zte grand x max 2: big and impressive zte blade v7 max: a

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ZTE Grand X Max 2: Big and ImpressiveZTE Blade V7 Max: A Unique ExperienceZTE MF980: A Super-Fast Mobile Hotspot

The Story Behind ZTE AXON 7

2016 No.4 Bimonthly

ZTE WORLD

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On June 19, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 93-89 in Game 7 of NBA finals to win their first title in 52 years. ZTE is also in its first year of being the smartphone partner of the Cavaliers. p12

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6 ZTE Grand X Max 2: Big and Impressive8 ZTE Blade V7 Max: A Unique Experience10 ZTE MF980: A Super-Fast Mobile Hotspot

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4 INFORMATION ROUNDUP

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Chairman: Zeng Xuezhong Vice Chairman: Wang Xiang Consultants: Ji Zhongwei, Mao Qian, Wang Xiang, Zhang Shumin, Zhang Zhenyu, Zhu Wenqi Members: Chen Duolei, Gao Feng, Huang Xinming, Kuang Feifei, Li Bo, Luo Wei, Lv Qianhao, Qian Peng, Tu Yaming, Wang Jing, Wei Zheng, Xu Xiaolu

Sponsor: ZTE Corporation Edited by Shenzhen Editorial Office, Strategy Planning Department Editor-in-Chief: Huang XinmingExecutive Editor: Liu YangEditor: He Xi, Yang YangCirculation Manager: Wang Pingping

Address: NO. 55, Hi-tech Road South, Shenzhen, P.R.ChinaPostcode: 518057Tel: +86-755-26776663Fax: +86-755-26775217Email: [email protected] Date: August 31, 2016Volume 9 No. 4 (Issue 44)First Issue Published in 2008

Mobile World Editorial Board

All rights reserved. The content of this magazine may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without the written consent of ZTE. Every effort has been made to ensure the information included is both accurate and complete; however, ZTE cannot accept misuse or misinterpretation of the information published or implied from the content. In the case of ZTE mobile devices, the reviews are based on the products we could find at the time of printing. The product availability and descriptions may vary in different countries. Please take the actual product as the standard.

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NO.4 2016htt p://wwwen.zte.com.cn/en/about/publicati ons

30 MOBILE MASTERY

How to Take Great Panoramic Photos on Your Phone?

34 ZTE WORLD

The Story Behind ZTE AXON 7

25 DESIGN & ART

25 Smart Voice Control on ZTE AXON 726 10 Creati ve Product Designs28 Experience Hi-Fi Audio on Your Phone

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A Roundup of ZTE’s Sports Sponsorships

32 MOBILE APP

Apps for Drawing and Art

Mobile World for Android

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ZTE AXON 7 Launches in Europe

ZTE in Top 5 for Euro Smartphone Sales

On June 29, ZTE announced at a press conference in Paris that its flag-ship AXON 7 smartphone, unveiled globally on May 26, is now available in Europe. Starting June 29, AXON 7 is available for preorders on Amazon for France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. AXON 7 is priced at €449. “ZTE is excited to celebrate the debut of AXON 7 in Europe, and today marks the global roll-out of our latest flagship smartphone,” said Jacky Zhang, CEO of EMEA and APAC, ZTE Mobile Devices. “With AXON 7’s

unbeatable combination of an eye-catching design, top-of-the-line specs and an affordable price, we’re positive about demand for AXON 7 in Europe.”AXON 7 focuses on what matters most to users today: immersive theater-like sound, sleek design, and a lightning-fast camera, all in the palm of one’s hand. Powering the phone’s interior is the Snapdragon 820, the highest end chipset available in the market today. It also comes equipped with two dedicated audio chips from AKM.

On June 16, ZTE Mobile Devices announced that it has secured the fifth position for highest smartphone shipments in Europe from January to March 2016. According to Counterpoint Technology Market Research, ZTE’s market share continues to soar and the report is based on research on approximately 90 percent of smartphone makers around the world. ZTE is building up its consumer brand image in Europe, one of the world’s most mature and competitive mobile markets, by providing af-

fordable mid-to-high-end devices. By focusing on its core AXON and Blade series, ZTE has seen steady progress in Europe. As of the end of 2015, more than 30 million Blade phones had been shipped to over 50 countries worldwide, with Germany, France, Spain and UK contributing largely to this number.ZTE’s rapid growth in Europe can be attributed to its many expansion efforts, such as increas-ing cooperation with large retailers so that con-sumers can have more access to the devices.

Xiaoke Zhang, CEO of West Europe, ZTE Mobile Devices, gives a speech at the press conference in Paris.

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ZTE Teams up with Golf Canada

ZTE AXON 7 Arrives in the US

On July 26, ZTE launched its ZTE AXON mini and Blade V6 smartphones in India.

While Blade V6 is priced at Rs 9,999, AXON mini carries a price tag of Rs 23,599. Both handsets are available from Spice Hotspot retail stores.

ZTE USA parti cipated in the Comic-Con 2016 held on July 21-24 in San Diego. TV show casts received interviews in the TVLine Comic-Con studio presented by ZTE. ZTE’s Experience Bus also parked outside the venue to showcase devices and acti viti es.

On July 18, ZTE USA an-nounced the availability of the next generati on of the ZMAX series, the ZMAX PRO, at MetroPCS for $99.00 aft er instant rebate. The phone landed on MetroPCS on August 1.

At a Glance

ZTE and Golf Canada have announced a one-year partnership that saw ZTE become the offi cial smartphone sponsor of the RBC Canadian Open which ran on July 18-24 near Toronto.In the Canadian Open tournament held at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario, ZTE had exclusive naming rights to the Spectator Village, which was known as the ZTE Spectator Village. ZTE was also the offi cial sponsor of the ZTE Tweet Caddies, a group that kept fans updated on the tournament, games and giveaways through social media channels.ZTE off ered charging stati ons for patrons, as well as showcased the popular AXON smartphone series, Grand X View tablet and Spro 2 smart projector. There were also exciti ng games and giveaways throughout the championship, with prizes including free rounds of golf, stays at a resort, swag bags and chances to win AXON 7 smart-phone. “We are pleased to welcome ZTE as a partner of our Nati onal Championship,” said Golf Canada Chief Commercial Offi cer Gavin Roth. “Innovati ve technology is having a positi ve impact on fan engagement at major sporti ng events and we know ZTE will deliver an exciti ng spectator experience at this year’s RBC Canadian Open.” (Source: Xinhua, July 20)

On July 8, ZTE USA announced the second annual ZTE Summer Series basketball clinic. The free two-day clinics took place on July 9 and 10 and July 16 and 17 at the Walnut Community Center in Las Vegas.

AXON 7 became available for pre-order in the US on July 13, with deliveries going out from July 27. The phone is available from Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, Newegg, and www.zteusa.com. AXON 7 is the fi rst Android smartphone to break away from other fl ag-ships with specs that outperform rivals at an unbeatable price of $399.98. AXON 7 was designed in North America with the help of industry-leading design ex-perts from Designworks, a BMW Group com-pany, which ensured the phone would look and feel premium at every angle. AXON Passport 2.0 warranty comes standard with any AXON phone purchase to keep you covered through spills, slips, and whatever trip ups come your way.

ZTE AXON mini

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Big and ImpressiveZTE Grand X Max 2

For some users, viewing ex-perience takes priority. Such demands propel smartphone displays to go from 3.5 inches to 4 inches, 5 inches, 5.5 inches or a higher level. In 2016, 6-inch smartphones arrive. They have a stronger visual impact but are not much huger than the 5.5-inch phones due to the improve-ment in design and technolo-gies. Such phones become very popular nowadays. Among 6-inch smartphones, ZTE Grand X Max 2 stands out for its superior design and camera performance. It is cur-rently available on Cricket.

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Special ExperienceBackground Blur The Bokeh mode is the most disti ncti ve photography functi on on Grand X Max 2. In this mode, you can adjust the aperture from f/1.0 up to f/8.0. Typically, the lower the number the more blurred eff ect will appear in your photos. You can select a larger aperture to emulate a professional photo’s depth of fi eld. You can readjust the focus aft er capturing a photo in Bokeh mode. Tap the photo area you want to refocus, tap a number (1-6) to select the blur level, and then save the edited photo. Post-processing is very fl exible.

