4G LTE took huge leap in India on Tuesday with Airtel launching India's first multi-mode LTE TDD smartphone at Innovation Qualcomm India 2012 with Huawei.

Earlier this year, Bharti Airtel became the first telecom services provider in India to deploy LTE-TDD networks and launch 4G services in Kolkata and Bengaluru.

Powered by QTI's Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 processor, Huawei Ascend P1 LTE smartphone handles high speed data on the LTE network and voice calls on the underlying 3G network using Circuit Switched Voice Fall Back (CSFB voice) technology.

"We are excited to announce the launch of India's first 4G LTE TDD multi-mode mobile device along with Qualcomm and Huawei, and are delighted to take the lead in setting technology standards for 4G devices in India. We are confident that others will follow suit and participate in the effort towards establishing the 4G devices ecosystem in India" said Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, India & South Asia, Bharti Airtel.

Over the last 15 years, Airtel has been at the forefront of India's telecom revolution and played an instrumental role in aligning the country's technology trends with latest standards from across the globe.

"We are excited to collaborate with Bharti Airtel and Huawei to announce the first multi-mode LTE-TDD smartphone in India. With this significant milestone, consumers in India will have the choice of enjoying high-speed mobile broadband experience using an LTE smartphone," said Dr. Avneesh Agrawal, senior vice president and president of Qualcomm India and South Asia. "Qualcomm Technologies continues to work with its partners to bring world-class technologies to India."

"LTE is the future of mobile communications, and faster data access experience will become a key area of differentiation for consumers when choosing their mobile devices," said Cai Liqun, CEO of Huawei India. "Huawei is committed to LTE innovation throughout the entire communications value chain from the device to the network to the cloud. The availability of the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE is just one more way in which we are putting great technology into the hands of more people globally and now in India."

Powered by QTI's Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor with 1.5 GHz dual core CPUs and built in Adreno 225 GPU, and running an Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE's ultra-low latency guarantees smooth video calls and faster online gaming. The 1GB RAM ensures smooth browsing and the 4GB ROM offers capacity for limitless applications from the Google Play™ Store. The second-generation 10.9-cm (4.3-inch) Super AMOLED qHD display with scratchproof Corning Gorilla Glass 2 provides enhanced stability and durability. The Huawei Ascend P1 LTE also provides an array of multimedia features to delight photo and video savvy users with its 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash.