Cheap ZTE Android Phone Arrives In The UK On 3

The Android-based Racer handset from Chinese manufacturer ZTE has arrived in the UK on the 3 mobile network, for mobile users on a tight budget seeking an Android and touchscreen smartphone.

The handset costs just £109.99 if opting for a ‘pay as you go’ payment plan, which includes a £10 top up fee. So the actual price of the handset is just under £100. Alternative it is free of charge to users who sign up for a 24-month contract at £28 per month. This plan offers 2,000 minutes, 5,000 texts, and 1GB of data per month.

£99 Smartphone

The Racer has a QVGA 2.8 inch touch-screen, a 3.2 mega-pixel camera and 256MB of internal memory for storing your photos. It also comes with a 2GB micro-SD card, although it can support cards up to 8GB in size for larger storage requirements. Other features include an FM radio, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth and accelerometer.

The music service Spotify Premium is integrated into the handset, which as been optimised for social networking, as Facebook, Skype and Windows Live Messenger is also included. It also has the usual suite of Google apps such as mail, maps and the marketplace.

The arrival of this handset is somewhat noteworthy as it marks the first appearance of an Android handset in the UK from the Chinese maker. ZTE has told TechRadar for example that it intends to be one of the top-three handset manufacturers in the world by 2015 (under both its own brand and through carrier link-ups)

Budget Android

It will certainly have its work cut out, despite the fact that Google is enjoying some success with Android at the moment. The open source mobile operating system seems to be making some headway, gaining US market share in the last quarter, while its competition (Apple, RIM Blackberry, and Palm etc) all lost slightly.

This is despite Google saying earlier this month that it is not planning make an update to the Nexus One smartphone. Indeed, Google has reportedly just taken delivery of the final batch of these handsets.

The Racer is designed to compete at the lower end of the Android market, and is designed to appeal to users with a limited budget, but who are seeking an Android-based device that also has a touchscreen.

It currently runs Android Éclair (2.1), and it remains to be seen as to whether it will be upgradeable to Android version 2.2 (Froyo).