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Got ideas for the perfect phone? ZTE wants to pick your brains

ZTE launches its Project CSX initiative, an entirely crowdsourced phone designed by fans.

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Lynn La Senior Editor / Reviews - Phones
Lynn La covers mobile reviews and news. She previously wrote for The Sacramento Bee, Macworld and The Global Post.
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Lynn La
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ZTE Vice President of Technology Planning and Partnerships Jeff Yee announcing Project CSX during CES 2016.

 Tyler Lizenby/CNET
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Think you know what it takes to make a great phone? Apparently ZTE thinks you know. too.

Originally announced earlier this year during CES 2016, ZTE finally launched Project CSX today. Project CSX is a crowd-sourced initiative where fans submit ideas for the the company's next phone.

Users can submit their ideas through ZTE's forum, Z-Community, and up-vote other ideas that they like. If you submit the best idea you can win cash prizes, a trip to CES 2017 in Las Vegas or early access to the final product.

There are some guidelines, however. Ideas for Project CSX have to relate to a mobile product. The technology must be plausibly achievable by 2017, and the final device must be affordable to the masses. (There goes my idea of a phone made only of caviar and angel tears -- womp, womp.)