ZTE Tania goes on sale in the UK

CHINESE PHONE VENDOR ZTE has launched its budget Windows Phone called Tania in the UK for under £200.

ZTE is aiming to take the UK smartphone market by storm this year and it's starting with the Tania, which is available now. The Windows Phone 7.5 Mango device is in stock at Clove for £199.

Clove said, "We've been doing a lot of work with ZTE over the last six months and we're proud to be supporting the Chinese manufacturer with its foray into the UK SIM-free market."

Rival retailers Digital-phone and Handtec have the phone down for 21 February and "Due in soon", respectively. Amazon says it will arrive on 1 March.

The price has been reduced by £50 since it went up for pre-order in January. For a modest £199, the Tania comes with a 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a 5MP camera. It also has a 4.3in touchscreen with 800x480 resolution.

Although the phone is available on a SIM free basis, it doesn't have the backing of major UK mobile operators. This will make it harder for the firm to sell as many units as its hopes to sell.

ZTE is nearing the launch of its Android 2.3 Gingerbread V9A Light Tab 2, its first own-brand tablet in the UK. ZTE announced yesterday that the Tab 2 has been launched, but it turns out it is just up for pre-order, which we knew about last month.

The ZTE V9A Light Tab 2 is due to tip up later this month or early March at a price of around £235. µ