ZTE Blade sales pass two million
The ZTE Blade has become one of the best-selling smartphones in the world after selling more than two million units worldwide.
The Blade, which was first launched in the UK as the Orange San Francisco in Q4 of 2010, was one of Orange's best-selling handsets during the Christmas period. The company claims that sales of the budget Android handset even surpassed iPhone 4 sales in the UK in early 2011.
The manufacturer has now increased its forecast sales for 2011 to more than 80 million handsets, up from 60 million units in 2010.
The company reported huge success in Japan, Greece and Finland after strong sales performances for the Blade and increased data traffic volume from Blade users. The handset is available in over 30 countries and regions.
The Blade received Best Value Smartphone from Smartphone Essentials, and Best Buy and Best for Value in the Sunday Times entry-level Android phones.
Meanwhile, the handset has also has been customised for China Telecom’s CDMA 2000 EVDO network and China Mobile’s TD-SCDMA network for launch in the next few months.
The Blade features an MP3 player, built-in FM radio and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
It is available from the online Orange Store from free on a £10, 24 month contract, or on pay-as-you-go for £99.99.
ZTE UK director of mobile device operations Wu Sa said: ‘The success of the ZTE Blade is testament to ZTE’s commitment to providing feature-rich, affordable and easy to use smartphones that appeal to a wider audience. Partnering with Tier-1 service providers has accelerated ZTE’s positioning in the global handset markets and we will continue to bring a high-end smartphone experience to the masses.’