Vodafone Smart 2 - £70 for your first Android smartphone
What a difference a year makes
Another player has entered the budget Android market, in the shape of the Vodafone Smart II.
This dinky little handset follows in the footsteps of the original Vodafone Smart, released last year, but thankfully has received a spec boost and a reduction in cost.
Where last year's model cost £80 and came with a 2.8-inch screen, for a tenner less you're getting a 3.2-inch screen, Android 2.3 (which we highly doubt will ever make it to Ice Cream Sandwich) and an HVGA screen.
Faster than…a 600MHz processor
We're also seeing an acceptable 800MHz processor (cutting edge stuff three years ago, so probably enough for your Nan if she's hankering to play Cut The Rope).
There's 150MB of internal storage and a microSD slot for those that want to get all expansive (with 2GB included in the box) – meaning you could have a phone with more space for songs and movies than the HTC One X. Although the experience probably won't be quite the same.
The camera is also 3.2MP with an LED flash, which is far from unreasonable at the price – are you seeing a theme of 'good value' here?
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Of course, there's the fact it's a chunky little monster, with that smaller screen swathed in 109 x 58 x 12.35mm dimensions – but again, probably fine for the 'my first smartphone' generation or just those that like a cheeky backup handset.
We've got a Vodafone Smart 2 in the TechRadar phone dungeon at the moment – so stick around for our full review.
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.