After partnering up on the Windows Phone-powered Render last year, U.S. Cellular and ZTE have came together once again to introduce a new smartphone. This time the two companies have announced the ZTE Director, an Android 4.0 handset that could appeal to consumers looking to upgrade to a new device on the cheap.  U.S. Cellular's website is now selling the ZTE Director for just $0.01 with a two-year contract, while customers that'd prefer to go the prepaid route will be ponying up $99.99. The Director's full retail price is $199.99.

The ZTE Director's spec list includes a 3.5-inch 480x320 touchscreen, 1GHz Qualcomm MSM7626A processor, 3-megapixel camera with LED flash, 4GB built-in storage, a microSD card slot, 512MB RAM and EV-DO Rev. A connectivity. There's also a 1,500mAh battery powering the whole package.

With the Director, U.S. Cellular and ZTE are taking aim at consumers that prioritize affordability when shopping for a new handset. The good news is that, since the Director is running Android 4.0, those folks that do go the budget route and pick one up will still have access to any of the growing number of apps that require Android version 4.0 or higher, such as Google's Chrome browser. The ZTE Director is now available for purchase and can be found at the U.S. Cellular link below.

Via U.S. Cellular, ZTE