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Original URL: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3096950/mobile-wireless/ztes-99-zmax-pro-smartphone-packs-in-top-line-features.html
ZTE's $99 ZMax Pro packs in some of the latest smartphone technologies, something you wouldn't expect in a low-priced handset.
The smartphone has a 6-in. screen and is available only through MetroPCS in the U.S. It weighs about 175 grams and is 8.9 millimeters thick.
It has some top-line features found in the latest smartphones, like a USB Type-C port. It also runs on the latest Android OS 6.0 code-named Marshmallow.
The Gorilla Glass 3 screen shows images at a full HD resolution. The handset has 32GB of internal storage and a micro-SD card for expandable storage. That's a lot of storage for a handset under $100.
The handset is comparable to the new fourth-generation Moto G handset, which is now available unlocked on Amazon.com for $199.99 for a 16GB model. The Zmax Pro has a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera, along with an eight-core Snapdragon 617 processor, all of which are also packaged in the Moto G.
[...] However, the smartphone lacks some other features. It includes 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, not the latest 802.11ac, which offers a wider range and faster speeds.
-- submitted from IRC
Also covered at: cnet.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Friday July 22 2016, @01:54PM
it's not an advertisement anymore than any other product launch or announcement that makes it to the front page is.
Probably a matter of different viewpoints. This device is a consumer phone, which - in my opinion - doesn't have any geeky aspects. It's cheap, but it has neither some special new features, nor is it specifically useful for maker-projects or something.
if it was Apple releasing a new phone with nothing of note to it, we'd run a story, why not on a competitor that's 1/8 the price.
Fair point. I would consider that irrelevant as well, or at a maximum slightly relevant because Apple is one of the biggest players and their design / advertisements decision has some impact. But I understand that in this case my opinion might be not mainstream and as a consequence, the current article should be accepted as well.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 2) by n1 on Friday July 22 2016, @04:42PM
There will inevitably be differences of opinion, and on another day I might have ignored this story, or the final article might have come out different. I appreciate being challeneged and called out if someone takes issue with my contributions.
Yesterday, based on the submissions in the queue and my attempt to have a wide range of topics, it seemed like a reasonable one to go with. However, it's certainly not going in my editorial 'greatest hits' collection.
I personally don't get too hung up on the 'techy/nerdy/geeky' aspects of stories, i'm probably the least techy/nerdy person on SN staff. Only do anything close to coding under duress, i have very little interest in sci-fi, my own affinity for technology in general is diminishing. What I do try to do is have a balance of 'nerd', 'stuff that matters' and general interest in stories I put through. I don't think it's beneficial to push ourselves into a strict geek niche. If that's what the community wants, ok, but that's not the submissions we get.
I'm with you on this really. I'm not a fan of the free publicity certain major players get for any utterance to the press, just because they're major players. That said, the platform we have enables us to take these press releases and have an open discussion about any and all aspects of it. I have put stories through hoping the community would see through the doublespeak and tear them apart. It's not my place as an editor to do that to a submission. I'd like to see more stories on companies that matter but we don't hear too much about. Names like MSFT AMZN AAPL TSLA are far too easy and bankable for media outlets to ignore any story from them.
ZTE is an important company, just not quite a behemoth, unless you include association with the Chinese establishment. If you do, perhaps there's more reason to consider the ramifications of more compromised devices entering more hands every day. ZTE has sold infrastructure to countries from Iran to Australia and would obviously like to expand in the US market beyond handsets.