ZTE shows smartphone with Snapdragon S4 and Android 4.0

ZTE has unveiled its first smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. After Google’s Galaxy Nexus, this Android device is one of the first to not use physical or capacitive buttons below the screen.

The Chinese manufacturer has not disclosed many details of the device, but it is in any case clear that ZTE has put its own skin on Android 4.0, which, among other things, adds its own widgets and icons to the operating system. The size and resolution of the screen are unclear, but the photos indicate a screen of around 4 or 4.3″. The Grand X, a variant with buttons and without 4G support, has a Super Amoled screen of 4, 3″, with a resolution of 960×540 pixels.

ZTE uses Qualcomm’s MSM8960 Snapdragon S4, the only soc that combines 2g, 3g and 4g. Other processors need a separate chip for lte. For that reason, many manufacturers use the MSM8960, including HTC and Samsung in the LTE variants of their top models One X and Galaxy S III.

The smartphone should be released in Europe in the third quarter. ZTE is showing the phone for the first time at the CommunicAsia telecom show in Singapore. No price has been announced.