Chinese mobile co. ZTE has spent recent months transforming itself from a humble and silent manufacturer of non-descript network branded handsets into a true contender to the smartphone market. Firstly delivering to the west the ZTE Tania – a Windows Phone host handset with respectable spec and a satisfying sub-£200 price tag, then as we saw at the Mobile World Congress the launch of a massive line-up including eight self-branded smartphones and four tablets – some of which, such as the ZTE Era mobile, boasting cutting edge quad-core processors from NVIDIA.
Today the inevitable next step has been announced by ZTE’s Director of Mobile Device Operations, Wu Sa – ZTE will be getting it’s very own “app store” at the end of 2012 or early 2013. ZTE will be joining the likes of leading mobile-makers including Samsung which runs its own mobile shop that carries free and paid software independently away from the Android Market, and providing Samsung owners with access to thousands of games and tools. Sony also has plans to bring content to its Xperia owners in the coming months.
Details about ZTE’s intentions are vague and all we’ve really got to go on is that rough time frame. The Gadget Helpline is really liking what we see from ZTE so will be following up on the app store story as new information surfaces!
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