ZTE Targets Lead In US Prepaid Market With $199.99 6-inch Grand X Max+

Chinese electronics giant ZTE on Monday announced the $199.99 6-inch Grand X Max+ smartphone at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The tech company is hoping the device, which comes with no contract and features specs typically reserved for high-end devices, will catapult it to the top spot in the U.S. prepaid phone market.

Besides its 6-inch HD screen, the Grand X Max+ comes with a 13-mexapixel rear-view camera, 5-mp front-facing camera and 16-gigabytes of storage. The gadget will go on sale in the U.S. Friday exclusively through Cricket Wireless.

ZTE has been steadily working to increase its reach and brand awareness in the U.S. market and currently holds the No. 2 spot in market share for prepaid phones sold in the U.S., behind Samsung. The Chinese company believes a high-quality device like the Grand X Max+ could help it overtake its South Korean rival.

"We understand that to be a big global player you need to be successful in the United States," said Andrew Elliott, senior director of strategic marketing for ZTE USA. "If you can be successful here, if you can be successful in China, odds are probably going to be working better for you that you will be a successful global brand."