Huawei's newest Aussie exec launches 'Selfie King'

Huawei's Australian arm has lured an executive from its Middle East operations to lead the devices business.

New director of device business development, Howard (Hong Tao) Chen, and Canberra Raiders NRL players Tom Learoyd-Lahrs and Jake Foster launched Huawei's Ascend G6 4G smartphone in Sydney.

"I have only been in Australia for a month and the business here is very different to the Middle East," Chen told CRN.

Chen had served a similar role in the Middle East as the director of consumer business.

Huawei has labelled the new phone the "Selfie King" to spruik its camera functionality, including an 88-degree wide-angle front lens and "smile activation".

Chen said Huawei has around 5 percent share of the mobile market in Australia, adding that he hoped that the new device would boost that presence.

The Ascend G6 4G will be released on the Optus network on 2 June and through Vodafone on 11 June.

Huawei channel manager Minh Phan told CRN that, separate from the smartphone launch, the Chinese vendor is currently in negotiations with a distributor.

"It doesn't overlap with our existing distributors but is for a different product segment," said Phan.

Huawei is a multinational with its local headquarters in Chatswood, Sydney. The global firm generated revenues of US$9.4 billion in 2013, according to Chen.