ZTE has recently risen in the ranks to become the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. It achieved this by recently passing HTC and currently sits behind Nokia, Apple and Samsung. It has also recently been recognized as the first Chinese smartphone manufacturer to roll out Android 4.2 Jelly Bean which is the latest version of Google’s mobile operating system.
The ZTE 880E will be the first handset from the company to savor the latest Android treat. The device was first released in May running Android 2.3 Gingerbread and it became the first ZTE model to run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in July. The mid range ZTE 880E has been extremely popular since launch having sold over 1 million units. It may not be the company’s top smartphone, but it will continue its trend now that it is the first with the latest version of Android.
ZTE will introduce more models on Android 4.2 in the future, and will continue to make improvements to equipment performance and stability, ensuring that our handsets meet with the high expectations of today’s consumers."-He Shiyou, Executive VP, ZTEThe ZTE 880E features a 4.0 inch touch display, 4GB of internal storage which can be expanded through microSD, a 3.2 megapixel camera, a 1650mAh battery and is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm 7627A processor with 512MB of RAM.
What we found most interesting is that the ZTE N880E is receiving the latest version of Android, while other manufacturer’s have deemed similar and sometimes better hardware incapable of running newer versions of Android. Now ZTE 880E users will be able to enjoy Android 4.2 features like the Swype-type virtual keyboard, Quick Settings and the improvements to Google Now.
Press Release
ZTE Named World’s 4th Biggest Smartphone Manufacturer:
30th October 2012, Shenzhen, China – ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”) (0763.Hong Kong /000063.Shenzhen), a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment, network solutions and mobile devices, today announced that it climbed one position to become the 4th biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world during the third quarter of 2012, according to IDC, a leading provider of global ICT market research and advisory services.
The IDC report, Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, details that ZTE shipped 7.5 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2012, closely following RIM with only 0.1 percentage points between them. Number 5 in Q2, ZTE overcame HTC in the last quarter to rank in the global top four smartphone providers for the first time.
The IDC data showed that ZTE’s increased market share is due to continued international diversification efforts in Q3. Traditionally dependent on sales in China, ZTE has now achieved significant uptake in developed countries with 35 percent of its overall smartphone shipments being sold in leading international markets, especially North America.
“The performance of our flagship Grand series smartphones has been a major driver of ZTE’s continued growth in the sector. These include both 3G and LTE devices such as the quad-core Grand Era, the dual core Grand X, and the Intel powered Grand X In. We also launched the world’s slimmest Quad-core Smartphone, Grand Era U985, in Q3,” said Mr. He Shiyou, ZTE EVP and Head of the Terminal Division.
“To maximize the exposure of these smartphones, we have focused on building our distribution channels across the world. Our flagship device, the ZTE Grand X, for example, has now been launched with top distributors in the UK, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia and Italy,” added Mr Shiyou.
ZTE smartphone shipments for the full year of 2011 were more than 15 million, an increase of 400% over 2010, making ZTE the fastest growing smartphone maker after Apple.
We hope that other manufacturers will learn from this and offer their customers a better user experience on their devices, or we may find ZTE eventually rise to become the top smartphone seller in the world.
source - Android Central