ZTE isn't
exactly a brand with a large, dedicated following. Nevertheless, the Chinese
company is one of the biggest smartphone manufacturers, in large part thanks to
its successful line of budget devices.
And today we're witnessing the launch of another
such phone, the ZTE Blade Vantage. But while some would be quick to dismiss it
as cheap and boring, the Vantage is actually notable for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, it's the first ever ZTE smartphone on Verizon's network, with ZTE
noting this is the beginning of an "expanded partnership" between the
two companies. And secondly, it debuts as the current cheapest
prepaid device available from the carrier, going for an MSRP of just US$ 49.99.
The Vantage is about as conventional as
they come, it's your standard plastic-and-glass slab with a textured greyish
brown rear panel. On the front you'll find a 5-inch display with a slightly
disappointing resolution of 854x480 pixels, below which sits ZTE's trademark
capacitive navigation button trio.
Inside you'll find the 2014 Qualcomm Snapdragon 210
chipset, coupled with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of expandable storage. And thanks
to the low-end processor, the 2,500 mAh battery seems like it will last
sufficiently long — ZTE's figures quote 8 hours of talk time and 13 days of
standby. And last but not least, the phone comes with Android 7.1 Nougat out of
the box — sure, it isn't the latest 8.0 Oreo, but users are sure to find features
like split-screen multitasking useful.
So while the ZTE Blade Vantage offers none of the
glamour people have come to associate with modern smartphones, the US$ 50 price
tag is very hard to beat. Interested parties may be happy to know that the
phone will be available for purchase starting today, October 5th, straight from
Verizon's website.
