EE unleashes 4G ready smartphones ahead of network launch

EE unleashes 4G ready smartphone ahead of network launch
Look. It's faster.

Want to know which phones will be 4G-ready in the UK first? EE has spilled the beans on the new line up.

The list comprises of: the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, the HTC One XL and the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE, which are available today from Orange or T-Mobile.

As the EE network is not yet ready, customers will be able to buy the phones on the subsidiary brands and then upgrade to 4G plans when they become available.

It's a similar scenario to the iPhone 5, which has seen users on iOS 6 already noting an EE logo in the corner of their new Apple smartphone.

EE has also confirmed the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 LTE to its 4G-ready range although it will be a little longer before getting their hands on it, as it won't be ready until October 15.

Marketing chat

Pippa Dunn, chief marketing officer for EE, ruminated: "We're delighted to now be offering our customers a range of 4G ready smartphones to choose from.

"Not only can they use their phones straight away on the UK's biggest 3G network, but they can also have the opportunity to be amongst the first to benefit from superfast 4G mobile speeds when we launch our EE brand".

The exact launch date of said brand is unclear, with a timescale of 'in the coming weeks' being mooted. We're still nowhere near getting an idea of how much this data will cost, but word is the plans won't be much more than 3G is now as EE looks to aggressively gain customers to the new network.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.