTS

  1. ok, i just want to know when the motorola android is gonna be released to metro and i want to get the huawei ascend but i cant find any reviews on it. any help?

    • Get it!
      It is cheaper then going with another carrier, I just got the ascend and I am really happy. The phone is a very capable android device. Can be rooted and used to tether. I vpn to work with mine…it is pretty nice and for the price it is unbeatable.

    • Got it yesterday after 7+ years with T-mobile and a BlackBerry since 2004.
      I LOVE this ascend! And you just can beat $55 unlimited everything.

      The only thing I’ve noticed is the battery seems to run out faster than I’d like, but I can’t tell if it’s the phone or because I wont get off the Google Sky app (which is AMAZING, by the way).

    • dont put much stock in the big critic reviews i love the ascend user comments tell all and most seem to love it some people i beleve are pissed that they spent so much more when they could have ben smarter and paid less dont let there shoppers remorse weigh on your decision

    • this fone is great i’ve upgraded it to 2.2 and i’ve had no problems whats so ever and the is lik my 12th fone this year and im going to stick with it untill next year 

  2. from what i heard, all the androids can tilt to qwerty.
    i wouldn’t imagine they call a smart phone smart if it couldn’t.

    but im looking for a review of the phone and no one has done one.

  4. i found a site online somewhere that the upgrade is in final touch-ups and will be available january 11th, 2011.

    and i saw an old video of how the texting works, its got 3 types of texting but they didnt show full qwerty

    it was an old video so i doubt it doesn’t have the full qwerty

  6. Cricket has had this phone for a couple of months… check out CNET for review of the Cricket Huawei Ascend. I highly considered this phone before decending on the LG Optimus M. For the price (there is a current rebate on it that drops it to $99!), I am very curious as to what people are saying about this phone. I also heard that there would be an update to 2.2 in January but who could be sure with these things?

    • I have this phone for cricket, and its the ONLY way to go, metropcs sucks, they are horrible, cricket is 55.00 for unlimited everything, it is 3g, i checked and its just as fast as the iphone, and actually my phone was faster than my friends iphone on att. haha! plus if you pay cricket 3 months in advance you get the 4th month free, that brings ur monthly bill down to 41.00 for unlimited everything you CANNOT beat that.

  7. Does anybody know where I can get this exact phone? I have looked for it at metropcs.com ebay n craiglist but I can only find the regular blue one can somebody help me please n thank you

    • dude i saw one on a youtube vid a week ago and the vid was from a year ago. and it was in italy. might not be available to US or maybe its just not made with the front cam anymore.

      if you find it! let me know!

    • omg what is the location of the metro you found the phone at cus i really dont care wat color ive been looking all over for this phone n all the metro stores keep telling they ran out , can you please tell me which one u found the fones at -if there r any left-

  8. I got the phome a couple of days ago, its great! Mind u, it no EVO4, but its insane value for only $99 +tax, cant wait for the update tho, still, the phone its very responsive and capable, and I still cant believe that I paid only $100 for it!!

  11. Got one from Metropcs for $98 +tax ($189 with immediate discount) for 8th grade grandson. Tilts to qwerty, had to turn off a bunch of apps running in background as were draining battery pretty quick, but other than that it is a great phone, great call quality – beautiful phone and I’m an IT. All I got out of it was a huge smile and his old phone.

  12. Oh, we were first in line (7am) at the Metro PCS store, and as soon as they opened (930am) we got the last one.

  15. I heard that we can have backgrounds for all the different screens on the huawei ascend. Is this true and how can I do that?

    • I got my phone like a week ago i had the htc evo with sprint which was a great phone but the bill was too costly. This phone does about the same as far as apps facebook calling and texting. My brother has a sprint and i was able to txt him. Maybe u should go to the carrier and ask them is the phone faulty or is it the area ur in. I hope u the best cuz the phone is sweet for only $89 and $55 for unlimited evrything compared to my $300 evo at almost $100 a month. And this phone even has swype txtn and the evo didn’t. But I’m sure ur dilemma can be solved cuz i can txt other phones who are with other carriers. Good luck!

    • That is depending on your service. The phone has absolutley nothing to do with who you can or cannot text.. If you can only text metroPCS customers you must be on a limited plan.. I am on the smartphone plan with the Huawei Ascend andits 55.00 A month and I can text anyone I want anytime and anywhere… Check your service

  17. Anyone with this phone having battery problem. Have had the phone only 2 days now and have had to charge it 2 times in one day. (I have the phone set to timeout after 2 mins. and have not used the phone much.

    • that somtn usual about the fone… it need to be charged 2 or 3 times a day to last, try turning off the wifi n lowering the screen backlight

      • no you need to download the android to your phone
        go to 1 market
        2hit the search in upper right hand corner
        3 type in task management enter
        4 download the android with the red tie
        helps save battery life

    • Yea most android phones drain the battery but i had the evo and it died all the time so a friend of mine had the samsung vibrant and said he downloaded a battery saving app from the android market. Maybe that will solve ur battery issue. Just make sure u read the comments about each app before u choose one. Good luck!

