3 and ZTE launch basic Android smartphone

Like the Pulse Mini, the ZTE Racer runs Android 2.1, also known as 'Eclair'.

The handset runs on an ARM11-based Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset, which cannot run Flash Player 10.1. This means that even if the Racer were to get an upgrade to Android 'Froyo' 2.2, it would be without the Flash implementation that commonly accompanies that version of the operating system.

The Racer has a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 320 by 240 pixels.

The type of touchscreen being used helps to bring down the cost of the phone, but it does mean the Racer cannot handle multitouch.

The Racer has a 3.2-megapixel camera without a flash.

The Racer does not have many buttons, and it is notably missing the search button sported by most Android phones.

ZTE's Racer is fairly lightweight at 100g.

According to the manufacturer, the quad-band phone has a talktime of 3.5 hours and a 200-hour standby. The Racer has 256MB of internal memory and comes with a 2GB microSD card.

The Racer, which has an built-in FM radio, provides a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Racer is a small device, as can be seen when it is compared with HTC's Hero Android phone.