It’s no secret that smartphones like the HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5 don’t come cheap. If you’re happy to sign up to a 24 month contract then you can at least spread the cost over a couple of years but for Pay As You Go customers a smartphone often requires a hefty up-front payment.
There are certainly cheaper options available but mid-range phones can still cost well over £200 What if you want a smartphone but you don’t want to pay through the nose? Well if you can stretch to £50 then the Vodafone Smart Mini is an entry-level smartphone with most of the features you’ll need.
Of course for £50 you can’t expect too much power but the 1Ghz processor in the Smart Mini will get the job done and the 4GB of internal storage is more than some high-end handsets came with just a couple of years ago. The 3.5-inch screen may look tiny compared to the 4.7-inch+ monsters found on most top phones but that’s the same size as an iPhone 4S and the smaller screen makes this a very compact device.
On the back you’ll find a 2MP camera which isn’t going to win any awards for picture quality but at least it’s there in case you need it. Interestingly the Smart Mini comes with Android 4.1, many more expensive handsets released not too long ago have never received an update to Jelly Bean and it lacks the sometimes horrible UI changes made by manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung.
The Vodafone Smart Mini is far from being a great phone but in many ways it’s a lot more than you would expect for just £50. If you’re on a tight budget you’ll at least get Facebook, web browsing, games and whole lot more than many phones at this price point can offer you. You can get the Vodafone Smart Mini directly from Vodafone right now