Agreed! ZTE, the world's fourth-largest handset manufacturer, seems to be the way to go at this very moment in time. They even have a
presence in South Africa as other global giants like Lenovo and Huawei do, for example.
ZTE's flagship Nubia range (
Z7 Max,
Z7 Mini, etc) have just about ten out of the ten near-unmissable features that I currently look out for in a mobile phone! Also, their well-priced yet sturdy
V5 Max which is based on the Nubia range of mobile phones has about nine out of the ten features listed below! (These features made the list for the simple reason that each of them cannot be added on to a mobile phone at a later stage!)
The list:
4G LTE via chipsets/antennas that are capable of connecting to
FDD-LTE as well as TD-LTE networks on (at least) frequency bands B3/
1800MHz (on which FDD-LTE is provisioned by MTN & Vodacom), B40/
2300MHz (on which TD-LTE is provisioned by Telkom) and B1/
2100MHz (on which FDD-LTE is provisioned - in the "near" future - by Cell C)
And if you have to skip out on one, skip out on a 4G LTE frequency band used by Cell C, because who really cares about Cell C and their second-rate offerings? ;-)
Dual SIM with Dual 4G LTE support. The majority of existing (4G LTE capable) Dual SIM mobile phones have one SIM slot which is capable of making 4G LTE as well as 3G HSPA connections while the other SIM slot is only capable of making 2G connections. Now, with Dual SIM mobile phones that offer Dual 4G LTE support on those slots, you won't have to swap the inserted SIM cards around to make use of an available 4G LTE network anymore!
Dual/triple microphone. To facilitate effective noise cancellation in order that, in a variety of environments, conversations are transmitted and received more clearly.
Dual speakers. A nice-to-have stereo effect. And if the one stops working completely, you still have the other one! ;-)
2GB RAM and 16GB ROM. Anything less on a mobile phone running Android is going to frustrate you in the end.
SD card slot. You'll be surprised how many new mobile phone models no longer have such a handy feature!
USB OTG / USB On-The-Go. This functionality enables your device to host a USB device - or even multiple devices!
GPS + GLONASS. Chipsets/Antennas in mobile phones that enable simultaneous connections to
multiple satellite navigation systems. Consider the extent of the increase in accuracy on your navigation device if triangulation is done via
GPS as well as GLONASS versus just only via GPS.
Gyroscopic sensor. For the provisioning (and proper functioning) of handy features. There are many mobile phones with Light/Gravity/Proximity sensors, but not all have Gyroscopic sensors.
NFC. NFC chipset/antenna is a nice-to-have feature. Unfortunately it is not yet available in most entry-level and mid-range mobile phones.
