HTC's mid-range One SV LTE smart phone has surfaced on the UK's only 4G network, but at a price that's eye-wincingly high for the tech it contains.
The phone is a slightly less powerful version of the HTC One S that was released in the first half of last year, offering a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and a bog-standard 4.3-inch, 480x800-pixel display.
It contains an LTE chip that means it can connect to 4G, however, which means EE is charging a premium for the honour of carrying this mid-range mobile around in your pocket. The cheapest tariff is £36 per month for 24 months, which nabs you a mere 500MB of data per lunar cycle and will ultimately set you back £864.
Beefing the data up to a more acceptable 3GB will cost £46 per month, or £1,104 over its two-year contract period. That's a lot of cash to part with, especially considering retailers are flogging the One SV for about £350 SIM-free.
If you're desperate to own this mobile, you can buy the phone SIM-free and then get one of EE's SIM-only 4G plans, the cheapest of which costs £21 per month over 12 months, for a total cost of £252, or about £600 once you add on the cost of the phone itself.
But if you absolutely must possess a 4G phone, for only £50 more up front you can get your mitts on the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE, which is still very expensive, but offers significantly more impressive hardware than the One SV.
For now, however, you may just be better off going with a 3G phone, where the same amount of money will stretch to just about any high-end mobile you care to mention.
4G is very promising -- as our speed tests show -- but coverage isn't widespread yet, and prices could drop following the impending spectrum auction, which will see O2, Vodafone and Three getting their mitts on bandwidth bits, and offering rival 4G services.
Is your head turned by the One SV, or is it just too much moolah for you to consider parting with? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 12
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Damien2701 15 January, 2013 18:01
The data limits on EEs laughable 4g contracts render it totally useless. WTF is the point of paying for only 500mb of data? You will never really be able to use it
Damien2501 15 January, 2013 18:35
I actually agree Bruv, that is the most decent thing I've ever heard you say. EE suck, on what planet are they on? You can't do anything with 500 MB of data. Though, my next phone is gonna be a SIM free 4G ready phone that'll work on all UK 4G bands, so I can take advantage of 4G when it becomes relatively cheap on PAYG, while in the mean time I'll be sticking to 3G.
AkumaJack 15 January, 2013 23:00
Happy with the speeds on Three and those prices/ limited data are shocking. Offcom gave EE the go ahead on the 4G network because they wanted to get people using 4g so the Uk doesn't fall further behind other countries.....we can safely say this hasn't happened.
anonymous 15 January, 2013 23:45
£29.99 upfront, £26pm on T-mobile with 2000 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited data, doesn't seem unreasonable. If you look at high end plans, which are the same for iphone 5 as they are for an SV
anonymous 16 January, 2013 01:56
I think you should make clear in the title, that it is EE that has a baffling high price for 4G rather than HTC.
CaptainPicard 16 January, 2013 09:30
I agree with all the comments above, EE is a rip off. If they offered the One SV on a range of tariffs from £15 to £25 it would be a better deal, but £36 on limited data is pretty much useless - I can use 500MB 3G data in less than 4 hours doing pretty much basic stuff.
anonymous 16 January, 2013 10:31
I've just got one of these today on a free upgrade off T-Mobile and my tariff is £26 a month.
anonymous 16 January, 2013 10:33
May I also say I get 600mins free talk time, unlimited texts and unlimited Internet access all for that £26 with T-Mobile, bargain I'd say!!
anonymous 16 January, 2013 11:53
I got my Note 2 LTE around October last year. I only paid £89 deposit and £56 per month for 12 months. Now some of you might think thats alot, but considering I get 4G with 3 gb data per month ( plenty for me), unlimited text and calls, it all works out to £761. the phone at time of purchase was £600, so I pay just £161 extra for 12 months 4g data and unlimited calls and text which worked out cheap if you think about it, plus I'm tied for less than 12 months!! I think EE are charging over £159 deposit now so I know I got a great deal on this great phone.
anonymous 16 January, 2013 13:49
I'll just stick with my Nexus 4 on unlimited GiffGaff, thank you very muchos gracias.
Chris Denton 'Ichi' 16 January, 2013 14:28
EE are a joke! It's a total rip off right now. This is a mid range handset, at best! This just doesn't make sense to be locked into a contract at this price, with this handset! No thanks EE! I'll pass! :-\
anonymous 16 February, 2013 06:56
The One SV LTE comes in with an LTE chip which allows the handset to connect to EE’s 4G network. But this also means that the said network is charging a premium amount for it.