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EE Kestrel review: a good low-cost 4G phone, but with a Moto on its back
The adjectives "affordable" and "budget" often allude to something of inferior quality -- a questionable substitute for something more premium. Something out of financial reach. A few years ago, I would've assumed the same, having set up enough low-end Samsungs for family members to want only high-end handsets, extortionate contracts attached. Thanks to devices like Google's Nexus range and, most recently, the OnePlus One, we've never been more aware of value for money. The Moto G, in particular, proved that a solid smartphone could be an absolute bargain. It's this newfound, positive connotation of affordable that EE's aiming for with its first own-brand smartphone, the Kestrel. Launched earlier this month for £99 on pay-as-you-go, or free from £14 per month on contracts, it's EE's play for the 4G-curious, money-conscious consumer. The Kestrel's LTE radio and inviting price tag aren't the sum of its selling points, either; there's also expandable storage and a very capable processor. Components such as the display and cameras are understandably more modest, but on paper, the Kestrel still ticks the value box. In the increasingly competitive area of low-cost handsets, however, the question isn't just whether the Kestrel is a worthwhile purchase, but whether you'll see it the same way a month later.
EE's homegrown Kestrel smartphone now available for £99
EE announced at the end of March it would be taking its first stab at own-brand hardware with the Kestrel, a 4G handset for thrifty speed merchants. Well, the Android smartphone is now available to buy online or over the phone for £99 on pay-as-you-go, or from £14 per month on EE's new entry-level 4G tariffs. Aside from its price, the Kestrel has a few other things going for it, like a capable quad-core Snapdragon 400 heart and Cat 4 LTE radio which can, in theory, handle the maximum 150Mbps download speeds of EE's "Extra" plans. It's now the cheapest way to jump on EE's ever-expanding 4G network, and we have one in our possession, so keep an eye out for our full review in the near future.
UK's EE to launch own-brand LTE smartphone for just £100 off-contract
We got wind that EE was cooking up an own-brand smartphone for its 4G network a couple of weeks ago, and now the UK operator's ready to come clean about the device. It's called the Kestrel, and as we suspected, it'll offer the cheapest ride on EE's LTE network at £100 on pay-as-you-go (PAYG), or free from £14 per month on the new entry-level tariff, when it launches towards the end of April. Now, being £30 less on PAYG than Alcatel's One Touch Idol S (which is also free from £14 per month), a mixed-bag of specs was to be expected. On the plus side, it's packing a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 and as a Cat 4 handset, it's capable of maxing out the theoretical 150Mbps download speeds of EE's "Extra" plans. Not so enticing is the 4.5-inch qHD display (960 x 540), and beyond that, we're looking at 1GB of RAM, 8 gigs of storage (with a microSD slot for expansion), a 2,000mAh battery, 5-megapixel main camera and 1-megapixel front-facer.
