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This leaked 5-inch ZTE handset could be headed to Sprint's LTE lineup
Much of ZTE's MWC 2013 focus was its desire to go from white label to global brand name. And from the looks of these leaked shots, the Chinese OEM's taking that goal seriously, purportedly prepping a new handset for Sprint. Going by the rumored name "Quantum," the handset falls below flagship status, allegedly running Android Jelly Bean and bearing a Snapdragon S4 processor, 5-inch 720p display, 1GB RAM and a 13-megapixel rear camera housed in an outsized circular module. There's no visible carrier branding anywhere on the device to confirm its possible Sprint LTE destiny -- only a logo in the notification pane and an anonymous tip, as reported to Android Police, pegs it for that. If this leak does indeed pan out, then that's good news for Sprint subs looking for more hardware choice, giant screens and 4G. And if not, well, no one will know the difference. Check out the source for additional shots.
ZTE partnering with Intrepidus to secure future smartphones
ZTE is building up quite a name for itself here in the US and as its market share grows, so too do the concerns about the company and its wares. Though the Chinese manufacturer isn't saying as much, its new partnership with Intrepidus feels partially like an effort to assuage the fears of the American consumer and its government. How the New York-based security firm fits into ZTE's broader plans isn't exactly clear, but the vague press release (after the break) does say that Intrepidus will "investigate the security mechanisms of ZTE-manufactured smartphones," -- phrasing that feels very purposefully chosen. Obviously the ultimate goal is make your personal data safer, and we assume that means both from individual criminal ne'er-do-wells and state actors.
Mobile Miscellany: week of March 11th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a new smartphone to Cricket, insights from Verizon about its forthcoming AWS deployment and even a rugged accessory from Nokia. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that's happening in the mobile world for this week of March 11th, 2013.
The ever-expanding smartphone screen: how supersized became everyday
It used to be that any smartphone screen beyond three inches was considered big -- and it was, for an audience still weaning itself off of flip phones and PDAs. Flash-forward several years, however, and we're to the point where many won't even consider less than a 4-inch screen, and the once-unfathomable 5-inch display is quickly becoming the de facto standard for high-end models. It's clear that many of us like our phones supersized, Zack Morris style. But when the 6.1-inch Ascend Mate is a reality, and Mobile World Congress or future events may push the boundaries even further, there's still a worry that the focus on successively bigger displays might have gone too far. Have we pushed too hard for more glass? Or are we witnessing a wholesale shift away from the smartphone as we once knew it? There's truth to both sides. Follow along as we look at how smartphones have swelled over time, and how we're learning to love (or cope with) their dimensions.
ZTE USA's CEO: US investigation report is actually good for us
You may think that Lixin Cheng, the top banana at ZTE's USA division since June 2010, has had a tough time facing strong accusations regarding its ties with the Chinese government and its lack of transparency; but at MWC yesterday, the CEO told us that the investigation has actually been beneficial for his company. "So far, the report really has no negative impact on our business in the US ... it actually helps us build the brand," said Cheng. "When the report came out, it was such a high profile news and everyone was talking about ZTE. Some of our handset consumers may call the hotline and say, 'Hey, I have a phone from ZTE, do I have security concerns?' And of course, most people would find out no, there are no security concerns."
China Mobile's four new TD-LTE phones: Huawei Ascend D2, HTC One, LG Optimus Vu II Plus and ZTE U9810
We already knew that LG's now jumped on the TD-LTE bandwagon with the demo of a modified Optimus G, but it turns out that China Mobile also announced several devices that are destined for its 4G market, including the 5-inch 1080p Huawei Ascend D2 (D2-TL), the 4.7-inch 1080p HTC One (TD101), the 5-inch XGA LG Optimus Vu II Plus and the mysterious 5-inch 1080p ZTE U9810. Interestingly, our brethren over at Engadget Chinese also spotted a TD-LTE-ready Samsung Galaxy S III at China Mobile's MWC booth (note the "China Mobile 4G" logo on the back of the phone, pictured above), but it wasn't mentioned at the Global TD-LTE Initiative summit at MWC. Obviously, let's not forget ZTE's Grand Era LTE that's compatible with both modes of LTE. Knowing how fresh some of these devices are, it seems like TD-LTE service will be available to the Chinese public well within this year, which will match what China Mobile announced back in January.Also announced alongside the aforementioned phones were four TD-LTE mobile hotspots, including Huawei's E5375, ZTE's MF91S+, China Mobile-badged CM510 plus CM512. These all feature battery lives between six to eight hours, and can handle up to 10 devices simultaneously. Some even support the more common FDD LTE, with Huawei's already capable of Category 4 LTE at up to 150Mbps.
