ZTE, best known for its more budget smartphone entry, is trying to break the mold and reach for the more premium handset market and the Chinese phone-maker is doing this with the Mimosa X. Announced ahead of  the Mobile World Congress trade show, ZTE announced the phone, which will probably hover between the mid-tier and premium handset categories. With all the excitement around the Mimosa X, it seems that ZTE cannot wait for MWC to start as the outfit has already announced its dual-core number.

The ZTE Mimosa X will have a 4.3-inch qHD resolution display and will run Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The phone will be powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 processor. However, this will be the first phone to debut NVIDIA’s wireless capabilities as NVIDIA is looking to create an all-in-one SoC implementation to better compete against companies like Qualcomm. The Mimosa X will utilize NVIDIA’s Icera technology, which combines a 21 Mbps HSPA+ radio, which can be deemed 4G by U.S. carriers, as well as the baseband radio.

The phone will have 4 GB of on-board storage, a 5-megapixel camera, and all the radios and sensors that are found on a typical modern day smartphone. Additionally, ZTE partnered with Dolby to bring a more premium sound experience to the Mimosa X.

Press release:

First Tegra-powered Smartphone Announced with NVIDIA’s

Icera Modem Technology

 

New ZTE Mimosa X Brings the NVIDIA Mobile Experience to the Mainstream Market

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Feb. 20, 2012—NVIDIA and ZTE today announced the ZTE Mimosa X, the first smartphone to be powered both by the NVIDIA® Tegra® application processor and its Icera® modem, which came to NVIDIA through its Icera acquisition in mid-2011.

“The ZTE Mimosa X is exciting for a few reasons,” said Michael Rayfield, General Manager of the Mobile business at NVIDIA. “The Mimosa X marks the first time NVIDIA technology powers all the major processors in a single smartphone, and also the first time a premium mobile computing experience is coming to the mainstream smartphone market.”

The Mimosa X is powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor, featuring a dual-core CPU and GeForce® GPU, and the NVIDIA Icera 450 HSPA+ modem, comprising baseband and RF processors, featuring excellent throughput and low power.  It will run Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0), feature a 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) screen, rear 5 MP and front cameras, and 4 GB of storage expandable to 32 GB.

The ZTE Mimosa X will deliver super multimedia capabilities, including advanced audio distribution profile (A2DP), Dolby sound, digital living network alliance (DLNA) compatibility for easy sharing of content, HD video record and play, dual microphones, and built-in gyroscope.

The Mimosa X will be launched around Q2 2012. Positioned squarely for the mainstream market, it brings new levels of performance and connectivity to this large segment of users.

Consumers will now be able to use a mainstream smartphone to experience the same speedy web browsing, smooth multitasking, and HD video, as well as console-quality gaming with TegraZone, that was previously available only in high-end phones. TegraZone™ is NVIDIA’s free Android Market app that showcases the best games optimized for the Tegra processor.

The NVIDIA Icera 450 supports up to 21Mbps category 14 HSPA+ with fast downloads in fading channels, IceClear™ interference cancellation technology for even faster throughput at the cell edge and advanced Release 7 features for an ultra-low latency network response.