ZTE Grand X Plus Z826 Smartphone Review

Product: ZTE Grand X Plus (Z826)
Provided By: ZTE
Price: $199 no contract on Fido (Canada) at time of publication

 

Introduction:

Today we are looking at a device from ZTE. This is one of their latest devices and is called the Grand X Plus. The name indicates that not only is the product "Grand" but it is more than grand/large/great, there is also a "Plus". With a name like that, you’d come to expect some pretty big things, but when you look at the price tag of $200 CAD (at time of publication) you start to wonder what could be "grand" about this device.

We will be checking out this device and drawing some comparisons to my Nexus 5 that I am currently using. While the Nexus 5 is no longer a flagship device, it is still a very current device that performs very well and should offer some competition to the ZTE device. The Nexus 5 should honestly beat down the Grand X Plus as it is still $400 without contract here in Canada. The big question going into the review is this: "Is the ZTE Grand X Plus half the phone that the Nexus 5 is?" We will find out how it performs and stacks up to the competition.

 

About ZTE:

While many people in North America haven’t heard much about ZTE, they are a big player in other markets. 

ZTE is a leading global provider of handset devices and telecommunications equipment. We are one of the top rated high-tech enterprises in the world developing and producing 2G, 3G and 4G handsets. As well as manufacturing mobile devices such as smartphones in over 150 countries, the company delivers innovative products business solutions. It connects global customers via voice, data, multimedia and WLAN Founded in 1985, ZTE is listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges and is China’s largest listed telecoms equipment company.

More information about the company can be found over here.

 

First Look:

The ZTE Grand X Plus is a 5-inch device that has a 720p HD display, 8MP camera, 1080p video recording and a decent 2300mAh battery. Under the hood is a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU that is fed by 2GB of RAM, so while the specs won’t blow you away, they probably won’t make you wail in disappointment either. ZTE includes a MicroSD card slot and exclude a lot of built-in storage. There is 8GB of internal storage and ZTE uses almost half for their own system files as well as storage formatting.

The bundle that comes with the Grand X Plus is adequate. Along with the standard USB / Wall charger is the removable battery as well as a bit of a manual. There are no headphones included and while it makes the bundle look a little bare, most companies include headphones that won’t be used as they are poor quality and the user probably already has a better set.

These are a couple of ways that ZTE cuts back on some extras to make the device more affordable. Not everyone wants to spend $700 or more on a phone.

 

The included battery is really rather large in size. While the rating of 2300 mAh is not a lot when compared to some phones from Samsung and LG, it should provide decent battery life as this device is only powering a 720p screen. This lower resolution may turn some people off, but when the screen is lit up and you’re using it, I never missed 1080p (gasp!). The pixel density is very good so while the resolution is not very high, the dots on the screen provide smooth text and unless you’re very fussy, you’d never know it wasn’t a full 1080p screen.

 

ZTE has moved the volume and power buttons part way down the device and not near the top like many other devices. The result is that you can comfortable reach the buttons with your thumb and fingers on the same hand you are holding the device. There is no point on making you shift the phone around in your hand so you can control the volume and hit the power button. The more you shuffle your phone around in your hand, the more chance you’ll have of dropping it. The design of the device makes it easy to hold and operate with one hand.

 

The back of the device can be removed for battery, SIM and MicroSD card installation. It’s been a while since I had a removable back as both the Nexus 4 and 5 did not. The back is pretty slick, but with the rounded edges, the device is pretty easy to hold. I’m sure that a rubberized back would make it even easier to hold, but I never dropped it during testing (thankfully).

 

On the next page we’ll cover all of the specifications from ZTE and add a few of our own before we talk about the usability of the device.