ZTE launches first Android on British 3 network

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The Chinese have launched a British invasion, as ZTE announced the launch of its first Android powered device – the Racer – on the UK’s 3 network.
The joint launch sees the handset being dual branded, with a ZTE Logo on the front and 3 UK logo seared onto the back, which is interesting seeing as 3 had previously stopped ZTE from using its logo on the phones it sold through the carrier. Maybe now when it comes to branding, 3 can stop having a cow.

The sub £100 ($150) phone – just £13 on contract – sports Google’s Android 2.1 (Eclaire) rather than the newest Android 2.2 (Froyo) operating system, 256MB of internal memory, a 2GB microSD card, 3G, Bluetooth, FM radio, accelerometer and GPS. As well as all the social media bits and bobs one takes for granted in all of today’s smartphones. Spotify, Google Maps, Google Mail and Windows Live Messenger are all there too.
The phone, set to compete with the likes of the HTC Wildfire and the Acer BeTouch, also boasts a 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen and a budget Qualcomm 7227 processor, making it questionable whether the phone would even be able to handle an upgrade to Android 2.2.
First impressions of the phone fall under the “meh” category, with many noting it feels a bit cheap (which it is) and doesn’t compare to the iPhone (which seems obvious for a $150 Chinese handset).
Nokia might have cause for concern though.