ZTE announces Blade III, confirms Nordic debut

Chinese manufacturer ZTE has released a wide range of smartphones this year, and it's showing no sign of slowing the page of its product launches. Today the company's announced the ZTE Blade III, the latest member of the blade family, and pegged it for launch first in Scandinavia. Like many of ZTE's products, the Blade III is aimed at the budget-to-mid-range market, and comes equipped with a 4-inch WVGA (480x800) display and a 1GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU, backed up by 512MB of RAM and a 5MP rear camera. Those aren't mind-blowing specs, but at least it's running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box. On the outside, the Blade III sports a curved chassis similar to the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

ZTE says the Blade III will launch in Finland in September and Sweden in October, priced at 1499 SEK ($230) SIM-free. UK availability has yet to be confirmed, but launches in more territories are apparently planned before the end of the year.

We've got today's press release in full after the break, along with the complete spec list.

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,” 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, 2.5 GB 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 (800x480) 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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LG Optimus Vu making its global debut in September with Tegra 3

LG has announced that its newest flagship phone, the Optimus Vu (see our review), will be available globally in September. It has been available in only Japan and Korea thus far and will see a release next month in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America and then the U.S. sometime this quarter. This news comes on the heels of LG's announcement that they have sold more than 500,000 worldwide already, which is quite impressive. That number will likely see a big increase once it hits more markets this fall.

The Optimus Vu sports a beautiful 5-inch screen, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), 8MP rear-camera, a 1.3MP front-facing camera and 32GB of memory. Also notable is the fact that the international Optimus Vu will run a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU, rather than the dual-core Snapdragon S3 found in the Korean and Japanese variants. It's also likely the international Vu will lose some of its quirkier features, like the slide-out antenna for watching digital TV broadcasts.

If you've been anxiously awaiting the newest phone from LG, this announcement is great news as you'll be able to buy one very soon. Full press release after the break. Will you be first in line? Tell us in the LG Optimus Vu Forum!

LG ANNOUNCES GLOBAL AVAILABILITY OF OPTIMUS VU:

Largest LG Smartphone to Be Launched in Europe, Asia, Middle East/Africa and Latin America

    
SEOUL, Aug. 20, 2012 – On the heels of its successful debut in Korea and Japan, the Optimus Vu: will make its global debut starting in select markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East/Africa and Latin America starting in September. With the world’s first 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio display, the Optimus Vu: blurs the line between traditional tablets and smartphones for a truly unique smart device experience.

Since its March debut in Korea, the Optimus Vu: has sold over 500,000 units, demonstrating public acceptance of its form-factor. The reception the device received in Korea prompted LG to launch the Optimus Vu: in Japan this month, where it has also been received positively by Japanese consumers.

For the global roll-out, the Optimus Vu: will be equipped with NVIDIA? Tegra? 3 mobile processor, the super 4-PLUS-1™ quad-core with 5th battery-saver core, that offers a superb balance of performance and power requirements. 4 cores are used for high performance tasks such as games and multitasking. For voice call, email, music and video playback, only 5th battery-saver core is enabled and it consumes very less power.

When paired with the high-resolution 5-inch, 4:3 ratio IPS display, the Optimus Vu: becomes something special – a device that’s both pocketable and spacious. The Optimus Vu: will come with an upgraded version of QuickMemo™ and Notebook, two features which make great use of the large display real estate.

“The different form factor makes Optimus Vu: unique even in the 5-inch smartphone category which we expect will catch on once they become more widely available,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company.

Key Specifications:

Operating System Android 4.0 Ice Cream SandwichNetwork 3GDisplay 5.0-inch 4:3 ratio XGA IPS with 768 x 1024 pixelsMemory 32GBCameras 8.0MP rear / 1.3MP frontSize 139.6 x 90.4 x 8.5mmWeight 168g

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