ZTE announced U.S. pricing and availability for two new Android smartphones Thursday (Oct. 3), the ZTE Grand S and the Nubia 5. Both mid range priced devices pack some impressive specs and are unlocked 3G GSM type phones that boast 4G speeds.
The ZTE Grand S is heading to the U.S. market after being introduced early this year at CES 2013. The Grand S offers appealing aesthetics and functionality, while the ZTE Nubia 5 is equipped with advanced camera features that rival professional SLRs. “We’ve been looking forward to bringing the Grand S to the U.S. since we announced the device at CES. Our goal is to launch more products like this in the future,”chairman and CEO of ZTE USA, Lixin Cheng said in a news release Thursday.
The Grand S is ZTE’s thinnest smartphone, at 0.27-inches thick and has a 5-inch scratch resistant glass display with a resolution of 1920 X 1080, pixel density is 440 ppi. It runs a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, with 2GB RAM and packs 16GB of internal storage. There’s a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera built into the device. Android Jelly Bean 4.1 runs on the Grand S, powered by a 1780 mAH battery.
Sibling to the Grand S, the Nubia 5 is designed to appeal to the photo enthusiast. It features a 13-megapixel Konica-Minolta autofocus camera, sapphire lens and LED flash on the back. “As the software and apps available on today’s smartphones replace more and more of the other devices we use on a daily basis, the specifications for features like cameras, displays and speakers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The nubia 5 really pushes that trend further,” Cheng said.
Camera modes consist of Fun Mode for quick snapshots and adding filters, Auto Mode with smile recognition and high-dynamic range imaging (HDR), and Pro Mode which contains SLR camera features. Users can adjust lighting and focus of the camera manually and also take panoramic or burst mode continuous photos.
Nubia 5 also has a 2-megapixel front camera, 5-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and pixel density is 443 ppi. Nubia 5 also houses a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage, a 2300 mAH battery and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean.
Both the Grand S and the Nubia 5 are compatible with GSM wireless carriers in the U.S. including T-Mobile and AT&T, pre-orders in the U.S. begin Saturday, Oct. 5 at Amazon and select retailers.The unlocked ZTE Grand S, normally priced at $399.99 is on sale at Amazon for $349. Amazon also has the unlocked ZTE Nubia 5 on sale for $399, discounted from its normal retail price of $449.99. Orders begin shipping on Oct.12. For more information about the ZTE Grand S and Nubia 5 smartphones, visit ZTE USA.
