ZTE Teases Windows Phone 8 Handset In Very Blurry Photo

A lot of manufacturers are excited to get in on the Windows Phone 8 action, and it seems that ZTE has decided it wants a slice of that pie. The company is teasing a new Windows Phone 8 handset through some rather unconventional means, with ZTE marketing strategy manager Dennis Lui sharing a very blurry image of three different devices on his Sina Wiebo account (as reported by Winp.cn). Have a look at the picture below.

The device on the right is the only one that see clearly (or at least semi-clearly in this case), and it's easy to see why: it looks an awful lot like a ZTE Tania, and even though it appears to be running Windows Phone 8, in reality it's probably running the Windows Phone 8 simulator app that's available on the Marketplace. The other phones are a little harder to place thanks to the liberal use of blurring, but the one on the left could be legitimately running Windows Phone 8, with the one in the middle running some version of Windows Phone 7.

This suggests that not only does ZTE have a Windows Phone 8 device in the works, but that it will also continue to offer Windows Phone 7.x handsets – the device in the image is presumably a Windows Phone 7.8 device – after the launch of WP8. Things get even more interesting though, as Lui also shared an image of a tablet running Windows RT or Windows 8, so it looks like ZTE has a lot in store for the future.

ZTE traditionally makes budget devices, and with many of the big companies eager to show us their snazzy new Windows 8 tablets, laptops, and smartphones, ZTE may be able to squeeze in there and bring Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT to the budget-minded consumer. ZTE obviously sees an opportunity there, and this strange marketing strategy sure has garnered some attention. Stay tuned for more details, as it probably won't be much longer before ZTE clarifies a few things (pun was definitely intended there).

[via WMPoweruser]