    • go to market and hit the search key in the upper right hand corner and type in task management and download the android with the red tie and it will help you save battery lfe. it also help you close open task that you have open and did not close

    • its a smartphone, the battery life sucks on all of them, at best you can go one day without charging it, with a battery saving app included, i use juicedefender and i still have to charge it every evening, if you dont like it, get a flip phone that just makes calls.

  18. im looking all over for this phone! cant find it anywhere n hialeah! where can i go that i’ll definately know they’ll have the phone in stock in hialeah that isnt too far? HELP!!!

  20. Well I have the ascend and its rooted using z4root.
    Before root, kinda sucked.
    after, awesome! Longer battery, better performance, and best of all, I can adjust how fast the battery drains and what apps stay running and which dont.

    And ad soon as the update tp 2.2 is out, ill root it to.

  21. Yes I like this phone because it has internet like a computer but the only thing that I dont know is how to put the weather clock on the screen, if somebody know please tell me how to do it .

    • Pick the home screen u wish to add the clock to, put ur fingerover an empty space and hold down till a screen pops up that will give u the option to put up widgets from either the phone it self or one from the android market. Then just pick what u want.

    • U can also download a variety of weather clocks from the android market. I did cuz i didn’t like how the clock sat in the middle of the screen and that it sometimes froze up and had the wrong time. The one i downloaded looks similiar to the evo’s weather clock and is at the top of the screen has not froze on me yet and u are also able to choose weather updates within minutes instead of hours and u can also customize the colors of the time and weather temp and location. Its just an awesome app. Just make sure u read the reviews and specs before u pick an app. Hope this helps.

  22. I would just like to say all the phones are great but you have to understand that the connection is no good.
    Metro pcs runs off 2g and 4g for one phone which is the samsung craft.metro is gettin android with down graded connection. The 2g which is the 1x on the top of your phone haves to go. I just got a new Lg Optimus M and I read the booklet sayin its a 3g phone but come to know metro pcs is not. So I felt like I thought I was getting something good for my money and didnt. So really the androids are only good for textin calls like regular phones cause downloads take forever and youtube you be lucky if it pops up. Browsing the web at times work,sometimes you have to click till it makes a connection which is fustrating. These androids ARE NICE but not the connection, please let this be known! The 4g lte shouldof been for these new phones that wouldof been a deal….i guess you hurd the frase of Metro PCS, well it can change if metro gets to it

  23. I bought this phone about 2 weeks ago and I HATE IT. I hated it from the 2nd day I had it. It’s WAY too slow. I mean, REALLY SLOW and im going back to metro pcs tomorrow to see if I can return it for a basic keyboard phone. I only bought it cause it’s like an iPhone but it sucks. 100% suckssss

  24. Okay, am I doing something wrong?? This phone is super slow and I immediately regret getting it..please let me know if there is something I can do to increase the performance.

  25. I love the ascend. It has great wi-fi capabilities and all the apps you can imagine. I’m very happy with mine i got at Metro PCS.

  26. well i got the phone and at first it was really slow it wouldnt even call… and i couldnt even return it the apps was really slow but after a few days of using it it got faster.. if your batterie is goin out fast try dowloading taks killer also try using your power control to turn off the brightness wifi finder etc. etc. that will help… task killer and other apps also help recover memory so dat helps the phone wit its efficinecy…

    does anyone kno when the 2.2 upgrade is coming out?? and where or how to install it?? also what is rooting the phone work for??

    • well to all who said the ascend is slow,

      just yours. mine is comperable to the optimus m.
      my boyfriend has the M and i have the huawei.

      i rooted both, overclocked both, and deleted all metro bundle packages includeing metro web and all the other BS that came on it.

      100% faster, more capable, not lags, no freezing, nothing.

      z4root, overclock widget, titanium backup(to uninstall the metro stuff)

      anyone need more help try MyAscend.org…..

      websites specially for ascend owners and all the tips and tricks to tweet your device.

      • u can not over clock you huawei atleast not yet. 600mhz is the fastest. u will need a kernal u make it overclock

        • uuuuummmm…. i have the kernal, and its clocked at 600mhz, before the fastest it would run without setcpu or any of the others was 280-320.

          and i dont mean over clocked like that, i mean set to run at its peak.
          where its capable of running ,

          not where the man” sets it for you.

          i also have a whole HTCFroyo theme and HTC_IME mod. (keyboard)
          that also doesn’t lag and the theme runs faster as well.

  27. just got a huawei ascend m860 with Android 2.1. I have never had a smart phone, just trying to learn how to use this thing and can’t seem for find a user guide and the little booklet from Metro pcs is useless. Do I need a guide for the phone or the os? Where can I find something that will help me learn to use this thing?