Performance The phone scores 44,697 in AnTuTu benchmark testi ng, typical for a middle-range smartphone. Day-to-day performance is quite good during the actual testi ng. Apps open fast, and even mainstream 3D games are very playable. Batt ery life is good, when you take into account the 6-inch display. The batt ery will see you through a day or so of medium-to-heavy use.

The phone has a USB Type-C port, allowing for reversible plug orientati on.

The phone runs Android 6.0. The UI is clear and easy to use.

Mobile World Says:ZTE Grand X Max 2 catches your eyes with an att racti ve design and a massive 6.0-inch display. The display off ers outstanding visual eff ects, and the dual rear cameras provide both sharpness and depth to your photos. Moreover, the phone delivers good perfor-mance and batt ery life.

Waterdrop-Like AppearanceGrand X Max 2 has a water-drop design. It boasts a subtle curve to help with handling. The display is covered in 2.5D glass. The glossy rear cover is fi xed to a metallic-look-ing frame and bulges out a litt le to curve into the palm. The surface on the rear and front is imprinted with a refl ecti ve, blue dia-mond patt ern that displays a colorful eff ect when the light and viewing angle change.

6-Inch Screen Although there is only a small diff erence between 6 inches and 5.5 inches, you will sti ll be impressed by Grand X Max 2’s dis-play if you use a 5.5-inch phone. In additi on to a large size, the display also has a 1920 x 1080 resoluti on, which ensures on-screen elements look smooth and sharp. Color reproducti on and brightness are great. You will have an immersive experience when you play games, watch movies and view pictures.

Dual Rear CamerasAt the back of the phone, there are two camera lenses placed verti cally and a fl ash light in between. This up-down symmetry of cameras looks neater than the usual left -right symmetry of cameras. The main rear-facing camera has a 13-megapixel sen-sor. The second camera has a 2-megapixel

sensor, and it functi ons in the bokeh mode, which att empts to add depth to photos. This lets you create some images with disti nct in-focus and out-of-focus areas. You can readjust the focal point aft er a photo is taken.

Strong Performance and Rapid ChargingGrand X Max 2 off ers solid performance. It has a Snapdragon 617 MSM8952 processor clocked at 1.5 GHz and 2 GB RAM. In terms of real-life performance, this processor even outperforms the Snapdragon 808. There is 16 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 64 GB via a microSD card slot. It has a large-capacity 3400 mAh batt ery, and the inclusion of QuickCharge 2.0 guarantees that you’ll be able to re-charge the batt ery quickly.

Hi-Fi Music Plus Dolby AudioThe bigger its touchscreen, the more tempti ng it is to use a smartphone for entertainment. In additi on to visual eff ects, audio eff ects are also very important. Grand X Max 2 supports Hi-Fi music and Dolby Digital Plus sound enhancement for headphones, and you can have the premium sound experience when you play Dolby music fi les and movies. Moreover, the phone’s speaker delivers loud and full sound for your music and games.

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The phone has a glossy body and looks really brilliant when it catches the light.

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A Unique ExperienceZTE Blade V7 Max

ZTE Blade V7 Max smart-phone targets young consum-ers who make heavy use of mobile phones and care about a phone’s design, material, functi ons and performance, and also want some unique features. The phone features a 5.5-inch screen incorpo-rati ng 2.5D curved glass, a metal unibody design and a premium camera. It has a fi n-gerprint sensor on the side so that it can have more innova-ti ve usages.

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Special ExperienceNight ShotBlade V7 Max has superb low light performance. It can take vivid and sharp photos even in very dark condi-ti ons. When mounti ng the phone on a tripod and ena-bling the professional mode, you can create wonderful low light images with no loss of details.

Fingerprint Recogniti onThe fi ngerprint recogniti on process is pleasant. Aft er trying out the phone you naturally put your fi ngers on the fi ngerprint reader every ti me you pick up the phone. The whole process is seamless and smooth, including picking up the phone, fi ngerprint matching and screen unlocking.

The 2.5D curved glass display is integrated seamlessly into the metal frame, giving the phone a perfect texture.

The phone has many built-in HD wallpa-pers, and you can see beauti ful pictures every ti me you wake up the phone.

Mobile World Says:ZTE Blade V7 Max has outstanding photogra-phy performance, especially in dark environ-ments. The phone also has an elegant ap-pearance and a balanced confi gurati on. The uniquely placed fi ngerprint reader makes the phone stand out even more.

Fingerprint Sensor on the Side An ideal fi ngerprint reader can make the smarphone operati on easier in additi on to simply and securely unlocking your phone. ZTE has made a bold innovati on by putti ng the fi ngerprint sensor on the side of the phone. With this unique design, you can easily unlock the phone as soon as you take it up with either your left or right hand. The phone can unlock in 0.3 sec-onds. The fi ngerprint reader has the added bonus of allowing you to start the camera, answer calls and encrypt documents. It also allows you to fl ip to the previous and next page by using the swipe gesture. The fi ngerprint reader simplifi es the opera-ti ons that you used to accomplish with two hands.

2.5D Curved Glass and Metal BodyBlade V7 Max sets extremely high stand-ards in contour and material. The metallic body has a thickness of only 7.2 mm. For every curve and joint, the designer has taken full considerati on of feel in hand and visual eff ects. For example, the frame is blasted by zircon sand to increase fricti on to prevent the phone from sliding away from your hand and improve handling. There is a litt le bit of metal trim around the frame that adds high gloss fi nish to the phone. The front 2.5D glass feels smooth, and matches well with the classic Burberry striped patt ern on the top and bott om of the back cover. This combinati on reveals ZTE’s unique phone design style: modest

and elegant. Fast Focusing Blade V7 Max’s camera approaches the quality of a point-and-shoot camera. The 16-megapixel rear-facing camera uses six opti cal lenses and a dual-color tempera-ture fl ashlight. Its phase detecti on auto focus (PDAF) enables you to achieve a higher focusing speed than conventi onal autofocus. It supports two camera modes: auto mode and professional mode. In auto mode, you can easily capture the moments that would otherwise be missed. The professional mode has a host of manual opti ons such as ti lt meter, light metering, ISO adjustment, exposure com-pensati on and white balance. Photography enthusiasts can unleash their creati vity and take amazing photos. In additi on, the 8-megapixel front-facing camera allows you to take perfect selfi es. It uses the screen as a fl ash when the ambient light is insuffi cient, and also supports 14 diff erent beauti fi cati on opti ons. Outstanding DisplayThe 5.5-inch Full HD display covered with 2.5D glass provides stunning visual eff ects. Blacks are dense, colors are vibrant and details are rich. You can enjoy a great viewing experience when you play videos and fi lms. In additi on, the phone uses DTS technologies to dramati cally improve the sound quality, delivering an immersive surround sound experience.

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The fi ngerprint reader is on the right side so that you can use it comfortably with either your left or right hand.

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A Super-Fast Mobile Hotspot

ZTE MF980

Although a majority of smart-phones has the Wi-Fi opti on, they are not quite convenient and reliable as mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. Moreover, using a phone as a hotspot can run out of the batt ery in a very short ti me, and when you want to collaborate with oth-ers, it’s oft en limited to only a few users at once. Thus, there is sti ll a large market for mobile Wi-Fi hotspots. As a well-established company in the telecommunicati ons industry, ZTE has rich techno-logical accumulati ons, and its mobile Wi-Fi hotspot devices also enjoy a good reputati on. Recently, ZTE launched a new mobile hotspot MF980. Sup-porti ng the next-generati on 4G LTE Advanced Cat 9, it brings you blazing speeds. It also off ers simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi.

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Special ExperienceBatt ery LifeBatt ery life is a key indicator for a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot because nobody wants a power failure in a criti cal moment during work. MF980 uses a 2200 mAh bat-tery. The fi gure may seem small. But remember it is not a smartphone, and it lasts longer than you expect. MF980 supports up to 10 hours conti nuous use on a full charge, giving you plenty of ti me to work and play.

