Since the official launch of the ZTE brand in Australia last year, ZTE has been working to build their name in the hotly contested Australian mobile market. With a strong presence in the international market, the company has made some moves recently to differentiate themselves in the market place and has launched a new website to help show off their mobile offerings.
The new website, ztemobiles.com.au is a marketplace to differentiate their consumer mobile offerings from their more corporate and infrastructure related presence in Australia. While ZTE has previously had a long-standing history with Telstra, it appears they’re about to branch out further, with two mobile phones listed which look to be heading to the Optus in the near future.
The first is the ZTE/Optus Hop Smart (V811) an entry level, low cost 3G prepaid handset which will most likely carry a comparable price-tag to match the lower-end features. Spec wise it really isn’t remarkable but still meets the baseline requirements for a modern smartphone, and the inclusion of Android 4.4 brings the phone into a good place software wise.
The full list of specs include:
- 4.0″ TFT display
- 1.2GHz dual core CPU
- 512MB RAM
- 4GB ROM with (about 2GB user space onboard), expandable to
- 32GB via MicroSD, 2MP rear camera
- Android 4.4
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v3.0
- Network:
- 3G: 900, 2100 MHz
- 2G: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
The next phone to appear is a little more exciting with the ZTE Optus Fit 4G Smart. The phone could be launched as either a higher end pre-paid, or entry-level post-paid device, we’ll obviously have to wait and see. The big selling point of the ZTE Fit 4G, is the inclusion of the Band 28 700MHz LTE radio, a must have with the launch this year of the Optus 4GPlus 700MHz LTE network.
The phone is a decent looking device, even if the specs don’t scream premium. ZTE has included a fairly mid-range, though serviceable, Quad-Core MediaTek processor with a decent 5MP camera. Software wise, ZTE has again pre-loaded Android 4.4.4 onto the phone, and we’ll have to wait for more data to see how ZTE handles updates.
ZTE Fit 4G Smart:
- 4.5″ TFT display (480 x 854)
- 1.3GHz MTK Quad core CPU
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB Memory (about 4.6GB user space available) expandable to
- 32GB via MicroSD
- 5MP Rear camera, 2MP front facing
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0
- Android 4.4.4 (KitKat)
- Network:
- 4G: 1800 (Band 3),2600(Band 7), 700 (Band 28), 2300TDD (Band 40) MHz
- 3G: 900, 2100 MHz
- 2G: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
One of the new chapters in the ZTE Australia story is a new sponsorship deal they’ve entered into with AFL club Carlton. ZTE has been brought on-board as the ‘preferred mobile phone partner’ of the Carlton Football Club as a way to officially introduce the ZTE brand and devices to a wider audience, and with AFL one of the most watched sports in Australia, it’s easy to see why this is a great choice.
As part of the partnership with Carlton, ZTE staff will attend Carlton games, interacting with AFL fans at the stadiums and other club venues offering competitions and other ways to engage.
The first of these competitions will kick off at the MCG on the 2nd of April with the ‘Game Day Selfie Competition’, which offers prizes for people who have a selfie taken by one of the ‘ZTE Selfie Team members’, winners will be announced on the big-screen at the match.
If you haven’t heard of ZTE previously, you’re going to hear a lot more from them in 2015 and beyond. We’re looking forward to checking out the new phones when they’re officially launched.
Source: ZTE Mobiles Australia.
