Since Digital Magnet is always showing you guys the newest and most popular smartphones from any price category, we took for a test a pocket-friendly handset by the Chinese brand ZTE that is now slowly starting to appear at the European markets. This is an entry-level smartphone that comes at $120 contract-free price. This is ZTE Blade 3.
The 4-inch display here delivers 800×400 pixel resolution at 233ppi density
Despite its ridiculous price the handset actually looks good. It’s plastic all-over – glossy on the front along the display and matte on the back. Fortunately there is a rubberized finish on the backpanel, which makes the handset comfortable to hold. The handset we tested looked very elegant in this dual-color body. There is also a version that is entirely in black but we liked the black and white combination better.
There is a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm MSM 7227A CPU inside
The 4-inch display here delivers 800×400 pixel resolution at 233ppi density. This is an average result but of course for entry-level handsets. The TFT display was actually pretty bright leaving us pretty satisfied with its performance. You shouldn’t worry about the visibility of this display when outside. The viewing angles are also good. There is a lot to desire from the capacitive touchscreen here as it tends to be a little irresponsive at times.
Performance is so to say not this handset’s strong suite. There is a single-core 1GHz Qualcomm MSM 7227A CPU inside. It does a decent job handling the most basic features like calls, texting, and light browsing but if you are expecting fast performance online or like to play games all the time, you’d better check out our review of the ZTE Grand X Pro.
The Blade 3 has only 4GB of built-in internal storage and only 2.5GB are user-available
The system memory onboard is only 512MB. Graphics and video performance are dedicated to the a little bit old Adreno 200 graphics processing unit.
ZTE Blade 3 has only 4GB of built-in internal storage and only 2.5GB are user-available, which is a big disadvantage especially if you want to install a lot of applications on your device. Fortunately the Chinese brand has provided a micro SD card slot here which supports up to 32GB card, so it’s good news you can expand the memory further to fit your music, photos and multimedia. The interface also offers a USB 2 port.
ZTE Blade 3 offers only one camera, which is understandable having in mind its low price. So it is actually not the best choice if you want to make video calls. The base camera here is placed on the back and offers 5MP. The output images come out at 2592×1944 pixel resolution. They are certainly not with high-quality and noise appears often when the lighting is insufficient or you shoot in the shade.
ZTE Blade 3 offers only one camera at 5MP
The 1600mAh battery piece inside provides a battery life that is below the average for most smartphones.
The smartphone comes with the outdated Android Ice Cream Sandwich platform. So to sum up ZTE blade 3 is an entry-level handset falling victim of its poor hardware which limits its smartphone capabilities and productivity but still perfect for people who need their phone mostly for calls.
