Category Archives: ZTE
NFC first for Turkcell with contactless road toll payment application
Rating: Currently only available via own-branded T11 handset
Turkcell is claiming an industry first by introducing an application which enables Android handset users to pay the tolls when crossing bridges and passing motorway toll-booths contactlessly via NFC (Near Field Technology) technology. Currently the app is only applicable to Turkcell’s own-branded T11 Android handset. The handset is believed to be made for Turkcell by China’s ZTE and is therefore ZTE’s first released NFC-enabled handset. Continue reading
Nokia faces low cost Mango phone from ZTE
Rating: Ideal Windows Phone W7 handset for UK cheapskates
Nokia could find itself up fierce competition in the Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) stakes if the latest handset from China’s ZTE is anything to go by. ZTE has just announced the availability of its first Windows Phone device in the UK – the ZTE Tania. The company says that the Tania is probably the most affordable Windows Phone 7 (W7) handset on the market as it will be sold on contract at tariff points between £10-£20. Now, GoMo News reckons that this puts the Tania right up against the Nokia Lumia 710 – which is the Finnish manufacturer’s entry level Mango Phone. Continue reading
ZTE Completes World-First TD-LTE CSFB Tests
Press release
December 22nd 2011. ZTE Corporation, a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, announced today it has completed a series of world-first tests between TD-LTE and 2/3G GSM/UMTS networks using circuit switching fallback (CSFB).
The operations included testing a series of services such as mobile originating calls, mobile terminating calls and short messaging service, or SMS. The tests further reinforce the convergence of TD-LTE and existing networks. In addition, the tests demonstrate that CSFB is a reliable voice solution on TD-LTE networks. Continue reading
ZTE gets into embedded Android apps via Vringo
Rating: World’s fourth largest handset manufacturer differentiates itself
Here’s a really intriguing development. An alliance between ambitious mobile phone manufacturer, ZTE, and hot Android app creator, Vringo. The pair have just announced a deal whereby a Vringo app called Facetones will be preloaded onto ZTE Android handsets sold around the world. Facetones is mega-trendy app because it combines two major trends – social networking and video mobile apps. It almost doesn’t matter what the Facetones app does because it enables Vringo to participate in the estimated $7.7 billion preload software market. It helps ZTE because the Android handset market is getting so competitive. It’s also another feather in Vringo’s cap because the company only recently announced a major tie-up with the USA’s leading mobile network operator, Verizon Wireless. Continue reading
ZTE show off its first Mango phone – the Tania
Rating: One of a number of claimed firsts
The first pictures of a brand spanking new Mango Windows Phone from ZTE have emerged. It’s displaying the device – the ZTE Tania – at the PT/EXPO COMM China 2011 exhibition which opened yesterday in Beijing. Just when we were getting quite excited at the news, ZTE had to thrown in a bunch of firsts which don’t make any sense. This is the chief culprit … “ZTE is the sole Chinese Smartphone strategic partner for Microsoft and plans to introduce additional Smartphone devices based on the Windows Phone platform in the future.” Hello? HTC is Chinese and lists its Titan Windows phone as running Windows Phone 7.5 (i.e. Mango) in the current specs here. Ignore all that because ZTE promises the Tania will definitely come pre-loaded with Mango and will launch into a number of European countries in Q4 2011. Continue reading
Mobile OS acquistion speculation grows
Rating: Who will buy webOS? BlackBerry? QNX? Symbian?
A very popular game at the moment is who might buy one of the failing mobile OS? Prime candidates for a sale at the moment are the ex-Palm OS – webOS – which HP doesn’t seem to want any more. Then there’s the BlackBerry OS which could come with QNX if you decided to buy Research In Motion (RIM) itself. Alternatively there could be Symbian but GoMo News believes it is too strategic to Nokia even now to sell off to a Japanese handset manufacturer who still uses it. There’s also a strong temptation to think purely in terms of the number of apps in a mobile OS’ online app store. Other considerations might prevail – such as acquiring an OS purely for its patents or to take just one advanced aspect of the OS and build it into an existing OS. Continue reading
Microsoft’s Mango is ready – what’s taking you so long?
