ZTE’s gorgeous Nubia and Blade S smartphones may be relatively unknown in the U.S., but the Chinese company’s budget phones are all over the market. ZTE recently added two more budget phones to the ranks: The Maven for AT&T and the Sonata 2 for Cricket Wireless.
Both phones are remarkably cheap and offer decent enough specs for anyone who just needs a cheap phone that has just the basics.
ZTE Maven
ZTE’s Maven is powered by an unspecified Qualcomm 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It packs a measly 8GB of internal storage, but you can add 32GB more with a MicroSD card, so you shouldn’t run out of space too quickly. As a budget phone, the Maven has a small 4.5-inch TFT LCD screen with a rather low FWVGA resolution of 480 × 854 pixels. It does run Android 5.1 Lollipop, though.
On the back of the device, ZTE popped a serviceable 5-megapixel camera with a flash. The front-facing camera is VGA, so you probably won’t be taking selfies with it too often. In terms of connectivity, the Maven has LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi direct, and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. A 2,100mAh non-removable battery powers the phone, and should keep things running just fine. The best part about the Maven is undoubtedly its price — It’ll cost you just $60 with a new line on AT&T.
ZTE Sonata 2
The Sonata 2 is even cheaper at Cricket Wireless, where you can get it for a mere $30 with a new account of an upgrade. The Sonata 2 sports a 4-inch WVGA resolution screen with 480 × 800 pixels and runs Android 4.4. A Qualcomm 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM power the phone, which comes with a mere 4GB of internal storage. Luckily for those who like to take pictures, there’s a MicroSD slot that lets you bring that number up to 32GB.
There’s a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash on the back of the phone and a decent 2-megapixel shooter on the front, which will actually take decent selfies. The Sonata 2 supports 4G and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, and a 1,650mAh battery should keep it powered up for a while.
Both of the phones are available for purchase as of today online and in stores.
