The ZTE Grand X Quad first popped up in January with the model number V987, and today an official product shot of the Chinese Android phone appeared online.

At some point between then and now, though, the phone was also released in China.

This report comes from Engadget, which noticed the photo and then later updated its story with the knowledge that the ZTE Grand X Quad was actually already available in a limited release in China.

Strangely, this is the first we've heard of it.

Who needs announcements?

ZTE apparently released the Grand X Quad in China at the end of February without a press release or announcement reaching us here in the Western world.

The Grand X Quad is reportedly going for ¥1,699 (US$270, UK£180, AU$260) in its home country, though even there its release is reportedly limited.

Thus, the image that appeared today on the notorious @evleaks Twitter account is the first glimpse we've had of the budget ZTE Grand X Quad.

The Grand X Quad isn't quite as grand as its bigger sibling, ZTE's Grand S, but it's hard to argue with what you're getting at that price.

The Grand X Quad sports a 5-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz quad-core chip, 8-megapixel camera, dual SIM, and a 2,500mAh batter that can thankfully be removed.

We asked ZTE to confirm the phone's availability, and we'll update when we have more info.