zte

Huawei plans a 'get to know us' campaign in the U.S.

Here's the problem with Huawei's image: it doesn't have one.

While known in technology circles, it is a virtual nonentity for many consumers, some of whom are probably unaware they are using a Huawei smartphone.

Huawei, however, wants to change that, and is planning a large U.S. marketing campaign to build consumer awareness of its brand. The company has already worked with its carrier customers -- typically prepaid players such as MetroPCS or Leap Wireless -- to jointly do so. But with the planned campaign, slated for the second half of the year, the company will … Read more

ZTE to bring Windows Phone to U.S. by year's end

NEW ORLEANS--From a user point of view, ZTE's head of the North American business, Lixin Cheng, prefers the Windows Phone OS over Android.

"In my personal experience, the iPhone, of course, has a well-polished user interface experience," Cheng told CNET. "And then Windows, and then Android."

But for the small-time phone manufacturing company, which has been steadily trying to plant a presence in the United States, releasing Windows Phone devices hasn't been easy.

In fact, the majority of ZTE handsets run on Android. Along with the ZTE Orbit, which is available in the U.… Read more

ZTE plays the long game on building consumer awareness

NEW ORLEANS--ZTE is virtually unknown in the U.S. and, at least for now, that seems to be OK with the company.

The Chinese company, the fourth-largest handset vendor despite its minimal presence in the U.S., is focusing on building up its relationship with the carriers and supporting their needs, said Lixen Cheng, president of ZTE's North American business, in an interview with CNET today.

"We do plan on building our consumer brand by working more closely with our carrier partners," he said.

While relatively unknown, ZTE is an up-and-comer in the U.S. handset business. … Read more

The ZTE Score gets a sporty makeover for MetroPCS

About a month ago in March, I got my hands on the ZTE Score by Cricket Wireless. Aside from its decent call quality, there wasn't much to write home about. The device had a unresponsive touch screen and its speed (both in relation to the processor and network) was sluggish.

Tacking on an extra "M" at the end of its name (I'm assuming it stands for MetroPCS...or maybe marshmallows?), MetroPCS got a hold of the device, changed up the design a bit to accommodate a larger battery (the original score had a 1,200mAh battery; … Read more

ZTE aims high, hopes to sell 100 million smartphones by 2015

In addition to its presence at this year's Mobile World Congress, and the steady number of devices it's offering to the U.S. market, Chinese phone manufacturer ZTE is setting its sights even higher.

According to Reuters, the company is worth $9.3 billion, sold 15 million smartphones in 2011, and is the fourth largest handset manufacturer in the world.

The company projects that it will sell 50 million smartphones by the end of this year, and is aiming for 100 million by 2015.

It also plans to release two devices that are crosses between a phone and … Read more

Cricket targets Target with Muve Music phones

What's that sound you hear? It's the tune of Cricket Wireless selling smartphones with all-you-can download music plans from yet another retail giant.

Starting today, nearly 1,600 Target stores will carry the Samsung Vitality and ZTE Score on Cricket's network. Both Android smartphones feature Muve Music, the unlimited music and ringtone download plan that Cricket pioneered in January 2011.… Read more

Virgin Mobile taking preorders for $99 Venture

Virgin Mobile has begun taking preorders for its next smartphone, the Gingerbread-powered PCD Venture.

The Venture is an affordable option for customers looking to scoop up their first Android device; it features a 2.8-inch display, a 600MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and microSD expansion slot (for cards up to a 2GB). Taking a peek at the user manual reveals that the internal storage is 512MB and the digital camera 2 megapixels. While seasoned users might not get excited over the hardware, I suspect that both will matter little to the target user base.

Additional details for the Venture include … Read more

Don't buy these phones (roundup)

It's no easy task birthing a cell phone, but despite the hard work that goes into designing and manufacturing these handsets, things can go (very) awry. If you've been thinking about picking up one of the following phones the next time you head out of the house, well, you might want to reconsider.… Read more

Sprint announces $20 smartphone, the ZTE Fury

These days, you can't get much for 20 bucks.

The pair of jeans I bought yesterday cost more than that, and I'm pretty sure the ol' Jackson barely gives me enough gas to drive to my aunt's house, who lives two blocks away from me.

For $20, however, you can get a hold of Sprint's newest 3G smartphone, the ZTE Fury--the very device CNET's Scott Webster anticipated yesterday. But that's only after you sign a two-year contract and send in a $50 rebate, of course.

Aside from sounding like it needs to take an … Read more

Sprint to offer Gingerbread on the cheap with ZTE Fury

Sprint is just days away from announcing its next Android smartphone, according to details picked up by SprintFeed.

According to the blog, the ZTE Fury is set to arrive on March 11 with a wallet-friendly $19.99 price tag and a two-year commitment. If you hear the price and expect low-end hardware then you'd be right; this ain't no superphone.

The specifications for the Fury include Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a 3.5-inch display, a 1GHz processor, and 512MB RAM. Featuring 4GB internal storage and a 5-megapixel camera, it's not exactly the worst choice for a starter … Read more