ZTE Grand Memo hands-on: a look at Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 in action (updated)
ZTE caught us by surprise today, outing a Snapdragon 800-infused version Snapdragon 600 variant of the Grand Memo at its MWC 2013 presser. The device, which still features the same 5.7-inch (720p) display, 13-megapixel rear camera and 3,200mAh battery, is nearly indistinguishable from the other variants we've seen. But for this go-round, ZTE's added in Dolby Digital Plus Surround for a superior audio experience and an extra GB of RAM. Its external chassis may have remained the same -- plasticky and lightweight -- but the difference in this 8.9mm-thick Memo's real-world performance is immediately noticeable. OS actions on the skinned Jelly Bean UI don't just zip, they now quite literally fly -- truly, this device is deserving of the long-deceased "beast" moniker. Although international trade show WiFi connections are typically dreadful, we did manage to successfully run the SunSpider benchmark to get a quick taste of its rendering performance. The result? The Grand Memo notched a score of 1,186.7ms -- an unimpressive result when contrasted with the Tegra 4's 499ms (as derived from a reference tablet). As for ZTE's MyFavorite UX layered atop Android 4.1.2, well, we're pleased to say it yields some neat animations. The entire home screen, including widgets, revolves with a smooth 3D effect that just imbues the handset with a special "feel." It's a shame then that the Memo's encased in a less-than-premium shell, as it creates a disconnect between the smoking internals and humdrum exterior. But with a newly announced commitment to building its brand (a sentiment popular with Chinese OEMs as of late), this particular Memo is proof positive that ZTE's serious about raising its profile and consumer perception. You won't be seeing this Grand Memo hit US shores anytime soon -- it's a China- and Europe-only affair for now. So while you wait (and hold onto hope), check out our video tour after the break. Update: Qualcomm's informed us that the Grand Memo actually uses the Snapdragon 600, not the 800 that was mentioned during ZTE's event and in its official PR. We are shaking our collective heads. Update 2: Well this is fun, it turns out we got it right the first go round. After further discussion with ZTE, it turns out there are two versions of the Grand Memo: a Chinese variant with a Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064, while Europe gets a Snapdragon 800 with LTE.
ZTE announces Grand Memo: an Android smartphone with a Snapdragon 800 processor (updated)
Today marks the second time we've come across ZTE's Grand Memo. Except now, the Chinese OEM's unveiling it as the first to feature Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 Snapdragon 600 processor. The Grand Memo's 5.7-inch display size has remained the same, but the screen on this new 8.5mm thick LTE variant will now pack a 1080p 720p resolution -- a handy spec given its usability as a multimedia point of consumption. (Update 2: The official press release says that the screen is 720p resolution. We're asking for clarification. Until we get confirmation, we reckon ZTE's hinting at the camera capability, not the screen -- those scoundrels.) The audio experience on this tabletphone will also get a suitable premium bump with the inclusion of Dolby Digital Plus Surround. Apart from all that, there's still a 13-megapixel camera module on back and healthy 3,200mAh battery inside its plastic shell. No specifics regarding pricing and regional availability were given, but we can expect to see it launch sometime "this year." Update: ZTE's confirmed that the Grand Memo will initially launch in China and then Europe soon after. As for its US destiny, all we were told is that the company's exploring its options. Update Tres: We just got to play with the new iteration. See our first impressions here. Update 4: So Qualcomm's just reached out to clarify that the Grand Memo actually has a Snapdragon 600 inside. At this point, who knows what specs the Grand Memo has. Update 5: After chatting with Qualcomm we circled back with ZTE, who confirmed that the Grand Memo does, in fact, have a Snapdragon 800 inside. The company informed us that there are two versions: one with a Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 destined for China, and a European model packing a Snapdragon 800 with LTE.
We're live from ZTE's MWC 2013 press event!
