Chinese tech brand ZTE may not be as popular in the Western hemisphere, but it has definitely made its mark in its local market and in other emerging regions where budget devices are the “in” thing. Now they’re set on making a name in the US market by releasing two of their newest smartphones on two separate networks: the ZTE Sonata 2 on Cricket, and the ZTE Maven on AT&T.
If you’re looking for a smartphone, or even a 2nd device, that can do all the basic functions that smartphones can provide but at a very affordable cost, then you might want to consider getting the ZTE Sonata 2 with Cricket. It may not set your digital life on fire, but with its 1.2GHz dual-core processor and its 1GB RAM, it should get the basic job done. If you’re a constant phone scratcher (meaning, your screen’s device always gets scratched) then the Sonata 2’s 4″ display with scratch-resistant Dragontrail Glass may appeal to you as well. It has just 4GB internal storage but there’s a microSD slot for 32GB of storage. The 5MP main and 2MP front-facing cameras are just decent enough.
Meanwhile, for AT&T subscribers, you can consider the ZTE Maven GoPhone that is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1GB RAM. It only has 8GB internal storage (can be expanded to 32GB with microSD) but it does have LTE connectivity already and already has Android 5.1 Lollipop (unlike the Sonata 2 which is just on KitKat). It has a decent 5MP main camera, but you might not want to use it to take selfies (unless you’re going for the grainy look) since it just has a VGA front-facing cam.
Cricket is offering the ZTE Sonata 2 for just $29.99, which comes with activation already. AT&T will give you the ZTE Maven GoPhone for $59.99 if you get a new line with them on or before September 24.
