It would appear that Vizio is jumping headfirst back into the smartphone market this year as they just announced two extremely attractive smartphones. Keeping up with current trends, both models will be running the latest version of Jelly Bean, complimented by particularly large displays, ranking them pretty darn close to the Phablet category.
The two devices in question will feature a 5-inch 1080p HD display, and a 4.7-inch HD display respectively. Thanks to The Verge, I have the rumored specs of each phone, but before I get to it I’m going to tell you some troubling news. Currently, it looks like Vizio’s latest handsets will only be available in China (insert scowl here).
- 5-inch Handset
- 1080p HD display
- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (Stock)
- Dual SIM Slots
- 1.5GHz Qualcomm CPU
- 2GB Installed RAM
- microSD Slot for Storage Expansion
- 4.7-inch Handset
- HD display
- Dual SIM Slots
- Dual-Core 1.2GHz MediaTek CPU
- 1GB Installed RAM
- microSD Slot for Storage Expansion
According to The Verge, both devices include high-quality laminated displays, which have been praised considerably. A quick look at the preview images tells me that they’re not lying. These things look pretty hot, at least when it comes to the screen.
Elsewhere on the phones, the body looks fairly generic and unappealing. Although, The Verge also says that the 4.7-inch model has a textured back surface that feels almost like ceramic. A ceramic-like finish would certainly be something fascinating to touch, I’d like to see just exactly how it feels in my hands.
Unfortunately for me, and the rest of you here in the US, the only way, for us to get our hands on one of these babies will be to import them.
According to Vizio’s CTO Matt McRae, both of the devices will run on AT&T’s 3G network, devoid of 4G functionality, much like the Nexus 4.
McRae is hoping for strong success overseas before he attempts another run in the US with Vizio branded devices. Seeing as these two darlings are running stock Android, with unequivocally no carrier influence, it might be a while before we see anything quite like them here in the States. It’s no secret that our mobile market is highly dominated by a handful of mobile carriers and manufacturers.
Source: The Verge