CES 2012: Huawei Unveils World's Thinnest Smartphone

The Huawei Ascend P1 S runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich and features a dual-core A9 CPU processor and an SGX 540 graphics chip, one of the fastest on the market. The Ascend is also the thinnest cell phone available to date at 6.68 millimeters, beating the former record holder from Fujitsu by just two millimeters.

The Ascend P1 S, priced between $200 and $300, also boasts a 960 by 540 resolution Super-AMOLED display, an 8-megapixel rear camera and 1-gigabyte of RAM.

Huawei is offering higher-end smartphones to make headway in the competitive U.S. smartphone market, which is dominated by Apple and other Android phone makers like Samsung and Motorola. The Ascend is their highest-profile device to date, and with its slim size and fast speeds, may finally put the company on the U.S. map.

The Shenzhen, China-based company began ramping up its campaign last year, when it announced plans to become a top-five player in the U.S. market by 2013. Huawei, among the top 10 phone makers in the U.S., produces mid-and-low-range devices, often sold under other brand names like AT&T and T-Mobile.

However, security concerns thwarted Huawei's effort. The company became the focus of a U.S. intelligence probe in November as part of the Pentagon's latest cyber-security initiative, falling under suspicion of providing the Chinese government with increased opportunities for espionage and cyber-hacking via their products.

Huawei also announced last week it will scale back contracts and stop soliciting new business in Iran, after several U.S. politicians claimed the phone maker violated sanctions against the country with some of its business practices.

Huawei denies any wrongdoing, and opened its doors wide for the government earlier this year, encouraging investigations to clear its name. But the more the phone maker becomes associated with foreign espionage and security threats, the more its reputation is likely to suffer.

For now, Huawei will rely on the Ascend to boost its reputation, and the skinny-jean-friendly smartphone could be its ticket to a bigger market share in North America.