ZTE thirsty for smartphones, readies the Ice Cream Sandwich Mimosa

The mimosa may be well known for its tasty intoxicating effects, but smartphone maker ZTE wants to make it celebrated for a different reason, with the name being applied to a new handset making its way to Mobile World Congress in Spain next week.

Normally known for its budget handsets released by Telstra and Vodafone, ZTE is eyeing off the premium smartphone sector with the Mimosa X, a new phone set to feature what could be a 4.3 inch screen with quarterHD resolution, 960×540.

Staples such as GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth will all be included, as well a 5 megapixel rear camera and VGA front camera, but more importantly, the operating system will be up to date with Google’s latest and greatest, with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich appearing here.

Also of note is what’s under the hood, with ZTE throwing in the same chip that graced almost every tablet in 2011: the dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 .

“The ZTE Mimosa X sets a milestone for the mobile computing industry,” said Nvidia’s Michael Rayfield. “The Mimosa X brings the outstanding performance and long battery life that Tegra has quickly become known for, into the mainstream smartphone market.”

No release date has been announced as of yet, but we’d hazard a guess and say this thing may arrive in the middle of the year.