ZTE to Make High-End Smartphone Push in the US
Though ZTE has only recently entered the US smartphone market, the company has a much longer history producing budget-level devices for other areas of the world. But now that a claim has been staked in American soil, ZTE America President Lixin Cheng has sights set on bigger and better things. With sales of ZTE devices up 157 percent year-over-year, Cheng sees the US as the manufacturer’s primary focus in the future. To further their cause ZTE is expected to produce a lineup of high-end smartphones that will compete head-to-head with the likes of Samsung, HTC, and Motorola.
The move is similar to that of Huawei, a smartphone manufacturer that once dealt exclusively in low-end and entry-level devices, mostly for emerging markets. Over the past year or two, Huawei has introduced their lineup to the US and moved on to higher caliber hardware. It is unlikely, however, that the likes of Huawei and ZTE will be challenging established brands for market supremacy any time soon. Their real strength lies in the ability to manufacturer hardware that combines desired features at a low cost.
ZTE hasn’t made any plans public, but it is assumed that Android will feature on at least one high-end device moving forward. The other likely option would be Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.
[via TechCrunch]