ZTE is expanding its smartphone lineup with the launch of Star 2 handset in China. The Star 1-successor is a sensible upgrade from its previous model, which was launched earlier this year. With the new launch, ZTE is showing off the new voice control feature that takes care of most operations even without an internet connection.
The ZTE Star 2 smarpthone features advanced voice technology that recognizes user's voice at least 90 percent of the time and grasps sound in just 1.2 seconds, GSM Arena reports. According to ZTE, Star 2 can perform most of the functions without having the user touch the screen. Actions like open third party apps, play music, make a call, take photos, and more can be performed using voice commands. Additionally, users can take advantage of the smart voice feature to make real-time voice-to-text input.
Star 2 also packs improved driving mode to enable various voice control features like automatic GPS, answering calls, messages and controlling music, the company said.
"Building on the success of Star 1, Star 2 represents the latest product from our biometrics voice integration strategy. ZTE is committed to changing people's lives and how they interact with mobile devices in the connected world era via mobile broadband internet," Shi Lirong, Executive Director and President of ZTE Corporation said.
As for the hardware specifications, Star 2 features a 5-inch Full HD display and is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 CPU, 2GB RAM and 16GB built-in storage. There is an option to expand storage via microSD card. There are two cameras, a 13-megapixel rear-facing snapper with dual-LED flash and a 5MP front shooter. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat with MiFavor 3.0 UI, supports 4G LTE connectivity and has a large 2,300mAh battery to run the show.
The global availability of the handset was not confirmed but ZTE promised to show a wide range of devices at the CES 2015 in January. In China, ZTE Star 2 is available for CNY 2,499, which is about $402 or €327.
