Ever hear of Axon? It’s a company that’s going to show off a new Android phone called the Axon Phone on July 14, and while you may have never heard of Axon, you’ve likely heard of the company behind the project.
It’s been discovered that the Axon Phone is a new product from ZTE, a well-established Chinese smartphone maker. Axon is holding an event in New York City to show off the Axon Phone, its new Android smartphone that offers 4GB of RAM, a “lightning-fast processor,” and a dual lens camera that promises fast auto focus and the ability to refocus photos after you’ve taken them.
ZTE itself hasn’t said anything about the Axon Phone, but Sascha Segan of PCMag has found ZTE’s fingerprints all over the project. For example, Segan found ZTE’s name in the Axon Phone site’s source code, and the address listed for Axon is actually a ZTE office.
So why would ZTE go through all this trouble? There are a couple possibilities. ZTE may have thought that an unknown company hosting an event for a big new Android phone could help drum up more press than ZTE could alone. It’s also possible that ZTE feels that it has a better chance of attracting attention from mainstream US consumers as a new US company called Axon rather than ZTE, a well-known Chinese firm.
As for the Axon Phone itself, it looks like a well-designed piece of hardware, and the version of Android that it’s running appears to be lightly customized. Most of the details of the Axon Phone are still up in the air, but we do know that it’ll offer 4GB of RAM, and the Axon “You Wish” contest — which offers a grand prize of $10,000 and an Axon Phone — says that the handset is worth $450. It’s also known that the Axon Phone will be available in Phthalo Blue, Ion Gold, and Chromium Silver color options.
