ZTE Blade X9, Blade X5 and Blade X3 deliver 4G bands at mid-range pricing

ZTE has launched three new Blade series of 4G smartphones for the Russian market via its Russia website. The three smartphones called the ZTE Blade X9, Blade X5 and the Blade X3 that pack in everything from large 4000 mAh batteries, to fingerprint readers, in a range that spans from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.  The metal-clad Blade X9 (shown above) is clearly the most expensive smartphone in the range and comes with the better hardware specs including a Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS display with ultra-thin bezels. The clean all-metal construction aside, ZTE has packed in a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset that is clocked at 1.5 GHz along with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage, which is expandable. As for the cameras, we get a 13 MP AF unit accompanied by an LED flash on the back and a 5 MP unit up front. And apart from the usual communication options, the smartphone also packs in dual LTE bands. All of the above is powered by a 3000 mAh battery and the handset also packs in a fingerprint reader (on the back), which is slowly becoming a standard feature on mid-range and flagship devices.  Next up is the Blade X5, that packs in a 5 inch HD (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display and sports a quad-core MediaTek MT6735 chipset with 1 GB of RAM. As expected it packs in the bare minimum, with 8 GB of internal storage but you do get a micro SD expansion (up to 32 GB), which is strictly OK for a smartphone in this range. Coming to camera specifications, we get a 13 MP AF unit along with an LED flash on the back and an 8 MP unit up front. The handset comes with LTE bands and is powered by a 2400 mAh battery and also features a fingerprint reader on the back.  Lastly, we have the most affordable one in the new range, the ZTE Blade X3. It packs in a 5 inch HD (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display, 8 MP primary camera (with an LED Flash) and a 5 MP front-facing one. The smartphone skips on the fingerprint reader but goes big on battery life with a 4000 mAh unit. Specs aside, ZTE’s pricing for the Russian markets are a bit high but you do get some extra bits like a fingerprint sensor thrown in to make those prices worthy. The ZTE Blade X9 is priced at RUB 17,990 (approximately Rs. 18,400), the ZTE Blade X5 is priced at RUB 10,990 (approximately Rs. 11,200) and the affordable Blade X3 is priced at RUB 8,990 that is approximately Rs. 9,200. For now there are no details as to when these smartphones will be heading to global markets. The Chinese company recently announced its ZTE Blade S7 smartphone in India, which packs in a 13 MP front facing camera along with an LED flash on front of the device.