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ZTE's wallet-friendly Grand X (pictures)

Available prepaid for Cricket Wireless, the Grand X from ZTE is an affordable, 5-inch Android handset.

Lynn La
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
Lynn La
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1 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Cricket Wireless' ZTE Grand X

At $100 without a contract (after sending in a mail-in rebate to Cricket Wireless) the ZTE Grand X aims for budget-conscious prepaid users looking for an Android smartphone. It is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera, a 5-inch display, and a dual-core processor.

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2 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Mid-tier specs for a competitive price tag

The device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor from Qualcomm, and a 2,300mAh removable battery that has an estimated talk time of up to 8.5 hours and a standby time of 17.5 days.

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3 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Thin profile, but requires a wide grip

At just 0.37 inches thick, the handset is quite slim. Don’t expect it to fit too comfortably in your pockets though, since it’s quite large at 5.7 inches tall and 2.87 inches wide.

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4 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

A few editing tools for the camera

The rear 5-megapixel camera has many editing options, including 4X digital zoom, nine Instagram-esque filters, and five shooting modes. There are four image sizes, ranging from 1,280x720 to 2,592x1,944 pixels. It can also shoot 720p video.

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5 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

All in the subtle touches

Looking very similar to U.S. Cellular’s ZTE Grand S Pro, the Grand X sports curved edges, smooth rounded corners, and a matte battery door that adds a subtle premium touch.

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6 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

Up to 32GB of expandable storage

Other goodies include Bluetooth 4.0, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of internal memory. Users can add 32GB of expandable memory, however, using a microSD card.

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7 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

A 5-inch display that needs some work

The handset's 5-inch qHD display has a relatively low 960x540-pixel resolution. Although text and graphics are easy to read and see, the screen can be unresponsive to the touch, and at times, it required several taps or swipes of my finger to register an action.

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8 of 8 Josh Miller/CNET

More prepaid alternatives from Cricket

Although the ZTE Grand X is inexpensive for a prepaid device, Cricket has many other Android phones that perform faster and better at the same price (if not cheaper), like the HTC Desire 510 and the first-gen Motorola Moto G with 4G LTE. Click here for more on ZTE devices.

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