Multi ple People Working OutdoorsWhen you are in a cafe, big conference room, or other densely populated areas where there are severe Wi-Fi interference, it is bett er if your mobile hotspot can uti lize the 5 GHz band for reduced interference and faster data rates. In a conference room where there are over 10 Wi-Fi hotspots, we used MF980 to connect two smartphones, one laptop, and one tablet PC. The Wi-Fi connecti on was stable, the latency (ping ti me) was low, and the whole process did not suff er from confl icts and interference developed from the shear amount of traf-fi c and access points.

There is a pair of ports for external antennas in the lower left side of the screen.

Mobile World Says:ZTE MF980 features superb network per-formance. It supports LTE Cat 9 as well as high-end Wi-Fi specifi cati ons. It works more stably over two diff erent Wi-Fi bands. Mean-while, it has a TFT screen that shows at-a-glance informati on. Its support for ZTELink app also brings enhanced usability.

Slim and SleekCompared with a smartphone, MF980 is compact. It measures 122 x 65 x 10.6 mm. So it’s easy to keep it in your pocket, back-pack or handbag. The body has a frosted texture. It looks simple and beauti ful and makes a perfect match for any latest lap-top or smartphone. It has a 1.44-inch TFT screen that displays current device status informati on.

Ultrafast PerformanceSupport for LTE Cat 9 is the biggest high-light of MF980. The theoreti cal maximum download speed of MF980 is 450 Mbps, which is much higher than 100 Mbps on opti cal fi ber. The amount of bandwidth available is high enough to allow multi ple users to access the internet simultaneous-ly. Currently, more and more operators be-gin to support LTE Cat 9 on their networks. This means that the mobile hotspot can yield ideal bandwidth for several people to watch online HD videos simultaneously or hold a HD video conference.

Top-Level Wi-Fi SupportTo give full play to the LTE Cat 9 technol-ogy, MF980 operates on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. It can connect to the 5 GHz band in a busy area to solve the interference problems. It also supports 802.11b/g/n/ac 2×2 MIMO to give you faster Wi-Fi speed. ZTE also has made two ports to fi t external antennas should you need to boost the Wi-Fi signal. Control Everything with ZTELink AppWhen you need to set up MF980, operat-ing on a screen has a low effi ciency. The ZTELink app comes in handy. Install the app on your phone, connect the phone to internet via the MF980’s connecti on, and then manage the device with your phone. The app displays connecti on setti ngs, data usage details, Wi-Fi setti ngs and text mes-sages. You can check the device’s status without taking it out of your bag.

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Press the power butt on, and the device’s LCD screen displays the informati on about the network, Wi-Fi, and data usage.

MF980 has only two butt ons: the power butt on and the functi on butt on for simple user interacti ons.

There is a port for a standard-sized SIM card in the lower right side of the screen.

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ZTE Grand X Max 2Sleek DesignDespite being a massive phablet, ZTE Grand X Max 2 feels nice in the hand. It has a sleek build and an arced shape to help with handling. It also looks very nice with a 2.5D screen and a glossy back that has a reflective and subtle pattern.

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On June 19, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Warriors 93-89 in Game 7 of NBA finals to win their first title in 52 years. ZTE is also in its first year of being the smartphone

partner of the Cavaliers. It reminds all of us that the Golden State Warriors, backed by ZTE, won their first NBA title in 40 years last year. It is even said that whatever NBA team

backed by ZTE will win. ZTE AXON 7 smartphone gained much exposure during the NBA finals before it was launched in the US market.

ZTE started out primarily as a white-label brand, making smartphones for carrier partners. Now ZTE is looking to sports sponsorships to grow consumer awareness, backing several

NBA teams, and sponsoring teams in European club soccer and Australian rugby.

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ZTE signed five NBA teams in the US. It has delved into big data and evaluated various aspects of these teams including market scale, fan base, fan loyalty and social media influence before making the decisions. These five teams are a perfect match as strategic partners for ZTE’s corporate sponsorship in the US, and, combined, ZTE and the teams will bring powerful lineups that excite both sports and tech enthusiasts across the country. Along with the love of basketball, these teams also share a very important and core value with ZTE --- giving back to the local communities.

The Cavaliers maintained great momentum in this season. They swept the Detroit Pistons 4:0 in the first round of NBA playoffs, and swept the Atlanta Hawks 4:0 in the second round playoff series. The Cavaliers then beat the Toronto Raptors to become this year’s Eastern Conference Champions. They played poorly in the first two games of the finals. But they overcome a 3-1 deficit and forced a Game 7. They are the first team of 33 teams to ever come back from a 3–1 deficit and the fourth team in history to win Game 7 of the finals away from home. The Cavaliers’ win ended the city of Cleveland’s championship drought.

Cleveland Cavaliers

City: Cleveland Founded: 1970 Conference: Eastern

Sponsorship Background

In October 2015, ZTE USA announced it has become a smartphone partner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Building upon the successful sponsorships of other franchise basketball teams including the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors, ZTE expanded its localized approach to build its presence in the US from the consumer up by connecting with fans.

ZTE’s Branding Activities 1. ZTE’s Presence at Game 4 of 2016 NBA Finals

On June 10, everyone at Quicken Loans Arena received a shirt courtesy of ZTE. The ZTE truck was onsite at Fan Fest, allowing fans to get their hands on ZTE’s newest product AXON 7. ZTE’s experts demonstrated the product and even gave fans the chance to take one home. ZTE had multiple surprise appearances from the Cavs family, meet and greets, raffles, games and lots of swag. ZTE also introduced to fans one of its newest ventures, Z-Community, where they can register to learn more about ZTE and mobile tech trends, participate in paid surveys, get early access to new devices and win monthly prizes.

US: NBA Sponsorships

2. Celebrating the Chinese New Year Together

On February 11, ZTE celebrated the Chinese New Year with the Cleveland Cavaliers at their home game at Quicken Loans Arena. Over 20,000 fans in attendance participated in Chinese New Year traditions such as receiving a red envelope, which held a $100 voucher for fans to use towards ZTE’s unlocked products. Along with red envelopes fans received T-shirts with unique Chinese characters to help celebrate the event and cheer on the team. Several other activities and festive decorations were displayed throughout the venue such as traditional Chinese lanterns to help create an exciting atmosphere. This was the first time the Cavaliers held a Chinese New Year title game and ZTE became the very first Chinese company to celebrate the most traditional Chinese festival with the Cleveland fans.

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ZTE Grand X Max 2Dual Rear CamerasZTE Grand X Max 2 has dual rear cameras that provide both sharpness and depth to your photos. A 13-megapixel rear is paired with a 2-megapixel camera that offers the depth of field effect. This dual-camera setup allows you to refocus after shooting.

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the in-arena signage, concourse table, video features and an on-court giveaway for season ticket holder of the game. AXON 7 was also featured on all 20,000 Strength In Numbers T-shirts that were given out at the game.

2. Phone Drive

ZTE teamed up with the Warriors and asked Bay Area residents to donate used phones, tablets and other mobile devices in support of the Warriors Community Foundation. From March 12 through March 23, Bay Area residents donated used mobile devices at participating carrier stores in support of the phone drive. Consumers who donated devices had the chance to meet Warriors Community Ambassador Adonal Foyle and receive a free Warriors poster. The phone drive culminated at the Warriors vs. Clippers game at Oracle Arena on March 23 where fans in attendance could donate used devices on the concourse and receive a Warriors poster as well. All devices donated went to Cartridges For Kids, which, in turn, would give the proceeds to the Warriors community foundation, Hoops 4 Kids.

Golden State Warriors

City: Oakland Founded: 1946 Conference: Western

The Warriors were the fans’ favorite team in this season. They were the defending champions. They recovered from 3-1 deficit to take Western Conference finals 4-3. They have Stephen Curry, who was named the first unanimous MVP in NBA and broke his own 3-pointer record. They broke the record for consecutive regular-season home wins, regular-season wins, the best start and the best road start in NBA history. Although they lost the NBA finals, they have made history.


In October 2014, the Golden State Warriors and ZTE announced a multi-year partnership for ZTE USA to be the official smartphone of the Warriors. The partnership between the Warriors and ZTE USA covers sales and marketing elements. The partnership also includes a Phone Drive, presented by ZTE, where fans will be encouraged to bring in their old cell phones to Oracle Arena and donate it to the Warriors Community Foundation.

