There are a great numer of smartphones I could recommend in the low to mid-end category, but does Sprint’s new handset, manufactured by ZTE, offer anything to set it apart from the competition?

Well quite frankly it’s nothing special; this smartphone is fairly standard when it comes to mid-range hardware and doesn't offer anything that you can't find for cheaper elsewhere.

It features a 1.5Ghz dual-core processor, 1Gb RAM, a 5 mega-pixel camera, a 4-inch WVGA (800 X 480) display, a pretty pitiful 1730mAh battery which should give around 9 hours of talk time according to Sprint, and will ship with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. So that’s exactly what was rumored just before MWC last month.

Jelly Bean would certainly have been a nice addition and would really have given the handset something to boast about, but I guess you can’t have it all when you’re on a budget.

It’s not a bag of total mediocrity though; Sprint’s handset will also feature NFC and come fully LTE enabled. But this is the smartphone's only saving grace considering it will set you back $49.99, after all manner of rebates, when you sign up to a two-year contract. Overall it’s a questionable deal for a questionable handset; you can certainly find a better offer elsewhere if you shop around.

Oh yeah, and for some reason Sprint has chosen to name the handset “Force”. But I’ll leave the inevitable Star Wars jokes up to you guys.