WebUser 01 May 2019

22 1 - 14 May 2019

W

hen you think of

Vodafone,you

probably think of

a mobile networkrather than

a smartphone manufacturer,

but Vodafone also produces

unique phones under itsown

brand.This cuts out the

hardware middleman and

allows Vodafoneto supply

surprisingly good phones

(lockedto its own network,

of course)at remarkably low

prices.The la test model is

the Smart X9. It’s not

blisteringlyfast, but it’s

better than anyone would

expect for a phone thatcosts

just £99 (not includinga

compulsory £10top-up to

get you started).

At first glance, you’d be

forgiven for mistaking the X9

for a moreexpensive model,

thanksto its slim, curved

design, fingerprintreader

and dual cameras.

It comes with

a Qualcomm

Snapdragon

450 processor,

backed with

3GB of RAM and

32GB of internal

storage.This

specification is

identicalto that of last

year’s Moto G6, which

Vodafone

Smart X9

was greatat the time but

has since been superseded

by the newer Moto G7

(reviewed in Issue472,bit.ly/

webuser4 72 ). Ho wever, the

G6 isstill availableto buy for

around £200, while the Moto

E5 costs £120.

The X9’s 5.7in 18:9 display is

surroundedby thin bezels to

the left and right and slightly

thicker bezels at the top and

bottom, although thankfully

there’s no unsightly notch.

Flip itover and its design is

pleasingly minimalist.The

dual-camera array is neatly

contained in thetop-left

corner, and the circular

fingerprintreader sits near

the top in the middle.A

Vodafone logo is barely

visible near the bottom.

The back of the device is

the most obvious indication

that this isn’t anexpensive

model, however. Not only is it

a magnetfor fingerprints, but

it’s quite clearly made of

plasticrather than a more

The front of the phone is

dominated by its 1080p

touchscreen. It’s an IPS

display, which is inferior

technologyto the AMOLED

screensyou find on more

expensive models, but it’s

goodfor the price. Viewing

angles are decent, and its

maximum brightness of

455cd/m^2 (candles per square

metre) should make it easyto

see in bright sunshine, while

its contrast level of 1,436:1

makeseverything look clear

and sharp. Itscolour accuracy

isn’t the bestwe’ve seen, but

we can forgive it afew foibles

for the price.

In our benchmarktests, the

Smart X9’s performance

matched that of the Moto G6,

which is whatwe’d expect

given that their internal

specifications are identical.

The Vodafone Smart X9 isn’t a

perfect smartphone, but for les s

than £100, what’s not to like?

premium-looking glass

coating. We have no problem

with plastic because it

reduces theoverall weight,

but there’s not muchyou can

do about the smudges.

Memory and screen

The Smart X9 provides a

microSD card slotto help

beef up therather limited

32GB of internalstorage,

and there’s a 3.5mm

headphone jack on thetop

edge, which is always

welcome butby no means

guaranteed these days.

Product Test

We test and compare the latest products

You’d be forgiven for mistaking the

X9 for a more expensive model, thanks

to its slim, curved design