ZTE Launches £72 Quad-Core Smartphone With Virgin

ZTE on Monday launched the Android-based Blade V handset, seeking to set a new standard for low-priced smartphones with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and features such as a 4-inch WVGA IPS touch display and a 5 megapixel camera with built-in flash.

The handset, which is available exclusively on Virgin Media’s pay-as-you-go network, sells for as little as £72 for existing Virgin users, who get a 20 percent discount. The handset is also available for £89.99 SIM-free; it can also be had for £15 per month under Virgin Media’s SIM-only Unlimited Everything, which inlcudes unlimited texts, minutes and data, or £13 per month with a two-year contract.

Fast chip

The successor to the Blade III, it is powered by the Cortex A5-based Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8225Q quad-core processor, along with an Adreno 203 graphics processor (GPU). It comes with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of onboard storage and a microSD card slot allowing memory expansion up to 32GB. It includes HSPA+ 3G connectivity, but doesn’t support 4G or NFC connectivity.
The rear camera has a 5-megapixel resolution and built-in LED flash, something unusual for a low-priced handset, while the front-facing camera has a VGA, or 640×480 pixel, resolution. Other features include bundled Kingsoft Office software, Android 4.1 operating system, Bluetooth 4.0 and a 1,800 mAH battery.

Firefox OS

Competitors include the Huawei Ascend Y300, which has similar hardware specifications and pricing, but uses a 1GHz dual-core processor.

ZTE recently began selling the Firefox OS-powered ZTE Open on eBay, with models quickly selling out in the UK, despite not being currently supported by any UK operator.

The device was first announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year and is the first smartphone running Firefox OS to receive a commercial release, having been launched on Telefonica in Spain, Venezuela and Colombia.

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