ZTE develops Android smartphone with Softbank

Chinese vendor says device will launch in Japan this month.
ZTE Corp. said Tuesday a smartphone it developed with Softbank Corp. using Google Inc.'s Android operating system will go on sale in Japan this month.

The phone, named Libero but also called the Softbank 003Z or the ZTE Blade, will be the first Chinese smartphone to be launched in Japan, ZTE said. The phone has already been launched in European countries including Britain, France and Germany, ZTE said.

ZTE and Softbank will collaborate to launch eight terminal products in Japan between October this year and March 2011, including other smartphones, data cards and modems, ZTE said.

By Owen Fletcher, Dow Jones Newswires
Tuesday 14 December 2010

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