mt6572
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BLU unveils two budget Android phones with 3G on more North American carriers
BLU Products' unlocked smartphones have only been truly useful in North America when using bigger carriers like AT&T and Rogers, but the company is giving us a few more choices today. Its new Advance 4.0 and Studio 5.0 II both support HSPA+ data on smaller networks like T-Mobile, Solavei and Wind Mobile; if you want to jump to a cheaper provider, you won't have to give up 3G in the process. The handsets are otherwise modest. Both Android 4.2 devices come with a dual-core 1.3GHz MediaTek processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of expandable storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera and a front VGA camera. You're mostly left deciding between the Advance 4.0's 4-inch TFT display and the Studio 5.0 II's 5-inch IPS panel. Whichever phone you choose, it won't cost much. BLU is offering the Advance 4.0 today for $89 outright, while its Studio 5.0 II cousin sells for $139.
ZTE launches Blade Q smartphone line in Mini, regular and Maxi sizes
Don't like having to give up (or gain) features just because you want a smartphone in a different screen size? With ZTE's new Blade Q line of entry-level Android phones, that won't be a problem. The 4-inch Blade Q Mini, 4.5-inch Blade Q and 5-inch Blade Q Maxi all offer the same dual-core 1.3GHz MediaTek processor, HSPA+ data, 4GB of storage, 5-megapixel rear camera and IPS-based display technology. The most conspicuous change is the absence of a front 0.3-megapixel camera on the Mini. We've reached out to ZTE for exact launch details, but the company has already confirmed a European release; we suspect budget-conscious buyers won't have to wait long.
MediaTek's new chip offers entry-level smartphones a dual-core SoC with HSPA+ on the cheap
As glad as we are that MediaTek ushered in affordable, quad-core SoC designs with the MT6589, even that silicon can only go so far in making smartphones accessible. The company's new MT6572 might be frugal enough to lower some of those few remaining barriers. The all-in-one part mates a cheaper dual-core, 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A7 processor with HSPA+ 3G, China-focused TD-SCDMA, Bluetooth, GPS and WiFi, dropping the construction costs beyond what even the chip's quad-core sibling can manage. While the MT6572 can only handle up to a qHD display, a 5-megapixel camera and 720p video, that's more than enough to improve baseline features in a category where many recent entry-level phones still tout single-core CPUs and WVGA screens. Its rapid arrival in the marketplace may be crucial, too. MediaTek expects the first phones based on the MT6572 to roll out in June -- just in time to keep the world's transition to smartphones moving at full steam.
