ZTE Grand S unveiled, company claims it’s the world’s thinnest smartphone

Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE has unveiled its flagship quad-core five-inch smartphone at the 2013 International CES in Las Vegas.

The key selling point for the new phone, which will run Android JellyBean, will be the device’s 6.9 millimetre width, with the company claiming it’s the smallest 5-inch screen smartphone.

The choice of Android for the company’s flagship device is interesting, given the company has signed on as a partner for Mozilla on its Firefox OS smartphone platform.

The new smartphone is based on the 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, along with a full HD display and support for 4G LTE networks.

However, as SmartCompany recently reported, the Snapdragon S4 Pro is set to be superseded by Qualcomm’s next-generation Snapdragon 800 processor.

ZTE claims customers will be able to expect fast download speeds of 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 50 Mbps when using the device in 4G coverage areas.

“The ZTE Grand S gives our customers the latest in technology, functionality and style. We understand that today’s consumers call for advanced features and state-of-the-art multimedia options in their handsets, and the ZTE Grand S confidently addresses those demands,” says ZTE corporate vice president Kan Yulun.

While ZTE claims 10% of the Chinese smartphone market – it is estimated to have overtaken the US as of May last year as the world’s largest smartphone market – the company is best known in the West as a low-cost manufacturer of phones that are usually sold under a phone company’s own brand, such as the Telstra EasyTouch 4G.

However, after receiving a massive $US20 billion injection from the Chinese government, more than the combined market capitalisation of Nokia and BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion, the company is making an aggressive push into Western markets.

The new smartphone will initially be released in China during the first quarter of 2013.