Huawei, most recently in the news because of a group of Senator's opposition to the Chinese telecommunications company's dealings with Sprint, is hoping to garner public support by launching an affordable Android smartphone, dubbed the Ideos. The Ideos was announced yesterday at the IFA conference in Berlin.

Specs include:

• Android 2.2
• 2.8-inch capacitive QVGA touchscreen display 
• 320 x 240 resolution
• 528 MHz processor
• 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera 
• HSDPA 3G 
• Wi-Fi
• 3G hotspot capabilities for up to eight devices
• micro-SD card slot

The Ideos was developed with plenty of input from Google itself, Nexus One style, which should be a good sign.

The device will be available in mid-October for a full-retail price somewhere between $100 and $200 "depending on the market," Huawei said in a press release. No info was given on a possible release date, but Huawei did confirm that the Ideos will be coming to North America, along with Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

"We are proud to have already achieved our goal from early 2010 of developing a US$150 smartphone with an excellent user experience," said Kevin Tao, CEO of Huawei Device in the press release. "The IDEOS is an affordable option, designed to lower barriers to entry to allow easy mobile Internet access."

The folks over at Engadget were able to get their hands on the Ideos, and seemed fairly impressed.

As Engadget notes, the Ideos is no match for the likes of top-tiered Android devices like the Samsung Epic 4G, or the upcoming G2 from T-Mobile. But for a device that could feasibly be free with a qualifying two-year contract, the Ideos cannot be discounted.

Huawei also announced three more Android devices: the HSPA+ compatible U8800; the Android 2.1-based U8500; and the compact, entry-level U8300.