ZTE plans to release a crowdsourced phone in 2017

Chinese handset maker ZTE announced its plans to launch a crowdsourced smartphone earlier this year. Dubbed Project CSX, this device is expected to be unveiled next year. However, the community that is expected to drive the whole effort is already up and running.

ZTE describes Z-Community as "a member-led forum that will help shape the future of ZTE mobile devices and services." The community is open to all those interested, who can simply go to community.zteusa.com and sign up. This approach is different from the usual crowdfunding via websites like Kickstarter since ZTE plans to develop the handset based on user input. Next to "small cash prizes," ZTE will also offer a trip to CES 2017 to those who contribute with the most popular ideas.

ZTE USA is currently the fourth-largest smartphone supplies in the US, as well as the second one in the no-contract market. Unfortunately, there are no public details about the specs of the upcoming Project CSX device, so anything is possible. We will keep an eye on this project and get back to it as soon as we find out anything new, so stay tuned.