ZTE launches its first branded smartphone in Australia
The Chinese manufacturer will be selling the V969 -- known as the Grand X2 L in other regions -- as an exclusive to Dick Smith.
Chinese company ZTE may not be a well recognised brand in Australia, but its products have been available locally for some time.
It's just that until now they've sported someone else's logo -- usually Telstra. ZTE has supplied a number of handsets and WiFi dongles all sporting the Telstra 'T' (along with two branded for Boost Mobile).
Now the company is entering the Australian market under its own marque, with the V969, known in other regions as the Grand X2 L.
It's a 5.5-inch, 2G/3G, quad-core Android device that also supports dual-sim cards. The screen is qHD, which means a 960x540 resolution, and it will ship with Android 4.2.
It's obviously a mid-range device and it comes with the price tag to match -- the V969 will be available for AU$299 exclusively from Dick Smith.
ZTE is following Huawei's footsteps with this move. It wasn't long ago that Huawei launched its devices brand in Australia, following on from a similar tradition of OEM products and telecommunications infrastructure.
Since then, Huawei has been aggressive in getting its brand out to Australian consumers, even becoming the major sponsor for the Canberra Raider's NRL team. It will be interesting to see if countryman ZTE will pursue a similar strategy.