The five best phones you’ve never heard of

When it comes to smartphones, you’re spoiled for choice these days. Phone peddlers like Apple and Samsung spend millions – billions, even – telling you about their latest and greatest, but it’s not all about the big guys. Here, we take a look at the unsung heroes of the smartphone world, the ones you haven’t heard of but really should consider if it’s time to upgrade. Read on to meet them.


Huawei Ascend G330

You don’t have to spend through the nose to nab a smartphone with a dual-core processor. You could just pick up the  Huawei Ascend G330 instead, which shoves one in alongside feature-stuffed Android 4.0 so you can play games, watch video, surf the web, even share your data by turning your phone into a mobile hotspot. Not bad for just £10 per month with a healthy 200MB of data through TalkTalk.

ZTE Grand X

We loved the  ZTE Grand X’ clean, untarnished take on Google’s Android operating system when we tested it last year, the but the low, low price of the  Google Nexus 4 made it an also ran. Now though, the 4.3-inch phone with a sharp 960×540 resolution screen has come down in price – you can get a dual-SIM version SIM-free for just £155.99 on Amazon – a bargain if you want pure Android without paying full price.

Huawei Blaze

There are lots of super-cheap Android phones out there, but of the sub-£40 bunch the Huawei Blaze still remains the best more than a year on from launch The 3.2-inch touchscreen is surprisingly usable, the 600MHz processor still able to keep up with most tasks (including doubling up as a satnav with Google Maps Navigation) and the whole affair is impressively thin and petite. If you just want GPS and the odd app, don’t bother paying the premium for a big name brand when you could have this.

Alcatel 916
HTC and Samsung have both tried their hands at Android phones withQWERTY keyboard to make Gmail even quicker to use, but neither have come up with something as solid and straightforward as the Alcatel 916, with easy to use buttons and a low, low pricetag. A BlackBerry with better apps? Not bad for £60.