4G SIM NewsEE has announced the launch of its first own brand handset, the Kestrel, which is being billed as the UK’s lowest standard priced 4G smartphone. Available in the UK from the end of April, the Kestrel will be priced at just £99.99 for pay as you go customers. It will also be available on 4G pay monthly contracts from just £13.99 per month.
Despite its low price, the Kestrel will offer many of the features that users have come to expect from more expensive handsets. These include a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor, a large 4.5 inch qHD display, CAT 4 capability, and HD Voice compatibility. The operating system is Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and the handset boasts 8GB of internal storage plus a microSD slot.
The Kestrel, which is named after the bird of prey, is likely to be the first in a series of EE smartphones. It is optimised to make the most of the ultra-fast 4G connectivity offered by EE and is ideal for taking and sharing photos and videos, and for online gaming.
While the Kestrel may be a new handset for EE, it might look pretty similar to another handset that we have recently written about. As Huawei are the OEM behind the new smartphone, it’s not that surprising that the Kestrel shares many characteristics with the Huawei Ascend G6 which was unveiled at MWC 2014. One obvious difference is the cameras, as the Kestrel only has 1MP front facing and 5MP rear facing cameras instead of the 5MP front facing and 8MP rear facing set up of the Ascend G6.
Lower Priced 4G Contracts
EE reports that the release of the Kestrel handset is part of its overall focus on great value and innovation. It was announced at the same time as a new series of entry level 4G pay monthly handset plans, as well as new 4G Extra plans which offer benefits such as increased data and inclusive roaming.
On the new entry-level 4GEE pay monthly handset plans the Kestrel will cost:
- £13.99 per month for 500MB data, 500 minutes and unlimited texts
- £18.99 per month for 1GB data, 1000 minutes and unlimited texts
- £23.99 per month for 2GB data and unlimited minutes and texts
- £29.99 per month for 5GB data and unlimited minutes and texts
On the new 4G Extra pay monthly handset plans the Kestrel will cost:
- £21.99 per month for 2GB data, 1000 minutes and unlimited texts
- £26.99 per month for 4GB data and unlimited minutes and texts
- £32.99 per month for 10GB data and unlimited minutes and texts
- £37.99 per month for 20GB data and unlimited minutes and texts
- £74.99 per month for 50GB data and unlimited minutes and texts
According to Pippa Dunn, Chief Marketing Officer for Consumer at EE, “We’re continually looking for new ways to make a quality 4G experience accessible to all. By introducing the UK’s lowest price 4G smartphone, and great value entry-level plans, even more customers will now have the ability to access the UK’s most advanced 4G network and reap the benefits it offers.”