ZTE is chasing the premium smartphone experience -- and it might not come with too heavy a price tag. While we've already seen its skinny phone-tablet, expect some news on a more global appearance, alongside, hopefully, more news on its Nubia range. Oh, and finally a closer look at that Firefox phone -- unless Mozilla has that on lock-down. The event will kick off Sunday at... the time you see below. February 25, 2013 10:00 AM EST
ZTE Open Firefox OS phone announced at MWC 2013, we go hands-on
Alcatel wasn't the only one to flash some Firefox OS hardware at Mozilla's big MWC event. ZTE was also showing off two shades of its new smartphone, the Open. The device will launch in orange and blue in global territories starting in Q2. It has a very handy 3.5-inch screen, meaning there's no issues holding it in one hand but there's not a lot of premium feel going on here. The plastic shell felt like any low-end Android device, though we won't fault the grippy finish here. Other specs (that we've already snuck a peek at) include a Cortex-A5-based Qualcomm processor that could be clocked at either 600MHz or 800MHz -- we're trying to get a confirmation on that. There's also 256MB of RAM, 512MB of expandable storage and a humble 3.2-megapixel camera on the back. The 480 x 320 screen itself is nothing to shout home about. Again, it feels like a flashback to those sub-$150 smartphones that did the rounds back in 2011 and while it's not the flashiest spec sheet, ZTE (and Firefox) are pitching this at those millions of future smartphone users that haven't already plumped for a mobile OS. However, the search function looks pretty pervasive, able to tap into apps, the web and more in search of the answer you're looking for. Specific carriers will be able to add in their own apps (pre-installed or not) for its customers. We got a glimpse at a data monitoring app that could pull together your data habits and respective carrier plans -- even if there's no word on a US release beyond some time in 2014. There's a quick hands-on after the break. Myriam Joire, Terrence O'Brien and Sharif Sakr contributed to this report.
Likely ZTE Open spotted at Mozilla press conference: it's blue and open, like the ocean
Remember that orphaned spec list we saw for the Mozilla-powered ZTE Open? Well, we think we've just spotted the device that it describes. It only came out for a second, clasped in the hand of someone from Mozilla, but we were just about able to grab a shot. As we saw in an earlier leak, it should be arriving with a 3.5-inch HVGA TFT screen, Cortex -A5-based processor, 512MB of RAM and a 3.2-megapixel camera. Check it out in the dark sea of shapes above and then remind yourself of the rest of the likely specs after the break.
ZTE Open, the company's first Firefox OS phone, gets a spec sheet at MWC
Remember that ZTE teased the MWC debut of its upcoming Firefox OS phone? Well, according to this spec sheet spotted by a tipster at ZTE's MWC booth, said device will be appropriately named ZTE Open, and it'll come with a moderate set of components: a Cortex-A5-based Qualcomm MSM7225A (which is known to clock at either 600MHz or 800MHz), a 3.5-inch HVGA TFT display with capacitive touchscreen, 256MB DDR SDRAM, 512MB NAND storage and the usual set of radios like WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 (with EDR3), GPS and FM radio. Interestingly, there will be a 3.2-megapixel front-facing camera, but it appears that there'll be none on the back. The Open will be available in three SKUs with different UMTS bands: 850/1900, 850/2100 and 900/2100. As always, we'll be sharing the full announcement and hands-on once we see the phone at MWC, though we have a feeling that we've already played with it before. Update: As some of you have pointed out, yes, the "FF" may actually mean "fixed focus" instead of "front-facing," and the former seems more likely. [Thanks, anonymous]
ZTE exec: Grand S won't carry a grand price, at least in China
A cursory look at the ZTE Grand S might leave you worrying that it will fetch quite the premium for that 5-inch screen, LTE and quad-core performance. Not so, according to mobile division lead He Shiyou. He estimates that the smartphone's price in mainland China will hover between ¥3,000 to ¥3,500 ($481 to $561), depending on market conditions -- a reasonable bargain for a high-end model expected to ship before the first quarter of the year is out. We're just left wondering whether the value-minded pricing will hold if and when the Grand S goes on a world tour.
ZTE to ship some of the first Tegra 4 phones by mid-2013
When NVIDIA unveiled the Tegra 4 last month, there were questions as to when it would ship in a phone, or whether it was bound for phones in the first place. ZTE has settled that question with plans to be the first company shipping Tegra 4-packing smartphones. The Chinese phone builder won't spoil the surprise by naming the devices in question, but the first models reach China by mid-2013. An LTE "super phone" is in the pipeline, ZTE says. With that fresh ground broken, we're mostly left wondering how likely it is that these devices will cross the Pacific -- as well as guessing which other companies are lined up for NVIDIA's fourth-generation silicon.
