ZTE switches on Light II tablet in the UK
Summary: The Chinese hardware maker plans to launch its first own-branded tablet, the 7-inch Gingerbread-based Light II, in the UK 'soon', as it continues its push to make its name in mobile devices in the country
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ZTE Light II
Chinese hardware maker ZTE is set to start selling the Android-based Light II tablet, as it pushes ahead with its bid to become a household name in Britain.
"ZTE V9A [Light II tablet] is ZTE's first own-branded tablet made available in the UK, and we are very excited about its entry into the market," Wu Sa, director of mobile at ZTE, said in an announcement on Monday.
The Light II will go on sale "soon", a spokeswoman for the device maker told ZDNet UK, but could not give a timeframe. However, online retailer Clove.co.uk has already opened pre-orders for the device, priced at £235. Clove lists the Light II as arriving between the end of February and the start of March.
The 7-inch device will arrive running Android 2.3, also called Gingerbread, which is a version of the platform more often found on smartphones than tablets. Honeycomb (Android 3.0) is the tablet-optimised edition. Google has said it hopes the most recent version, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, will reduce fragmentation of the platform by targeting both smartphones and tablets.
The ZTE spokeswoman could not say whether the tablet will be eligible for an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich.
Image credit: ZTE
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