Archive for ZTE

ZTE Render heads to US Cellular

ZTE Render ZTE Render heads to US CellularRemember the ZTE Orbit Windows Phone 7.5 (Tango 2) handset, which was announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year? It’s finally heading stateside by way of US Cellular under the name ZTE Render.

As before, the Render has a 4-inch WVGA display powered by a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 1600mAh battery rated at just under five hours of talk time. Also included is a 5MP rear-facing camera and a scant 4G of storage. It will, obviously, support CDMA / EVDO networks.

The ZTE Render joins the HTC 7 Pro as the only two Windows Phones available on US Cellular. The device can be picked up for $79.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, provided you sign up for a two-year contract.

While the specs aren’t all that impressive, it wouldn’t be a problem were it not for the relatively expensive price tag. That being said, it’s now the cheapest Windows Phone on US Cellular. That has to count for something… right?

[US Cellular via WPCentral]

ZTE Fury coming to a Sprint store near you on March 11 for $20

ZTE Fury cropped ZTE Fury coming to a Sprint store near you on March 11 for $20While our focus seems to usually lie on the catfight for the “best” smartphone, there is another, equally brutal fight going on for the title of “best” cheap phone. And in this corner, we have the ZTE Fury, a 3.5-inch Android smartphone with a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, and a 5MP rear camera. And yes, it is only $20—if you sign a 2-year contract and process your $50 mail-in rebate.

ZTE and Sprint are pushing this as a “family-friendly” and “family-ready” device. As such, Sprint Family Locator, Mobile Controls, and Drive First are all available and are being hawked loud and proud for all to hear. Gimmicky, quasi-useful apps notwithstanding, the Fury is a pretty solid low-end phone. It is certainly among the best for $50 and under.

In case you are unaware, this phone is strictly 3G, so you won’t be getting any WiMAX or mind-melting LTE, but it is equipped with 3G hotspot. So one phone could keep a carload of kids happily browsing the web on their laptops—provided that nobody decides to be a bandwidth hog and start watching Justin Bieber videos.

[Sprint | 2 via DroidMatters]

ZTE out-releases everyone, announces whole mess of phones

zte mwc 2012 cropped ZTE out releases everyone, announces whole mess of phones

ZTE, the world’s fourth most prolific handset vendor last quarter, debuted a boggling amount of devices at MWC with a total of eight smartphones announced so far. The entry-level Blade II and KIS, along with the midrange Mimosa X were all public knowledge prior to MWC. And we already covered the Orbit, ZTE’s second Windows Phone. This leaves us with the newly announced Era, the N91 and PF200, both of which sport LTE bands, and ZTE’s only HD phone, the PF112 HD.

While the 960 x 540 pixel, 4.3-inch Era is being labeled as ZTE’s flagship, the 4.5-inch PF112 HD has the standout screen—among ZTE’s phones—with a resolution of 1028 x 720. Unfortunately details on the PF112 HD are rather sparse, with no processor or launch date readily available. We do know it will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), has an 8MP camera, 8GB of storage, and 1GB of RAM. The Era shares all these specs, tacks on a 1.5GHz Tegra 3 processor, and will be available after 2012’s half-way point.

The LTE-endowed N91 is the lesser of the two LTE phones, sporting a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, and a 5MP camera. The PF200 packs a 1.5GHz Qualcomm dual-core processor underneath a 4.3-inch qHD screen, tucking in an 8MP camera and 1GB of RAM for good measure. Android 4.0 ICS is on tap for both, along with ZTE’s newly-announced Mifavor UI skin which is the usual bloatware stuff.

With the lack of formal press-releases for several phones, details are hard to come by. However, carriers tend to be more forthcoming, and I expect we’ll be getting more information from them regarding prices and exact dates in the months to come.

