ZTE SmartHome revealed as ZigBee-enabled home control device

By Chris Burns/July 15, 2015 4:51 pm EST

This week at MWC Shanhai 2015, ZTE revealed the ZTE SmartHome, a device they call their "first ever smart home gateway." This device works with wireless protocol, ZigBee, and 4G LTE connectivity for always-connected functionality. This device is set to be the center of your smart home, with an application for smartphones and tablets to control smart home devices of all sorts. In addition to a ZTE-made app for mobile devices, this device can also be controlled via web browser from Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Google Chrome.

ZTE Mobile Device CEO Adam Zeng spoke up this week at MWC Shanhai on this release. "The smart home revolution is fast upon us," said Zeng, "and our strong track record in R&D has allowed us to deliver an innovative product to support this emerging trend." ZTE is confident that they'll be able to jump in on smarthome electronics very, very soon.

Specifications and connections on this device are as follows:

AP: Ralink3352

Modem:MDM9225

LTE FDD Band 1,2,4(3),5,7,8,20(12,13,17,28)

LTE TDD Band 38(40,41)

DC-HSPA+ /HSPA/UMTS Band 1,2,4,5,8

EDGE/GPRS/GSM Quad Band

LTE FDD DL/UL 150M/50Mbps

LTE TDD DL/UL 110M+/10M+bps

DC-HSPA+ DL/UL 42M/5.76Mpbs

195mm*150mm*55mm

4*RJ 45+2*RJ11+1*USB-A

Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n 2x2MIMO

Wi-Fi 300Mbps, up to 32 users

WAN/LAN port

Support CSFB

Support USB storage

IPv6

Web UI , ZTE WIFI monitor

TR069/Fota upgrade (customized)

WPS

Internal Antenna (external antenna compatible, SMA interface)

Browser: IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Chrome

While this is the first ZTE-made smarthome device, we can't imagine a world where it'll be the last. ZTE is one of several Asia-based brands taking a global stance this upcoming year, and with trends like smarthomes and wearables ramping up, ZTE will be riding this wave.

See our article by JC Torres by the name "Go West: The march of Chinese Mobile OEMs to the U.S.". Also have a peek at the ZTE Axon, just the latest in a line of USA-aimed smartphones made to take on the biggest names in smartphone manufacturing.