ZTE Tempo Go: The First Android Go Phone To Be Sold in The USA

• ZTE launches ZTE Tempo Go - an Android Go powered smartphone, in the US market.
• The phone is priced at $79, boasts entry-level specs, but being powered by Android Go, the device performance should not be too much compromised.
• Besides ZTE, five other companies are planning to manufacture Android Go phones.

Android Go, a stripped down version of vanilla Android was announced last year as a dedicated OS for entry-level smartphones (which lacks the adequate hardware to power stock Android) in developing markets. Now, although the US is by no means a developing market, people might appreciate a low-key, Android-powered smartphone that comes with a budget-friendly price tag. ZTE took note of this, and launched the first Android Go phone in the US - the ZTE Tempo Go.

Image Courtesy of The Verge

Priced at $79.99, the ZTE Tempo Go is not an eye candy by any means. It sports a 5-inch display with big bezels, and a low 480 X 854 resolution. If you look at its spec sheet, there too you will find an unimpressive entry-level Snapdragon 210 chipset clocked at 1.1 GHz, with a mere 1 GB RAM and a measly 8 GB storage. However, this will not be a problem with the lightweight and less resource hungry Android Go operating system.

Now, even though the OS is designed to run on low spec devices, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will not get phenomenal performance from the ZTE Tempo Go. It is designed to offer a usable Android experience in a low budget smartphone that has crippling hardware. The ideal use case for the ZTE Tempo Go would be as a secondary / backup phone.

Besides ZTE, five other companies announced plans to manufacture Android Go phones. Now although ZTE might have won the race to come out with the first Android Go phone, Alcatel is in hot pursuit and has already stated plans to launch its Alcatel 1X Android Go device, which will be priced at $100.

It should be noted that the other companies, unlike ZTE, don't include the US in the target demographic for their Android Go phones. In fact, they are most interested in countries like India and Africa.