ZTE is a name that a lot of people will instantly associate with Chinese smartphones, and generally being a Chinese brand. While that’s true, they’re also making a go of it in the United States, having set up their own offices here some time ago, as well as sponsoring the NBA, too. Something that the company has always been known for however, is offering users great value on smartphones, especially those on the cheaper, more affordable networks out there. Today, ZTE is again teaming up with Cricket Wireless to keep the ball rolling, introducing the 5.5-inch Grand X 4 for just $130 on Cricket Wireless.
For that $130, users will get a 5.5-inch 720p display, which is covered with Gorilla Glass 3, as well as a quad-core Snapdragon 412 and 2GB of RAM. Storage wise, the Grand X 4 will ship with 16GB of internal storage, as well as microSD card slot to expand this storage. Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow is running on the Grand X 4, which appears to be fairly stock by the looks of the limited imagery we’re able to take a look at. Elsewhere, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 5.0-megapixel front-facing camera round out the specs, as does support for 4G LTE and WiFi 802.11 b/g/n. These specs aren’t all that glamorous in all honesty, but the phone costs just $130, and for the most part gives users exactly what they want in a smartphone, something that’s on the larger side of things, and has a decent camera as well as good battery life – which is provided by the large 3,140 mAh battery which is charged by a USB Type-C connector. One extra nicety here is the included rear-facing fingerprint sensor, which will allow users to use Android Pay as well as secure their device quicker and easier. This is a spec that you might not see on a lot of budget minded phones, so to see it on a device that’s south of $200 is fairly impressive.
As budget smartphones go, ZTE and Cricket Wireless have something fairly tempting on their hands. It might not be the best out there, but it’s an affordable package that will appeal to the average user, and make a decent first smartphone or simple device for younger users. The device will go on sale today for $130, and will definitely give customers something to think about this Holiday season.
