ZTE will debut an 'advanced gaming smartphone’ next week

CHINESE PHONE MAKER ZTE is promising that it will launch the "one of the most advanced gaming smartphones" ever next week, sparking rumours that it could be about to unveil a phone to compete with the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play.

The firm took to Twitter to foreshadow the announcement ahead of a launch event scheduled in London on 18 July.

The countdown has begun! 6 days left until you can have one of the MOST ADVANCED GAMING SMARTPHONES in your hands!

— ZTE UK (@ZTE_UK) July 12, 2012

ZTE didn't offer any details as to what we can expect from this coming game-changer, but the tweet does hint that we could see a device similar to the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. We're guessing that we'll be seeing an Android powered device that has a souped up quad-core chip and an onboard gamepad.

Building a handset with physical gaming controls could be a good move for ZTE, helping it to scoop up the market share left behind by the Xperia Play's failure. Such a device would help ZTE stand out in the already crowded mobile market, something that the firm is currently struggling to achieve against Samsung and HTC.

Given that it's ZTE, the device is also likely to be cheaper than the competition. Earlier this week, the firm launched one of the lowest priced Android smartphones yet, which is now on sale in the UK for just £50.

We'll be at the ZTE launch event in London next week. µ