ZTE Axon 7 affordable Android smartphone now available for pre-order in the USA
There is a semi-disturbing trend happening in the Android market nowadays -- very affordable smartphones. Before you call me nuts, it's true there is nothing inherently wrong with a consumer saving money, but a race to the bottom can hurt the platform overall. No-name manufacturers are leveraging decent specs and selling phones at insanely low prices, making profits tough for the big-name players. If Android becomes unprofitable, why will anyone bother?
ZTE is a lesser-known company in the USA, but I wouldn't categorize them as being "no-name". Today, it announces that its Axon 7 smartphone is coming to America, and at a rather affordable price. It's a nice balance, actually, as the specs are flagship-level, while the price tag is not overly low as to cannibalize the sales of others. It is a good blueprint of what specs/pricing for Android should be. You can pre-order this beautiful and powerful smartphone starting today.
"ZTE USA, the fourth-largest smartphone supplier in the U.S. and second largest in the no-contract market, announced it is accepting online preorders of the Axon 7 smartphone today through Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Newegg, and www.zteusa.com. The Axon 7 is the first Android smartphone to break away from other flagships with specs that outperform rivals at an unbeatable price of $399.98", says ZTE.
Lixin Cheng, chairman and CEO of ZTE USA explains, "the Axon 7 is exactly what the U.S. market told us they want, value and need -- a shake-up among overpriced flagship smartphones. The Axon 7 represents the best of what ZTE can deliver; from an elegant design to groundbreaking Hi-Fi audio, it outperforms competitors at half the price".
The Axon 7 hits all the marks of important modern features. It has a big AMOLED screen, powerful processor, fingerprint reader, high-quality-camera, USB Type-C, front-facing speakers, dual-sim card slots, and a large battery. It will even support Google's upcoming Daydream VR platform! With Marshmallow 6.0.1, this is the dream device for many Android fans.
What do you think of the $399.98 price tag? Will you pre-order? Check out the specifications below and tell me in the comments.
DISPLAY
• 5.5 inch AMOLED Glass 2.5
• Resolution: 2560 x 1440 WQHD
• PPI: 538
• Gorilla Glass Gen 4
PROCESSOR
• 2.15 GHz Quad-Core
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 (MSM8996)
MEMORY
• 4 GB RAM + 64 GB ROM
• microSD card expandable memory up
to 128 GB
BATTERY
• 3250 mAh (Typical), non-removable
• Talk: 24 hours (1440 minutes)
• Standby: 290 hours (12 days)
• Quick Charge 3
ACCESSIBILITY
• HAC: M3/T4
• TTY/TDD (Digital)
CONNECTIVITY
• Wi-Fi: 802.11 b/g/n/ac 2.4 GHz/ 5 GHz
• Bluetooth 4.2
• NFC, Wi-Fi Direct®, Miracast®
• USB 3.0 + Type C
PHOTO & VIDEO
• Rear-Facing Camera: 20 MP
• OIS + EIS + PDAF, F/1.8, Close Loop VCM
• Front-Facing Camera: 8 MP
• Video Capture: 4K UHD (30 FPS)
DIMENSIONS
5.97” x 2.9” x 0.31”
(151.7 x 75 x 7.9 mm)
WEIGHT
6.17 oz (175 g)
DEVICE TYPE
Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow)
GPS
GPS/A-GPS/SUPL
NETWORK
• GSM/EDGE: B2/3/5/8
• CDMA: BC0/1/10
• UMTS/HSPA: B2/B5/B4/B1/B8
• LTE: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B17/B7/B3/
B1/B20/B29/B30/B25/B26/B41
• 2CA: B2+B4, B2/4+B12, B2/4+B29,
B2/4+B5, B41+B41, B25+B25