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ZTE switches on Light II tablet in the UK

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  • ZTE Light II

    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.

    Photo by: ZTE

    Caption by: Ben Woods

  • ZTE Light II Android 2.3

    ZTE Light II Android 2.3

    The Light II's key specs include a 1.4GHz MSM8255 processor — also found in the HTC Desire HD — a 3-megapixel rear camera, and a forward-facing camera for video calling. It also provides 4GB of internal memory, which can be expanded using a microSD card.

    The device weighs 402g, significantly less than some rival devices. By comparison, the Asus Transformer Prime is 586g, and the Wi-Fi and 3G version of the iPad 2 comes in at 613g. 

    ZTE said the tablet's battery can support around 5.5 hours of movie playback before needing a charge, and the device comes with popular apps like YouTube and Google Talk pre-loaded.

    Last month, ZTE said it would start selling a Windows Phone handset, the Tania, in the UK in February. The device was listed for sale on Clove and other retailers on Wednesday.

    The devices' launch is only the start for ZTE, according to Sa.

    "We plan to continue our progress in the UK, introducing ZTE-branded consumer devices with key capabilities at reasonable prices," he said. "Our UK strategy is very much focused on providing quality devices — a factor which is apparent through our growth and development in the handset arena."

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    Photo by: ZTE

    Caption by: Ben Woods

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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.

Caption by: Ben Woods

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