Canalys: Android was a third of all cellphone shipments in Q4
Despite regularly hearing how mobile platforms fare within the smartphone space, we rarely get a sense of their place in the wider cellphone universe. Canalys is stepping in with some context. It estimates that smartphones represented just under half of the total pie in the fourth quarter, giving bigger companies like Apple and Google some serious clout. Android accounted for 34 percent of all cellphones shipped, driven by Samsung as well as fast-growing Chinese backers like Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE -- all of whom were big reasons why smartphones made up 73 percent of Chinese phone sales in the same period. Apple took a smaller share of the worldwide arena at 11 percent, although it too was riding the Chinese wave to success. Limiting the scope to smartphones tells a mostly familiar tale. Android staked out 69 percent of the market, taking a 5-point hit as iOS jumped to 22 percent through the iPhone 5 launch. Samsung reigned supreme among individual smartphone makers, followed by Apple and Nokia. The rest are once again Chinese, as Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo scooped up the next three spots. Whether or not regular cellphones are included, the message is the same -- if you haven't been building a popular flagship device or catering to buyers in Beijing, you've likely been left out in the cold. [Image credit: Jon Fingas, Flickr]
ZTE Blade III reaches the UK through Virgin Media
The ZTE Blade III has been slowly spreading its cost-conscious influence across Europe since the fall, yet it curiously danced around the UK. That elusiveness is over now that Virgin Media has picked up the entry-level Android 4.0 phone for itself. It's a match for mainland Europe's version with a 4-inch WVGA screen, a 1GHz Snapdragon, a 5-megapixel camera, 3G data and 4GB of built-in storage with a microSD slot for more. Virgin is mostly counting on pricing to make the difference: the Blade III costs just £80 to buy outright for pay-as-you-go service, and it's free for customers who pay as little as £18 per month (£13 for Virgin loyalists) on a contract. If you don't mind the irony of a Blade phone that isn't especially cutting-edge, it's a tempting deal.
ZTE to reveal its own Firefox OS phone at MWC 2013
ZTE's plans for this year's Mobile World Congress just got a little more interesting. While we've already taken a look at the huge Grand Memo in action, the Chinese maker's invite suggests that there will be another "major new mobile device" to show us, throwing in a 'ZTEMozilla' hashtag for good measure. We knew that Mozilla and ZTE have been holding hands for a while, and this serves to confirm mutterings that we'd see some Firefox OS hardware early this year -- although there's no hint of that mysterious European carrier just yet. Hold on, Barcelona. We're coming.
ZTE's 5.7-inch, 8mm-thick Grand Memo teased ahead of MWC launch, we go hands-on
Huawei may have its 6.1-inch Ascend Mate for the convenience of hiding your face, but ZTE's also prepping its very own tabletphone to go head to head with its main rival. Dubbed the Grand Memo (V9815), this 5.7-inch 720p device made a surprise appearance at a ZTE event in Hong Kong today, and we got to snap some photos of it. The device looks identical to the P945 leaked earlier this month but packs some slightly different specs: 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro (same as the more premium Grand S), 13-megapixel camera, 8mm-thick body and Android 4.1.2. While the specs aren't too shabby, our colleague Stone Ip said the choice of finish on the body didn't feel as nice as the Grand S', and the silver bezel made the Grand Memo look worse, but in ZTE's defense it was a prototype and the design may improve in the retail version. On a more positive note, the new phone does include a microSD slot despite its slimness, and it comes with a "one-hand" T9 keyboard that can stick to either side of the screen for better single-handed typing, just too bad we were asked not to take a video of the device at the time. That said, the Grand Memo will be officially unveiled at MWC next month, so stay tuned for more.
ZTE V81 tablet shows up in website ahead of MWC, touts 8-inch display and Jelly Bean
Not quite content with the release of its Grand S earlier this month, ZTE looks to be preparing a new tablet to go along with that aforementioned flagship handset. The V81 -- which will presumably make its official debut at this year's Mobile World Congress -- is, according to the company's own website, said to be boasting an 8-inch (1,024 X 768) display with a dual-core, 1.4GHz CPU (mum's the word on chipset specifics), 1GB RAM and 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded to up to 32GB via microSD. Speaking of which, other listed incisions include a full-size USB and HDMI, while a 3,700 mAh battery and Android Jelly Bean are also part of the relatively decent spec sheet. Naturally, pricing and availability details are still slim, but it shouldn't be too long before we learn more on that front -- in the meantime, there's a gallery filled with V81 press shots after the break for you to peruse over.
ZTE U956 poses for pics, said to offer a 5-inch 720p screen, quad-core CPU
ZTE's no stranger to phones that provide more bang for your buck, so it's hardly surprising to see evidence of a new mid-range phablet from the Chinese outfit. The leaked images may not point towards another world first, but the U956 apparently runs Android 4.1.2 and is rumored to pack a 5-inch, 1,280 x 720 display and a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 SoC. There's also support for China's TD-SCDMA networks, while an 8-megapixel camera joins some China Mobile branding on the back. Some specifications are still missing, but if the pricing is as low as expected, the smartphone could likely be an option for penny-pinchers who can't afford its designer cousin.