ZTE’s Branding Activities 1. AXON 7 Makes a Debut in NBA Finals Game 2ZTE introduced AXON 7 to the US consumers in the second game of the 2016 NBA finals on June 5. AXON 7 appeared on

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Houston Rockets

City: Houston Founded: 1967 Conference: Western


Houston is the biggest market in the US for the carrier-branded phones made by ZTE. It is one of the top wireless markets in the country and many of ZTE’s carrier partners, including AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Tracfone, MetroPCS, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, US Cellular, Cricket Wireless and Aio Wireless, have large presences there. The Houston Rockets began marketing the NBA club to Asian fans living both in the US and overseas in 2002, with the signing of Yao Ming. After Ming retired, the Rockets signed Jeremy Lin. The team and ZTE both aspire to attract fans globally and locally. In October 2013, the Rockets and ZTE jointly announced their partnership, making ZTE the official smartphone of the Rockets for the 2013-2014 NBA season. The deal was the first of its kind for ZTE. ZTE currently has a three-year contract with the Rockets, with annual option of renewal or termination each year.

ZTE’s Branding Activities 1. ZTE T-Shirts Take over Night in a ZTE “Derby” Game On April 24, the Rockets and the Warriors, both sponsored by ZTE, faced each other in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. ZTE was part of all of the exciting action. ZTE was featured in all in-arena signage throughout the night, and all 20,000 fans in the arena, sported Red Nation Rally T-shirts with the “AXON by ZTE” logo on it. ZTE was the presenting sponsor of the game as well.


After seeing great success in building loyal consumers in Houston, New York, and Northern California, ZTE looked to continue that momentum and forge a new partnership with the Bulls. In October 2015, ZTE announced that it has become the official smartphone of the Chicago Bulls to expand its localized approach in the US. As part of the three-year agreement, ZTE is the presenting partner of “Bulls-Eye View”, a series of exclusive, behind-the-scenes pieces of Bulls content that will appear on Bulls.com. ZTE and the Bulls will also hold a co-branded sweepstakes twice per season, where Chicago area fans will enter for a chance to win their own backstage Bulls-Eye View experience. ZTE also receives an array of marketing assets each season.

Chicago Bulls

City: Chicago Founded: 1966 Conference: Eastern

2. 2016 Houston Rockets 3-on-3 Blacktop BattleOn March 19-20, the Rockets hosted the Blacktop Battle, presented by ZTE. Blacktop Battle is the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in Texas and takes place on the streets surrounding Toyota Center. Over 6,500 attendees came to watch an estimated 200 streetball teams battle out at the blacktop. Team Zulu Tango Echo (ZTE) participated in the elite division again to compete against the best ball players in Houston. Led by AT&T Sales Director Steven Scott, Team ZTE was the team to beat. To get all attendees engaged, ZTE established a tent with fun filled activities. Two tables were set up to

showcase ZTE’s offering, one to demo ZTE products and the other to provide giveaways. Attendees were interested in ZTE’s product offering, especially ZTE ZMAX 2, since ZTE announced a special discount of 50% from its partner PrimeComm, who was on-site.

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ZTE Grand X Max 2Great DisplayThe phone’s 6-inch 1080p FHD display has great color reproduction, good contrast and proper saturation, and is even readable in the sun. The large screen delivers immersive entertainment experience and also improves your work efficiency.

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New York Knicks

City: New York Founded: 1946 Conference: Eastern


New York is the most important and the largest market in the US. It is also one of the most significant markets for ZTE’s American carrier partners. To build a connection with New York customers is crucial for ZTE’s branding in the US. In October 2014, ZTE announced from Madison Square Garden that the company was the official smartphone sponsor of the Knicks for the 2014-2015 NBA season. The deal with the Knicks gives ZTE access to LED signage inside and outside the venue, with a guaranteed number of minutes per home game. In addition, the company can run in-game promotions, such as “Getting You Closer” lucky draws for seat upgrades.

ZTE’s Branding ActivitiesZTE Presents Sweetwater Clifton City Spirit AwardEach month, the Knicks recognize a Sweetwater Clifton City Spirit Award winner. The award is named in honor of the late Knicks great Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, who was the first African-American to play for the

ZTE’s Branding Activities Derrick Rose Bobble Head NightThe Bulls and ZTE presented Derrick Rose bobble head night on February 27. It was ZTE’s first sponsored night with the Chicago Bulls. The first 10,000 fans who entered the arena received a Derrick Rose Bobble Head courtesy of ZTE. In order to enhance the fan’s experience for the game, ZTE teamed up with the official wireless sponsor of the Chicago Bulls, AT&T. Fans was in for a treat at halftime as legend player Toni Kukoc made a surprise appearance in the AT&T Sports Zone area for a meet and greet. While fans were waiting to meet Toni, they were exposed to digital signage around the area promoting ZMAX 2 and the latest AT&T offers.

Knickerbockers. Winners were recognized at center court of Madison Square Garden on a monthly basis throughout the Knicks season and receive a $2,000 donation to a charity of their choice. ZTE presented the award for the 2015-2016 season.

On April 6, at the Knicks vs. Hornets game at Madison Square Garden, Michael and Marc Guberti of Scarsdale received the award as the final recipients of this season. ZTE donated another $2000 as an added bonus. The winner of January, the family of late NYPD Detective Joseph Lemm also received a $2000 donation and a ZTE Spro 2 smart projector as a good will from ZTE. The winners of February and March received ZTE Spro 2 as additional prizes too. Moreover, ZTE held a Sweetwater Clifton Sweepstakes event throughout the season. By nominating their local hero, the Knicks fans will be entered for a chance to win an AXON smartphone from ZTE and two tickets to an upcoming Knicks game.

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ZTE plans to raise its brand awareness in Europe in 2016. Spain, one of ZTE’s most important markets in Europe, is the first European country ZTE has implemented sports marketing. With the goal of doubling its market share in Spain, ZTE chose football, the most popular sport in Europe, as a branding platform.

Sevilla FC is Spain’s oldest football club solely devoted to football. It is the most successful club in Andalusia, winning five Spanish Cups and a record five UEFA League titles.


On February 21, right before the opening of Mobile World Congress 2016, ZTE announced the signing of a sponsorship deal with Sevilla Football Club to serve as the club’s “Official Technology Partner”. This sponsorship seals the deal for ZTE to be the official smartphone of the team. Apart from sharing a love of football, ZTE and Sevilla FC also embrace similar values. They draw strength from their fans and provide a community base centered on that fan dedication. With this agreement, both ZTE and Sevilla FC will carry out several events throughout the season to engage with fans.

ZTE’s Branding Activities 1. ZTE Europe Tour at SevillaOn May 8, Sevilla Football Club played their last home game in the La Liga season. ZTE’s Experience Tour bus that showcased ZTE devices and related fun activities parked outside the court. Fans were invited to shoot football through the holes in a board. Those who succeeded got a prize of free movie tickets. This ball shooting game attracted many participants. Participants were also invited to eat blue lollipops, take a funny selfie with their blue tongues and post their selfies on ZTE’s Twitter account.

Sevilla Football ClubCity: Sevilla Founded: 1890 League: La Liga

2. ZTE Sponsors Copa del ReyOn May 22, Sevilla and Barcelona played in the Copa del Rey final. ZTE was an official Copa del Rey sponsor and its logo appeared on Sevilla FC team’s official uniforms, on the front of players’ shorts. In addition, ZTE’s Experience Tour bus stopped near the stadium. A large number of people came to the bus to try out ZTE’s devices and participate in fun activities.


In May, ZTE announced its partnership with the top German football team Borussia Mönchengladbach. Under the agreement, ZTE becomes an official co-sponsor and smartphone partner of the team. At a joint press conference held at BORUSSIA-PARK, ZTE presented its new smartphone models, ZTE Blade V7 and ZTE Blade V7 Lite. Borussia Mönchengladbach and ZTE share common passions for sports, technology and their fans. Their partnership is designed to bring the two cultures together while unlocking key growth markets for both partners.

ZTE already employs a total of around 1,000 staff in Germany. The company’s headquarters is in Düsseldorf, close to Mönchengladbach. In Munich, ZTE also operates one of its seven design centers around the world, with a total of over 600 employees.