  32. can anyone help me? i just got the ascend and every barcode scanner app i download doesn’t work on my phone, am i doin something wrong??

  33. this is a great phone. i think if it came with a manual a lot of people would now how it works. to save the battery . go to market and hit the search and then type in task management and download the android. so that it saves the battery. and it also kills open apps that you have open

  34. Hey just got this phone mainly for the wifi but it sucks its so laggy i cant use the youtube app at all and when i text the interface seems really slow to reaspond should i return it or what?

  35. I just got the huawei ascend and it keeps saying the temp is higher than the operating temp of the phone functionality is limited, this comes on even when i had the phone off all night should i take it back to get a new one? Does it mean that it is overheating only had the phone 1 day

  36. I am waiting to receive 2 huawei ascend phones through Metro Pcs and i am wanting to know how good the phone actually is? Any comments about this phone are welcome thanks

  45. I have been with T-mobile and owned a motorola qlic, this phone is better than the qlic in most ways. I admit that the 3G is a little faster but not much and using opera the phone is just as good. The 2.1 is better than the downloaded version for the qlic. The sype version is better even without the pull down keyboard. The camera could be better, especially coming from a 5 meg. But is ok and does the job. I was paying 125 a month, 60 bucks is a hell of alot better and makes the deal, like tony the tiger says ITS GREAT

    • Thats fine go back to paying 600 for an iphone and 125 a month for your service. people that pay a lesser amount but expect the same service make me sick.

      • Whats does service have to do with his post?
        He specifically says that his phone is slow….

        Get a better phone… :)
        or upgrade to 2.2

      • Dumbass’ like you make me sick. I have the same phone an it is way tooo slow. My fiance and sister have the other android phones, that metro pcs carries, and they’re just as fast as the iphone!

    • I’ve spent 3 hours trying to connect to the internet on several occassions. In fact, I have been trying to connect to the internet for 20 minutes now, and my wireless router is sitting four feet away from me! I changed my ringtone and it wiped out my voicemail! BTW, I never paid $600 for an iphone or $120 for my service. I bought this phone because I thought it was a great deal, but if the internet connection doesn’t work, what’s the point of paying more for a smartphone? Why not just have a regular cellphone? My Razr only needed to be charged twice a week, but this needs to be charged daily, mostly because it spends hours trying to find a connection that I rarely get.

  48. look, if you want to make it faster you have to download a new launcher for the apps on the phone. The two best are zeam, or something like that, and launcherpro. both are free to download and make the world of difference. I downloaded the zeam and it made everything 10 times faster. The internet is still so so but that is only when I dont have all four bars. You need a new launcher though.

  52. is a good fone ! buh they havent came out with this exact one here :( i want that one in that picture

  53. im trying to decide what phone i want, without pushy da salesman. can anyone tell my if this phone can run adobe flash player? or if theres a phone with cricket that does? thank you

  55. That HUAWEI corporation gas make a very big mistake when they send this Ascend model to the market.
    Its incredible that proffecional engineering personal create today something like this phone. If a corporation its go to build a product,it must be reliable and not build a pretty face with a really bad brain.
    HUAWEI,at least in my family have lost all ourselves trust. Sorry, but get other mark of phone fellows,don’t aware your investment in this artefact.

  56. cant upload pics to pacasa.tryed everything i will buy a camera dont need this crap metropcs

  58. Haha Ya’ll Don’t KNow Howta Use Phones I Have One And Its The Best better Then An IPhone But i hacked Rooted And This Phone Too Beast :D

  60. – my swype won’t work all of a sudden? wtf? im starting to hate this damn phone…and i cant even upgrade it to the 2.2

  61. i love this fone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  63. no sirve se friza y no sube ni abre los videos, es muy lento . es una porqueria de telefono, mejor me cambie a boomobil y es superior a mpcs.

    • hey you got a nice eyes and charming look, Went through your lovely profile am impress i wish to dialogue more properly as friends, it is true there’s nothing sexier than a man, that likes a woman and is not afraid to show it. just Like my mom always say “life is like a box of chocolates” you look smart and charming, well I’d love to chat, if that’s okay kindly respond okay thank you feel free to text me 469-554-8217

  65. This phone is EXTREMELY SLOW! It lags in everything, it shuts off all the time, every time i use an app it fore closes, it’s always searching for service as if i was in a dead zone, and im not. Of every phone I’ve ever gotten from Metro PCS this has been the worst. I recently went on Metro PCS’s website to see what new phones they had. I saw the LG Esteem and according to videos and reviews I’ve seen its really good. I plan on getting when its no longer rediculously over priced. I also noticed that the Huawei Ascend has been removed from the market Bull Spit. You remove it after the complaints. UGH

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