14 DAY TRIAL // ZTE Corporation, one of China's leading telecommunications company, has announced the release of ZTE U990, touted as the world's first phone to come with both HSDPA and TD-SCDMA connectivity. The U990 was first unveiled during a ceremony that celebrated the company’s shipping of its 100 millionth mobile phone – an achievement that not too many handset manufacturers can brag with.
Running on Windows Mobile 6.0 (which is rather weird, since the 6.1 version of the OS is available too), ZTE U990 is a touchscreen smartphone that apparently comes with a wide range of high-end features – besides the high-speed connectivity, which should allow users to obtain data transfer speeds of up to 2.8 Mbps.
ZTE has not yet presented the full features and capabilities of the U990, so we only know that the handset looks simple but elegant, and that it has a touchscreen display and GPS receiver with A-GPS. Hopefully, the smartphone's internal memory is a large one and, granted Wi-Fi and a good photo camera are also on board, the U990 could have lots of chances to become the most successful ZTE mobile device ever.
Talking about the new handset, Executive Vice President of ZTE Corporation, He Shiyou, declared, "We are proud to be the first company in the industry to offer HSPDA mobile handset with TD-SCDMA intelligence; it is truly another significant achievement for our handset business. Our technology know-how and excellent product offering reaffirm our leading position in the mobile handset area. We are introducing this home-grown technology to the worldwide market to provide end users with the best mobile experience."
No word yet on the retail price and release date of ZTE U990. However, the Chinese company did say it has sealed agreements with 10 important 3G carriers from Europe, Japan and North America, so we should expect the new handset to be soon available in these markets, plus China – obviously, since it's ZTE's home country.