ZTE F866
Available
now 26th January 2006
ZTE are a Chinese manufacturer of mobile
phones and networking equipment, and the ZTE F866 is
the first handset we've seen in Europe carrying the
ZTE brand.
The F866 is a basic 3G phone aimed at
the prepay market, available on the Hutchison 3 network.
The specification is very similar to the first LG
handsets available on 3 (such as the LG U8110, U8120
and U8130).
There'a a rotating VGA resolution camera, 176x220 pixel
main display in 65,000 colours and 10Mb of internal
non-expandable memory. There's no Bluetooth either,
but there is a dedicated "TV" button for accessing
video content.
It's lighter than some other 3G phones,
at 124 grams.. but that's still a lot heavier than a
standard GSM handset. The F866's battery life is significantly
better than early 3G devices too - quoted as around
3.5 hours talktime and 9 days standby. Again, battery
life on GSM phones is usually much better.
Of course, as a 3G phone the F866 does
have access to 3's streaming multimedia content, and
it supports video calls. As you might expect, the best
thing about the ZTE F866 is the price. In the UK, 3
are selling the ZTE F866 for around £100 (€150 approx)
with £30 (€45) of airtime included.
ZTE make a range of other handsets too.
Their current top of the range 3G phone is the F868
which is similar to the F866, but it comes with a 1.3
megapixel camera, and there are a range of GSM and CDMA
phones. However, there's nothing in ZTE's range that
is particularly advanced in technical terms, so for
the time being expect to see these handsets pitched
purely at the value end of the market.
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|
ZTE
F866 at a glance
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Available:
|
Now
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Network:
|
UMTS
(3G) + GSM
|
Data:
|
UMTS
(3G) + GPRS
|
Screen:
|
176x220
pixels, 65,000 colours
|
Camera:
|
1.3
megapixels
|
Size:
|
Large
clamshell Size tbc /
weight 124 grans
|
Bluetooth:
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No
|
Infra-red:
|
No
|
Polyphonic:
|
Yes
|
Java:
|
Yes
|
Battery
life:
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3.5 hours talk / 9 days standby
|
|
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