As in other parts of the world, smartphone prices have reached record lows in the UK in recent months. For example, you can currently buy Microsoft"s Lumia 435 for £39.99 on pay-as-you-go, including £10 of credit, and other devices are available at similarly low cost.
But today, the UK"s largest carrier - for now, at least - has announced a new device, which it claims is the country"s most affordable 4G handset. The EE Rook costs just £49 for new customers and £39 for existing ones, with no contract obligation.
The Rook runs Android 5.1 Lollipop and comes with Google services. Its key specs include:
- 4-inch display with FWVGA (854x480px) resolution
- Quad-core 1GHz MediaTek processor (64-bit)
- 1GB RAM
- 8GB storage (plus microSD card support up to 32GB)
- 5MP rear camera
- 0.3MP front-facing camera
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- 1500mAh battery
- 126 x 64 x 10.3mm; 130g
Unsurprisingly, given its low price, the Rook"s spec sheet is pretty bare-bones - it"s worth noting, for example, that the rear camera doesn"t include auto-focus, and doesn"t even have a flash, although it is capable of recording video at HD (720p) resolution.
The handset is on sale now from EE, and currently includes a discount of up to 20% on select EE accessories.