ZTE has been rolling out affordable and
attractive phones for some time now, and the Android boom has contributed
greatly to the Chinese firm’s success. This review focuses on one of its latest
offerings, the ZTE Grand xV970M.
The design of this smartphone is claimed to
be inspired by the aerodynamics of a car. Its curvaceous chassis allows for a
perfect fit in one hand. Though it does not come on wheels, it does have a
4.3-inch touchscreen display and runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
ZTE
Grand X V970M
In front, the standard keys for Menu, Home,
Back, and Search are all nicely arranged at the bottom of the screen. The power
button is located on top with the 3.5mm audio jack right beside it, while the
volume control and micro-USB port are on the left side of the device.
When the phone is turned over, it reveals a
textured cover that acts as an anti-slip surface for an easier grip. This matte
finish of the back panel also makes it less prone to ugly fingerprints and
smudges. On the top left corner sits a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and
flash.
Testing the smartphone, the 1GHz dual-core
processor provided a pretty solid experience, devoid of any lags when exploring
the OS. We didn’t have any trouble loading apps and switching among them, and
using the browser also proved to be quite smooth. Moreover, its Quadrant
benchmark score of 2689 proved that it performs at par with other dual-core
counterparts.
Its 4GB internal memory may not seem enough
at first, but it’s expandable up to 32GB using a microSD card, which made it
quite spacious. This can be a plus for users who need a bigger storage to turn
their phones into a multimedia hub.
Its
4GB internal memory may not seem enough at first, but it’s expandable up to
32GB using a microSD card, which made it quite spacious
As for the battery life, it performed quite
well as it lasted for about 7.5 hours with video continuously played at maximum
volume and 100% screen brightness. However, this seemed to be compensated by
slow charging, which took at least 10 hours to get the battery full. Its
5-megapixel rear camera allowed us to take photos in a snap, but since imaging
isn’t ZTE’s strongest suit, the photos came out a little dull. Nevertheless, it
does a nice job in low-light shooting with the aid of its LED flash and handy
Night Scene mode.
In the end, with its modest performance,
ample storage, good battery life, and an SRP of USD245, the ZTE Grand x970M
gives a grand Android experience for its price.
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Specifications
§ 1GHz
dual core processor
§ Dual
SIM capabilities
§ 4.3-inch
540×960 QHD screen
§ main
5MP camera (no front camera)
§ 512MB
RAM, 4GB ROM
§ 4GB
Internal Storage; expandable to 32GB (comes with 4GB microSD card)
§ Android
4 ICS
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