ZTE

InterDigital is taking aim at Nokia, Huawei, and ZTE, claiming the companies are illegally using its 3G wireless technology.

The developer of wireless technologies said today that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, seeking a ban on the importation of 3G phones, USB laptop sticks, mobile hot spots, tablets, and other wireless components from the three companies. The company separately filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Delaware.

The complaint is just the latest in a myriad of legal entanglements between technology companies, including scuffles between Apple and HTC and Samsung Electronics, … Read more

Cue the Black Sabbath.

What else can you do if your obsessive colleague shows up to work in a homemade Iron Man suit? That's what Wang Xiao Kang did one day at telecom equipment maker ZTE's Shanghai offices.

It's not an easy thing to create an Iron Man suit, and Wang apparently spent months building his version of the Mark I version despite having no DIY experience.

Wang first made an LED-lit arc reactor and a repulsor arm, as well as a Mark III helmet using ethylene-vinyl acetate. He decided to focus on the early Iron Man suit, though, which was easier to mold.

After putting all the components together, coating the 110-pound suit, and adding a fan to the back part, Wang had spent some $460 and three months on his labor of love.

When Wang showed up to work in his Iron Man suit, his colleagues and boss apparently loved the costume. But the company security guard wasn't too pleased, and asked him to take it off.

Check out Wang's bodacious homage to Tony Stark in this vid: … Read more

Cell phone-maker ZTE showed three Android smartphones at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this year.

In addition to the Gingerbread-toting ZTE Skate, which we looked at earlier, there's the ZTE Amigo and the ZTE Blade. The Amigo has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 3.2-megapixel camera--we'll known much more later when we get our hands on the device.

The third phone is one we saw at CES. The ZTE Blade it has a 3.5-inch touch screen and a 3.2-megapixel camera. Although it runs Android 2.1, ZTE says the Blade should be upgradable to Android … Read more

Those of you hungry for Android 2.3 Gingerbread on more than just the Nexus S will soon get a taste with the ZTE Skate.

The Skate--announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today--will have a large, 4.3-inch touch screen (qualifying it as a "jumbo phone," according to HP). However, its 800MHz processor and 5-megapixel camera make it more midlevel than premium. Also onboard is an Adreno 200 GPU.

ZTE credits the skateboard for its inspiration on its 4.2-ounce 3G candy-bar-style handset.

The Skate is expected to globally launch beginning May 2011.

Though still among the top five mobile phone vendors worldwide, Apple has conceded fourth place to China's ZTE, according to the "Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker" report released today by IDC.

Looking at the global market share of the top mobile phone vendors in the fourth quarter, Apple dipped from fourth to fifth place despite a record quarter for phone shipments, the report said.

The iPhone maker shipped 16.2 million units, a healthy boost from the 14.1 million units shipped in the third quarter and the 8.7 million shipped in 2009's final quarter. Apple's flagship phone sold especially well in developed countries, including North America and Western Europe.

Apple's global market share for the quarter slipped only slightly to 4 percent from 4.1 percent the prior quarter. But that combined with a surge in shipments for ZTE, which has sold mostly lower-cost feature phones, allowed the Chinese mobile phone maker to steal fourth place away from Apple.

Hitting the top five for the very first time, ZTE shipped 16.8 million units for the quarter, helping it win a 4.2 percent slice of the market.… Read more

The AT&T R225 was never destined for greatness, but it sure would come a lot closer if it didn't get in its own way.

The recipe for its self-defeat lies in the phone's lack of a volume rocker, zero Bluetooth support, and an absolutely terrible speakerphone, at least on our testing device. A small screen size and low pixel resolution don't help.

However, the R225 Go Phone isn't all bad, and for just $15 without a contract, we wouldn't take it out of the running for those seeking a very simple, very cheap … Read more

Don't be fooled by the AT&T F160's plain-Jane appearance. It may not cost you a cent when you sign up for a new two-year contract with AT&T, but this isn't the sorry, underpowered clump of electronics you might expect a carrier to throw you gratis.

Instead, you'll find a quite decent cell phone that's perfect for making calls. A very responsive dial pad makes texting painless. This is one phone that definitely grew on us the more we used it. The F160 isn't without its flaws, but it's a … Read more

LAS VEGAS--ZTE isn't announcing devices besides its tablets, but we were able to glean a few things during our meeting with the Chinese phone manufacturer at CES. Chiefly, ZTE is looking for a home for the ZTE Blade, an Android-powered smartphone that's already been released in Europe and Asia.

We took a look at the Blade--it has a 3.5-inch touch screen, and a 3.2-megapixel camera. In global markets, it currently runs Android 2.1 but should be upgradable to Android 2.2 (Froyo). Right now ZTE says it's in talks with major and regional U.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Mobile device maker ZTE welcomed a trio of additions to its tablet family at CES.

All three are 7-inchers running Android and each has a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera, plus a VGA front-facing camera. Other specs vary slightly between the tiered models. The ZTE Lite tablet, for instance, features Android 2.2 (Froyo), 800x480 screen resolution, a 600MHz processor, and Dolby Surround 3.0 for an audio boost.

The more upscale ZTE Lite 2 tablet boasts a 1GHz processor, a 1,024x600-pixel screen, and DLNA support. It has 4GB internal memory. Both the Lite and Lite 2 are already available … Read more