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Germany

Spain

Borussia Mönc-hengladbach

City: Mönchengladbach Founded: 1900 League: Bundesliga

Football & Rugby Sponsorships

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ZTE Grand X Max 2Powerful ConfigurationZTE Grand X Max 2 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm MSM8952 processor with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB ROM. The phone has no hiccups when you play large 3D games. The phone also features a large 3400 mAh battery and supports Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 for fast battery charging.

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Surveys after the match showed that more consumers began to know that ZTE is the smartphone brand sponsoring the Egypt national football team.

Carlton has historically been one of the AFL’s most successful clubs, having won 16 senior VFL/AFL premierships throughout its 150-year history.


In February 2015, ZTE signed a one-year agreement with Carlton Football Club. The sponsorship was extended for the next two seasons. It was announced in November 2015 via a press conference which coincided with Carlton introducing their five new draftees to the media.


In March, ZTE signed a one-year sponsorship deal with the Egypt national football team. ZTE became the first smartphone brand that sponsored a national team in Egypt. Under the deal, the ZTE name will be promoted on the venue during Egypt’s matches qualifying for 2017 African Cup of Nations (AFCON). The African Cup of Nations is the main international association football competition in Africa and is held every two years. Egypt is the most successful national team in Africa, having won the continental title six times in their history and three times in a row. On June 4, Egypt defeated Tanzania 2-0 to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. Egypt returned to the finals of a Nations Cup for the first time since 2010.

ZTE’s Branding Activities

On March 29, Egypt hosted Nigeria in a return leg AFCON qualifier in the coastal city of Alexandria. It was a game crucial for Egypt as a win would secure the team’s passage to AFCON 2017. Before 3pm for the game that would kick off at 7pm, the stadium with a capacity of 10 thousand people was almost filled to the brim. The ZTE logo was featured prominently on the hoardings in the field. Egypt defeated Nigeria by a score of 1-0.

ZTE entered the open channel market in Egypt in 2015. To bolster local branding, ZTE looked to sports sponsorship. The game of football has become a national craze with Egyptians.It seems only natural that ZTE sponsors a football team.

ZTE established an Australian office in 2004 with a focus on working with the mobile operators to bring a range of products including customised, niche and affordable smartphones into the market. In late 2014 the ZTE brand was launched in Australia and is now available in almost all major retailers.

ZTE Australia has built a base foundation and has a strategy in place to accelerate the marketing activity to drive greater share within the Australian device market. Australia has a very strong following of sports and inherits sports culture, which made partnering with famous sporting clubs an ideal choice for ZTE locally.

Egypt

Australia

Egypt National Football TeamAssociation: Egyptian Football AssociationConfederation: CAF (Africa)

City: Melbourne Founded: 1864Competition: Australian Football League

Carlton Football Club

ZTE, as the sponsor of the Egypt national football team, is featured on a major Egyptian newspaper.

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City: Sydney Founded: 1946Grounds: Brookvale Oval Competition: National Rugby League

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Chandler Parsons

Danny Lee

Manly Sea Eagles

Manly has won a total of eight First Grade titles spanning five consecutive decades during their 70-year history.


In November 2015, ZTE signed with Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. The sponsorship was announced via a press conference which coincided with Manly announcing their 70th year celebrations and introducing their new players for the 2016 season.

Chandler Parsons is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies. He played college basketball for the University of Florida and was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 38th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He first signed an endorsement deal with ZTE in 2013. Meet and Greet with Chandler Parsons

On June 9, ZTE hosted a meet and greet at a Cricket Wireless store in Dallas with Chandler Parsons. Parsons took pictures and signed autographs for all his dedicated fans. The radio station, 97.9 The Beat, was also there generating hype for the crowd waiting in line while also promoting the event before and throughout his appearance. ZTE’s product experts also shared with fans things about ZTE and ZTE Grand X Max.

In February, ZTE USA and MetroPCS teamed up for a meet and greet with Chandler Parsons in Dallas. Over 400 people showed up to get up close with Chandler Parsons. ZTE’s product experts were also on-site to educate the fans on Avid Plus and enter them into a drawing for the chance to take home their very own device.

ZTE’s Branding Activities with the Two Clubs

ZTE held a number of activities together with the clubs. These include inner sanctum fan experiences (opportunities for fans and customers to train with the team and lunch with players), fan days (opportunities for fans to get photos with players) and fan bundles (buy ZTE smartphone & receive team jumper).

Although ZTE Australia is still early on the sponsorship path, the initial reports are showing a better-than-expected return in the form of media value. ZTE have had positive feedback from its retail partners about consumers asking for ZTE product, and it is expected that the brand awareness will continue to grow over the second half of this sports season and next season.

The Future Plan

ZTE Australia will maximize and leverage its partnerships with both Manly and Carlton to drive brand awareness. It will continue to look to create “money-can’t-buy” experiences to bring fans closer to the action. It will also continue to look to partner with organizations across sports, arts that share similar values and where meaningful value can be delivered for all parties.

Danny Jin-Myung Lee is a New Zealand professional golfer. Lee turned pro in 2009. ZTE AXON focused on the no-contract high-end market, and there is a great lap between the phone’s target customers and golf fans. In July 2015, ZTE signed the endorsement deal with Danny Lee, and several days after that he earned his first PGA Tour victory at the Greenbrier Classic. He has surged inside the top 50 golfers. He is now a brand ambassador for ZTE’s flagship device, AXON 7.

Athlete Sponsorships

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ZTE Matches Charitable Pledge from Danny Lee Foundation of $8,500

On July 15, ZTE USA announced that following the widespread damage caused by flooding in West Virginia, it will match donations pledged by Danny Lee to The Greenbrier’s Neighbors Loving Neighbors campaign in the amount of $8,500. Danny Lee pledged to donate $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for every eagle he made at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. Carding 17 birdies and no eagles on his way to a second place finish, the Danny Lee Foundation donated $8,500 to The Greenbrier, home to his first PGA Tour victory.

ZTE USA Hosts Danny Lee

On May 23, ZTE USA hosted Danny Lee at ZTE USA’s headquarters in Dallas. ZTE USA invited its employees to come to show their support before Danny Lee competed in the Dean & Deluca Invitational (formerly known as Colonial) in Fort Worth, Texas on May 26-May 29. They could participate in a Q&A with Danny and get some insight into what it’s like to be an Olympic Golfer at such a young age. Those who participated had the chance to win autographed memorabilia and even tickets to the tournament.

Haile Gebrselassie is a retired Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 meters and four World Championship titles in the event. Haile broke 61 Ethiopian national records ranging from 800 meters to the marathon, set 27 world records, and is widely considered the greatest distance runner in history.

Haile Gebrselassie

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ZTE Signs Haile Gebrselassie as Brand Ambassador

Ethiopia is an important market for ZTE. ZTE hopes to further raise awareness of the ZTE brand, as well as engage with local customers on a new level. In 2015, ZTE signed Haile Gebrselassie as its official smartphone brand ambassador for Ethiopia. Alongside this announcement, ZTE also confirmed the Ethiopia availability of two of its best-selling 4G LTE devices.

ZTE’s video featuring Haile Gebrselassie

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calls. You no longer need to unlock the screen, search for a contact, and then dial the number. You only need to take the phone out, turn the screen on (on lock, standby, address book or dialing interface), and place the phone next to your ear. You can then tell your phone to call a specific contact.

Voice-Activated Camera Taking selfies has become a pervasive trend. However, if you have to simultaneously frame the view and tap the shutter, you may shake your hand and your photos will end up being blurry. With AXON

Smart Voice Controlon ZTE AXON 7 ● By He Xiangtao

Voice control is now used on mobile devices, in cars and in homes. The latest iteration of ZTE’s smart voice control on AXON 7 supports a speech recognition rate of 94 percent and a host of voice control functions.

7, you can use the voice commands to take selfies, turn the flashlight off/on, switch between front and rear cameras and turn off the camera.

Music Voice ControlAXON 7 has greatly optimized music voice control. You can tell your phone to play a song, an artist, or locally stored songs. You can also use voice commands to skip songs, pause, adjust volume, move to the next/previous track, repeat a single song, shuffle within a playlist and add a song to Favorites. ZTE has its own special noise elimination algorithm, and you can still control the music under a noisy environment.

