ZTE Aims for Foreign Markets with Nubia Smartphone Line

Chinese handset manufacturer ZTE has, like nearly every smartphone maker that isn’t Samsung or Apple, had a hard time making headway in the U.S. market. Indeed, despite massive success in its home country as well as internationally — the company actually ranked fourth last year in annul mobile phone shipments according to IDC — ZTE is better known in some areas of the world for its video conferencing and telecommunications products.

However, the company’s recent unveiling of a new line of smartphones suggests it’s looking to change this. Called Nubia, this line of handsets is more high-end than ZTE’s prior offerings. In fact, its new flagship, the Nubia Z5S, features specs — a five-inch 1080p display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, for starters — that put it in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S4 or Nexus 5.

The device, and its smaller Z5S mini variant, will be available for pre-order in China by the end of the month. They will also make an appearance in foreign markets, including the U.S. and Europe, by the first quarter of 2014.

This isn’t the first time ZTE has targeted the U.S. market, but its strategy with the Nubia line is different than before. Historically, the company has taken a business-to-business approach with its handsets. For example, its devices are often sold as unbranded phones to mobile carriers.

Nubia, on the other hand, represents a push by ZTE to popularize its brand in more markets. In fact, an independently managed team was created last year to focus specifically on this aim. The result of this team’s work is the Nubia line, which will be sold around the world at affordable prices, despite their premium specs.

Unfortunately, ZTE’s strategy of selling to retailers like Amazon.com, Target and RadioShack rather than mobile operators just doesn’t work as well in the U.S. as it does in China. As such, ZTE plans to keep volumes low in the U.S. for now, until the Nubia brand gains recognition. At that point, ZTE says it may consider working directly with carriers.