LIVE FROM IFA 2014: ZTE launched a number of its devices into the German market, with its focus very much on offering devices at an “affordable” price.

The ambitious Chinese vendor is offering 3G and 4G versions of its Blade Vec smartphone (pictured), which it said combines “fashionable design with modern technology”. The devices share the same design, and it also marks “the first time for ZTE to introduce glass fibre to the smartphone” – offering scratch and fingerprint resistance, and offering weight benefits over aluminium.

In a presentation this morning, an executive said that while customers in many markets are driven by specifications, buyers in Europe are looking for “a beautiful design”.

Both devices have 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixel) screens, while some of the other specifications vary. The 4G device is listed as having either an 8MP or 13MP rear camera and 1MP or 2MP front camera, while the 3G device has a 8MP rear camera and “significantly improved” 5MP front camera with wide-angle lens.

And while the pair run Android 4.4, Blade Vec 4G has a 1.2GHz quadcore Qualcomm processor, while Blade Vec 3G has a 1.3GHz quadcore processor from MediaTek.

Blade Vec 4G also has 16GB of storage with no mention of additional expansion (although this was deemed “enough for daily use”), while Blade Vec 3G has 8GB and a microSD slot.

Blade Vec 3G will be available with dual-SIM support.

The 3G device is available now, with a recommended price of €179. Its 4G sibling will join it by the end of this month (September 2014), at €229.

Also being launched into Germany is Kis 3 Max, which ZTE describes as a “powerful and elegant beginner smartphone”.

With a recommended price of €99, the Android 4.4 device has a 1.3GHz dualcore MediaTek processor, 5MP rear and 2MP front cameras, and 3G connectivity. It also has dual-Sim support

An interesting feature of the device is the ability to customised the hard keys. In a presentation, an example given was the potential to customise the layout for a left-handed user, to make buttons fall more readily to hand.

And it also offers remote control commands for phone lock and data wipe.