Moreover, you can use AXON 7’s voice assistant to start a pre-installed app or a third-party app, turn on/off commonly used system settings and search pictures by time and location.

SummaryAXON 7 has system-level voice control which can even be used offline. In addition to the voice control features mentioned above, the phone also supports driving mode, voice translation, and real-time voice-to-text input, making the phone a strong contender in the high-end smartphone market.

Highly Efficient High-End Hardware SupportAXON 7 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4 GB/6 GB RAM, two dedicated audio chips and 4G network support. Furthermore, the system is optimized to ensure the phone responds and executes voice commands quickly.

A High Recognition Rate AXON 7 has an industry-leading speech recognition rate. This is the result of numerous hardware design adjustments, software parameter tuning, and constant testing and optimization under noisy environments.

Easy to UseOffline SupportAXON 7 supports offline voice recognition and locally loaded speech recognition grammars. Even when there is no network connection or the connection is poor, you can still use your voice to perform local operations such as making phone calls, playing music, taking photos and activating the driving mode. Since there is no round trip to the server, the recognition speed is faster. This also

better protects user’s privacy. Easily ActivatedVoice control functions on AXON 7 are convenient to use. ZTE was the first Android phone maker to use the home button to wake up the assistant. ZTE was also the first to bring about the concept of system-wide voice control. You can start the voice assistant whether you are listening to music or browsing a webpage. ZTE’s voice assistant is a back-end service for the entire phone, and voice is just an alternative input method.

No Conflict Between Voice Input and Operations AXON 7 displays information about voice input and recognition in the notification bar. The displayed content does not cover the entire screen so ZTE’s voice assistant can run parallel to an app that does not require recording. You can use voice service without switching between screens. ZTE was the first to achieve the integration between voice user interface (VUI) and graphical user interface (GUI). Voice- and Motion-Activated DialingVoice and motion control provides a quick and convenient way to make

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You can use your voice to turn on/off settings and open the toolbox.

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10 Creative Product DesignsWe are surrounded by mediocre design. However, the follow-ing creati ve designs are awe-inspiring.

Products we get in touch with are mostly feature-less by design. In fact, designers have many good ideas for remarkable products. The problem lies in the fact that it is diffi cult to translate a design idea into daily use products by using the current technologies. Many amazing products are under development at the labs and may never come to the market due to manufacturability challenges. Few designers can convert every good idea that comes across their minds into a reality.

Some products are only one small step towards a big goal and cannot move into a large-scale pro-ducti on. But they should be encouraged for their creati vity. Many important ideas were ridiculed and rejected before they are accepted. Of course, some creati ve products have already been com-moditi zed. They stand out in a crowded market and may be sold at a relati vely higher price.

Clairy Plant Air CleanerWhile the air cleaners on the market have a high-tech feel, Clairy is an all natural air cleaner. It has a technology unit installed inside the larger fl owerpot. It is linked to a fan that directs polluted indoor air to plant roots. Plants then detoxify the air for your healthy breathing. The device stays connected to its app on your phone via Wi-Fi.

Hover CameraHow do you take a selfi e? Holding your arm out far enough or using a selfi e sti ck? It is not cool. Hover Camera is a totally diff erent thing. Just toss it in the air, and let the camera track your face. The Hover Camera’s coolest feature is its ability to autonomously follow you to snap videos and photos. It has a foldable design.

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The Candle-Powered LED LampSince there are candles, isn’t an LED lamp unnec-essary? This is not the case with Lumir C. This de-vice is an LED lamp powered by a candle. Directly above the candle is a large heatsink that absorbs all the thermal energy coming off the flame. It uses the thermoelectric effect to generate power for the LED, which is at the top of the Lumir C. It can be used for working and reading.

Electromagnetic FanThe traditional electronic fans are noisy and may affect your sleep. Torus is an electric fan oper-ated by electromagnetic rails instead of motors. The very lack of motors also means the Torus fan is stealthily silent. Torus also comes with goose-neck, allowing it to be aimed in almost any direction. It also has an LED strip on the inside, doubling it up as a floor lamp.

Levitating SpeakerThe Mars levitating speaker takes your music to new heights thanks to magnetic technology. It is actually a two-part Bluetooth speaker. The cylindrical base serves as the subwoofer and the UFO-shaped disc that floats above it produces the sounds. The disc will take off when fully charged and will float back down to make a connection to the base when power is low.

Hair DryerDyson Supersonic hair dryer looks more like a karaoke microphone. Similar to Dyson’s blade-less room fans, the dryer is a bladeless, hollow cylinder. It uses Dyson’s patented Air Multiplier technology where air is drawn into the motor at the bottom and amplified when exiting the loop. It is also quiet. To prevent hair damage, it checks the temperature 20 times a second.

Saddle-Shaped Of-fice Chair If you need to spend the ma-jority of your working day in a desk chair, you may experi-ence back pain as a result. W Chair is made to change this. It is a new ergonomic chair with unique geometry that keeps the back straight and reduces pressure on the backbone. It is made from a continuous 3D surface and combines a saddle type seat with two knee supports.

Boeing 737 Engine ChairThis chair is made from the cowling of an actual Boeing 737 engine. It spins weightlessly on a polished aluminum swiveling base. The interior is upholstered in the highest quality leather and the original cowling has been polished to a mirror finish. It is massive, measuring 200 x 200 x 200 cm, and can be made to order and customized according to personal preferences.

Bio Cooler Coca Cola launched a Bio Cooler that uses the sun to cool down the drinks. First, a compartment in the top contains plants and soil. When the plants are watered and much of that water subsequently evaporates, it has a cooling effect on the cham-ber. Second, a mirror in the cooler focuses heat from the sun, and thereby turns an unnamed gas into liquid form to cool down the chamber even further.

Owl CameraParents may install cameras for their house to keep an eye on their children. Most surveillance cameras are ugly. But Ulo is totally different. It is an adorable owl home security camera that com-municates through eye expressions. For example, the owl will look sleepy and tired when the bat-tery is low. The owl’s eyes follow your movement in its vicinity.

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DESIGN & ART

Experience Hi-Fi Audio on Your PhoneWhat is Hi-Fi?

High-Fidelity (Hi-Fi) is high-quality reproduc-ti on of sound. Good sound quality means

that the sound played from a device can achieve high fi delity to the original

sound. Hi-Fi has its own technical standards and is not completely judged by an ear.

Audio professionals use various instruments and means to deter-mine the degree of accuracy in the

reproducti on of the original sound while audiophiles through their ears.

To determine levels of equipment fi -delity, you need not only measurement

equipment and soft ware, but also a good acousti c environment. There is a diff erence

between objecti ve and subjecti ve assessments. However, a criterion is certain: whether the mu-sic played and listened can provide an emoti onal experience that is at once moving.

An audio system is composed of a hearing system, hardware system (audio playback equipment), soft ware system (signal source), and acousti c environment. Audio equipment is tested for performance using a variety of measure-ments including frequency response, signal-to-noise rati o, dynamic range, degree of distorti on,

What is Hi-Fi?

High-Fidelity (Hi-Fi) is high-quality reproduc-ti on of sound. Good sound quality means

that the sound played from a device can achieve high fi delity to the original

sound. Hi-Fi has its own technical standards and is not completely judged by an ear.

Audio professionals use various

mine the degree of accuracy in the reproducti on of the original sound

while audiophiles through their ears. To determine levels of equipment fi -

delity, you need not only measurement equipment and soft ware, but also a good

acousti c environment. There is a diff erence between objecti ve and subjecti ve assessments.

However, a criterion is certain: whether the mu-sic played and listened can provide an emoti onal experience that is at once moving.

An audio system is composed of a hearing system, hardware system (audio playback equipment), soft ware system (signal source), and acousti c environment. Audio equipment is tested for performance using a variety of measure-ments including frequency response, signal-to-noise rati o, dynamic range, degree of distorti on,

transient response, stereo crosstalk, and stereo balance. A Hi-Fi system has great technical specifi cati ons. Development of Hi-Fi on Phones

In 1984, Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, the fi rst handheld cellphone, went on sale. In 2001, Sie-mens SL45, the fi rst mobile phone with memory expansion and an MP3 player, made a debut. Since then, audio quality on a phone has gott en more and more att enti on. In 2012 Vivo released X1, the fi rst smartphone to incorporate a Hi-Fi chip. The traditi onal Hi-Fi industry also began to change.

