ZteScore
Latest
ZTE confirms the Score M has a backdoor, hopes to patch up soon
Who knew that owning a ZTE Score M would mean living life on the edge? ZTE has confirmed that the MetroPCS phone has a backdoor vulnerability which could let a less-than-scrupulous hacker get root-level control over the Android 2.3 phone -- and because it's a unique app baked into the firmware, the login credentials won't change as long as the exploit survives. Other ZTE phones, like the Skate, supposedly face the same hole as well. The company says it should have a patch ready to push over the air in the "very near future," but it hasn't said why the app existed in the first place. Either way, if you currently pocket the Score M or one of ZTE's other recent Android devices, we'd keep watch for any suspicious goings-on until a fix is in place.
T-Mobile Vivacity unveiled for the UK, appears to be an adopted ZTE handset
G'morning there good lady, and who might you be? Why, she's the UK-bound T-Mobile Vivacity, which, while pretty likely to be a ZTE-born smartphone, is still keeping her specification cards close to its chest. We do know, however, that she'll arrive with a 3.5-inch touchscreen and five megapixel camera on the back. A front-facing shooter, slightly larger body and a distinct lack of ZTE branding all help to differentiate the Vivacity from her sister, the previously announced (and US-destined) ZTE Score. We predict she probably won't be a woman of expensive tastes, and we look forward to meeting her in the flesh next month. While T-Mobile may not have got the memo about phone naming, interested parties can stake their claim to more info at the sign-up link below.
Cricket takes a great leap forward, expands footprint with a little help from retail friends
After inking a wholesale spectrum agreement with Sprint last year, Leap's going for broke and rolling its "value-driven" Cricket service out nationwide on September 25th. The expansion includes a sprinkling of Walmart stores, Dollar General and even cable-shopping channel HSN, but the majority of its new reach will come from a partnership with Best Buy. In addition to offering monthly plans for dumb and smartphones alike, the operator's also serving up specific Muve Music service packages to play nice with three upcoming handsets. Along with the Samsung Vitality and ZTE Chorus (both to be available before the holidays), Cricket's introducing its first ZTE smartphone -- the Score. Don't go looking for high-end specs here, as the 3.5-inch Android device runs Gingerbread atop a 600MHz processor and includes a 3.2 megapixel camera. Feature phone users will also get a couple of new options to choose, with the Huawei Pillar and Samsung Chrono offered on the provider's PAYGo service. If you're in the mood to dig through PR spiel, skip past the break for a trio of pressers.