[ZTE | 2 | 3 | 4 | The Verge]

ZTE reveals the Orbit Windows Phone

ZTE Orbit ZTE reveals the Orbit Windows PhoneChinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE will be bringing a second Windows Phone handset to market during the second quarter of 2012. Dubbed the Orbit, ZTE’s latest device will take advantage of Windows Phone’s updated minimum specs for a low-cost, yet high-quality smartphone experience in emerging markets. ZTE’s home country is on the list of those getting Windows Phone support in April, so it’s no surprise that the company plans to take advantage of this opportunity.

We thought the ZTE Tania’s specs were a little on the low side when the device was announced back in September, and the Orbit’s are even moreso. The Orbit will come with an 800MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal memory. Thankfully, it will run just as well as its fellow Windows Phones, despite the significant difference in specs.

Expanding into emerging markets is crucial to the success of Windows Phone, so we’re excited to see Microsoft and its partners lower the requirements while keeping the quality bar high.

[Microsoft PressPass]

ZTE readying eight Windows Phone and Android handsets, HTC teases MWC announcements

HTC MWC Teaser ZTE readying eight Windows Phone and Android handsets, HTC teases MWC announcements

ZTE will announce eight new smartphones at Mobile World Congress (MWC) next week, according to the company’s press release. The lineup will feature Windows Phones and multi-core Android handsets, all of which will be equipped with 4G LTE. Nothing else is known at this time, but the devices are scheduled to be unveiled on Monday, February 27 at 10:30 CET in Barcelona.

ZTE hopes the handsets will help it become of the top three manufacturers by 2015. We just hope the company learns how to tell the difference between “Windows Mobile” and “Windows Phone” in future press releases.

Rival manufacturer HTC is also teasing its MWC announcements on Facebook.  The Taiwan-based smartphone maker claims to have something “fast,” “authentic,” and “iconic” to reveal on Sunday, and it is counting down the days until the big reveal. Interestingly, The Verge notes that the countdown will end at one, not zero, which is eerily close to the name of one of HTC’s leaked devices, the HTC One X.

[Engadget | HTC via The Verge]

ZTE announces the all-NVIDIA Mimosa X

zte mimosa ZTE announces the all NVIDIA Mimosa XDo we have any NVIDIA lovers out there? Even if you’re not a Tegra 2 fanboy, this news is hard to not get excited about. At least, that’s NVIDIA’s perspective. The ZTE Mimosa X is the first smartphone to have both its CPU/GPU unit and wireless modem from the same manufacturer, namely NVIDIA.

While I will grant you that having a device powered purely by NVIDIA is exciting, and having both chips made by the same manufacturer should make a device cheaper, I’m not so sure that this is a device worth writing home about, contrary to the press release. The Mimosa X is being billed as the first “premium mobile computing experience” for us regular folk.

My instant expectation is a price range closer to double digits—with a contract, of course—than a trifecta of Benjamins. I would also expect a little better speed and processing than your average smartphone. But one look at the device’s stats and you start to wonder what exactly Mr. Rayfield, General Manager NVIDIA’s Mobile business, meant by “premium.”

The Android 4.0 ICS Mimosa X has a 1GHz Tegra 2 processor in it, alongside NVIDIA’s Icera 450 HSPA+ modem which is good for up to 21Mbps. The money maker on this device measures in at 4.3-inches of qHD goodness and is partnered by a rather mid-range 5MP rear camera, a front camera of unknown quality, and a paltry 4GB of internal storage. Sorry NVIDIA, I love your components in my computer, but I’m going to have to pass on this phone.

[Android Police]

ZTE pegs the price of Windows Phone OS at approximately $23 to $31

ZTE Tania1 ZTE pegs the price of Windows Phone OS at approximately $23 to $31

A new report from TrustedReviews, which claims to have inside information straight from an executive at Windows Phone device manufacturer ZTE, states that the Chinese OEM pays Microsoft somewhere between $23 and $31 (£15 and £20) per device to license Windows Phone.

This figure might seem like a lot, given that most Windows Phone handsets now retail for $50 to $100 on contract, but it isn’t too bad when compared to the estimated $5 to $15 licensing fees that 70% of Android manufacturers now pay Microsoft due to patent infringements. The Windows desktop operating system, by comparison, usually runs manufacturers between $30 and $100, if not more.

ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley notes that ZTE likely pays higher licensing fees than Microsoft’s bigger partners like Nokia, Samsung, and HTC. ZTE currently only has one Windows Phone on the market, the ZTE Tania, so it’s probably safe to assume that the company does not receive the sort of “bulk discount” that its competitors do. Microsoft, as one might expect, declined to comment on the terms of its agreements with Windows Phone OEMs.

[TrustedReviews via ZDNet]

ZTE Tania brings ZTE into the Windows Phone ecosystem

ZTE Tania1 ZTE Tania brings ZTE into the Windows Phone ecosystem

The fifth-largest manufacturer in the phone space–the second largest in China–is finally jumping into the Windows Phone space with the ZTE Tania. The announcement at China’s 2011 PT/EXPO COMM on Monday provides the first official look at the handset, which was mentioned at the late May Windows Phone event and briefly leaked at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in mid-July.

ZTE’s debut Windows Phone handset will come with a 4.3-inch TFT display at a resolution of 800 x 400, a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 5MP camera. Unfortunately, it only comes with a measly 4GB of internal storage, much less than even the 8GB of memory we bemoan on other devices.

The specs are certainly on the low-end for a Windows Phone, even more so than the first generation hardware. Of course, there might be a method behind the madness. LiveSide believes that ZTE might be aiming for a low-budget phone, which would explain the somewhat disappointing specs.

ZTE hasn’t disclosed information on the release date or pricing yet, but the ZTE Tanzia will be made available in black and white color schemes and run the Windows Phone Mango update.

[PC Home via LiveSide]

More Windows Phone Mango handsets coming in September

Fujitsu Toshiba IS12T Black back More Windows Phone Mango handsets coming in SeptemberThe next iPhone will be released in September, and Microsoft plans to have the second generation of Windows Phone handsets ready to compete with it. These devices will be the first to run Windows Phone 7.5, codenamed “Mango,” which was released to manufacturing on Tuesday.

Fujitsu-Toshiba, as previously announced, plans to release the first Mango handset in September. HTC, LG, and Samsung are expected to follow suit later in the month, along with Acer, Huawei, and ZTE. Nokia’s first handset, the Sea Ray, will reportedly bring up the rear in late October with a massive $127.4 million marketing budget.

Microsoft announced the first slate of Windows Phones in mid-October of last year, with handsets hitting Europe and the US over the following month. Many people believed that Microsoft would follow a similar schedule, so a September launch is much earlier than originally anticipated. Thankfully, it should allow Microsoft to go head to head with the competition this fall.

[DigiTimes via Neowin]

Handset manufacturers consider switching to Windows Phone amidst Android lawsuits

Windows Phone Mango Device Partners 560x315 Handset manufacturers consider switching to Windows Phone amidst Android lawsuits

In recent months, Android handset manufacturers have come under attack from all sides. Apple is suing OEMs like HTC over patent infringements–going as far as to request that the International Trade Commission (ITC) prevent Android handsets from entering the US–while Microsoft has managed to collect between $5 and $12.50 on every device sold.

Android is currently the number one smartphone OS in terms of market share, a trend that IDC expects to continue through 2015. But Android’s recent troubles have begun to worry some manufacturers. According to the 21st Century Business Herald, a Chinese publication, “some vendors worry about the risk of becoming embroiled in patent infringement due to adoption of Android.”

Some manufacturers have begun to consider throwing their support behind Windows Phone. This is, aside from developing a competing OS from scratch, essentially the only non-Android option. Microsoft also protects its device partners against patent litigation, something Google does not do for Android manufacturers.

Android is built on open-source technology, so more lawsuits will undoubtedly surface as the platform grows in popularity. The safety provided by Windows Phone is very appealing. Some manufacturers, like Huawei Device and ZTE have already made the decision to switch to Windows Phone. Others have elected to reserve judgment until after the release of Nokia’s first Windows Phones later this year.

[21st Century Business Herald via WMPoweruser]