If this is the "advanced gaming smartphone" that ZTE [teased][3] a few days ago, then we can't help but feel a little miffed. It'd be fairer to describe the [Grand X][4] as the most advanced phone in ZTE's growing budget [line-up][5], and if you look at it from that perspective then it's rather more impressive. For £190 PAYG with Virgin Mobile in the UK, you're getting a 4.3-inch qHD LCD touchscreen, dual-core 1GHz Tegra 2 processor (no [Nexus 7][6] guts here unfortunately), microSD expandable storage (plus of 4GB built-in and 512MB RAM), 5-megapixel rear camera and VGA front-facer, sub-10mm thickness and -- ta-da! -- stock Ice Cream Sandwich, albeit accompanied by legacy Gingerbread navigation buttons. We'd have liked to see the proper, up-to-date Android 4.0 button layout, but in any case the absence of ZTE's [Kanzi][7] skin or indeed any other customization is a welcome change, because Google juice tastes fine served neat.
Now, we've already done an early [hands-on][8] with this phone (not to mention its previous incarnation, the [Mimosa X][9]) and noted its fluid operation, solid build quality and capable display, and all of those things remain true in the retail-ready handset we've seen in the UK. The budget scene has certainly come a long way since last year, but do we expect the Grand X to have an easy ride on the market? Probably not -- at least not when phones like the [Orange San Diego][10] are offering better performance, screen size and resolution for just £10 more. That said, if a pure and uncluttered OS is a priority, and if you can get this phone on a great deal when it arrives at Phones4U and Virgin Media stores at the beginning of August, then the Grand X is certainly worth a look.
Filed under: [Cellphones][11]
[ZTE Grand X coming to UK for £190 pay-as-you-go: 4.3-inch qHD, microSD, stock Android 4.0][2] originally appeared on [Engadget][12] on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our [terms for use of feeds][13].
######
[Permalink][14] | | [Email this][15] | [Comments][16]
[1]: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/07/2012-07-18800px.jpg
[2]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/18/zte-grand-x-uk/
[3]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/12/zte-teases-advanced-gaming-smartphone/
[4]: http://www.engadget.com/photos/zte-grand-x-hands-on/#5109302
[5]: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/26/zte-tania-joins-windows-phone-mango-brigade-says-ni-hao-to-chin/
[6]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/28/nexus-7-review/
[7]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/26/kanzi-ztes-3d-ux-for-ics-handsets/
[8]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/21/zte-grand-x-u970-and-n970-and-grand-x-lte-t82-hands-on/
[9]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/27/zte-mimosa-x-hands-on/
[10]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/14/orange-san-diego-review/
[11]: http://www.engadget.com/category/cellphones/
[12]: http://www.engadget.com
[13]: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/
[14]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/18/zte-grand-x-uk/ (Permanent link to this entry)
[15]: http://www.engadget.com/forward/20280753/ (Send this entry to a friend via email)
[16]: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/18/zte-grand-x-uk/#comments (View reader comments on this entry)
No comments:
Post a Comment