The Huawei's Ascend D1 Quad XL smartphone will start shipping in the Benelux in November for 499EUR. This new Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich" based smartphone features the Huawei K3V2 quad-core 1.4GHz CPU, a 4.5" screen with 1280 x 720 pixel resolution, a 2600mAh battery, Dolby Mobile 3.0 Plus with Audience earSmart sound processor, a 8MP digicam with 1080p Full HD video recording, a 1.3MP front camera, 8GB internal flash memory, and microSD memory card slot.

In a move designed to help Huawei stand out against companies such as Samsung and HTC, the company has also announced a new skin that will sit on top of Google's Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS called the Emotion UI.

"Reinforcing Huawei’s user-centric design philosophy, 'Design with Empathy', Emotion UI is built on a clear understanding of how consumers interact with their smartphones and what they expect from these interactions," says Huawei on the announcement.

According to the Chinese company, the Emotion UI improves usability and provides a much simpler navigational experience for users.

The phone is available in carbon black and promises 15 hours of calling and a standby time of up to 500 hours. It weighs 145g, is 64.9mm width and just 11.5mm thick.