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. The Tania’s advantage is that it boasts a 4.3 inch screen whereas the 710 is restricted to a mere 3.7 inch display.
It will therefore come down to whether you can live with a bigger screen but a slower processor. The Tania has a 1GHz processor as opposed to the 710′s 1.4 GHz processor.
Presently, Nokia’s flagship W7 handset – the Lumia 800 – is free on a £26 per month tariff from Orange UK right now here. However, the Lumia 710 is still on the Orange site as ‘coming soon’.
ZTE says the Tania will be launched with a number of key partners including Virgin Media, Go Mobile, Brightpoint and an unnamed High Street retailer. So that will be Carphone Warehouse or Phones4U, then.
The Windows Phone OS inside the Tania offers the full range of integrated functionalities including a direct link to users’ Xbox LIVE accounts and seamless sync for Microsoft Office Mobile, and Zune music streaming
Unfortunately for Nokia, the Tania is much slimmer than the 710, too. The ZTE Tania measures just 10.7mm in depth whereas the 710 is 12.7 mm. Full Nokia Lumia 700 specs are here.
Now you might expect the Tania to skimp in the camera department but it boasts a five megapixel camera with autofocus and flash.
We’re not sure whether the 710 has Carl Zeiss lens, but it, too, has a five megapixel camera.
Now this is what Leila Martine, director of Windows Phone UK, said about the arrival of the Tania from ZTE. “Having ZTE join the Windows Phone family is great news. Their expertise will be crucial in delivering Windows Phone to new and different customers.”
She added, “We look forward to continuing and developing our relationship with ZTE in the future.” Sounds like more W7 Mango handsets are in the pipeline, then.
Crucially, Wu Sa, director of mobile device operations at ZTE UK, observed that, “Our first own-brand handset to enter the market in 2012 is the ZTE Tania.” Not Android but W7 Mango.
Wu Sa added, “We’re delighted to be working with Microsoft and as a key partner will support the industry forecasted growth on this exciting new platform with the ZTE Tania.”
GoMo News has long followed ZTE’s fortune and its rise to dominance has been much faster than even it predicted.
IDC reported in Q4 2011 that ZTE had become the fourth-largest mobile phone vendor in the world after it shipped 19.1 million units in the third quarter, ahead of both Apple and RIM.
There’s no doubt that ZTE has been one of the major beneficiaries – alongside Samsung – of Nokia’s fall from the Number One slot.
Now with the Tania, ZTE has the chance to steal even more market share from the previously dominant supplier.
