The Internet on phones these days is better than ever before. It used to be the case that we received EDGE or GPRS on our phones. This provided Internet connectivity which was just about sufficient for sending and receiving emails. It really was not good enough for anything which was particularly highly data-intensive. Over recent years we have seen Internet phone deals come with 3G and now 4G connectivity.
What Are 3G And 4G?
3G is the third generation of mobile Internet. It provides our Internet phones with connectivity of up to around 1.4 Mb per second. This is sufficient for basic, standard definition streaming, browsing and most of the Internet activities we could want to do. 3G connectivity has hit around 99% of the UK.
4G is gradually taking over from 3G. It offers speeds which can theoretically reach over 100 Mb per second on download. We have seen 4G hit 60 Mb per second and average between 10 and 20 Mb per second. 4G also has a better spectrum for indoor use. This means that you have to spend less time fighting to get signal indoors. You will certainly spend less time perched on the windowsill trying to get a signal through the window glass.
4G PAYG Internet Phone Deals
Ideally, when looking for an Internet phone, you should be looking at 3G and 4G options. If you want a phone that is future proof then 4G compatibility is a must.
In this article we shall focus on the best 4G pay as you go phones available. 4G connectivity has filtered down to mid-range phones but you won’t get many cheap phones with 4G connectivity yet, although they will come in the future.
Nokia Lumia 625
The Nokia Lumia 625 is a bright, beautiful phone, excellent for playing games, streaming videos and reading books. It comes in at just £139.95+ £15 top up. The best thing about the phone is that it has 4G connectivity at a fantastic price.
The battery life is up to 15 hours, in terms of talk time. It has a dual core 1.2 GHz processor and runs Windows 8. Its screen size is 4.7 inches, making it large for a relatively budget priced phone. Its camera is 5 megapixels and is able to take fairly good pictures, especially at this price point.
If you are looking for a great affordable 4G pay-as-you-go phone this is definitely one which has to go on your shortlist.
The BlackBerry Z 10
BlackBerry has brought out some pretty good phones over the last year. The Q 10 was an excellent QWERTY and touchscreen phone. The Z 10 is probably even better and comes in at just £159.95+ £10 top up. When it was released it was certainly the best BlackBerry released to that point. It has a great BlackBerry 10 operating system, which takes it right up there with the best smartphones in the marketplace. At this price it is extremely good value.
It has a decent battery with up to 10 hours talk time, a 1.5 GHz dual core processor and a 4. 2 inch high quality display It also has an 8 MP camera, which is much better than the BlackBerry cameras of the past.
If you love BlackBerry then this is a must. It is a great pay-as-you-go phone at a great price.
The Samsung Galaxy Ace 3
This is a true Internet phone with 4G connectivity. It comes in at £209.95, plus £15 top up. It is highly rated by both industry experts and phone users. It comes on the Android Jelly Bean 4.2 operating system. It is intuitive and fun and packs a dual core 1.2 GHz processor for smooth operation of the system. The battery is not the best, but still manages 8 hours of talk time. The screen is 4 inches, the same as the iPhone. The camera is 5 megapixels, sufficient for decent performance.
This is a very good Galaxy phone which comes in at a low price point. It is certainly one you can add to your shortlist.
The Nokia Lumia 920
The Nokia Lumia 920 comes in at £299.95 plus a £10 top up. When it first came onto the market it really did cause a bit of a stir. It is a Windows 8 phone device with 4G connectivity. It offers up to 10 hours of talk time. It has a superb 4.5 inch display and a very good 8 megapixel camera. This phone used to be priced at £459.95 so this is a significant saving.
The Sony Xperia SP
The Sony Xperia SP comes in at £349.95 plus a £15 top up. Again, it is a 4G enabled phone with a big 4.6 inch display which is perfect for web browsing and watching movies. It has a very good 8 MP camera. It runs off Android Jelly Bean 4.1 and its 1.7 GHz dual-core processor is sufficient to provide very smooth performance. Its battery life is perhaps the most impressive thing on this phone as it offers up to 19 hours of talk time, way above the smartphone average.
Other Internet Phone Options
There are plenty of other Internet phone options with 4G connectivity. You could go for an Apple iPhone 5C, for around £450, or a HTC one, for around £500. You could also opt for a Samsung Galaxy S4 at around £580.
It Really Is Down To Budget
As you go further up the smartphone pay-as-you-go ladder you do get more phone for your money in general terms. However, at the lower end of the market we saw the Nokia Lumia 625. It is a really good phone and will do just about everything you could want it to do.
The first 5 smartphones mentioned in this article really are great Internet phones. They are able to multitask and do all of the rich media activities which we expect to do on our premium end smartphones these days. Look out for deals, as often you will find crackers like on the Nokia Lumia 920.
Phil Turner was unsure as to which Internet phone he should buy for his wife so he looked up reviews on websites including uSwitch to see what recommendations were being made.
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