Since smartphone is now more than a commu-nicati on tool, more and more innovati ons such as fi ngerprint recogniti on and quick charge have been introduced to it. Smartphones are also being asked to provide levels of audio quality far exceeding that of conventi onal phones, parti cu-larly as consumers spend more ti me using their devices as multi media platf orms. A Hi-Fi handset requires an audio decoder chip, an operati onal amplifi er and powerful processing capabiliti es. Diff erent vendors have diff erent soluti ons to a phone’s Hi-Fi audio. A handset is only one part of a Hi-Fi system that converts digital signals into analog signals. Phone audio

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DESIGN & ART

Experience Hi-Fi Audio on Your Phone ● By Huang Shulin

quality also depends on the performance of a phone’s stock earphones and audio sources.

Surveys on Handset Hi-Fi

In recent years, more and more handset vendors begin to compete on Hi-Fi. Through a survey on 227 owners of Hi-Fi phones in China, we found that 57% of them did not know about the smartphone Hi-Fi before they bought the phone and sti ll knew litt le about the Hi-Fi feature aft er they bought the phone. Only 36% users would buy headphones separately. Among factors that aff ect consumers’ purchasing decisions, sound quality doesn’t rank fi rst. It can be seen that Hi-F hasn’t become irresisti bly att racti ve for the masses.

Regarding audio source, most users selected

high-quality audio fi les. 44% of the users would download music in a lossless format. Consumers are sti ll enthusiasti c about high-quality sound, but are less unwilling to pay extra money to enjoy bett er sound quality.

Smartphones have risen from a gadget to neces-sity. Another survey of us showed that 82% of users listened to music on their phone during a trip. In the future, smartphones will bring about bett er sound quality and value for the masses, even replacing traditi onal Hi-Fi equipment.

ZTE’s Development of Phone Audio

In September 2014, ZTE established the “Smart Voice Alliance” and announced the “5A” pro-tocol, which is the world’s fi rst voice controlled technology alliance for mobiles. This partnership includes other leading enterprises in the industry such as Audience, Nuance, AutoNavi and the Chi-nese Academy of Sciences. In December 2014, ZTE launched Star 2, a 4G LTE fl agship voice controlled device, which won great att enti on from the industry and media.

In 2015, ZTE launched AXON that provides Hi-Fi recording and playback features. The phone inherits the merits of the Star series, and also delivers improvements in audio playback quality when compared with other fl agship smartphones

It boasts a premium 32-bit DAC, a 120dB SNR and –112dB total harmonic distorti on and noise (THD+N).

In May 2016, AXON 7, the successor to AXON, was launched. The phone brings enhanced audio and video experience to users. It uses circuit board shielding design to ensure audio purity in playback and recording and to improve transient responses and conversion accuracy of voice signals. It implements three channels of echo cancellati on so that it can perform HD recording within a range of 8 meters. It also supports sound pickup from a 360-degree radius, background noise cancellati on using adapti ve algorithms and a dual microphone noise suppression system. Comparable to a professional recording device, the phone has high signal-to-noise rati o and is able to fi gure out the directi on of sound to secure the highest recording quality. In additi on, ZTE’s engineers have also consulted with pro-fessors from the Xi’an Conservatory of Music. They together fi ne-tuned AXON 7’s equalizati on (EQ) and smart power amplifi er (PA) gain, fi xed the phone’s vocal sibilance eff ect, improved its musicality and calibrated the audio performance of the headphones and dual speakers. The phone is sure to please audiophiles out there.

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Panoramas are a great way of capturing scenes which are too wide to fit in a conventional photo. Most of the smartphones come with a panorama function. Panorama images often go wrong because they are extremely difficult to create. With some tips and accessories, you’ll have a much easier time shooting the right kind of images.

Why it is difficult to shoot panoramas? Panoramas are not spontaneous point-and-shoot photography but have high requirements on picture composition, exposure skill, and shooting process. Learning some panoramic shooting tips would be helpful when you go on a trip and encounter wide landscapes.

Panoramic Shooting TipsIt is easy to find the panorama function on both iOS and Android devices. Just pan the camera to the end of the guide in the direction of the arrow to take a panoramic photo.

Skill 1: Keep Your Camera Steady and LevelYou start by opening the native camera app, then swipe through the different shooting modes, until

you find the panorama mode. Do not pan your phone too fast or too slowly. Moving your phone slowly and steadily from left to right is the key to a successful panorama. Keep your mobile phone level the entire time. Otherwise, the previous image may be lower than the next one, which puts the photos out of line when stitched together.

To shoot a high-quality panorama, you need to keep the arrow on the line displayed. If you deviate not much from the line, your phone will automatically smooth the edges and create near-perfect panoramas. For some Android phones, panorama shooting ends if you move too much.

Skill 2: Lock Exposure and FocusKeeping your phone steady is important for

panorama shooting.

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How to Take Great Panoramic Photos on Your Phone?

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Equipment: Auto Panoramic TripodsHandheld shooting cannot guarantee a smooth and even motion. A phone accessory can help. With a 360-degree panoramic tripod, your camera rotates stably and smoothly, completely avoiding parallax errors.

Spinpod is a small dock-like device which rotates to combine with the panoramic function of your smartphone, to create a seamless panorama. Its slot fits most Android phones, while a thumb-wheel is used to lock the phone in position. The battery lasts 10 hours of panoramic use, and it can be charged via micro USB.

Veho Muvi 100-XL can also rotate a full circle to create a 360-degree panoramic photo. It has its own three fold-out stabilizers and a holder for smartphones. You can also mount actions camera GoPro after you unscrew the smartphone mount.

Something Fun to TryMake Your Subject Show up Repeatedly Panorama works best with still or slow-moving objects. Cars, people and other moving objects would ruin the shot. If you shoot the panorama in the same direction and at a similar speed as the moving object, the object can appear in the frame multiple times.

You can have a lot of fun with this panoramic feature. For example, you can have repeat appearances of a figure across the panorama. Ask a person to stand in the scene to the extreme left of the frame. Start your panoramic shot and slowly pan to the right. As soon as that person is out of the frame, ask them to walk around you from behind and stand to your right. After you finish the panorama, you will see the person appear in the photo twice.

360-Degree Circular Panoramas360-degree circular panoramas are miniature planets made of a photographic panorama. To create this, you have to use Photoshop or an app.

Using Photoshop is a bit complicated. After opening a panorama in Photoshop, use the guide lines in Photoshop to ensure that your horizon is level. Then make the image a square, invert the image and apply the Polar Coordinates distortion filter. Circular+ is a photo-taking application. Just follow its instructions to snap circular images. You can also add professional effects such as lens flares and sky objects like the sun, moon, planets, and birds.

It’s important to set the exposure correctly because panoramas have large depths of field. If you are in a mixed-light situation, you need to lock exposure before you start your panorama. Tap and hold on the region of the screen where you want focus and exposure to be locked onto. This feature exists in most Android phones.

Locking exposure and focus ensures that the subject in a panorama is beautiful and clear. In auto mode, two adjacent images may have different exposure or focal points.

Skill 3: Select a Place and a Starting PointIt is best if you can find a location where you can shoot from a high vantage point. For example, you can stand on a highland opposite

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to a mountain, river, lake and sea or on the rooftop. When shooting a panorama, you should stay far away from the subject. If you point the camera upward or downward, or if you stay too near to the subject, you may have image distortion. You should also pay attention to the start of a panoramic shot. You can start by focusing on an open place or water surface. In this way, the panorama is centered around the subject and is flat on both sides. It is not advised to choose a building or mountain top as the starting or ending point; otherwise the image seems incomplete.

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Sketch ClubSketch Club is a powerful digital art tool paired with a vibrant community of artists across all skill levels. Here you can upload your sketches to let others rate and comment on your work, as well as enter daily challenges and fun weekly competitions. The app is suitable for entry-level users who want to focus more on their creation rather than trying to figure out the complicated tools. The toolbar looks simple but provides a wide array of functions. The app has a unique set of flexible digital brushes, pens, vector tools, old-school pixel art, and fun procedural tools. It also has up to 64 layers with configurable blending, naming, and color tag-ging and up to 4K canvas size with presets including standard 300 DPI print sizes.

