ZTE has launched the Grand Memo phablet / smartphone at MWC in Barcelona. This new phablet shares a lot of the qualities of the Samsung Galaxy Note II, which seems to have set a blueprint for this type of device. Being a newer phone it should have some new tech advantages over its “inspiration” and it does to some degree – however the specifications of the Grand Memo aren’t very certain.
Processor confusion
A highlight of the Grand Memo is supposed to be the first use of the Qualcomm 800 processor with quad-core Krait CPUs running at 1.5GHz. That’s what ZTE says in its press release but Engadget received a statement from Qualcomm saying: no, it has a Snapdragon 600 inside!
Let’s look at the rest of the specs from ZTE’s press release, which would usually be a reliable source of information.
- Android 4.1 - Jelly bean
- Thickness: 8.5mm
- 5.7inch, HD.TFT, 16M colour, multi-touch capacitive screen
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with quad-core Krait CPUs
- 3200mAh super-long standby battery
- Memory: 16GB Rom* + 2GB RAM
- Mifavour UI user interface – with voice control
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, gyro
- LTE 100/50Mbps
- 13MP Intelligent AF Camera with face recognition and panorama,1MP front-facing camera, 1080p HD video playback
*I hope the "16GB Rom" is actually built-in flash storage rather than a huge ROM.
Announcing the ZTE Grand Memo Mr. He Shiyou, ZTE EVP and Head of the Mobile Devices Division said “The ZTE Grand Memo’s large, high definition screen makes it perfect for media and entertainment, but its uses reach far beyond that.” He added “With ZTE’s custom Mifavor UI, a powerful processor, and LTE connectivity, this device offers users a wide array of benefits that go well beyond the capabilities of the typical handset”.
It’s a shame about the processor confusion; it’s hard to fathom why ZTE and Qualcomm don’t agree about the processor powering the Grand Memo. If this aspect of the specs is wrong how can we rely on the other given internal specs? It reminds me of the Chinese third party Li-ion batteries whose capacity is always lower than stated.
Big piece of plastic
Forgetting the exact specs for a moment, there have been a number of hands-on tests of the Grand Memo phablet. Alex Colon at PCMag gave the Grand Memo a prod and found it to be rather plasticy but that is also a feature of the Samsung phablet. The screen was crisp but offered less maximum brightness than the Samsung. Also a stylus was absent as with nearly all the phablet competition.
The ZTE Grand Memo is scheduled for launch in Europe in Q2 2013.
