Flagship smartphones such as the iPhone might get all the attention, but something exciting is happening with the more affordable smartphones. Companies including Nokia
and Motorola have released very good phones at prices below £150 –
which makes you wonder why anyone would ever pay more for a smartphone,
something that certainly wasn’t the case even just a year ago. So which is the best £150-and-under smartphone, and will it really do everything you’d want?
ZTE Blade V
ZTE Blade V is a cheap quad-core Android smartphone. Photograph: ZTE£80 sim-free, 4” display, 5MP camera, 130g China's
ZTE is known for making affordable phones and the Blade V is just the
latest. Costing as little as £80 on a pay-as-you-go plan, it is one of
the cheapest here, and has a powerful quad-core processor, its main
advantage over rivals. The phone has an acceptable five megapixel rear
camera, and a front camera for video chats and selfies. The screen is
relatively low resolution – a factor that helps to keep the price down,
but it should be fine for surfing the web or watching YouTube. Built-in
storage is limited to 4GB, but a micro SD card slot means more can be
added for photos, videos and music. The Blade V runs an older version of
Android than both of the Motorola phones reviewed here, which can make
it feel dated. The powerful processor also takes its toll on battery
life, compared with some of the other budget phones, but it will last
for about a day on one charge. Verdict: Fast quad-core processor, but at the cost of too many cut corners
Nokia Lumia 630
The Nokia Lumia 630 is a cheap Windows Phone that gets most things right. Photograph: Nokia£100 sim-free, 4.5” display, 5MP camera, 134g Microsoft’s
cheapest new Windows phone can cost as little as £100 with a
pay-as-you-go plan and brings the latest Windows Phone 8.1 software to
the budget market. It has Nokia’s customary solid build quality, a
removable coloured back shell, and is light and comfortable. The
Lumia 630 feels like it could take a knock or two, and has a
five-megapixel camera without a flash that can capture slightly more
detail and has a better colour-balance than similarly priced rivals like
the Moto G. Microsoft hasn’t included a front cameras, so selfies will
be difficult. The biggest drawback of this model is the screen,
which is low resolution compared to the Moto G, and can appear blocky.
It doesn’t have adaptive brightness, so manual adjustment is required,
or the screen may appear too bright indoors or unreadable outside. The Windows Phone software also lacks the large catalogue of apps available on Android, but does have snappy performance. Verdict: a solid and cheap phone, but there are better options available.
Motorola Moto G
The Moto G is Motorola's first UK phone
since being bought by Google with a fast processor, decent screen and
slick Android. From £100 Photograph: NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images£100 sim-free, 4.5” display, 5MP camera, 143g Arguably
one of the first smartphones to shake up the budget market, the Moto G
offers more features than any other currently available. Priced at less
than £100 with 3G only and about £150 with the faster 4G mobile
broadband connection, it is a mid-range phone costing the same as a
budget version. The Moto G has a sharp 4.5in screen, the latest
Android software, a snappy experience and a solid build quality. Like
the Moto E, the G has Corning’s toughened “Gorilla Glass” on the screen
to resist scratches, and is also coated with water-resistant nano
coating made by P2i. The five-megapixel camera is good enough for
basic pictures, while a front camera allows for selfies and video chats.
Two 3G versions are available, it is worth buying the one with 16GB of
storage over the 8GB. Verdict: at under £100 the Moto G is the best value smartphone by miles.
EE Kestrel
EE Kestrel is the cheapest 4G smartphone available. Photograph: EE£99 PAYG, 4.5” display, 5MP camera, 145g The cheapest smartphone with faster 4G capability, the EE Kestrel is built by Huawei of China for the UK’s largest 4G network, EE. Available
for £99, the design is a little drab – another black rectangle – but it
is light and thin, especially compared to some chubby competition. The
odd placement of the headphones socket on the side may cause issues for
some. The Kestrel feels a little cheap, while the 4.5in screen is
not particularly crisp; good enough for the odd YouTube video or
browsing, while the 4G makes downloading and playing videos faster than
most 3G phones. The phone has a powerful quad-core processor,
which makes it snappy. A micro SD slot allows addition to the 8GB
storage, while a decent-sized battery keeps it going for a good day
without activating its battery-saving modes. A five-megapixel camera and
one-megapixel front cam produce serviceable photos, but struggle in low
light. The Kestrel also has the option of a simplified software look,
ideal for the non-tech savvy. Verdict: the cheapest 4G phone available, with solid performance.
Motorola Moto E
Motorola Moto E review - a solid build Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian£80 sim-free, 5MP camera, 4.3” display, 142g One of
the cheapest phones in this group, the Moto E costs about £80 with a
pre-pay plan, and gets the basics right. It does a good job balancing
price and quality, with a good feeling frame, decent screen and a
responsive, snappy experience – leagues apart from most of its
competition for the same price. The Moto E has the latest version
of Android with a guaranteed update to the next version from Motorola –
something that most other budget smartphones don’t offer. Features
like toughened Gorilla Glass to prevent scratches to the screen, a
water resistant P2i nano coating and all-day battery life are good for
the price. But some concessions have been made to keep the price down:
the five-megapixel camera is poor, there is no front camera and storage
is just 4GB (2GB user accessible), but there is a micro SD slot for
adding more space for music, movies and photos.
Verdict: a very cheap phone that does the basics right.
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