Infinite PainterInfinite Painter is a comprehensive drawing platform. Its features include plenty of realistic and customizable brush styles, multiple symmetry modes, and color blending and image correction tools. It supports pressure sensitivity and has a canvas that supports multi-touch. It allows users to

import images from the phone’s gal-lery, camera and/or Google’s image search to place them on the canvas and to work with as many as six dif-ferent drawing layers. It auto-saves progress at frequent intervals. Best of all, it provides a user-friendly interface.

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For Entry-Level Users

Drawing is a form of self expression and an effective way to relieve stress. It can even be useful for brainstorming and problem-solving. Drawing and sketching used to be done with pencil and paper. Nowadays, drawing can be done digitally. Your smartphone or tablet can become a sketch book if you download some drawing apps. We’ve picked some apps ranging from professional-grade apps to simple tools for doodling.

Apps for Drawing and Art ● By Yu Jun

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FlowpaperFlowpaper is an interactive drawing tool that lets you make beautiful flowing paintings using your fingertip. Every line you draw flows from your fingertip, and radiates from that point as though you’re making a colorful mixture of fractals and spider webs. You can try to craft specific shapes, or simply randomly draw on screen. No matter what path you choose, the results look abso-lutely exquisite with layered color flowing across the screen. You can use the image as wallpaper for your device or share it on social media.

GeommeGeomme lets you create beautiful drawings using simple geometry and a grid. Instead of using your finger as a brush, you can draw exact and precise shapes by connecting dots on a grid with it. With only a few gestures, you’ll be able to draw polygons, circles, half circles and circular segments. The toolbar houses only a small set of tools. The color palette offers a simple intui-tive way to pick colors, and there’s even a color wheel that helps you choose colors that fit well together.

LEBLOXLEBLOX allows you to create a pixilated version of an object by adding or deleting colored cubes through a fun and user-friendly interface. You can create your own design from scratch, or start from a pre-defined set of Blox (charac-ters, animals, vehicles) and customize it. Your creations can then be shared, and even 3D printed. When you open the app, you will see the world in pixels through the latest “news & selection” and also discover all the creations published by the creative community.

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For Pros

For Fun

SketchBook SketchBook is a go-to app for artists on-the-go. It has more than 10 preset brushes, including customizable pencils, pens, and markers that deliver a natural drawing experience. It also features a full screen workspace and unobtru-sive user interface. You can control the finest details of your art with up to a 2500% zoom. Pro features are available for purchase in-app or free with a SketchBook Pro membership.

Auryn InkThis watercoloring app offers effects that simu-late real watercolor painting. It allows for wet on wet, wet on dry and glazing effects. Based on the tilt of your device, colors run down the surface, bleed and spread out to create darker edges just like real watercolor. You can control the brush stroke pressure and the pigment thickness. You can also control the brush tip’s size, bristle pat-terns and head profile shape.

Procreate Procreate is a professional-level medium that enables tablet users to compose multi-layer illus-trations using numerous brushes and a mistake-friendly undo tool. Procreate Pocket, the phone version of Procreate, incorporates nearly every tool from Procreate, including the multitouch color wheel, filters, layer blend modes, and Freehand Selection and Transform tools.

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AXON 7, after 18 months of devel-opment, was launched in Beijing in May. It delivers amazing sound and photographing experience. It dem-onstrates ZTE’s unremitting pursuit for excellence. We will take you to ZTE’s labs to uncover the secrets behind its success.

Perfect Sound AXON 7 sports two dedicated audio chips to ensure quality sound. Apart from powerful sound hardware, a top-notch audio experience also requires continuous improvements by audio test engineers, audio calibration engineers, and music experts. ZTE’s engineers compared more than 10 flagship handsets under blind listening tests. They lis-tened to different sound repeatedly, described the differences they could hear, made analysis and then fine-tuned the sound output of AXON 7. The audio calibration covers recording, Hi-Fi, media streaming, and subjective/objective assess-ment. There are more than 100 test versions and parameters. The

The Story Behind ZTE AXON 7● By Tai Yongcong

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Engineers are monitoring audio parameters.

engineers compared various sound effects every day, and the total test time was over 320 hours.

The company also consulted with the professors of Xi’an Conservato-ry of Music. They have “the golden ear” for music and helped perfect the sound quality. With the joint ef-forts of these professors and ZTE’s engineers, AXON 7 finally achieved immersive theater-like sound. In addition, AXON 7 provides industry-leading Hi-Fi recording function.

The phone is endorsed by Lang Lang, a world-renowned pianist. An audio engineer said: “The phone and the artist is a great match. Hope everyone can experience the stunning audio quality of AXON 7.”

Perfect Image Quality AXON 7 comes with an impressive camera specification that includes a 20-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL sensor, an f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilization (OIS), phase detection autofocus and closed

loop motor.

AXON 7 outperforms iPhone 6s Plus when it comes to a key OIS parameter. It has lower attenua-tion rate than iPhone 6s Plus when the vibration frequency is 5 Hz or 7 Hz. It is better than mainstream smartphones in terms of indoor, macro and landscape photography.

It is also better than iPhone 6s Plus in terms of HDR effect, portraits shoot with flash and overall picture clarity. ZTE employed a fast iterative design approach. The iteration of a ver-sion took about 1.5 days, and the number of formal, temporary, and build versions reached more than

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200. The incremental development process helped ZTE get ever closer to the perfect photography effect. ZTE also organized a 100-people team that was responsible for image quality evaluation. The team includes professional photogra-phers, image calibration engineers, optical engineers, and end-users. Each time after the camera was improved, the team would take photos in more than 30 scenarios including landscapes, portraits and night scenes. They compared the photograph effect with that of other camera phones, and gave feedbacks to the R&D team for further optimization. Such strict process was repeated more than

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50 times.

“Our goal is to allow users to al-ways take quality point-and-shoot photos.” said an optical engineer.

Perfect Signal Strength It is very difficult to build an all-metal smartphone because metal can block radio signals. Initial users of iPhone 4 claimed that covering the lower-left gap of the phone caused a significant drop in reception. However, signal strength of the all-metal AXON 7 is as good as that of a plastic smartphone.

AXON 7 is a multi-band multi-

mode device. There are high requirements on the overall performance of the multiple antennas in the phone. The phone uses Qualcomm’s antenna switch-ing diversity (AsDIV) to solve the death-grip antenna problem. When you hold the phone on both sides, the antenna in a relative position will be activated to ensure the best signal quality. The engineers subdivided the total radiated power (TRP) and total istropic sensitiv-ity (TIS) parameters for the OTA testing, and controlled the antenna status through setting up the soft-ware. They tested the performance of each antenna, in unobstructed free space, in the presence of head and hand, and in the hand-held

mode. The continuous process of debugging, testing and verifica-tion enabled the engineers to overcome many challenges. For example, ZTE made break-through in peak LTE MIMO and Wi-Fi MIMO speeds, enabling a smoother user experience.

“My biggest achievement is to make AXON 7 a smartphone with strong signals and good conversation quality.” said an OTA engineer.

Perfect Touch Control AXON 7 features a 2K 2.5D screen and ultra-thin bezels. There is a high requirement on the display because a 2‰ error may cause misoperations on the edge of the screen. The problem was solved after the engineers tried over 20 optimization solutions. AXON 7 also supports glove mode, screen off gesture, and window view leather flip case. The engineers calibrated the touchscreen sensitivity in each mode. They obtained a set of optimum parameters after a series of testings so that users could hardly notice the change in brightness when using the phone, while the display main-tained a proper brightness. It took the engineers 10 hours to test a combination and almost a month to complete all the tests.

Another difficulty was that the screen flashed when the user adjusted the brightness. Techni-cal personnel in Xi’an and Nanjing R&D Centers were called out to participate in the sensor tests. Five engineers worked on it for two consecutive weeks and veri-fied seven versions.

OTA antenna testing

Engineers are using ISO 12233 for resolution measurement.

Specific absorption rate (SAR) testing

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zte grand x max 2: big and impressive zte blade v7 max: a

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