We've watched Android handsets grow bigger and bigger in the past year or so, with the most recent phone/tablet hybrids sporting 5.5-inch and 6.1-inch screens. Today ZTE's entry into that segment has been unveiled. Dubbed the ZTE Grand Memo (V9815), this device features a 5.7-inch 720p display, slotting it directly between the likes of Samsung's Galaxy Note II and Huawei's Ascend Mate. Along with that ginormous display, Engadget says that the Grand Memo touts a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 13-megapixel camera, microSD slot and Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, all crammed into a frame that measures 8mm thick.
Both the Grand Memo and the Grand S are part of ZTE's plan to focus more on the high-end part of the smartphone market. Speaking to Reuters, ZTE handset head Lv Qianhao explained that the company "would like to raise the percentage of mid- to high-range smartphones." ZTE hopes that doing so will help to increase its profit margins and revenue. Qianhao went on to say that ZTE expects to ship out around 50 million smartphones in 2013.
While ZTE hasn't exactly been known for high-end phones in the past, at least not here in the U.S., we've seen some nice-looking handsets from the firm as of late. That includes both this Grand Memo and the Grand S, the latter of which was shown off at CES with a 5-inch 1080p display and quad-core processor. The good news is that ZTE has confirmed that the Grand S will be making its way to the U.S. this year, and while it's not yet clear which carrier(s) might offer the unit, it'll be interesting to see how the high-end unit does with U.S. consumers. There's no word on whether or not the Grand Memo will also be making its way stateside, but the device is slated for an official reveal next month at Mobile World Congress, so we should hear more then.
In addition to the Grand Memo, it looks like ZTE may be planning to show off its first Firefox OS phone at MWC. The company sent an MWC invitation to Engadget, and the brief announcement says that ZTE is planning to unveil two new phones at the big show. The invitation goes on to say "#ZTEGrandMemo" and "#ZTEMozilla," hinting that ZTE is planning to show off a handset that's powered by Mozilla's upcoming mobile operating system. ZTE has previously confirmed its plans to crank out a Firefox OS-powered handset, but so far there's no word on exactly what'll make the thing tick. Good thing that we've only got about a month left before the MWC mobile craziness gets underway.
Via Engadget (1), (2), Reuters
