CESpotlight 2015: ZTE

Sure, all eyes were on the big brands like Samsung and Lenovo for this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but we didn’t forget about the other, less popular brands. Take ZTE for example. The gadgets company certainly did not bring a dozen different versions of the same kind of device, but their 2015 offerings deserve mention. ZTE has been in the scene for a while now, always just zipping a bit below the radar but continued to churn out decent devices on the cheap for the budget techie crowd.

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This year, we liked two gadgets from ZTE, namely the Grand X Max+ phablet and the newest smart projector!

ZTE Grand X Max+

The name might be a mouthful to pronounce, but we felt the phone was worth it. The Grand X Max+ has a 6 inch HD display, placing it snugly in phablet category. It also sports a 3,200mAh battery and LTE connectivity – the focus of ZTE’s efforts in 2015. Optical imaging needs are covered by a 13MP rear camera and a wide-angle 5MP front camera. No word on the rest of the specs, but the unit will be available in the US starting January 9 at $199 off contract, which is not a bad deal at all.

ZTE Spro 2

Back in 2014, ZTE released their first Smart Projector. It was basically a portable projector with an Android OS. Now, the latest version has been announced. The Spro 2 is an HD projector outputting at 200 lumens with an anti-glare feature and auto focus. A 5-inch touch screen display powered by Android is at the top, and to us, it kind of looks like an old iPod. The Spro 2 also has WiFi Projection, allowing up to three smart devices to send their content to the projector wirelessly. It has a 6,500 mAh battery so there’s no need to have it plugged while watching a movie, and even supports a USB camera for video calls. The Spro 2 will be available within the first quarter of this year.

It’s also interesting to note that ZTE announced that they have partnered with the Houston Rockets. The team joins the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks as ZTE partners.