ZTE has today confirmed the existence of the ZTE Blade III, giving us another gradual increase in size and power down at the cheaper end of the market. The Blade III features a 4″ display running at 800×480 resolution powered by a 1GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM7227A chipset, with Google’s “Ice Cream Sandwich” OS at the core of the experience.
You also get 512MB of RAM and 4GB of onboard storage space, plus there’s SD card support for whacking in all your old stuff, a 5megapixel camera and 1,600mAh battery. Here it is, looking pretty slim and nice:
Here’s the announcement complete with full tech specs. ZTE says the Blade III is launching in Sweden and Finland over the next month or so, with other parts of Europe seeing it before the end of 2012.
World Premiere of ZTE Blade III Smartphone in Nordic Markets
With a 4-inch screen, ten times more memory and upgraded operating system, mobile users can enjoy an even sharper multimedia experience – without compromising on price
Stockholm, 20 September 2012 – ZTE Corporation (“ZTE”) (H share stock code: 0763.HK / A share stock code: 000063.SZ), a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, today launched the ZTE Blade III, the third sequel of the ZTE Blades series. ZTE Blade III premieres on the Nordic market and once again combines high performance with a moderate price point. With an expanded storage memory, an enlarged 4- inch screen and an Android 4.0 upgraded operating system, the Blade III further improves the user experience by offering extra space to store pictures, music or apps, and providing an excellent video or gaming experience. By launching Blade III ZTE continues to deliver on its vision: better performance for money.
“With Blade III we have paid extra attention to our users. We have focused on a larger screen and expanded the storage space significantly. ZTE Blade III is the first ever smartphone in its price range with a 4-inch touch screen and Android 4.0. This enables more users to take part in an extremely sharp multimedia experience, without costing an arm and a leg,” säger said Mr. Ao Wen, Vice President of Europe Operations for ZTE Handsets.
The ZTE Blade III is an easy-to-use smartphone with WiFi, a 4-inch WVGA touch screen and, 2.5GB memory which can be further expanded with a 32 GB memory card. The 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, and support for video and audio standards including MPEG4 and, AAC+ makes it easier and more fun to watch movies, use social networks and listen to music.
Blade III will be launched in black in Sweden in October and in white in Finland in September. It will have a recommended reseller price in Sweden at 1499 SEK and will launch in other key markets around Europe and the world throughout 2012.
Specifications
4 inch WVGA (800×480) 262K TFT Capacitive Touch Screen
Weight: 130 gram
Size: 123 mm x 63.5 mm x 10mm
1GHz Qualcomm MSM 7227 A processor
Android 4.0
Memory: ROM 4 GB, ca 2.5GB accessible to the user, RAM 512 MB
Supports Micro SD memory card up to 32 GB
5.0 MP AF camera
HD-ljud, Dual Mic
Mobile standards: HSDPA (7.2Mbps) /UMTS/ GSM/GPRS/EDGE
Audio standards: MP3, AAC, AAC+, midi, wav, AMR-NB
Dolby, DLNA
Video standards: MPEG4, H.263, H.264
Wireless communications standards: Bluetooth™ 2.1, A2DP, GPS, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Battery capacity: Li-ion1600 mAh
FOTA (Firmware Over-the-Air) – funktion som används för att på ett smidigt sätt uppgradera smartphones
FM radio
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flibblesan
/ September 20, 2012And before people complain about the processor.. it’s ARM7 so it’ll run Flash and run pretty much anything else.
Gary_C
/ September 20, 2012Phew. Glad I held off complaining about the processor.
MarkT
/ September 20, 2012nice indeed. will we be seeing a price war between the “cheap end” of the android market…. ZTE vs Huawei vs ??
Gary_C
/ September 20, 2012…the LG Optimus 4X HD, judging by how quickly that one’s having its price cut by the shops.
MarkT
/ September 20, 2012gary, the lg 4x hd is nearly £300, are u saying the blade 3 will be around the same price?
“cheap end” for me is the £150 range…..
Gary_C
/ September 20, 2012No, I was joking that the poor old 4X looks like it’ll be chopped down to £99 by the end of next week, as clearly no one’s buying the thing :(
PATRICK
/ November 1, 2012hallo ik ben patrick heb vorige week in base winkel de zte 3 gekocht voor 169 euro wat en mooi en snel toestel tegen mijn vorig toestel van zte 1 ik ben zeer tevreden
Ville
/ November 7, 2012It seems that the camera doesn’t have a flash. Can anyone confirm?
Karsta
/ November 8, 2012It’s true. Camera does not have flash.
Tsido
/ November 19, 2012Otherwise this is good, but absolutely horrific antenna. Keeps saying there’s no signal (at work)where my old Nokia 5800 never had any issues in almost 3 years.
JK
/ January 31, 2013139 euros (£118, $187) without SIM-lock in Finland, it is at least cheap