Huawei Ascend W3 Windows Phone 8 handset leaks

Pictures have leaked online of Huawei’s third Windows Phone 8 handset, the Ascend W3.

Earlier in the year we heard rumours that two Windows Phone 8 models were under development at the Chinese company and they were expected to coincide with Microsoft’s big platform launch, or at least arrive shortly after.

So far, there’s not been so much as a whisper from the manufacturer itself, however, we have seen a leak of the Huawei Ascend W1 just before Windows Phone 8 was unleashed.

Now though, we’ve got a handful of snaps of a previously unheard of Huawei W3, which appears to be a larger, higher-end model than its W1 sibling.

Other sites have reported the device as the rumoured Ascend W2, but a look at the display shows a Live Tile with device information and the label: 'Ascend W3'.

It’ll sport a 4.5-inch display within what looks like a unibody chassis, apparently only 10mm thick. It’s not entirely clear whether Huawei has gone down the polycarbonate or metal route, or if it’s pulled a Samsung Ativ S-style move and just made a plastic handset look metallic.

That said, the shape is certainly interesting and it boasts an 8-megapixel camera in the back panel.

The information on the display’s status bar suggests LTE capability, but being a Windows Phone it’ll almost certainly be powered by a Qualcomm chip, so this isn’t exactly surprising.

Whether a UK release will be calibrated for EE’s 4G network remains to be seen.

We expect Huawei will unveil its full Windows Phone range in the new year at either the Consumer Electronics Show or Mobile World Congress, or possibly both.

The company is notoriously slow to bring devices to the UK though, as there are still Android models announced in early 2012 which haven't hit the market yet.