Best Phones for Under £35 Per Month

With the vast array of smartphones on the market, the price of monthly contracts really has been brought down to reflect competition, which can mean only one thing for the consumer: for less than £35 per month, you can acquire one of the hottest phones out there with a deal that could see you texting, calling and Tweeting until the sun goes down!

iPhone 5

Arguably the most famous phone that is released each year is the iPhone, and it is important to many users that they own the most up-to-date version. So it’s great that you can get a free iPhone 5 handset for under £35 per month.

The iPhone 5 was released last September and features all of the best apps, functions and style that Apple fans demand from their iPhones. The handset is remarkably slim when compared with previous models, and Apple’s commitment to a smaller screen than most other smartphones gives the device a smart and stylish feel.

And the iPhone 5 doesn’t fail to disappoint in terms of specifications either. With a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and the latest operating system, iOS 6. The phone is known for its excellent visual display which boasts 336 pixels per inch, which towers over the majority of handsets such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Nexus 4, and gives the iPhone 5 a crisp display.

Although on first release the iPhone 5 struggled to satisfy on features such as Apple Maps, though now these problems have been ironed out, there is no running away from the fact that the Apple app store houses more apps than even the Google Play Store.

Whether you’re new to the iPhone or want to upgrade from a previous model, you can join the Apple craze for as little as £33 a month on a Vodafone contract including 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data. If your budget stretches that bit further than a £35 budget, you could opt for a T-Mobile contract which offers 600 minutes, unlimited texts and a whopping 1.5 GB of data for just £36 a month.

Samsung Galaxy S3

Now you’re bound to have heard about the Apple vs. Samsung battle in recent months, and this is largely based around the iPhone’s competition in the Korean manufacturer’s most popular smartphone, the S3.

When the S3 entered the mobile phones arena back in May last year, critics claimed that its 4.8 inch screen was ludicrously big for a smartphone that was designed to fit into one’s pocket. However, eight months on it looks like every mobile phone manufacturer has followed suit and the large screened S3 has paved the way for smartphones in the future.

The S3 isn’t just popular amongst its users because of its large screen size, though. With a 1.4 GHz quad-core processor and the latest Jelly Bean version of the Android operating system, the S3 is one of the quickest phones on the market, and is often one that other models aim to compete with. The S3 sports an 8 MP camera which produces high quality photographs with an in-built photo editing suite. Although the S3’s display doesn’t pack in as high a pixel density as the iPhone 5, the large screen makes the S3 perfect for every function that you may ever require, whether it be to watch films or videos via the in-built YouTube app, or simply to browse your friends’ updates on social media sites.

Samsung has crept ahead of Apple in terms of smartphone sales last year, but not necessarily because its features are superior. Many people oft for a Samsung Galaxy S3 over the iPhone because it considerably cheaper: you can acquire a brand new S3 handset for as little as £26 per month on a T-Mobile contract with 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 1 MB of data. That comes in an almost £10 less each month than the iPhone 5, so if you want to save the pennies, but still want a top quality handset, the Galaxy S3 could be for you.

Nokia Lumia 920

The Nokia Lumia 920 is one of the best phones for under £35 because it represents the new series of smartphones operated by Microsoft’s latest Windows Phone 8 operating system. This fun phone stands out from the rest not only because of its colourful and smart looking polycarbonate casing but also its vibrant dynamic home screen display.

You can’t avoid the numerous TV adverts for the new Windows Phone OS which can be customizable in order to suit each and every user. The colourful home screen consists of live tiles which update in real time, making the phone look really dynamic and new compared to other more static home screens on models run by iOS or Android systems.

Nokia has also contributed a lot to the Lumia 920; with built-in apps such as Drive, Nearby and Nokia Music. What makes the Lumia 920 really great is the fact that it offers something new and different, and while there’s no hiding the fact that Microsoft’s app store is limited when compared with the Apple and Google Play stores, all of the most popular applications are available, including Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.

If you want to stand out from the crowd, the Nokia Lumia 920 can be yours for just £26 a month on an Orange contract offering 200 minutes, unlimited texts, and a massive 750 MB of data to make the most of the Lumia’s great interactive features. Or if you have a bit more cash to splash on your new handset, for £31 a month you can double your minutes to 400, have unlimited texts and 750 MB of data, also on an Orange contract.

iPhone 4S

If you’re an aspiring iPhone owner but don’t want to stretch your budget to the dizzying heights of the iPhone 5, why not opt for the slightly older iPhone 4S? In fact, sales figures show that most users are doing just that, and iPhone 4S sales are still outshining that of the iPhone 5. No, you may not be at the cutting edge of the smartphone world, but there are no features that you will be without by purchasing the predecessor to Apple’s latest release.

With a 1 GHz processor and the ability to update the device to the recently released iOS 6, the iPhone 4S offers everything you could ever need in a manageable, well-built handset. With a slightly smaller 3.5 inch screen and 330 ppi density, the device’s display certainly won’t disappoint.

For the budding photographers of you out there, the iPhone 4S has been proven to sport an impressive 8 MP camera which, after road testing on our behalf, performs to a higher standard than many other 8 MP cameras on the market. To find out more about the iPhone 4S, read our review on the iPhone 4S, or to see how well its camera matches up against other handsets, in our article, The Megapixel Myth.

To get a top of the range phone for less than Apple’s newest release, the iPhone 4S is available from just £26 per month with 100 minutes, unlimited texts and a whopping 750 MB of data on a T-Mobile contract. Or, if you want to push the boat out in order to acquire more call time, a great deal offering 300 minutes, unlimited texts and 100 MB of data on an o2 contract for just £29 per month.

Conclusion

As you can see, some of the best mobile phones on the market can be found for under £35 a month including a free handset. So whether it’s the latest iPhone, or the latest Windows OS that you’re after, many mobile phone deals can be found for as little as £26 for some models. Leading the way within the mobile phone arena doesn’t mean blowing the budget.