Meizu MX gets official debut in China with tweaks

The Meizu MX had its formal launch on New Year's Day both in mainland China and Hong Kong. In a repeat of last year's M9, lines in at least some locations were long at a level normally only seen for Apple launches, with over 900 seen at the Hong Kong store. Allegations in 2011 that Meizu had stacked the lines have faded this year as Meizu still had to control lines by asking most in line to come only when called.

The device has also undergone some changes even in the month-long interval between unveiling and release. It now runs the dual-core processor at 1.4GHz as a matter of course rather than being underclocked to 1GHz and needing to be brought back up manually. Buttons should also be slightly easier to use, and the eight-megapixel camera's lens now has an anti-smudge coating.

Both the MX and the M9 will get upgrades to Android 4.0 with Meizu's custom Flyme ("fly me") interface on top, Meizu said. The M9 is now down to $270 off-contract, or slightly over half the $476 of the MX in current values.

Meizu still isn't large enough to be considered a major threat to Apple, Huawei, or ZTE in China, but its sustained interest has made it one of the few companies outside of Apple to focus on high-end smartphones in China and succeed. The market is so far dominated by low-end devices and has led to many North American and Korean companies often developing China-first phones or keeping older models around to compete on price. [via MeizuMe and Meizu's BBS]

By Electronista Staff