Wednesday, September 17, 2014

T-Mobile's ZTE ZMax is a low-cost Android phablet with killer specs

No longer content with supplying US carriers sub-par, unremarkable hardware they can put their own logos on, ZTE has started dishing out killer own-brand Android devices aimed at American audiences, culminating with the just-announced ZMax for T-Mobile.



To say budget-watchful mobile tech consumers have plenty of solid, uber-cheap options waiting around every street corner and store shelve would probably be a massive understatement. But what if you’re into jumbo-sized smartphones and can’t afford to cough up north of, say, $300 outright?

Clearly, your choices are severely limited, with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 Neo up for grabs at a whopping $500, and Sony’s Xperia T2 Ultra available for roughly $420. The HTC Desire 816 can be had on the (relatively) cheap, at $335 contract-free or $190 with prepaid Virgin Mobile plans, but then again, it only packs 1.5 GB RAM and a 2,600 mAh battery.

Meanwhile, the ZTE ZMax is poised to set you back an affordable $252, which you can even opt to split in 24 monthly payments of $10.50 each. And mind you, this big guy cuts no corners in the RAM or battery capacity departments, rocking 2 gigs and 3,400 mAh respectively.



Wait, 3,400 mAh? That’s nuts for the kind of price T-Mo and ZTE are planning to charge prospective buyers beginning September 24. Heck, it’s nuts even when pitted against competing flagship phablets going for twice ZMax’s costs. Yes, the mean Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4, which barely touts a 3,220 mAh cell.

And keep in mind, the Note 4 sports a top-of-the-line and very power-hungry Quad HD Super AMOLED display, plus a pretty exhausting Snapdragon 805 processor. The ZMax settles for a 720p screen (the same 5.7-inch size as Note 4’s), and a quad-core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chip.



Not quite a powerhouse, that much is obvious, but autonomy is bound to be mind-blowing. We’re thinking tens and tens of hours of continuous, ceaseless juice. And amazingly, the ZTE ZMax isn’t overly thick, at 0.35 inches, although it is a bit heavy, at 190 grams.

All in all however, we’re guessing bulk isn’t going to be such a serious concern, given ZMax’s low, low price, its massive on-board RAM and battery and near-stock pre-loaded version of Android 4.4 KitKat. A microSD card slot is also around to bolster the internal 16 GB storage, and the 8 MP rear-facing camera isn’t half bad. Hope T-Mobile is ready to ship a few hundred thousand units later this month.

Source: ZTE USA



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