ZTE Grand X2 brings high performance at low cost with new Intel chip

ZTE has announced another in its line of Intel-toting Android phones, except this one is ramping up the power.

The use of the new Intel Atom chip, which is dual-core with up to 2GHz speed, means the pone should come with a lower price tag while managing to offer a decent slug of power.

ZTE loves to chuck out phones with 'alternative' processors - the uninspiring ZTE Grand X came with a Tegra 2 processor rather than the Qualcomm options beloved by the industry.

The ZTE Grand X2 is otherwise a squarely middle-of-the-road handset, with Android Jelly Bean, an 8MP camera, a 4.5-inch HD (1280 x 768) display, 8GB of internal memory with 1GB of RAM to go on top.

Why are you wearing THAT?

However, thanks to the Intel technology, the Grand X2 can shoot snaps at up to 24 shots per second, and promises zero shutter lag when time is of the essence and you're after the perfect picture. Quite how the camera is 'socially smart' we don't know – but we assume that ZTE has placed a 'cool kids' filter on top to make sure you stay up to date with what's happening, dog.

ZTE has been quietly trying to push its hardware into the hands of consumers for the past couple of years, and has had a modicum of success – however, it hopes with higher-end hardware like this it can start to be seen as a more relevant player in the smartphone game.

While it says that the Grand X2 release date is set for Q3 2013 with 'key operators and channel partners' in Europe, the problem has been nobody seems to want to stock anything with a ZTE badge, and in a world where consumers are being forced to believe that quad core and oodles of RAM is best, it's hard to see where this phone will fit in.

It's good to see a faster Intel Atom processor in a phone though – more power with less of a battery drain (at least, that's what's promised) is always a good thing.