Mobile phones
Need a new mobile phone? Here you will find the latest phones and smartphones. Search by specifications, view reviews, compare prices and find your new mobile phone. We have devices of all brands, all webshops and all providers. So also the cheapest, both loose and with a new subscription. Read more
A mobile phone is a portable device that allows you to communicate wirelessly. Or as we prefer to call him, your most personal possession. Day and night at your side and big panic when you forget him. The current telephones can roughly be divided into three categories; low-end, mid-range and high-end. Which one you need we'll explain here.
Quick to
0-9
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
V
W
Low-end
The simplest category is low-end, consisting of low-budget phones that, despite its name, have quite a lot to offer. The simplest are so-called dumbphones without a touch screen and without the ability to run apps. They often cost below ten pounds and are ideal for those who don't want an advanced phone. Useful as an emergency phone or for seniors. Something more advanced are feature phones. They can do a bit more like taking pictures, looking up simple web pages or even using WhatsApp. These phones are usually under 100 pounds and very suitable as a festival phone. And then there are smartphones from between 100 to 200 pounds. These are the most advanced ones, but to reduce costs, they are provided with simple specifications and simple materials such as plastic.
Mid-range
By far the most common category is the mid-range phone. With this so called middle class, you can get away with it without spending a fortune. In terms of price, these phones are between 250 and 500 pounds. Because the competition here is so fierce, there are sometimes real gems among them, although we often detect inferior phones. So pay special attention to reviews from other buyers. There are also brands that focus mainly on mid-range phones, particularly from China, including Honor, Xiaomi and ZTE. With these phones, please pay attention to what the manufacturer promises about future software updates. Usually these models get less attention than the much more expensive high-end phones. The Android One models from this series then have a plus because they are guaranteed to be updated for a few more years.
High-end
And then you've got the cream of the crop; high-end. These are the most comprehensive smartphones, often referred to as flagships. These models often have many new features, the most beautiful screens and the best cameras. This is reflected in the price that starts at 500 pounds and can go up to even 1000 pounds or more. Many manufacturers have a high-end smartphone in their lineup that is updated every year. High-end smartphones are sometimes so popular people sometimes even willing to queue up for a new one. For this category of phones it can be useful to take out a contract where you pay a bit of the purchase price back each months. Also don't forget last year's flagships. They are often hugely reduced in price and probably don't miss out on the features you necessarily need.
Most popular phone brands
By now you would think that only Apple and Samsung make phones, but nothing could be further from the truth. Our site now has 173 different brands. Most of them you can forget, but a few are worth a look. Click below from the list of most popular phone manufacturers to go directly to that overview.
- Apple phones
- Samsung phones
- Xiaomi phones
- Huawei phones
- HTC phones
- Sony phones
- LG phones
- Motorola phones
- Nokia phones
Mobile phone history
Although for years people fantasized about a cordless phone, the first mobile phone didn't see the light of day until 1973. A prototype by Martin Cooper and John Francis Mitchell from Motorola weighed 2 kilos, mainly because of the large battery. It would then take until 1983 before the first commercially available mobile phone came to market. The Motorola DynaTAC 8000X was a lot more lightweight at 1.1 kilo, cost almost $4000 at the time and you could call it for half an hour. Then he had to spend 10 hours on the charger. We've come a long way.
GSM
One of the main standards for mobile telecommunication is GSM which stands for Global System for Mobile Communications. GSM is seen as the second generation and therefore sometimes called 2G. GSM towers appeared throughout the country and it would become the first nationwide network. In addition to voice also data and texts could also be sent. SMS, which could send messages of up to 160 characters, turned out to be the reason for many people to buy a mobile phone.
Generations
Sending data became more and more important for a mobile phone, but the GSM standard was not strong in that respect. The introduction of packet switched data led to many new data standards and generations. We'll sum them up for you below.
| Generation | Technique |
|---|---|
| 0G | MTS |
| 1G | NMT | 2G | GSM | 2.5G | GPRS | 2.75G | EDGE | 3G | UMTS |
| 3.5G | HSDPA | 3.75G | HSUPA | 3.9G | 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) |
| 4G | LTE Advanced (4G+) | 5G | 5G |
The latter is known by most as 4G, although it is officially given the term 3.9G. Real 4G is LTE Advanced which is sometimes marketed as 4G+. In addition to data, the 4G standard is also well suited for voice transmission. Eventually we will see this so-called VoLTE (Voice over LTE) will herald the end of the GSM network.
