ZTE, MetroPCS teaming up for LTE phones

When MetroPCS introduced the ZTE C88, it represented the first deal the company had made with a Chinese handset maker. When the company announced that they would pursue an LTE 4G network, they were the first regional carrier to do so. Now those two firsts are crossing paths. The two companies are working together to develop LTE handsets. These should launch in late 2010 or early 2011, right around the time Metro rolls out its LTE network.

This forthcoming LTE model (or models) figure to be quite different from Metro’s current run of ZTE phones. They’ve previously launched the aforementioned C88, the Z78 and the C78, all of which are among Metro’s lower-cost models. ZTE is currently working on a smartphone for Metro’s LTE, which makes sense since the distinct advantage of LTE is the data speed. This will include, as Forbes reports, a large screen and an HTML browser. Presumably it will feature a full QWERTY keyboard as well.

MetroPCS has been growing rapidly recently, and they’re starting to capitalize on those gains. They’ve already forayed into the data-heavy device market, having launched the BlackBerry Curve in March. One might imagine they have another data-centric device or three on tap before they even begin to roll out their LTE network.

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