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Vodafone's Smart 4 power: too expensive for an own-brand 4G phone
4G is now a mainstream technology in the UK, meaning network operators can chase more frugal consumers with low-cost, own-brand handsets. It's unlikely O2 and Three will get involved in this race to the bottom; they simply don't have the experience EE (through its sub-brands Orange and T-Mobile) and Vodafone do in self-made handsets. EE was the first to make a move with the £99 Kestrel, and Vodafone recently launched its rebuttal: a pair of smartphones in the Smart 4 turbo and Smart 4 power. I've already commented on their price tags (£135 and £175, respectively), which are high enough to make you wince considering their competition. And, after spending a little quality time with the higher-end Smart 4 power, I can't say I feel any different.
Vodafone's first own-brand 4G phones could struggle to compete
Last year we would've bet our lunch money on Vodafone being the first UK carrier to release an own-brand LTE smartphone. After all, we spotted a "Vodafone Smart 4G" picking up its roaming permit from the US communications regulator, and only a few weeks after the carrier switched on its UK LTE network. Alas, the phone was destined for other European countries and EE pipped Vodafone to the post with the launch of the 4G-friendly Kestrel. Vodafone's finally caught up, however, releasing a pair of LTE handsets under its own name: the Smart 4 power and Smart 4 turbo (left and right in the image above, respectively). The turbo is the inferior of the two, with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 4.5-inch 854 x 480 display, while the power is outfitted with a 1.3GHz quad-core Mediatek processor and 5-inch 960 x 540 screen. Otherwise, both have 1GB of RAM, unspecified amounts of on-board storage (with microSD support), 5-megapixel main shooters, front-facing cameras, and run Android 4.4 KitKat.