Rating: Nordic manager berates phone makers
In a Facebook posting, Peter Wissinger, Microsoft’s Nordic manager, bemoans that fact that it is the hardware manufacturers rather than the software company which is the bottleneck with the latest version of WP7 [Mango/Windows Phone 7.5]. He reckons that it is now it is entirely up to manufacturers to launch Windows Phone handsets with Mango because it is ready. So the betting is now on for who will show their Mango phone first. Whilst everyone would love it to be Nokia because Wissinger is based in the Northern region, this is probably a less than subtle hint to the Finnish giant to hurry up. So who is the smart money on? Well, HTC seems to be the hot favourite – thanks to its long association with Microsoft’s Windows based mobile phone OS’s. The dark horse is Fujitsu – with the Toshiba-Fujitsu IS12T which was already slated to appear in September. Continue reading
LocalSin app provides genuine GPS dating in UK
Rating: Um. Vast majority of users are single males
When WAP was at its height (some 13 years ago), one of the most frequently advocated location based services was dating. Now there’s a service with apps for iPhone, Android and Facebook which actually claims it can take full advantage of smartphones’ built-in GPS (satellite) based capabilities. The service is called LocalSin and the new free geo-location added dating service apps have been built by PinPointsX. Naturally, these apps are billed as free but that’s only the Lite version so you may need to pay to get the full facilities. Additionally, while it’s possible to use LocalSin as a gay man, GoMo News suspects that the fact a LocalSin Gay Lite package exists is a bit of a clue. There’s also another app called HerWishMap and we can only guess that this might be for swingers. Continue reading
Phones 4U gets Huawei Androids first
Rating: Pair refrain from actually calling them “cheap”
It’s obvious now why Orange was so tight lipped about where its customers could acquire the two new, own-branded Huawei Vision and Blaze smartphones (see our previous story here). The answer is UK distributor, Phones 4u. It’s clear that Huawei UK’s head honcho, Mark Mitchinson, has picked Phones4u because of its focus on the youth and value segments. The pair don’t manage to use the words “cheap Androids” – instead preferring to describe them as “the very best-specified Android smartphones in the market.” Sadly the pair say that, “Information on pricing and availability will be shared at a later date.” But there’s a hint that they should be available online pretty soon and certainly in plenty of time for Xmas. Mitchinson didn’t get where he is today without knowing when most smartphones get sold in the UK (Nov/Dec). Both phones will be running Android Gingerbread ( 2.3), incidentally. Continue reading
Some handsets still missing from UK shelves
Rating: HP’s Pre 3 and Huawei’s Blaze for starters
The gaps between product announcements and actual shipping dates are becoming very frustrating for mobile phone enthusiasts in the UK. Currently, there is a great deal of buzz surrounding HP‘s Pre 3 handset because it uses the latest version (3) of Palm’s old OS – namely webOS. However, if you try to buy a Pre 3 on the Orange network, for example, you can’t do so at present. You’ll have to try one of the online handset sales stores. Much the same applies to the new Android handset from Huawei – the Blaze. Lots of stores list it but none seem to have a price or availability. Unless you’re in India where the Blaze seems to have a price tag of around 12,000 rupees (about £160). Huawei seems to be copying its arch rival, ZTE, and is hoping to start selling handsets in the UK under its own brand. The Chinese manufacturer certainly seems to have picked the right person to set the operation up – Mark Mitchinson. Continue reading
Will Microsoft unleash WP7.5 Mango early?
Rating: Conspiracy theories have it showing @ IFA Berlin
It seems that the Net is buzzing with rumours that Microsoft may well unleash the next release (7.5) of Windows Phone – which is codenamed Mango. The date for this which seems to be traceable back to Pocket-lint here is September 1st [2011]. Or roughly three weeks from now. GoMo News is particularly taken with the theory that Microsoft has chosen this date because it is only one day before the IFA Berlin show which showcases a whole bunch of electronics stuff and mobile phones is very definitely up there high on the list. IFA actually takes place between September 2nd – 7th [2011]. These dates tie in nicely with GoMo News‘ own theories that Nokia is readying itself for the launch of its first WP7 devices in mid-September. So it might actually preview them at IFA Berlin. Continue reading
ZTE has top Android phone in China
Rating: Grabbed Fifth slot in Top 10 handset makers
On the back of some impressive figures for sales of its Blade Android handset, China’s ZTE has firmly established itself at the Number Five slot in the league of Top Ten handset manufacturers. This claim is based on figures compiled by IDC, the market watcher in its ‘World Mobile Phone Tracker’ report for July 2011. Significantly ZTE claims that the Blade’s daily sales in China -averaging 16,000 units per day -are the nation’s highest for an Android smartphone. To date, ZTE has now sold some 2.5 million Blade handsets worldwide and expects to break the five million mark this year [2011]. Only Apple is expanding its handset sales as fast as ZTE. Nokia’s still not dead, though. But ZTE is planning a WP7 phone, too. Continue reading
ITU Telecom World won’t be moving to Barcelona
Rating: Assurance from new rival to MWC
The ITU’s Telecom World exhibition and conference is undergoing a massive transformation. According to Blaise Judja-Sato, executive manager with ITU Telecom, the whole format for future Telecom World events is up in the air. Firstly the intention is to make it an annual event rather than just once every four years. Secondly, the organisers are contemplating moving the whole thing to other cities besides Geneva. However, Judja-Sato assured GoMo News that Barcelona is not on his list. He joked that the new venue might be Paris, Milan or Munich – all cities recently rejected by the GSMA as a possible site for its Mobile World Capital (see our story here). What’s obvious is that there will be far more focus on mobile communications than at previous events – reflecting the growing importance of mobile as a communications media – especially in the developing world. Continue reading
The future is bright – it’s smartphones
Rating: Research shows smartphones will outstrip featurephones
UK based research firm, Juniper Research, has hit the headlines with a report that predicts that smartphone shipments will reach one billion units a year by 2016. See here. However, Fred Huet, md of Greenwich Consulting, argues that the mobile network operators could well be unready for the kind of implications such huge numbers will have on their (data) networks. He says, “The effect that the number of smartphone users will have on network capacity remains to be seen.” Huet thinks that part of this disconnect could have to do with pricing. Currently smartphones are viewed as the premium price model – and not exactly the kind of phone that everyone can afford. However, GoMo News has run stories about ZTE here and Microsoft here which indicate that smartphone prices could well fall dramatically. Continue reading
ZTE announces own brand handsets in UK
Rating: Tie up with Brightpoint will give us Skate first
Well, the hot news for up-coming major handset supplier, China’s ZTE, is that it has entirely abandoned its previous policy of selling handsets only through the mobile operators. From now on it will be able to sell (SIM-free) smartphones directly to consumers. Bye, bye to the old dual branding, then. The ZTE logo will be the only one on certain handsets. To achieve this, ZTE UK has done a deal with major global distributor, Brightpoint, so that it can gain access to Brightpoint’s online and retail sales channels. The first such handset to escape into the wild as a result of this deal will be the ZTE (Android 2.3/Gingerbread based) Skate. If you want full specs for the Skate pleazse vsit the GSM Arena site here. Continue reading
