ZTE Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co., China's two biggest telecommunications hardware makers, said they will offer new mobile devices that use Google Inc.'s Android operating system, with ZTE saying it plans to release a tablet computer akin to Apple Inc.'s iPad.
ZTE's Android-powered tablet will be available later this year in Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, He Shiyou, head of ZTE's mobile terminals business, said in an interview Thursday. The device, internally called the V9, will have a seven-inch screen, and ZTE later will look to offer similar products in North America, he said.
The V9 will have a touchscreen and a keyboard, according to another ZTE official. Mr. He declined to say which carriers will offer the device or how much it will cost, but said ZTE aims to keep its price to less than a 50% premium over a typical smartphone to make it affordable for more consumers.
Meanwhile, Huawei announced four new Android-powered mobile phones that appear aimed at beating the prices of rival Android smartphones. One of the phones, called the Ideos, has a recommended retail price of $100 to $200 for pay-as-you-go phone-service customers, and Huawei will launch it in Hong Kong with network operator SmarTone-Vodafone on Sept. 8, said Glory Cheung, a Huawei spokeswoman.
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