The latest smartphone manufacturer to shrug off the budget tag is ZTE. The Chinese company just showed off the flagship ZTE Grand S – a powerful quad-core Android beast with a stunning, full HD display and an impressive camera. We decided to take a look at how it measures up against the two best-selling smartphones on the market right now, the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5. If ZTE wants to make headway these are the phones to beat.
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ZTE Grand S
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Galaxy S3  |
iPhone 5  |
|
| Size | 142 x 69 x 6.9 (mm) | 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 (mm) | 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 (mm) |
| Weight | 110g | 133g | 112g |
| Screen | 5-inch | 4.8-inch Super AMOLED | 4.0-inch LCD |
| Resolution | 1920×1080 pixels | 1280×720 pixels | 1136×640 pixels |
| OS | Android 4.1 | Android 4.0 with TouchWiz UI | iOS 6.0.1 |
| Storage | 16GB | 16/32GB | 16/32/64GB |
| SD Card Slot | Yes | Yes | No |
| Processor | Quad-core 1.7 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro | Dual-core Snapdragon S4 (US) | Dual-core A6X |
| RAM | 2GB | 2GB | 1GB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+ | Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+ |
| Camera | Front 2MP, Rear 13MP | Front 1.9MP, Rear 8MP | Front 1.2MP, Rear 8MP |
| Bluetooth | Yes, version 4.0 | Yes, version 4.0 | Yes, version 4.0 |
| Battery | 1780mAh | 2100mAh | 1440mAh |
| Charger | Micro USB | Micro USB | Lightning connector |
| Marketplace | Google Play Store | Google Play Store | Apple App Store |
| Price | TBA | $200+ | $200+ |
| Availability | TBA | AT&T, Sprint, T-Mob, Verizon | AT&T, Sprint, Verizon |
As you can see the ZTE Grand S measures up well, although that battery is a concern, especially with a 5-inch display to power. It is an attractive, minimalist design and it comes in a range of seven colors. It looks good next to the current leaders, but we know that the next Galaxy S will probably be along soon and the recently announced Sony Xperia Z and the Huawei Ascend D2 have similar specs to the Grand S. The competition will be tough, but one thing’s for sure, ZTE is serious about shaking up the smartphone market.
It will launch in China in the first quarter of 2013, but we’re not sure when, or even if, it will touch down stateside, what the price tag will be, or which carrier might pick it up. These details will undoubtedly have a big impact on its potential success, so we’ll keep you posted.
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