ZTE Blade L2 has a big screen and a low, low price

ZTE Blade L2 has a big screen and a low, low price
Can the Blade L2 cut it at the budget end?

Chinese firm ZTE loves churning out low cost smartphones and it's hit the UK again with two more affordable options in the form of the Blade L2 and Kis 3 exclusive to Virgin Media.

The more interesting of the two is the ZTE Blade L2 which sports a large 5-inch display and quad-core processor for the small price tag of £89.99.

While that sounds like a good deal there are a few compromises, the first of which is the 480 x 854 resolution of the display providing a rather paltry 195ppi - expect the pixels to be right up in your face here.

The 1.3GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM bring the respectability of the Blade L2 back up a notch and are tasked with running the now rather old Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS, and the 4GB of internal storage is very low.

There's good news in the camera department with a both a rear 5MP snapper and front 0.3MP offering on the Blade L2, while a 2000mAh battery resides inside.

Sealed with a Kis

Meanwhile the ZTE Kis 3 will set you back just £59.99, but has an advantage over the L2 as it's running the newer Android 4.4 KitKat software.

ZTE Kis 3

The ZTE Kis 3 low cost smartphone

You also get a 4-inch 480 x 800 display, 3MP rear camera, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and a microSD slot.

The budget end of the mobile market is now fiercely competitive and with strong contenders such as the Nokia Lumia 520, Motorola Moto E, EE Kestrel, Lumia 630 and Moto G these ZTE handsets have an uphill battle on their hands.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.