Verdict at first
ZTE Grand Memo is one of the biggest smartphones out there with a beautiful 5.7 inches screen and the biggest battery of the market. This is not a camera phone and this is not the definition of portability but you will enjoy games, photos and movies on that phone. So if you want one of the biggest screens of the market on a low price and you cannot afford one of the premium 5 inches phones, then this is your choice.
Let’s see the main reasons to buy and not to buy ZTE Grand Memo.
6 reasons to buy ZTE Grand Memo
Big screen: A 5.7 inches screen is something you will notice when you get this phone. The screen is huge. Big screen smartphones are selling a lot lately because they combine a smartphone with a tablet. That’s why they are called phablets. ZTE Grand Memo has a bright HD 5.7 inches screen with 257 pixels per inch. It’s close to Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (with 267PPI), is better than Samsung Mega (233PPI) but far away from premium phones like Galaxy S4 (441PPI), Xperia Z (441PPI) and even Huawei Ascend D2 (443PPI). But the screen is big and good.
Great battery: The battery on ZTE Grand Memo is bigger than every other Android phone. We are talking about a 3.200mAh battery that is on top of the market along with Samsung Mega. It’s good to have such a big battery as the big screen consumes a lot of it. ZTE Grand Memo has no battery app included but if you follow some battery tips, your battery will last forever (almost).
Fast processor: In some countries ZTE Grand Memo has a quad core processor at 1.7GHz and 2GB of RAM. In others it has a dual core processor at 1.5GHz and 1GB of RAM. The quad core version is really fast and you can do all multitasking stuff you want to do. The quad core version is slightly faster than Galaxy Note 2 and much faster than Samsung Mega. The dual core version is just moderate but can compete Samsung Mega. I try to understand why Huawei and ZTE release two versions of the same phone in different markets.
Camera light and zoom control: I like the camera light control menu. It’s right on the screen and you can instantly control the light on the photo and the zoom. Although I never use the zoom function on any smartphone, it’s good to control the zoom and the light so easily. I never go to settings more than twice in the lifetime of a smartphone, at the beginning and after the first shot. Then I never come back but when the preferences are there right on your screen, you can’t resist to play with them.
Notification bar: ZTE Grand Memo has almost a stock version of Android like Google Android devices (like Nexus 4). You will not find a lot of apps to play with but you will find this useful notification bar with all the essential controls on it. You can open and close the Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth the Data and more with just one move and this is truly helpful.
Weather gadget: I like this weather gadget ZTE has on this phone. It’s beautiful and it gives you simply all the weather info. You can add a city manually and it works, not like some HTC painful weather gadgets and you can see a little cowslip under the clock that is beautiful but not useful at all.
2 reasons not to buy ZTE Grand Memo
Camera: The camera is 8MP but is not what you expect from such a phone. In reality having such a big device makes photo shooting a bit difficult so I am not sure if you will use ZTE Grand Memo as a photo replacement. But if you do so, keep in mind that the quality of this 8MP camera is not as good as in other 8MP cameras like HTC One X, Nexus 4 or Samsung Galaxy S3.
Design: The design of ZTE Grand Memo is not beautiful. It looks heavy and big (although it is big). It’s also plastic enough. The back is plastic and ugly plastic. There is an aluminum line between the back and the front but it will not win a design award. Moreover on the back, the camera is not protected as it gets out of the main body so it’s easier to hurt the glass of the camera. You don’t call it a modern design.
More + and – about ZTE Grand Memo
+1: The radio app: you can listen to radio from any place
-1: No scene selection on the camera
-1: The weather need the data enabled to stay on the screen
+1: File manager app preinstalled on the phone
+1: DLNA technology to connect with your TV
-1: Android versions 4.1 (will be ever updated?)
-1: Cannot control it with just one hand
+1: Back up and restore app preinstalled
-1: No dedicated multitasking button
Video Review of ZTE Grand Memo
Specs rating of ZTE Grand Memo
| Spec | ZTE Grand Memo | Compared to: | with spec: | Score | Buy now: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 8.5 | iPhone 5 | 7.6 | 88% | |
| Weight | 120 | HTC Desire C | 100 | 80% | |
| Screen PPI | 257 | HTC One | 469 | 55% | |
| Camera MP | 13 | Nokia Pureview | 41 | 32% | |
| 2nd Camera | 1.0 | Sony Xperia Z | 2.2 | 45% | |
| Processor | 4 * 1.7 | Samsung S4 | 8 * 1.6 | 53% | |
| RAM MB | 2000 | HTC One | 2000 | 100% | |
| Battery mAh | 3200 | Samsung Mega | 3200 | 100% | |
| Android | 4.1 | Google Nexus 4 | 4.2 | 83% | |
| SAR | 1.11 | - | 0.00 | 45% | |
| Release Date | 2013-03 | - | Today | 83% | |
| Our view | 75% | - | 100% | 75% | |
| AVC rating method | Total Rating | 70.0% | Best price |
You can compare ZTE Grand Memo to all Android smartphones.