Thus far, ZTE's biggest reach in the US market has been tied to carriers, and the vast majority of its phones are sold as prepaid, white-label devices on the cheap. We rarely see any of the manufacturer's higher-end products on this side of the Pacific, however, and ZTE is ready to change that in time for the holidays with a pair of midrange Android handsets that will be offered unlocked and without the influence of mobile operators. Both phones are going to be up for pre-order on October 5th through multiple online channels (the press release tells us "Amazon and other channels," so check your preferred retailer), and both of them will ship October 16th.
First up is the Grand S, which made its global debut at CES last January (yes, ten months ago). It'll go on sale for $400 and will feature a 5-inch 1080p display, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro with 2GB of RAM, 13MP rear camera, 1,780mAh battery and 16GB total internal storage space. It will run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (ZTE wouldn't give specifics on if or when we can expect to see an upgrade) and will offer a frame that's 6.9mm thin.
Last but not least is the nubia 5, which can be yours for $450. This one is a bit interesting, as ZTE tells us that this model is different from the nubia Z5, although most of the specs (and its overall look) are the same. It runs on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean and features a 5-inch 1080p display, 16GB of internal storage (as opposed to the Z5's 32GB), 2,300mAh battery, 13MP rear camera, a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 2GB of RAM. The duo have HSPA+ radios (LTE isn't included) that are compatible with both AT&T and T-Mobile, in case you have any allegiance with either.
Filed under: Wireless, Mobile, Google