Cincinnati Bell announced a 4G wireless network touting speeds “twice as fast as other national wireless companies,” as well as a new Android phone to go with it. The Huawei Ascend X 4G includes a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 4.2 inch touchscreen, 512MB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage, GPS, and a five megapixel camera with geotagging, the company says.

Cincinnati Bell announced 4G service this week it touts as twice as fast as "other national wireless companies," as well as three times faster than its 3G network. The company's a small fish, primarily operating in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, and claiming to have just 105,000 smartphone subscribers at the end of 2010.

But, Cincinnati Bell says, its customers get nationwide services via roaming agreements, including 4G in approximately 100 metropolitan areas. The speed of its new HSPA+ network wasn't quantified — leading to scorn from Intomobile author Stefan Constantinescu, who reckons the term should suggest 42Mb/sec. performance, or at least 21Mb/sec. — but the solely available Huawei Ascend X phone itselc provides 14.4Mb/sec. downloads.

According to Cincinnati Bell, the Ascend X (right) has a quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE radio with 1700/2100MHz HSDPA capabilities, plus a GPS receiver. The handset also packs an unspecified Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1GHz, plus 512MB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage, the company adds.

Running Android 2.2, the Ascend X is clearly a newer design than the multiple (Android 2.1-equipped) HSPA+ models Huawei announced last year. Apparently known elsewhere as the Ideos X6 or U9000, the device sports a 4.1-inch touchscreen with unspecified resolution, plus a five megapixel camera with autofocus and geotagging.

Like most other smartphones, the Ascend X also includes 802.11b/g/n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1. A 1400mAh battery is good for up to five hours of talk time and up to ten hours standby, according to the carrier.

Specifications listed by Cincinnati Bell for the Huawei Ascend X include:

• Processor — 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon
• Memory — 512MB of RAM and 2GB flash
• Display — 4.1-inch touchscreen (no further details given)
• Camera — 5 megapixel with autofocus
• Networking:
  • WWAN — quad-band (850/900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE and 1700/2100MHz HSDPA
  • WLAN — 802.11b/g/n
  • PAN — Bluetooth 2.1
• Other I/O: USB data/charging connector; headphone jack presumed, though not cited
• Battery type/life:
  • 1,400mAh
  • up to five hours talk time
  • up to ten days' standby
• Dimensions — 4.8 x 2.28 x 0.39 inches

Mike Vanderwoude, vice president and general manager of wireless for Cincinnati Bell, stated, "Every day the people of Greater Cincinnati use wireless phones to share news with friends and family and stream music and video. With our new 4G wireless network, they can do all that and more at speeds that are faster than ever."

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